"NOW & THEN" by Robert B. Parker (B+)

There is a sense of comfort that comes from reading a Parker novel that suggests that the moment could only be made more complete by slipping on a pair of cozy slippers and curling up in a favorite chair in front of a warm fire on a cold winter night. The same characters have all been around for decades and they are all still in place. Parker's novels are as light on their literary toes as a ballet dancer with dialogue that crackles from verbiage so spare and abbreviated that it resembles a text message. The clipped sentences invariably lack one or more of their grammatical components, but the exchanges are between friends who have been together for so long that they easily comprehend each other.

It could never be stated that Robert B. Parker comes out with another crime novel only "now and then." His work ethic must be phenomenal as his literary production is prodigious almost beyond belief. Thankfully, the level of quality has remained high with each of the characters in his Spenser series becoming more finely tuned over the years. And that is what Parker is all about: the strength of his characterizations along with their wonderful dialogue. They have been together so long that they all work together like a well-oiled machine.

Many authors seem to weary of writing about the same people as time goes on and the literary output has mounted up. So it had seemed with Parker's stories about Spenser, which have been coming out for decades. In the interim, Parker has segued into two similar series of novels starring Sunny Randall, a small town PI, and Jesse Stone, a small town police chief, both of whom, like Spenser (and Parker himself), also live in Massachusetts. Like many authors, Parker retains his home turf as the setting for his stories. A map of Boston is even provided inside the covers of this book for those of us not familiar with the area.

Just when I thought that Parker had run out of ideas for Spenser, he has surprised me with this new entry, which, by my count, is the 35th in this long-running series. All of the favorite characters are still in place and everything rushes along its prescribed course with us being swept along for the ride. These books are nothing if not delightfully entertaining reads.

Hawk is still a brooding force of nature who menaces the bad guys while he saves his displays of keen intelligence and deep insight for the quiet, introspective moments that he enjoys with Spenser. Vinnie Morris, the lethal gun for hire who never misses, is still here, only now he tunes out with his iPod during those long moments spent waiting for something to happen.

Susan remains the main squeeze in Spenser's life and they still have a thing for each other in spite of a relationship that has lasted for decades. They would seem to have little in common as she is a Harvard-educated psychologist while he is a college dropout and a former boxer turned private eye. Yet, Spenser is widely read and loves to toss off a bon mot from classic literature. Like Susan, he is intellectually curious and they realize that there really isn't much of a difference in their careers since both involve taking an analytical approach to the problems of their clients.

Spenser and Susan haven't yet moved forward into a more enduring commitment (read here: Marriage), although Susan now brings up the subject numerous times. Spenser is only moderately receptive towards the idea, but this is still a big change for him. Since possible marital infidelity serves as the impetus for Spenser's new case, the overarching theme of this book turns on his connecting the links and hopefully exorcising the demons of his distant past when Susan likewise strayed outside their relationship.

When Spenser is off the job, he shares everything with Susan, who provides a sounding board to his internalized thought processes. However, when he is on the job it falls to Hawk to serve as Spenser's alter ego. Hawk is one rare bird as he not only sees, and remembers, everything, but he also comes to some surprisingly thoughtful observations which allow Spenser to hone into the nut of the problem.

Spenser is hired by Dennis Doherty to check on whether his wife is having an affair. She is Jordan Richmond, a professor of English at Concord College in nearby Cambridge, who goes by her maiden name. Doherty is alternatively tense and combative, and it is plain to Spenser that he loves his wife and is not at all happy by this possible turn of events. Taking on these lowbrow cases is always distasteful for him, but they do pay the bills in between the more interesting cases.

He contracts Hawk and Vinnie Morris to help him tail the parties, but what starts out as a seemingly mundane case of marital infidelity quickly turns dangerous. Suddenly three people are dead, and Spenser is forced to carry on a delicate high wire act of having to share information with the FBI. It turns out that Doherty is an FBI agent and Jordan's paramour turns out to be a middle aged radical with ties to violent underground groups. 2007, G. Putnam's Sons, 296 pages.