Parker was so prolific for so long that it is sometimes hard to tell one book from another. I may have confused my review of Early Autumn with this on..Show More »e. If so, forgive me. At 63. whatever, the memory begins to fade...perhaps some of you are familiar with this phenomenon.
In any case, this is the book in which Spenser and Susan Silverman meet, and it presages a long, passionate affair in which the two never live together, but maintain their love and commitment to each other. The plot involves a kidnapping of a fifteen-year-old boy for $50,000, money his parents have to borrow. The parents have very serious problems. Spenser is drawn into a spider's web of iniquity and evil-doing, the likes of which the title of the book would never even hint at. Everyone is corrupt, and Spenser is like a dog with a bone: he is so determined that he never lets go. Susan helps him as a consultant, but we soon realize that the work she does is parallel: her clinical work involves her solving the nexus of her patients' lives, just as Spenser's work draws him into the dark side of their lives.
Spenser is so funny that you often can't stop giggling long enough to take him seriously.
This book is also pre-Hawk. Spenser is without his wing-man, and has to ride to the rescue with only his resources. Fortunately, these are considerable. The team of Spenser and Susan is a winner, and will survive decades of very satisfying work. Enjoy this. Few writers can approach Parker in talent, humor, plot or character development.

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I ENJOYED READING THE SPENSER SERIES WHEN I WAS A MUCH YOUNGER MAN, AND AM NOW REVISITING THE ENTIRE SERIES THROUGH AUDIBLE.COM, AND AM ENJOYING SPENS..Show More »ER ALL OVER AGAIN. MORTAL STAKES IS ROBERT PARKER WRITING AT HIS BEST. THE PLOT MOVES WITH ACTION, AND THE DIALOGUE IS LAUGH OUT LOUD FUNNY, ESPECIALLY IN THOSE SCENES BETWEEN SPENSER AND THE VILLIANS. THIS IS BY NO MEANS A WHO DUNNIT. BUT THEN, WHO DID IT WAS NEVER THE SPENSER SERIEA FORTE. RATHER THE EXPLORATION OF WHY PEOPLE COMMIT MURDER AND MAYHEM, AND THOSE EMOTIONS THAT DRIVE THEM, AND THE TOLL IT TAKES ON THOSE LEFT LIVING, AND HOW SPENSER DEALS WITH ALL THOSE THINGS. IT SOUNDS LIKE HEEDY STUFF, BUT PARKERS WRITING IS CONCISE AND BEAUTIFUL, AND HE SERVES EVERYTHING UP LIKE A TOP CHEF SERVES A DELISCOUS DINNER, MEANING ITS ALL EASY TO SWALLOW, AND YOU FEEL WELL SATIATED AFTERWARDS. MICHAEL PRICHARD AGAIN DOES A STELLAR JOB BRINGING PARKERS NARRATIVE TO LIFE.

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This book was good, but not the best of the series. This is fairly early in the series (book number 4) and the Susan/Spencer relationship is just deve..Show More »loping to "I love you". There is an interesting foreshadowing of Pearl the Wonder Dog (but Pearl has not yet come into the series story line). Susan is still a guidance counselor at a school. Susan meets Hawk for the first time. Hawk and Spencer have not yet developed the totally loyal and easy friendship that I enjoy so much in the later books of the series, but it is interesting to hear them get started. The client (a man) in this book is not drawn as someone that I can get attached to - neither is his wife. I really did not care about either of them (or their children) even though they were the central point to the story. However, I am so committed to Spencer, Hawk and Susan that it is enough for me for their characters to be in the story line. The plot is interesting and reader is very good. If you love the Spencer series as I do, you will not be disappointed in Promised Land.

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I have read or listened to all of the Spenser books and this book, although very dated in its language, has always been one of my favorites of the ear..Show More »ly mysteries. But the books are intended to be light and breezy - an easy read without too much seriousness. Joe Montagne, who narrates the later books, has the exactly right approach to the characters where the light-hearted banter between Spenser, Hawk, Vinnie and others sets the tone.

But Michael Prichard seems to think that Spenser is Sam Spade and narrates the book accordingly. There is almost no humor and he has completely lost the tone of the book. That is too bad since I would like to have bought more of the early Spenser books. Now I am stuck with The Judas Goat and, my personal favorite, A Catskill Eagle, and neither touches the upbeat and sprightly tone of the books themselves. I would willingly buy them again if Joe Montagne were to narrate them.

Good book. Poor narration. And a real disappointment.

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Rachel Wallace is a lesbian feminist who writes books and names names, and gets vilified for speaking her mind. Her publisher hires Spenser to be her ..Show More »bodyguard, as she has received death threats for her views. She is personally reluctant to hire such a macho guy, but she needs him. I don't want to say too much about the plot, but I will say a little. I don't know how long ago this book was published, but Parker speaks to issues that are so current and so controversial that they could be in the news now. Rachel is kidnapped by some loony "Ritz crackers," in Spenser's words, but these people are very far off at the extreme right wing of this country, deeply bigoted and intolerant to their bones. The resistance to same sex marriage in the current news is essentially predicted by Parker here. The relationship between Spenser and Susan is once again so tender that you feel deeply for both of them. Spenser may be a tough guy on the outside and a cream puff inside, but the cream puff is available to us in a very guarded and controlled way. Rachel fires Spenser because he is too violent in one scene, a corporate setting in which he manhandles a couple of corporate goofballs. Spenser admits that "she might be right" about this. He uses his connections in the Boston Police Department, Belson and Quirk, to look for her in ways that the police cannot. He is endangered by the loonies and their lackies, but he finds a way out, despite being severely beaten in one scene. Parker was so prolific in his life (he died in 2010) that you should read most of his stuff, and stay away from the pretenders. I recommend him without reservation. I've read over 800 audiobooks, and Parker continues to entertain me, make me laugh, and make me think. What more could I want?

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If you like Spencer, you will like Early Autumn. This book has all the "Spencer" elements I like, Spencer is his usual sexy wise cracking self and Ha..Show More »wk is involved. Susan is not quite as suppotive of Spencer as she is in other novels, but she is there, and in love with Spencer. Eary Autumn gives good insight into Spencers values for making a young man a "man". It was fun to watch the growth of the young man he befriends. This was a very good prchase for me.

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I am a avid Spenser Series fan and it seems as if Mr. Parker only gets better with each book. Fans, Hawk is not in this one and neither is Susan. Hope..Show More »fully these characters will return and build more of a relationship with Spenser.

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FOR ANYONE FOLLOWING MY REVIEWS THEY KNOW BY NOW I AM REVISITING ALL THE SPENSER NOVELS THROUGH AUDIBLE.COM. AND THIS ONE, LIKE THE REST DOESN'T DISS..Show More »APOINT. SPENSER'S MORAL COMPASS IS PUT TO THE TEST AS HE SEARCHES FOR A GIRL WHO HAS GONE MISSING IN BOSTON'S SEEDY "COMBAT ZONE". SHE'S RENTING HERSELF OUT FOR SEX; AND TRUTHFULLY DOESN'T MIND THE WORK. HOW SPENSER FINDS HER, EXTRICATES HER FROM THE PEOPLE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF HER, AND STILL STAYS TRUE TO HIMSELF MAKES FOR A WONDERFUL READ FULL OF SOME NICE AND CONCISE ACTION AND, AS ALWAYS, SOME GREAT MEDITATIONS ON THE DIFFERENCES IN HOW MEN AND WOMEN PERCIEVE THE SEX FOR SALE TRADE AS SPENSER USES HIS LIFE PARTNER SUSAN AS A SOUNDING BOARD. AND, OFCOURSE, THERE IS THE PRESENCE OF THE LETHAL HAWK, WHO ACTS AS SPENSER'S ALTER-EGO, DOING THOSE THINGS SPENSER IS UNWILLING TO DO. THEY ARE TWO SIDES TO THE SAME COIN. SO MUCH ALIKE, BUT DIFFERENT IN THE WAYS THEY DEAL WITH THE WORLD AROUND THEM. SPENSER ATTEMPTS TO CONFORM TO A WORLD WHERE THE WORD CIVIL, AS IN CIVILIZATION, IS A VENEER THAT IS WEARING THIN. THE ROT BENEATH THE SUBURBAN SPRAWL IS STARTING TO SHOW. THE BARBARIANS ARE AT THE GATE, AND SPENSER IS A KNIGHT ATTEMPTING TO KEEP CAMELOT ALIVE. HAWK, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS ONE OF THE BARBARIANS. AND HE IS JUST AS HAPPY TO TEAR THE FACADE DOWN. HE DOESN'T BELIEVE IN CAMELOT ANYMORE. PROBABLY NEVER. HE'S A STREET THUG, WHO HAS FITTED HIMSELF WITH A COAT OF SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE. HE DRESSES LIKE A MALE MODEL; BUT HE WEARS HIS EXPENSIVE SUITS LIKE A WOLF WEARS SHEEPS CLOTHING, ONLY TO BLEND IN SO THE SHEEP CAN'T SEE THE WOLF IN THEIR MIDST UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE. THIS CONTRAST IS WONDERFULLY ILLUSTRATED THROUGHOUT THE SPENSER NOVELS, ESPECIALLY IN THE HUMOROUS BANTER BETWEEN THE TWO CHARACTERS. AS ALWAYS, SPENSER AND FRIENDS ARE GOOD COMPANY TO SHARE AN ADVENTURE WITH.

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This was a good Spencer book, but not one of the best, in my opinion. I could not get too attached to the politician and his wife. The politician is ..Show More »supposed to be madly in love with her (gallant and sacrificial love), but from what we know about her and her personality, it is not too believable that he could be so madly in love with her. For some reason I found this book a little flat so I could not give it a "5". It may be that I like Joe Montegna's reading skills better than Michael Prichard's. Prichard is good, but Montegna is better.

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Robert B. Parker wrote a number of Spenser novels, in which Spenser's best friend was a black guy named Hawk, and his girlfriend was a woman named Sus..Show More »an Silverman. In this book he essentially subtracts Susan. Frankly, I think it is a loss, but I understand the need to shake things up a little, particularly for a writer as prolific as Parker. The plot concerns a church which is a front for something else (I won't spoil it for you) and some gangsters who seem somehow to be involved with the church. Michael Prichard does his usual terrific job of narrating the book. Spenser comes very close to dying at the end, which is a twist, as he and Hawk are usually possessed of ultra-masculinity and powers that few other men could even dream of. There is a love interest, a woman named Linda, but she comes off as weak and colorless, compared to the erudite Susan. Spenser's devotion to Susan is almost comical, if it weren't so utterly pure. If you haven't read any of the Spenser books, I would not start here. The earlier books are absolutely terrific. This one is not. There is way too much plot exposition at the end. Spenser lives, but as Hawk says, "You ain't the man you was." Ain't it the truth.

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As I have started from the beginning on listening to the Spenser series, so far I have found this one to be the most entertaining.
The relationshi..Show More »p between Hawk and Spencer is growing and I even laughed out loud at some of their dialogue.
The relationship with Susan is understandable from Spencer's side but I think she is too wishy-washy for my taste.
The only con for this review is that Parker's ending was wrapped up a little to quick IMO.
Can't wait to listen to the next one in the Spencer series.


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This series, starring Spenser, his girlfriend the beautiful and brilliant Susan Silverman, Ph.D., and the strong but silent man of muscle Hawk, is per..Show More »haps the most sustained piece of literature we have known in decades. Parker himself would probably gag at the word "literature," as his desire is to entertain us on every page, and he does this masterfully. This particular story concerns Spenser's continuing fatherly concern over the teenage prostitute April. Although truly a tough guy, Spenser is a marshmallow softie when it comes to girls like April. He voluntarily goes to New York to track her down, and in essence to save her from the demeaning job of being a prostitute. He keeps running in to the fact that she chooses this work. He had placed her with the high-class call girl operation of Ms. Patricia Utley in New York, with the high-browed intention that April become a high-class call girl, the one whom we imagine wears jewels and furs and charges $500 for her services, with clients who are polite, well-dressed and well-mannered. April, however, falls downhill into the pimp operation of a crude black man who dresses like a pimp, runs a string of "girls," pretends to be a student at Juilliard, and who carries a very sharp knife. His name is Robert. Spenser repeatedly calls him Bob. There is some serious fighting between them. Spenser meets April at a coffee shop, and finds that Robert is sitting at the bar. watching the conversation very carefully. Spenser eventually catches on to the fact that April does not want to be rescued by the armored hero on the white horse. He reluctantly admits that she is trapped in "the life," and it appears that she wouldn't leave it for any reason. Spenser's dreams of taking her back to Boston and making an "honest woman" out of her are just that: dreams. He is bitterly disappointed.
Michael Prichard does his usual excellent job of narration, and Parker's wit is just as sharp as ever. It is astounding to note that Parker wrote FORTY of these books in his incredible career, and I have yet to read one that was not funny and truly enjoyable reading. Have fun your own self.

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Pale Kings and Princes, the 14th in the series, is a traditional Spencer" format (Hawk and Susan are present). The residents in the small town Spencer..Show More » visits are not very likeable people -the bad guys are really BAD. Drugs are rampant. Spencer has a tough time finding anything to eat that pleases him. People try to kill him and Spencer has to take some pretty drastic measures (including highjacking)- all very entertaining. I like the state tooper Spencer meets and hope he appears in future books.

The very best of all Spencer readers, in my opinion, is David Dukes, but it appears he only read Spencer books for cassette tapes. However Joe Montegna and Michael Prichard are very good. I highly recommend Prichard's reading of Pale Kings and Princes.

Spencer fans will love this book. If you are unfamiliar with Spencer, I suggest that you dive in. I would not recommend that you start with the first audible book (Godwulf Manuscript), if Burt Reynolds is the reader because he is terible! Read that one yourself. I grew to love Spencer when I started with later books where Spencer's personality, and also the personalities of Susan, Hawk and Pearl, are fully developed. Then I backtracked to learn how they developed. Of the later books, Early Autumn is my favorite (even though Susan is not yet fully developed). Some other good later novels are Bad Business, Cold Service, Thin Air, and Paper Doll. A negative of starting with later books is that there are many repeat characters. If you start with the first book, you get introduced to them as they are "born".

Some listeners are turned off by the "he saids" which follow many sentences - but you get used to it - that is just the Robert Parker style. I don't even notice it.

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I was disappointed in Prichard's uninspired reading of what I've always thought was one of the better Spenser novels. I think I'd avoid his narrations..Show More » in future.

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I'm biased in favor of Parker's Spenser novels, I like all that I've listened to. There's always snappy dialogue and fast moving plot. This novel was ..Show More »great. I highly recommend it.

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It was difficult to continue listening to this story because of the reader. His idea of voices for the black characters was embarassing.

This is a good story with a lot of action and mystery. Hawk and Susan are in the story, and that is alway a plus for me; however, the presentation is..Show More » not at all good. Burt Reynolds does NOT do a good Spencer voice and the accents he uses for his other characters are just over the top. He also does NOT to a good Hawk. I really had a hard time listening to this audiobook - it was a chore to listen all the way through. The only reason it got a "2" instead of a "1" from me is because Robert Parker did his usual good writing job. Too bad Burt Reynolds ruined it.

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Once again, Parker came through with a winner -- a fast-moving, often humorous voyage with a well-hidden ending, which, by the way, was a TV movie wit..Show More »h Joe Montegna. There was a complaint about Burt Reynold's dropping off his endings. That was OK and perfectly in keeping with the character -- and did you notice there were no complaints about Spencer's sometimes exasperating I said's, he said's, she said's -- which are what he dropped off the most.

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This reader CANNOT do Parker. Those of us who love the English language, and who love rhythm that authors create, look forward to someone reading who..Show More » understands that musical magic. This guy is TERRIBLE. Everywhere there's a period (which is very frequent with Parker!) he reads as a comma or a question mark. It's EXCRUTIATING. AWFUL. PLEASE do not let this guy read Parker again, and I really want my money back.

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As with an earlier reviewer I, too, have been reading the Spencer books for a very long time. I have either read or listened to them all from the firs..Show More »t book and have always enjoyed them for what they are - light reading with an interesting story to tell, but with no serious moral issues at stake.

I would not normally have reviewed this book since I have not reviewed any of the previous Audible Spencer books I have listened to, but was convinced to do so by some of the negative reviews I saw. Robert B Parker was a master of the short sentence and short chapter. His books are full of "He said" and "She said", but they are at the core of his writing style and, over time, I have become so wrapped up in the story and the characters that I no longer even notice. Rather it is the regular characters in the book, their relationships with each other and the underlying humor that have made these books so enjoyable, at least for me. Add to that an interesting story, the process of unraveling what actually happened and who did it and the masterful reading of Joe Mantegna and you have a pleasant couple of days of listening.

I enjoy these books so much that I often listen to them again when I want to spend a couple of days just relaxing. For me, the pleasure is in the listening and light humor more than in the "who-dun-it". If you are looking for the Maltese Falcon, you are not going to find it here. I, for one, am truly going to miss seeing more of these books since Mr. Parker recently died and I assume there is no one to continue the series.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who just wants a pleasant relaxed read, but I would also recommend that they start with some of the earlier books since much of the pleasure from the book involves the relations between the characters and that is something that you need some history to understand.


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I'd previously listened to Robert Parker's "Potshot" and enjoyed it. This book has the same mix of old style private eye, tough guy, glamorous and in..Show More »telligent girlfriend, sexual references etc and it all works - and works well. The narration is first class and fits the character of the book; the plot gets you in and is well developed. I really enjoyed this listen and recommend it to others who want a light and stimulating thriller / detective story.

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The title of this book makes almost too good of a target. OK -- To make it short and sweet -- it's got a good beat, but it's hard to dance to (my apol..Show More »ogies to those of you too young to have watched American Bandstand). Parker's Spenser series of books have always been written sparingly, and this is no exception (As an example, Potshot has more than 50 chapters -- Parker outdoes Papa H in hes conciseness). One of the reasons that many of the previous Spenser books have worked is that Parker has kept the plot somewhat simple and, more importantly, does not include the cast of 'Ben Hur.' In this departure, there are 7,8,9, ??? characters with speaking parts in this book. Had Potshot been longer, Parker might have gotten around to fleshing the thing out. However, he stayed the course, and the result is a bunch of characters with only a patina of character development.
However, after the nit picking above, I still enjoyed the book. Spenser, Susan, and Hawk are at their best and if you have been a long time reader, you can easily forgive Parker's attempt to 'stretch' as illustrated in Potshot.
Lastly: This is an unabridged book and the reader is good enough to not get in the way.


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I found Joe Mantegna's narrative flawless on this book. His voice was easy to listen to and offered a great narrative to Spencer. I started with Spe..Show More »ncer back when the TV show starring Robert Urich aired. Joe's voice reminds me a little bit of Urich's great narratives on the show.

The book's story is a bit slow and I found numerous characters to be completely annoying. Mary Smith is by far the most annoying with her completely ridiculous stupidity (no one is that stupid). The side-story with Spencer's girlfriend's patient, who dies, adds nothing to the story except a distraction.

However, the book's story would be good in an abridged version that reduces the nonsense and sticks to the story.

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okay: I haven't enjoyed a Parker novel in awhile, but this one, although not the most innovative, is fun and witty. His last few books have felt forc..Show More »ed and written "just because..." Narrator is also excellent and gives each character a voice of his own.

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I have listened to part of this book and Parker's "Backstory"-- also read by Mantegna. For me, his reading captures the style and pace of Spenser. T..Show More »he "I said" "she said" is all Parker and is integral to the Spencer prose of factual, enlightened skepticism. You might not like Parker's style, but to say that he can't write dialogue is contrary to the opinions millions who have read him in print and enjoy the books on audio. Maybe Spenser isn't for you, but as a Spenser fan-- I think it's great.

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Reads like a bad parody of Robert Parker--and this is coming from a Robert Parker fan. Instead try "All our Yesterdays" and "Early Autumn"--two of Par..Show More »ker's earlier (and much better) books.

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I've read or listened to every Spenser novel since the beginning. You have to know a little about the history to appreciate the ongoing relationship ..Show More »between Spenser and the other characters. This one is no different.
I enjoyed the dialouge between characters and I thought the plot was inventive. The resolution of the plot was well done and believable. Along the way the notions of loyalty, love, and adolescent angst are nicely managed. A very good listen. Mantegna is at his best in these novels.

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...then you aint sick. Parker was a true genius. He was so productive that it might take me, a voracious reader, several more years to lap up every bo..Show More »ok he wrote. Fortunately, Joe Mantegna, one of the best narrators we have the privilege to listen to, is our tour guide here, and, if you are at all like me, you can listen to Joe Mantegna for a long, and I do mean long, time. Parker immediately makes you laugh. His protagonist, Spenser, is a private detective and a guy who is dedicated to working out, particularly at the gym, pounding the punching bag until it really ought to be bleeding. Spenser is 100% in love with Susan Silverman, a psychologist who has gotten her Ph.D. from Hah-vahd, and their love for each other is at the core of almost all of these books. The third main character is Hawk. Don't ask his last name. Hawk is a black man, Spenser's best friend and go-to-guy. Hawk is also a dedicated runner, workout guy and so forth. These two often work as a team in the best of Parker's Spenser novels. With Susan along, true love is fierce, and the love between Hawk and Spenser is just as fierce as the love between Spenser and Susan. These two guys do more than cover each other's backs: Spenser may be up against a brick wall, with a gun or two but also with four or five really ugly bad guys about to shoot him maybe fifty times, when Hawk suddenly appears, and soon the bad guys are reduced to armed rubble.
As to the plot, faithful RBP readers will recognize April Kyle. She was a young girl in Boston's worst neighborhood when Spenser first met her. She was being pimped and abused by a horrible guy, as usual. Spenser managed, with some difficulty, to extract April from her pimp and from that neighborhood, and with a phone call or two, Spenser was able to deliver April to a very high-priced madame who lives on the Upper East Side of NYC. This woman, whose name I will remember just as soon as I finish writing this review, turns April into a classy, gorgeous call girl. It takes a while, but April eventually evolves quite nicely. She is still a whore, but still...
When we encounter her here, April has risen so far that she has reached almost the pinnacle of her profession. She owns an all-woman whorehouse, in a beautiful old house, with, let us say, all the trimmings. Sad to say, some local goons are trying to muscle in on her, and the Large Goon wants to make some extremely easy money, by sending his blockheads to threaten April and scare the customers, so it will then be as easy as pie for the place to become Goon owned whore house number whatever. The Large Goon soon meets Spenser, and then Hawk. Merriment ensues, in a way which only Robert B. Parker has ever been able to create. Joe Mantegna holds our interest completely. His voice is familiar to most of us, I think. His work is flawless. He even handles the "he said, she said," patter, which in my view is just about the only part of RBP's work that becomes hard to listen to. In any case, I become long-winded. Pick this book up. If you already know what to expect, then this book will perfectly meet your already very high expectations. If this is your first Spenser book, then, my friend, you are in for a fantastic treat, one that could last you for years and years. Don't read the "Some hack or other's Robert B. Parker's Spenser series," or whatever it is called. The real thing will have you laughing within two or three minutes. You will then be hooked. Many years later, you will think: I have probably read about a hundred of these. Are there any more?

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I enjoy almost all of Robert B Parker's books, I enjoy Joe Mantegna's narration and the 'saids' are just a part of Parker's writing style that I've gr..Show More »own to love. Thoroughly enjoyed the story, the characters and the narration.

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For an avid reader of crime fiction, this may sound funny, but this is the first 'Spencer' book i've read or listened to. I thought it was a good sto..Show More »ry, and the characters were interesting, though the sarcasm and macho attitude got a little tiresome. (And yet sometimes, it was pretty funny too.) I might read another in the series someday, but won't rush out to do so. For narration, i like Montagna's voice generally, but found it a little flat. There's a lot of "he said" and "she said"s too, and i'm not sure if that's the writing, or if some narrators can leave a little of that out when they alter their voice for the characters... Not sure, maybe it's just more noticable here, but i didn't care for that. Would i recommend it? Depends. Certainly it's short enough to try out and see if you like... And if you do, there's plenty more.

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Classic Spenser. This one is all good...plot, characterizations, etc...and no one but Mantegna should ever narrate a Spenser novel. I like the Jesse S..Show More »tone novels better, but this is really an enjoyable listen. Highly recommend!

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So sad this is the last Parker novel and it looks like he was introducing a new character Z. SixKill a Native American from the Cree Nation. Enjoy hi..Show More »s tongue-in-cheek dialog with people particularly Susan. The "he said, she said" I am getting use to in his novels. The past of the story is fast. Mantegna does great job with the narration.

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Atkins has more than captured the essence of Spenser. I have been rereading all the old Spenser novels (via Audible) and thus the whole enivronment is..Show More » fresh in my mind. I honestly can not tell that this book was written by a different author. He has captured the universe entirely, including references to unseen characters from previous tomes that fit right into the flow. There is no sense that he used a "checklist" to ensure that he covered all the bases - something very common with follow-on works. Everything here felt right. He captures Susan and Hawk perfectly, and his references to inside-Boston stuff was spot on.
Finally, the story was compelling and held my interest. The new characters were well-developed and felt as if they belonged in the Spenser universe.

Ace gets an A+ from this avid Parker reader. (Are you ready to do another Cole and Hitch?) I'm looking forward to the next Spenser - may he live forever!

Thank you to the Parker estate for letting this series continue.

Joe Mantegna is the perfect reader for this series. I've listened to several others, who range from OK down to horrible - but Joe captures the spirit and attitude of the stores perfectly. (I'm aware that he portrayed Spenser in some made-for-TV movies that were not well received by most Spenser fans, but reading is not the same as acting). Joe does the multiple roles well, and I think he does the best Hawk of any of the readers.

In short, I strongly recommend this novel to either long-time Parker fans, or new readers. You won't be disappointed!

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Up to the usual Parker standards, if you, like I, enjoy his excellent writing. Only hitch is the reader, who is mediocre by my reckoning, though his a..Show More »dolescent-sounding voice is almost acceptable for most of the story. given that this is a telling by a young version of Spenser.

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