by Robert B. Parker
Book of the week
Someone is shooting racehorses down Georgia way; time for Spenser, the insolent Bostonian gumshoe of 26 previous Parker novels, to pack up his wisecracks and flex his pummeling muscles. His client: Hugger Mugger, a stallion fast enough to be the next Secretariat but slower than the bullets someone is firing at nearby ponies. Soon our hero is caught in a turf war, sorting out human bodies in a breeder's family complete with aging patriarch and three bickering daughters (horse racing is the sport of kings, in this case King Lear). The plot of this hoofdunit canters along in a nicely old-fashioned way, but Spenser's shadings are fully Y2K compliant (he's fiercely faithful to his woman and pro gay rights) and his one-liners are so sharp you could slice salami with them: "She was iridescent with cool sexuality that made me want to run around the desk and ask to die in her arms." (Putnam, $23.95)
Bottom Line: In the winner's circle
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