I thought Ace Atkins did an excellent job continuing the Spenser series, getting Parker's style and voice down very well. However, there was something just a little off with "Someone to Watch Over Me," especially in some of the dialog. "Someone to Watch Over Me" was still a great mystery novel, and definitely in the spirit of the rest of the Spenser series....just a little different.

What might one do if a Spenser movie tanks on Netflix. Take another Netflix show and write a Spenser novel around it?  That feels like what happened here with  Robert B. Parker’s Someone To Watch Over Me written by Ace Atkins, but fear not, it works!

The book opens with Spenser and his new associate, young 22-year-old Mattie, helping a friend of hers who was accosted by a millionaire under the guise of giving a massage in his home. As the duo follows the crime, the millionaire, and the woman who assists him by procuring young girls, are clearly modeled after Jeffery  Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, although in this fictional world they are Peter Steiner and Poppy.  The resemblance does not end there, with elements added such as his private Island, known as “Pedo Isle,” and a private airplane nicknamed “The Lolita Express!” 

Even though this close to real events is not a regular practice of the Spenser novels, it works here!  Everything I love about the series is here, in just the right amount.  For instance there are plenty of familiar characters, but unlike some entries into the series, not everyone makes an appearance. In point of fact, there is one character who showed up later in the novel which was so surprising I actually gasped while reading it. I love that Hawk is back as the main assister to Spenser, and even though the old, and dated ,Amos and Andy “shuck and jive” between them is eliminated, the spark between them, highlighting their friendship, is still there. 

Finally, though the real-life elements in the plot will be familiar to the reader, the  conclusion and the events leading to it are not. Someone To Watch Over Me is truly a great entry in the series, and one of the best, including those written and not written by Parker.

A Spencer novel ripped from the headlines. Spencer and Hawk are their usual selves and Mattie is learning quickly. An Epstein like character adds to the mix

After Robert B. Parker passed away, I was truly heartbroken by the possibility that I would never read another Spenser book again.  Ace Atkins was thankfully chosen to carry on the mantle and has carried on the series without really missing a beat.  While the subject matter was a little difficult to read about, Atkins has written one of the best Spenser novels in recent memory.  Whether it was the dynamic between Spenser and his protegee Mattie, the return of the Grey Man, or the heartbreaking life or death conversation between Spenser and Susan, Atkins was firing on all cylinders here.  I read it in three sittings only because life got in the way of my finishing it in one.  I can not wait to see where the story moves to next!

Spenser is one of my all-time favorite book characters (and one of very few who translated well to the small screen, IMHO). When this author took over from the late Robert B. Parker, I was skeptical; but he's done an exemplary job of staying true to the original. My only "complaint," if you will, is that I've seen little of Spenser's cohort Hawk - another favorite character - and when he did appear, he didn't quite "sound" like himself. Well, folks, Hawk's back in this one - both in person and voice. Spenser is his usual self, although he did seem more inclined to respond in quotes from literary works than usual.

Several years ago, Spenser helped teenager Mattie Sullivan; since then, she's attached herself to Spenser to learn the investigation business. Now, one of her childhood friends left a backpack containing a laptop at a posh club when she ran out after being coerced into giving an elderly gentleman a "massage." Mattie promised to get it back and asks Spenser for advice on making that happen. When he goes to the club to ask for the return of the backpack, he gets a decidedly frosty response that convinces him there's far more to the story than meets the private eye.

On the home front, Spenser's long-time love, Susan, is trying to adapt to the third iteration of Pearl, their lovable dog (the second Pearl died recently). Spenser swears the two recent dogs are the original Pearl reincarnated, but Susan isn't quite ready to buy into that theory. She also doesn't quite buy into the need for Spenser to get involved with Mattie's case.

After a bit more investigation, Spenser and Mattie learn that the club is frequented by a billionaire who has properties and important contacts all over the world and an apparent taste for girls not yet old enough to drive a car. The guy turns out to be a hedge fund manager with at least one getaway outside U.S. jurisdiction, where he treats his friends to illicit meetups with smuggled-in girls, some recruited by his female accomplice. Needless to say, that rankles Spenser, who asks Hawk to help him get the girls out safely and put the Jeffrey Epstein wannabe behind bars. But soon enough, Spenser learns it may not be a walk in the park; the couple they're after are in cahoots with the so-called Gray Man, a hired assassin who nearly killed Spenser not long ago - and Spenser isn't exactly itching for a rematch.

All in all, it's another fast-paced, easy-to-read adventure that should satisfy most Spenser enthusiasts. For sure I'm happy, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read an advance copy.

Not only has Ace Atkins done a tremendous job in taking over one of my detective series, he has shown remarkable ability to provide a seamless continuity to the series. This book focuses on our knight, Spenser, saving the fair maidens from a Jeffrey Epstein-type character who has been molesting and trafficking in Boston’s young girls. 

Atkins has brought back characters from earlier books and in a few well-crafted sentences, brings the reader up to date, an ability that many writers lack. I often find myself confused by references to earlier books, but not so here. 

Yes, I’m a great fan of Spenser and so glad that Atkins has created a very worthy story. I really enjoyed this book and remain impressed by the fidelity to the series. 

Thank you Netgalley for this treat. Loved it!