Book Review: A little more talk, a little less action

By: By Robert Moyer | JOURNAL BOOK REVIEWER
Published: January 17, 2010

THE PROFESSIONAL. By Robert B. Parker. Putnam. 289 pages. $26.95.

Spenser says "Yowza" before they make love; Susan says, "Sis. Boom. Bah." afterward. (Hawk doesn't say anything because he isn't there.) We expect witty banter like this from the main characters in this venerable detective series, now in its 38th manifestation. As a matter of fact, we feast on it; wordplay turned into byplay and foreplay takes up more chapters than violence in the history of the series. What we don't expect is a lot of sexual details. Parker treats his narrative like Spenser considers pillow-talk conversations: "Sex is good; talking about it afterwards not good."

So it is a change of pace when Spenser takes on a case that calls for him to stop a sexual predator from blackmailing his clientele. Talk of sex takes on a deeper intonation. A man named Eisenhower developed relationships with a number of married women and then threatened to tell their husbands. They found out about one another and hired Spenser to stop him, since they can't go to the police. Unfortunately, Spenser can't stop the guy, and he can't stop some of the women from continuing to see him. In the participatory spirit of recent adventures, Spenser brings his "only squeeze" Susan, a therapist, along with him to figure the guy out; Spenser's smart enough to know what he doesn't know: "I opened my mouth. Susan shook her head. I closed my mouth."

Their evaluation is unusual. The guy creates relationships without concern for the cash; that was his companion's idea (yes, she seems to enjoy what he calls his "hobby"). When one of the husbands threatens violence in the personages of Zel and Boo, Spenser counters with his own threat, by the names of Ty-Bop and Tony. Everyone backs off, and things cool down.

For a while. The boy, however, is compulsively "unmonogamous," and Spenser can't keep out of it. All this sex without love engages him. He takes a couple of shots of liquor and a philosophical bent more complex than previous investigations: "(Sex) enhances love," says Spenser to Susan, "but not as much as love enhances it." Later, Susan adds, "I would guess … in truth, that (love) is finally about what and who we are."

Spenser might turn philosophical, but all that sex turns someone else violent. Bodies start turning up, and Spenser can't stop the killings soon enough. In a denouement that is both violent and poignant, Parker brings the book to a close on a love story of a different sort, a friendship that lets someone loose. Spenser holds off long enough to let justice happen, before he calls the police.

This latest installment is another Parker page-turner, but a few more thoughts than usual pop out in the midst of all the flips. The Professional is the work of a -- well, real professional.

Robert Moyer is retired from teaching drama at the UNC School of the Arts.