Chasing the Bear
A Young Spenser Novel
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4.5 • 6 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
For more than half a century New York Times bestselling author Robert B. Parker’s inimitable private investigator Spenser has been solving cases and selling millions of books worldwide. Now, for the first time, Robert B. Parker gives us a glimpse into the formative years of his most iconic character.
“A clean, sharp jab of a read.”—Booklist
Young Spenser is tough. After all, he’s being raised by his father and uncles—three of the strongest men in town. He knows how to fight, and he’s had to prove it. But sometimes the hardest thing to do is walk away. So when Spenser sees his friend Jeannie being taken downriver in a boat by her abusive father, he has a hard decision to make. Should he risk his own life to save Jeannie’s? And if so, how can he overcome such a bear of a man?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Parker introduces young readers to private investigator Spenser, star of his bestselling adult novels, at age 14. Short chapters and Spenser's signature quick-fire delivery propel the story, which reveals the ways young Spenser uses the survival skills and scruples passed on to him by his loving, wise father and the two uncles who are raising him in a small town ("They took turns with everything.... So none of them got ground down, so to speak, by being the only parent"). Knowing when to defend himself and when to run away comes in handy when the teen encounters a black bear in the woods, rescues his friend from her drunken, gun-toting father and is ambushed by a gang of racist thugs after he protects a bullied Mexican peer. The narrative alternates between the youth's adventures and the reminiscences of an adult Spenser, who appears with his longtime love interest, Susan, in less compelling, present-day chapters in which he at her prodding offers insight into his past. Carefully tempered emotion, full-throttle suspense and subtle humor should win Parker's (Edenville Owls) detective enthusiastic new fans. Ages 12 up.
