32: The Godwulf Manuscript, by Robert B. Parker (first published 1973, iBook edition)

My mother, Carolyn Chamberlin, is a prolific mystery reader, and she has mentioned Parker's books--and particularly the Spenser series--on many occasions.  My sister Sarah recently jumped on the bandwagon and started reading the Spenser novels as well, so I figured I had best get aboard lest I be left behind.  Unsurprisingly (considering the sources of my recommendations), although I'm not as keen on mystery fiction as my mom, The Godwulf Manuscript ended up being  a good read--just the right thing for summer and/or travel reading.  Parker's wit and attention to period/cultural detail make reading this novel a bit like taking a trip back in time to the original publication date of 1973.

Spenser is a well-educated cop-turned-private-detective in Boston, and at the beginning of the novel he is hired by a university to locate a stolen 14th-century illuminated manuscript.  The process of doing so leads him into various fights and shootouts, as well as into the arms of a few women.  In fact, though, it's not the crime part of this book that attracts me, so much as Parker's portrayal of his main character and the time in which it was written.  I'm sure the book was popular when it was first published--as evidenced by the almost 40 books in the Spenser series--but I think it's even more interesting to read it now.  Spenser's heavy-drinking, free-love, tough-but-slightly-hippyish behavior and attitude rings right for the time, and who can resist a man dressed in the following: "Gray, hard-finished slacks with medium flare, blue paisley flowered shirt with short sleeves, blue wool socks, mahogany-colored buckle boots with a side zipper, broad mahogany belt with a brass buckle" (Chapter 21).  Today's hipster would be proud.

I must admit that Spenser comes off as a bit of a pompous jerk at times, but he's a funny and lovable pompous jerk, and it's fun to read the first book in a series and know that I'll get to see the main character develop and grow through the rest of the books.  And, now that I've jumped on the bandwagon, I have every intention of enjoying the ride through to the very end.