If anything, Parker's prose has become smoother and faster-paced in the later novels, and they now provide one of the quickest reads in contemporary crime writing. It is an achievement hardly equaled in the hard-boiled tradition. The quality of the prose, however, is deceptive and often leads critics to misperceive the larger qualities of the books. It is only on repeated readings that the accomplishments of Parker's writing become really evident.

Spare, concise, tightly descriptive, these novels nevertheless provide one of the most carefully sustained and developed series going. His prose style has allowed Parker to explore the maladies of the contemporary world in both depth and clarity, and by keeping the narrative firmly focused on Spenser's consciousness, Parker has also been able to provide his readers with tales both surprising and satisfying, consistent and yet full of innovation.