Robert B. Parker's 39th and last Spenser Novel

Sixkill by Robert B. Parker

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I just finished reading this highly enjoyable book, the last of the Spenser series. The author died in January 2010. I have to say that this is not Parker at his best, but it is still gripping and interesting. The prose is humorous, yet muscular, crisp and direct. He develops a fascinating new character, Zebulon Sixkill, a modern American Indian version of Jim Thorpe. Sixkill has psychological issues that he, after a confrontation with Spenser, is able to overcome with Spenser’s help.
Parker spends time developing Zebulon Sixkill’s character: his growing up, and his football, bouncer and bodyguard careers. However, the book doesn’t follow through. I think Parker was developing a new character for future novels, but he was taken from us long before his time.
The book was probably completed by somebody else. It falls short of explaining where Sixkill goes after being molded by Spenser into the tough, sensitive man he was destined to be. He becomes an errant knight with a clear warrior’s code, just like Spenser: There is a right way and a wrong way. What is right feels right.
The end also doesn’t feel like Parker's. Having said that, it also sounds like Parker’s last good bye and Spenser's exit line: “But life is mostly metaphor, anyway... I got in my car and drove west.”

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