I finished the sixth book in the Spenser series Looking for Rachel Wallace last night. This one was written by Robert B. Parker in 1980. The case this time involves a publishing company hiring Spenser to bodyguard a controversial female author named Rachel Wallace. Needless to say, given the title, Spenser eventually has to find out who took her.
I liked the beginning of the book well enough. Rachel Wallace's views are in direct conflict with Spenser's personality and approach, and that oil-water mix makes for some interesting reading. But the book loses some spark when Spenser loses her. The rest of the book, which has quite a bit of physical action from this point, just seems okay for me. Nothing spectacular. Ah well, they can't all be nail-biters.
I do like that the character of Susan is back as she offers a good counterpoint in Spenser's personal life, to balance his professional private investigator side.
If one were just picking around the Spenser series, this is a book that can be kind of put off until later. From a continuity end, I don't see it being critical to the overall flow of a book-to-book, publishing order read.
