Resolution - Hardcover

Robert B. Parker is a crime-writing legend. His novels, featuring the wise-cracking private-eye, Spenser, shaped crime fiction and dominate the US bestseller lists on publication. At the 2002 Edgar Awards, Parker was named Grand Master of Crime Fiction, an honour shared with Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen.

Mystery stalwart Parker’s 2005 western Appaloosa may have surprised a few folks, but really, where better than the Old West for his terse, punchy dialogue; buddy-bond themes; and propulsive, rock-steady storytelling? This follow-up finds Everett Hitch in the town of Resolution, drawing pay for peacekeeping the Blackfoot Saloon, owned by a scheming cross-eye who goes by the name of Wolfson. When trouble starts, Hitch remembers the words of his partner, Virgil Cole: “Sometimes you got to kill one person early, to save from killing four or five later.” Well, Virgil ain’t always right, and after he arrives in town to lope around with Hitch, a war breaks out between Wolfson and pretty much the rest of the community. Between gunfights, the two heroes moralize on the law—there isn’t a stranger or funnier scene in any western than the two gunmen jawing over The Social Contract by “Russo”—and wonder if they aren’t on the wrong side of the fight. With a healthy, but not overly graphic, body count and a gravelly cadence of yep- and nope-based banter, it doesn’t take Parker long to clean up a town. If he’s disposed to take much more time away from Spenser et al., here’s to hoping he’ll linger awhile with Cole and Hitch. --Ian Chipman