"Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens ..."
Carlos Ruiz Zafon (The Shadow of the Wind)

Welcome to Book Crossing! It’s my pleasure to introduce you to a truly great organization. There are some wonderful people here from all over the world that are committed to the promotion of literacy. Their love of books and reading are shown every time they release a book to be enjoyed by others. Won’t you please take a moment and make a brief journal entry to let us know this book has made a new friend. You may keep this book or read & release it as I have done. You may remain anonymous; however, I hope you’ll consider joining Book Crossing. It’s fun, free and quite secure. Your privacy is of utmost concern to the site’s staff. If you do join, I would be pleased if you would list my screen-name GWF in the referred by space. It helps me keep track of my effectiveness in promoting this site.

I am a huge Parker fan and was delighted to find this copy of one of his older works. I love the 'Spencer' series and would not miss any of the new books that are published. It was only $2.00 in the used book section at Toadstool Books in Milford. I picked it up to read and wild release, the book is still in fair condition. This is not one of his best offerings; however, I still found it to be quite enjoyable and read it in one sitting. I've included a couple of reviews and you'll see they are at opposite ends. Whichever party you side with, I hope you enjoy the experience and join me in watching the book's travels.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
Wilderness, A great read, May 16, 1996
By A Customer

After reading Robert B. Parker's Spencer novels, I was disappointed when I sat down to read Wilderness and found it was not a Spenser novel. This disappointment soon turned into one of the best reading experiences of my life. Writing in third person, Parker was able to do something he never could do with the Spenser character - get us inside the characters minds, letting us know exactly how they felt about everything and move us with their feelings. This is by far the best novel I have ever read and I suggest you get a copy and reserve time to read it all at once. You won't want to put it down


19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
Wretched, January 20, 2000
By Harmoni (United States of America) - See all my reviews

This is absolutely the worst of the 20+ books I've read by Parker. I'm glad that it is one of his older offerings, or I'd be worried about the future of the Spenser series.
The first half of this story is unbearable because the female character, Janet, is so contemptible. She sleeps in her bra and pajamas, sometimes a robe. She is mean to her husband, Aaron, and is cold-hearted.

Aaron witnesses a murder and, eventually, tells the police all he knows about the crime. He then comes home to find his wife bound, gagged, and naked on their bed. All the while that he unties her, she curses and berates him. I had virtually no sympathy for her.

The story's second half turns it into a _Twilight Zone_ episode, as I would swear that another character is substituted for Janet. She becomes too likeable too quickly and then explains her theretofore horrible behavior as merely being a reaction to Aaron!

Despite the absurd nature of Janet's tranformation, the second half of the book was much better than the first, as Aaron, Janet and their neighbor, Chris Hood, track down five bad guys in the Maine woods.

My favorite character was also rather incidental: Steiger, a hitman brought in from Cleveland to kill Aaron. He had a wonderful love with his girlfriend, Angie, for 22 years. I felt his loss more than any other in the story.

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Left on bench in courtyard. Hope the finder enjoys it.