Chasing the Bear by Robert B. Parker...

I've always loved Robert B. Parker's writing style. I have a thing for detective novels written in the first person, have done ever since reading Raymond Chandler, and Robert B. Parker has studied Chandler well. And Spenser is always shamelesly autobiographical.

More than that, he has his own voice.... There are some who think he has deteriorated to the point where he's now parodying himself, but I don't think so. I think he is just gelling into the essence of his style.

But Chasing the Bear, though it's a Spenser novel, isn't a mystery. It's a story about Spenser and his girlfriend Susan sitting in a park. She asks him about his life as a kid. So he tells her. It's about Spenser growing up with his father and two uncles, and why he became the way he is. And he has numerous adventures along the way.

It's delightful. I even liked Susan in this, and I usually find Susan needs a dollop of tolerance and a few eye-rolls. I do have a quibble or two - the father and uncles seem a little too perfect to be human. But the story is fun, the style sheer Spenser, and the whole thing is fun.

Even more: it's romantic. Part of it is about how Susan is the One and Spenser was looking for her even in his teens, when no one else would do. I liked that. And I liked the last chapter, sentimental in a real-men-don't-cry way.