A favorite TV show from the 1980s that I’ve recently rediscovered in streaming reruns is Spenser: For Hire. The series is based on novels by Robert B. Parker which are set in his hometown of Boston. As I’m having fond memories rewatching these episodes almost 30 years later, I realize that I never actually read any of the books that inspired the TV show.

That fact changed recently when, at a local thrift store, I saw one of Parker’s pulp fiction novels sticking out from a bookshelf; with its casino-themed cover catching my eye, I picked up this copy of Chance. It is the story of Spenser and his frequent collaborator Hawk as they get tangled with the Boston mob by helping a mob princess find her husband who abruptly disappeared. This page-turner navigates both the mean streets of greater Boston area and Las Vegas.

In addition to my long-standing need to read more books like this, I had other takeaways from reading Chance.

A wicked accurate portrayal of Boston – As Parker lived in Boston as he wrote his novels, the level of detail to his stories on Boston and other surrounding communities is intense. One example in particular that struck me was of the former Ambrosia restaurant which was in the office building in Boston’s Back Bay where I worked for a few years. Though I never actually ate there, I walked by it almost daily and as I’m reading in the story, I can picture in my mind’s eye exactly what the restaurant looked like. There are other portrayals of the city and levels of detail that editors of other authors would likely strike from any other book as unnecessary.

Seeing the story as I’m reading it – In addition to the buildings and scenery, I also can see the characters of Spenser as actor Robert Urich who played him in the series, as well as Hawk as portrayed by Avery Brooks. In the descriptions of the other characters and their dialogue, Boston accents are leaping off the page.

Narration over dialogue – Much of the story being told in Chance is narration by Spenser himself. Most of the dialogue is short sentences in statements spoken by people who know each other well and can almost predict what each other is going to say. The narration also carries the same subtle sarcasm that the TV show had as well, and it just all adds to a great story being told.

I really enjoy reading Chance and I hope to pick up other copies of Parker’s books and weave them in between a lot of the business and technical books I read and post about here at The Hot Iron. As for what I did with this copy of Chance, I left it at a local Starbucks where I writing these takeaways. Hopefully the serendipity from encountering this book will be appreciated.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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