Potshot
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4.2 • 206 Ratings
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
Boston P.I. Spenser returns—heading west to the rich man’s haven of Potshot, Arizona, a former mining town reborn as a paradise for Los Angeles millionaires looking for a place to escape the pressures of their high-flying lifestyles.
Potshot overcame its rough reputation as a rendezvous for old-time mountain men who lived off the land, thanks to a healthy infusion of new blood and even newer money. But when this western idyll is threatened by a local gang—a twenty-first-century posse of desert rats, misfits, drunks, and scavengers—the local police seem powerless. Led by a charismatic individual known only as The Preacher, this motley band of thieves selectively exploits the town, nurturing it as a source of wealth while systematically robbing the residents blind.
Enter Spenser, who has been hired by the comely Mary Lou Buckman to investigate the murder of her husband. The Buckmans, a pair of L.A. transplants, moved to Potshot and started a modest outdoor tour service. It is Mary Lou’s belief that when her husband refused to pay The Preacher and his men protection money he was killed. Without any witnesses, Spenser has little to go on, and it’s clear the local police chief won’t be doing much to help. Calling on his own cadre of tried-and-true cohorts, including Vinnie Morris, Bobby Horse, Chollo, Bernard J. Fortunato, Tedy Sapp and the redoubtable Hawk, Spenser must find a way to beat the gang at their own dangerous game.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The Spenser series remains fresh after 28 novels in about 30 years. How does Parker do it? Through recurring characters as alive as any in fiction, and through exceptionally clean, graceful prose that links the novels as surely as do the characters. The author also refreshes himself through other writings the Sunny Randall series, for example, or Gunman's Rhapsody, a tale about Wyatt Earp that Putnam will publish in June. So even when Parker resorts to a bit of gimmickry, as he does here, the vitality of his storytelling prevails. The manifest gimmickry is Boston P.I. Spenser's corralling of sidekicks from previous novels Hawk, of course, but also gay Tedy Sapp from Hugger Mugger, sharpshooter Chollo from Thin Air, Vinnie Morris (from several novels) and a few others to deal with trouble in the Arizona town of Potshot. Spenser is hired by a sexy blonde to look into the shooting death there of her husband, who tangled with an outlaw group known as the Dell, which for years has extorted the citizens of Potshot. There's an eventual shootout, of course (there are enough parallels between this tale and that of Wyatt Earp to guess that Parker's forthcoming Earp novel inspired this one), but not before Spenser digs into the town's secrets, uncovering the expected but in detail, always surprising domestic mayhem and corruption. Genuinely scary villains, sassy dialogue, a deliciously convoluted mystery with roots in the classic western and Parker's pristine way with words result in another memorable case.
Customer Reviews
Magnifico Siente
We read Parker for his dialogue and, the characters. His homage to the Magnificent Seven and their seven magnificent actors and seven of his own characters is sweet…
Thugs united …
Detective Samuelson who you might remember from past Spenser novels (originally: Candy Sloan’s book) referred a newly widowed client to Spenser … so we’re going back toward the west
After the usual—he irritates the wrong bad guys and proves himself in a fight—some of the locals proposition him … this makes things very interesting. (They want him to take out the local crime gang, which he agrees to take on, in addition to his other case, which is solving a murder.) Spenser of course brings in Hawk, and Vinnie (with Gino Fish’s blessing), Teddy Sap (who we met in Hugger Mugger), Bernard (from Las Vegas), Chollo from L.A., Bobby Horse from L.A., (as well as cooperation from / with Del Rio).
They all rent a house together and it makes for a really entertaining read at times. Potshot may be one of my faves in this series just for this reason.
Henry’s gym seems to continue to get even trendier, if that’s possible.
Pearl is said to be aging, and described to have some physical issues and a gray muzzle.
Overall an extremely fun read, more so than others, because all the collaboration going on makes for even more wit than usual.
5 stars.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Potshot
Had me going to the end. Typical Spencer.