Hundred-Dollar Baby

In this one’s opening, he meets April Kyle and she’s so different, he doesn’t even recognize her. So of course he’s working pro-bono again, and he calls in some old friends Hawk, obviously, and Teddy Sapp and Chollo.

Finally—something Spenser can’t do! He admits to April that he doesn’t know how to play Chess.

This one was good, as always. I noticed Benson saying ‘I owe you’ to Spenser, again. How long / how many times can Spenser play this card?

Juusut as I was thinking this was much like many other Spenser novels … there was a surprise twist. I don’t want to spoil, but I’ll just say it was one which will mess him up. Wow, well played.

I MISS PARKER SO MUCH.


5 stars.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

#35 Now & Then
Gets off to a more hilarious start than usual, due to Spenser’s wit.
I must say … and I don’t say things like this often when it comes to Parker but … there were 2 characters shown in moments of intimacy and they honestly sounded exactly like Spenser and Susan have sounded in the last 30ish books … it’s as if Parker didn’t bother developing these people as their own characters, at least not when it came to the bedroom. Could this be the moment he started to phone it in a bit? Or perhaps, writing this sort of scene is just not his strength … time will tell as I read on (into this book and the series).

That aside, this went on to be a really fun, somewhat complex case, which meant we got to see lots of old faves: Epstein, Chollo, Vinne, of course Hawk … Pearl (#2) is 5 years old now.

Overall, a great read.

5 stars.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

#36 Rough Weather
This one’s different, opening up with a hostage situation that involves Susan and … Ruger … very exciting, right from the get-go, and I’m again impressed by Parker’s ability to still entertain 35ish books in.

We actually get to know the infamous ‘gray man’ a bit more in this one and it’s a fun, long-awaited spin. Something very strange is afoot in this one …

I don’t want to post any spoilers but I’ll say that I absolutely love how it ends between Spenser and Ruger. Epic … completely masterfully executed.

Overall, a great read.

5 stars.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

#37 The Professional
This was an interesting one, case-wise. Heart-wrenching at times, but ultimately, another epic read.

5 stars.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

#38


The one with the obscure but valuable painting…
And some Holocaust survivors and … I don’t want to spoil anything but, this was a very fun read, many times and it made for a fun listen also, as it turns out.

And Spenser maybe could’ve have solved it without Susan—that was fun.

5 stars.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️


Audio:
This is narrated by Daniel Parker—one of Bob’s sons, perhaps? The voice wasn’t right at all for Spenser, IMO, but I assume Bob found it just fine. Took a bit getting used to, but not a bad performance.