Thin Air (Parker novel)

Last updated
Thin Air
ThinAirNovel.jpg
First edition
Author Robert B. Parker
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Series Spenser
Genre Detective novel
Publisher Putnams
Publication date
1995
Media typePrint (Hardcover, Paperback) & Audiobook
Pages293 pp
ISBN 0-399-14020-4
Preceded by Walking Shadow  
Followed by Chance  

Thin Air is the 22nd Spenser novel by Robert B. Parker. The story follows Boston-based PI Spenser as he searches for the wife of his longtime associate, Sgt. Frank Belson of the Boston Police Department.

Contents

Plot

Belson returns home one night to find his young wife, Lisa, missing, with no clue as to her whereabouts. He suspected that she may have left him, but circumstances seem to indicate she was kidnapped. Shortly after confiding in Spenser, Belson is shot returning home one night. Since he is unable to search for her himself as he is hospitalized, Spenser undertakes the search himself.

The investigation leads him to the impoverished town of Proctor where he has to uncover details of Lisa's life previous to meeting Belson to discover where she might be now.

Writing style

This novel is a bit different from most other Spenser novels as it tells the story concurrently not only from Spenser's point of view, but also from Lisa St. Claire's. Parker had done this once before in Crimson Joy, where we also get the point of view of the serial killer that Spenser is tracking.

Recurring characters

In other media

The novel was made into a 2000 TV movie, starring Joe Mantegna as Spenser.

Cast

Related Research Articles

Spenser is a fictional private investigator created by the American mystery writer Robert B. Parker. He acts as the protagonist of a series of detective novels written by Parker and later continued by Ace Atkins. His first appearance was in the 1973 novel The Godwulf Manuscript. He is also featured in the 1980s television series Spenser: For Hire and a related series of TV movies based on the novels. In March 2020 he was featured in the Netflix thriller film Spenser Confidential.

<i>Spenser: For Hire</i> American crime drama television series (1985-1987)

Spenser: For Hire is an American crime drama series based on Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels. The series, developed for TV by John Wilder and starring Robert Urich, was broadcast on ABC from September 20, 1985, until May 7, 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert B. Parker</span> American crime writer (1932–2010)

Robert Brown Parker was an American writer, primarily of fiction within the mystery/detective genre. His most famous works were the 40 novels written about the fictional private detective Spenser. ABC television network developed the television series Spenser: For Hire based on the character in the mid-1980s; a series of TV movies was also produced based on the character. His works incorporate encyclopedic knowledge of the Boston metropolitan area. The Spenser novels have been cited as influencing their own work and reviving and changing the detective genre by critics and bestselling authors including Robert Crais, Harlan Coben, and Dennis Lehane.

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