Ace Atkins' ninth Spenser continuation novel was originally scheduled to be published November 17, but printing and distribution issues have delayed it to January 12, 2021. Fortunately, Putnam Books' publicist Nicole Biton sent me an advance ebook to review.

Mattie Sullivan, introduced as the young client in Atkins' 2012 first Spenser (Robert B. Parker's Lullaby), returns as a 22-year-old apprentice, taking the case of 15-year-old Chloe Turner, molested by a much older man at Boston's posh Blackstone gentlemen's club. Mattie's investigation leads to hedge fund billionaire Peter Steiner, his British socialite companion Patricia "Poppy" Palmer, and their perverse, private pleasure island in the Bahamas.

Steiner and Palmer are inspired by notorious sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and his companion Ghislane Maxwell. Atkins has Mattie drive the investigation knowing she would better empathize with the couple's victims, who in turn would open up more to Mattie than to Spenser.

Reminding me of James Bond adversaries, Steiner and Palmer employ one of the most chilling enemies Parker created for Spenser, Ruger the Gray Man, warranting Hawk's return from two books' absence. Like me, however, Atkins is a true Bond fan, respectfully homaging Doctor No with the case's Caribbean showdown.

I received a free advance copy of this from NetGalley.

Spenser tries to bring down a rich pedophile who has been protected for years by his wealth and influence. This guy also has a partner in a woman who helps him lure the girls in, and they are often taken to a private island where other powerful men come to party.

That’s just such a disturbing and creepy premise that I’m glad this is a work of fiction and that nothing like that could happen in real life….

In the first Spenser book that Ace Atkins wrote the detective helped a fourteen-year-old girl named Mattie find her mother’s killer. Now Mattie is old enough to legally drink, and she’s been working for Spenser and training as a junior PI. It’s Mattie who is asked by a young girl from her neighborhood for help after she had an icky encounter with a rich pervert at an exclusive club. It soon becomes apparent that there’s some very twisted and rotten stuff going on, and that the guy behind it all will use all of his wealth and power to do anything possible to stop any of his victims from going public.

There are several interesting things going on in this one. The main plot was obviously inspired by a true story although Atkins changes things up so that just because we know what happened in real life doesn’t mean you know how this book will end. The idea of a guy like this with a private island and a stunning list of powerful friends who are involved would probably seem too over-the-top to work in a Spenser novel if it hadn’t happened. So you’ve got Spenser going up against people that you really want to see get kicked in the teeth which makes it satisfying when the detective starts rattling their cages.

Another satisfying thing is that we get a lot of Hawk in this one. Atkins has been judicious in his use of everybody’s favorite bad ass best friend character so that he could explore and expand the roles of other supporting players in recent books, and he’s done a great job of it. Still, it’s always comforting to know that Hawk is around, and it was nice to get a little insight into what Hawk does when he isn’t saving Spenser’s ass in Boston.

Bringing back Mattie was another nice touch. Spenser has taken in other people like his surrogate son Paul and his former PI apprentice Z. Sixkill so this follows a pattern. However, Mattie is an incredibly independent woman who doesn’t always see things the way Spenser does, and while the two have a real bond, she also isn’t afraid to start finding her own way versus just following in Spenser’s footsteps.

The one thing I wasn’t crazy about was the subplot of Spenser getting a new puppy after his dog Pearl has passed away. As the series has done in the past, Spenser gets another dog of the same exact breed and again names her Pearl. This always seemed like a cheat by Robert B. Parker to keep Spenser in a timeless limbo, but Atkins does explore why Spenser does this as a coping mechanism. It makes some sense, but at this point Spenser is essentially ageless so why not just make it the same Pearl vs. periodically killing one off and getting another one?

Aside from that minor nitpicking, I enjoyed this one from start to finish. Mattie’s part of the plot gave it the kind of freshness that Ace Atkins has been bringing to the series from the start while the stuff with Spenser and Hawk felt very old school, like some of the earliest RBP books. It was a nice combination that appealed to me as a long time Spenser fan while still feeling new and modern.

Spenser returns to help a case that is ripped from the headlines.

When Mattie, a college student Spenser once helped who now wants to be a private eye like him, contacts him with a case she's working on, he can't help but get involved. A young girl went to an exclusive men's club, and a massage takes a gross turn. While all she wants is her stuff she left behind, Mattie can't get in and Spenser can and WILL. What he soon finds is a trail of young women, a billionaire, his girlfriend and a private island. All of these things spell trouble and that's what Spenser is right in the middle of.

With the usual wit and charm, Atkins brings Spenser to life as he tries to help the helpless against the power-hungry and those in power.

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!