Mario wrote:
"You really think he's that influential? I know he sells a
lot of books, and there was a successful television series,
but I rarely find anybody who confesses to being a
fan."
I think that's his influence. His popularity resurrected the
market for PI fiction, leading to the publication of lots of
great '70s and '80s PI writers like Kantner, Lewin, Paretsky,
Grafton (well, I'm not much of a fan of hers), Barnes,
Roberts, Crumley, Solomon, etc, etc.
And although I got tired of and stopped reading him, the
first few Spenser books are good reads. And he pioneered the
psycho sidekick used by Schutz, Mosley, Lehane, and so many
others.
Mark
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