The Godwulf Manuscript (The Spenser Series Book 1)

This was the first book in the Spenser series. Robert Parker had obviously done his homework well - he wrote his doctoral thesis on the Private Eye genre of writing! An English Professor living in the Boston area, Parker was sure to write a story near and dear to his heart.The plot: an illuminated manuscript is stolen. A student is killed, his girlfriend framed, and a tie to left-wing politics, drugs, and all the rest is involved. The story brings our first look at Joe Broz, but Spenser kills off his only two "muscle men" we meet. We also meet Spenser's two favorite cops - Lt. Quirk and Frank Belson.The story is in "a university" which is studiously unnamed, in Boston by Roxbury. We get the girl's parents on the hill in West Newton, the English Professor on the beach at Marblehead. Lots of talk about the drives between these places. A double murder at Jamaica Pond, a stay at the Boston City Hospital. The final scene takes place at the Copley Plaza hotel.Wow, what a different "Spenser" from the most recent books! Spenser has gone through a DRAMATIC transformation since this first rough-and-dirty portrayal. In many ways, Spenser is just beginning to develop his personality in this story. There's no Susan, no Hawk, no self-assured steadfastness. Spenser drinks a lot, puts himself down, wisecracks a bit too much, and (this is the best part) sleeps with a mother AND her daughter within 24 hours. It was just too much! Oh, quite enjoyable, of course. All the basic Spenser components are there, in a sort of rough form. The plot was good, the people excellent, the descriptive scenery as always lovely.Those who follow Spenser through the series will note that Parker introduced a few ideas here which he later abandoned. Spenser talks about going to games in Boston with his dad as a kid. He actually only came to Boston as a teenager, having grown up in Laramy, Wyoming. Spenser talks about not growing up on a farm. even though he pretty much did. Strangest of all, when he's alone in the house with the sleeping girl, he talks about feeling like his dad did when "all the rest of us" were asleep. The rest of us??? He's an only child! Still, those are minor points in an overall enjoyable beginning to what develops to be a fantastic series.

First Sentence: The office of the university president looked like the front parlor of a successful Victorian whorehouse.Boston PI Spenser (with an "s" like the poet) has been hired by a university president to recover a 14th century illuminated manuscript. He is directed to a SCARE, the Student committee Against Capitalist Exploitation and Terry Orchard, one of the members, whom he finds along with her aggressive boyfriend, Dennis. Spenser receives a 2 a.m. call and finds Terry drugged. Dennis dead and the evidence of a professional hit.I've not read this book since the 1970s and it is an interesting cultural look back. I am very happy fashions have changed away from white vinyl boots and leisure suits and that technology has advanced from mimeographs and typewriters. As silly as some of the slang sounds today, at least it wasn't as profane as today's speech.It is also interesting looking at Spenser in his later 30s. He still thought he was funnier than anyone else did. This is a pre-Hawk, pre-Susan Spencer. As annoying as Susan can be, the one thing she did bring to the series was Spenser's monogamy.What hasn't changed is Spenser's doggedness, determination to see the case through, dedication to the innocent and his cooking. I am always amazed that he has just the right ingredients in his kitchen to make a wonderful meal.What Parker did extremely well was description, dialogue and plot. With a very few words, you knew where you were and the other characters in the scene. He often employed analogies--"The wet wool smelled like a grammar room coatroom."--which put you right into his scene. His dialogue, even with the slang of the period, was always tight, crisp and real. As to plot, the story started a bit light and annoying. However, once it took hold, it hit its stride and I was completely engrossed.Re-reading this very first book makes it clear as to why I have read every other book Parker wrote.THE GODWULF MANUSCRIPT (PI-Spenser-Boston-Cont/1973) - VGParker, Robert B. - 1st of seriesA Dell Book, ©1973, US Paperback - ISBN: 04401129613

Showed up early ! Love these novels!

Oh my goodness, this is a corking read!It's not the first Spenser novel I've read, but it's the first Parker wrote. I've enjoyed all the five or so I've read in the series, but this might be my favourite so far. It's just so fluent, witty, and classic.At first, I thought it might be a bit cosy--the search for a medieval manuscript on behalf of a university. But that's just the trigger: no sooner has Spenser taken the job than he's accosted by heavies. And off we go.Spenser is my kind of detective. A decent man with scruples, in the tradition of Chandler's Marlowe. He's a 6'3" ex-boxer, but a clever, well-read guy too, so he can beat people up both physically and verbally. He's rational, stable, and relatable. (The drink-addled, loser-type detective is not my favourite to read about. I prefer heroes to anti-heroes.) Also, he wisecracks magnificently.Parker is a superb writer. His prose and dialogue are sharp, rhythmic, and addictive. I couldn't put The Godwulf Manuscript down. (I was travelling at the time. If you need a book to read on a plane, train, or holiday, I suggest this would be perfect.)

This is an early Spenser, before Susan, before Hawk, before Henry. But it really sets the scene for the novels to follow, and is enjoyable throughout. Highly recommended.

I love this series and thought I had them all, then I found this, the first one. Equally good without Susan and Hawk, Spenser emerges fully armed from the brain of his creator and goes straight into battle, tough as nails and fuelled by a spring of hidden mercy.As always, the plot is perfectly constructed and the dialogues are snappy. Don't miss it.

Its not the best story I've ever read but I liked it a lot. It's my 12th Spenser and while I agree Parker might have got better with successive stories, there's something about this one, his first, that I especially liked. I liked the single Spenser. I also liked the 2nd one he wrote, "God Save The Child" I think it was, in which he meets Susan S, but I think that in the later ones his hero’s character suffers a little, from being "married".As I said in another Spenser review I wrote - pretty sure it was "Sixkill" - I'd like to see Ace Atkins do one with those two splitting up, and then a few more with Spenser being unattached for a while. It's not that I'm at all misogynistic, at least I hope it's not, it's simply I think Spenser as a loner, with just Pearl to come home to - that's another thing, I wouldn't mind if something happened to Pearl and he got a Kelpie or a Jack Russell cross, I'm not that drawn to German shorthaired pointers, or any pointers - mulling over his case in his otherwise empty apartment, the dog notwithstanding, while working through a bottle of bourbon, that to me is a hauntingly appealing scenario. A bit more rawness and insecurity, not knowing where his next pay-check, meal, or lay might be coming from. Hmm,... I think I get it.