Mark,
I think Parker's published so regularly because he wants to
stay in the public eye. We've never said, "Where'd he go? I
wish he were still writing" about Parker. No doubt he was
aware of Chandler's dropoff and wanted to avoid a similar
fate. And he may be thinking, *If I can't avoid a dropoff,
I'll at least avoid disappearing.* On some level, he may
believe he hasn't dropped off *because* he's stayed in
sight.
IMO, Spenser's storyline--different from Parker's
form--peaked with VALEDICTION (1984). Susan has left him;
Spenser becomes edgy and reckless, and takes a bullet in the
end. I've heard this is the only book Parker was asked to
revise. Maybe he'd decided to kill off Spenser, and his
editor convinced him not to. If Parker had stopped with
VALEDICTION, his career quality would surpass Chandler.
Gerald
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