Spenser returns with Susan and Hawk to guard an up-and-coming congresswoman who has begun getting serious death threats. Trademark Spenser with the one-liners and "deep" quotes, stoic Hawk and intelligent, sexy Susan.

Not my favorite Spenser book, but Atkins does a proficient job of following what Robert B. Parker started.

This book was very entertaining!! A great mystery with some fun and interesting characters!! I would highly recommend this book to everyone!!

Bye Bye Baby is, alas, the final Spenser by Ace Atkins. A very worthy successor to RBP himself, I liked how with each book in the series Ace slowly moved Spenser into today's world. I look forward to Mr. Lupica's Spenser as I have enjoyed his Sunny Randall and Jesse Stone novels.

thank you NeTGalley and the publisher for the arc! I have long been a fan of the Spenser (and Jesse Stone) series and glad that they have continued. This latest installment drew me right in, I always love that I can personally relate to some of the locations mentioned in the books! Ace Atkins does a great job with Spenser and co!

I wanted to love this book, but when i requested it, I did not know it was the 50th! book in the series. So I felt a bit lost. think that not having that history with the sheriff really left me at a disadvantage. I can only rate this as a 3.. I feel like had this been a standalone novel and the author took more time to flush out the characters it would have been a 5. I also fully think had I been a fan of the series and caught up to date on the books it would have been a 5. All in all its geta 3 because it was solid, but it just didn't wow.

Robert B. Parker's Bye Bye Baby is the 49th Spenser novel, and the 10th (by my count) written by Ace Atkins after Mr. Parker's death. Released 18th Jan 2022 by Penguin Random House on their G.P. Putnam's Sons imprint, it's 320 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.

I've been in love with this series since book 1 (The Godwulf Manuscript) and I was really sad when the author passed, thinking that I would have to confine myself to re-reads to get my Spenser/Hawk fix. I was nervous about someone else taking over the writing, but have been really impressed and happy with all the newest books in the series. This has been a pillar series for me, especially in the last couple of years of madness with the pandemic and all of the misery and unhappiness and stress in the world, this series has been a treasured escape.

I have been revisiting the original books (by Parker himself) as well as the posthumous books and they keep growing on me. I love the banter and the way the established characters really live and breathe. Yes, they're popular fiction, but I'll stand up in any graduate English lecture class and rebut the sneering label "light popular fiction" with the fact that they're really superbly well written. They go to the same shelf in the internal library in my brain as John D. MacDonald and Rex Stout - popular fiction, yes, but also satisfyingly rendered and worthwhile.

It's a solidly written PI murder mystery with an indelible American flavor. Boston's local atmosphere and settings are a vital part of the book. I love Spenser's relationship with Susan (smart, funny, capable, and real) and the interplay between Spenser and his compatriots. I loved the sarcastic wit and real humor and repartee in the dialogue. I'm obviously a solid fan of this series, and my opinion wasn't dented one tiny bit by this latest adventure. Ace Atkins isn't Robert B. Parker, but he's pretty darned close.

Five stars for fans of the series. Probably four to five for new readers who enjoy gritty American PI adventures. For readers unfamiliar with the series, grab them as you can find them. They all work perfectly well as standalones.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Ace Atkins is the bomb. His own series about Quinn Colson, the on and off again sheriff of Tibbehah County, Mississippi is absolutely stellar, and his continuation of Robert B Parker's Spenser series is just wonderful. Atkins' Spenser lives, breathes and works in Parker's Boston; if the transition hasn't been seamless, it has been damn near perfect.

In "Bye Bye Baby" Spenser gets involved in politics. He is hired to protect a rising, young progressive Congresswoman. I don't like spoilers, so I won't give any, but there are wisecracks, action, and ruminations galore. This is vintage Spenser. and it is very good, indeed. I understand that this is the last Spenser that Atkins is going to write, which is a great pity, but at least he is going out with a winner.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Spenser agrees to guard a local politician who’s acquiring a national profile for her progressive policies.

With the help of Hawk and Sixkill he fends off threats from unexpected sources, and despite pressure from the candidate and her team, refuses to back down from his commitment to keep her safe.

Ace Atkins has been a great standard bearer for the Parker legacy. He has injected new energy, action, and thrills, and carried the series into a new era. Highly recommended. #ByeByeBaby #NetGalley #SaltMarshAuthors

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I enjoyed this very much - the first few Ace Atkins Spenser books were too over the top (WAY too much stupid wisecracking!), but he has really settled in to these books and has found his own voice here - still with the feel of Robert B. Parker's works, but not exaggerated.

Here, Spenser is protecting a young female Boston politician - AOL in another state and with a different name. No real question who this is based on, but that's okay. Atkins uses this as a vehicle for Spenser to take on white supremacy and the current toxic political climate. Probably no real surprises here, but it's good, compelling, Spenser action - kept me involved and reading, and I definitely enjoyed it!

It's a good read for anyone who likes the Spenser novels - well worth reading!

The 50th book in Robert B Parker’s iconic Spenser series is also, alas, Ace Atkins’ last time at the helm. Fortunately for us readers, he goes out with a bang, presenting us with an absorbing tale that has Spenser and co grappling with issues ripped straight from the headlines.

Congresswoman Carolina Garcia-Ramirez, or CGR for short, is up for reelection against Tommy Flaherty, the politician she unseated to represent their Cambridge, Massachusetts district. As a charismatic Black Hispanic woman on the progressive left of American politics, CGR has become a lightning rod on the national scene, as her bodyman will readily, if quietly, attest to Spenser:

QUOTE
“I’ve never met a woman more loved and hated at the same time,” he said, whispering. “There don’t seem to be many in the middle. They either think she’s Joan of Arc or Atilla the Hun. Everything, everyone, has become so polarized. I don’t think of her issues as that radical. Nor do most people in our district. But get outside of Cambridge and people want to crucify her. There’s one old congressman from Louisiana who told her that she was going to burn in hell.”

“And why would that be?”

“He said she was anti-American and needed to go back where she came from.”

“Roxbury?”

“Exactly[.]”
END QUOTE

The congresswoman’s team wants to hire Spenser as her personal security while she’s in Boston, a move she resists. She wants to be as approachable as possible to the general public, and having a bodyguard would serve as, at the very least, a psychological deterrent. But an escalating series of incidents against her campaign and person – plus an interview with Spenser that assures her that he isn’t just a hulking meathead – soon persuades her otherwise.

Spenser being Spenser, he decides to take a proactive tack against the threats coming in against the congresswoman, particularly those from a far-right group of white supremacists styling themselves as Minutemen. When an attempted hit-and-run leads to actual murder, he soon finds himself relying on his vast network of contacts to track down the perpetrators behind a deadly conspiracy that aims to strike right at the heart of American democracy. But can he stop these evildoers before even more lives are lost?

Bye Bye Baby was as delightfully witty and clever as I’ve come to expect from Mr Atkins’ writing, with Spenser’s dry humor counterbalanced perfectly by his heart. It was great to renew my acquaintance with the cast of recurring characters as well. I was especially intrigued by the developments for Hawk, and hope that the next author to take over this series picks up the plot line introduced here and does it justice.

But most of all it was nice to look back with Spenser over how things have changed with time, and often for the better, in sharp counterpoint to the warped nostalgia of this book’s villains:

QUOTE
Over the years, many things have changed about my profession. I no longer keep an actual landline on my desk. Since no one had called it since a little past the first of the millennium, I discontinued the service.

My superhuman ability to scroll through microfilm was no longer in demand. Almost anything I needed to look up, from old news stories, to criminal histories, to vehicle records, could be found online. Although I missed my visits to the Boston Public Library, I’d accepted the long, boring hours at my desk, thinking about how many old cases I could’ve solved with Google.
END QUOTE

I’ll very much miss Mr Atkins’ version of Spenser, but am glad he went out on a high here with this topical thriller. Bye Bye Baby showcases how very relevant and entertaining Spenser can continue to be in the 21st century. It’ll be a tough act to follow, but I wish every success to the next person who takes up the helm.

I received a free advance copy of this from NetGalley for review.

This is a real good news/bad news situation. The good news is that this is probably the best Spenser book that Ace Atkins has written yet. The bad news is that it’s the last one he’s doing. *sigh* Let’s focus on the good news for the moment.

Carolina Garcia-Ramirez won a stunning upset in a Congressional race, but while her outspoken support of progressive policies has made her a new hero for the left, the right wingers hate her guts and aren’t shy about saying so. When some of the threats seem to be more serious than the typical social media bile, Spenser is hired to provide protection and do some sleuthing to see if someone in CGR’s inner circle might be a mole. It doesn’t take long before Spenser finds clues indicating that a white supremacy group is plotting against CGR. As usual, Spenser turns to Hawk for help, but this time Hawk has a favor to ask in return. He wants Spenser to track down a woman he hasn’t heard from in years.

So obviously this one was inspired by a real person and the reactions to her, and that’s a little tricky because Spenser has always been extremely apolitical. That hasn’t changed with Atkins writing it so while Spenser admires CGR for several reasons, that’s on a human level, not a political one. Spenser also won’t abide racism so making the bad guys a bunch of white power assholes means that this is still a straightforward good guy vs. bad guys story with a few ripped-from-the-headlines elements instead of the book feeling like a political manifesto even as Atkins uses the opportunity to highlight how the worst of the worst have felt free to really be themselves these days.

All of that made for a compelling plot, but where this one really crackles is with the very Spenser-ness of it all. The dialogue and banter is quick, clever, and frequently funny. The action is sharp, especially in a climatic scene. Some Spenser history comes up. A lot of delicious sounding food is eaten, and some booze gets drank. There’s still dates with Susan, work-outs with Hawk, and a dog named Pearl.

The Hawk sub-plot of him asking Spenser to find a woman was an interesting wrinkle in all this. Atkins had cracked the door open a little on Hawk. Not so much that it gave away too much about a character, who is cool precisely because of the mystery about him, but just enough that it made him feel fresh and even a little more dangerous. What comes out of that is another piece of a great book.

Maybe it’s because I knew that this was the last Spenser that Atkins is doing, but it all seemed extra sharp to me this time. I hated to finish this one because it meant that something I’ve very much enjoyed for ten years now is coming to an end. As swan songs go, this is a great one, and hopefully whoever takes over Spenser next can do half as well.

In his tenth Spenser continuation, Ace Atkins keeps Spenser relevant by having him face today's troubling rise in white nationalism. Inspired by progressive New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Spenser's client Carolina Garcia-Ramirez is a compelling character through whom to examine the threat.

ROBERT B. PARKER'S BYE BYE BABY has added resonance for me having learned it would be Atkins' final Spenser, Mike Lupica taking over in 2023. Fitting his farewell, Atkins brings back characters he created and fleshed out earlier in his run and some Parker created that particularly resonate with him.

Fellow fans of Atkins' Spensers won't want to miss his finale.

Reading a Spencer novel is always comforting, like coffee with an old friend.
Somehow, no matter what it takes, Spenser and Hawk will find a solution.
Always a good read.

Very glad that this novel went back to the tradition of Robert Parker/Spencer - with an original tale full of nuances and familiar characters. Hope Atkins keeps up the Spencer legacy with continued fresh writing.

Robert B. Parker became one of my go-to authors almost two decades ago after I read my first Parker book. I’ve enjoyed reading his Jesse Stone, Sunny Randall, and particularly his Spenser novels. Then, sadly, Parker died in 2010. To my delight and that of many of his fans, his heirs and publishers found and commissioned other authors to continue those popular series and Parker’s legacy.

I’ve read all thirty-nine of the Spenser books written by Parker, and his fortieth, Silent Night (2011), unfinished at the time of his death. His longtime agent, Helen Brann, completed that one. Yes, a few books felt a little formulaic and tired. But I can’t recall disliking any of them, and kept buying and reading them. So it thrilled me when the Robert B. Parker estate chose award-winning author Ace Atkins (The Ranger, 2011, etc.) to continue the series. I just wasn’t ready to give up Spenser.

Atkins’ first Spenser novel, Lullaby (2012), was a very readable, well-written book. But despite the ravings of the New York City reviewers, the transition from Parker to Atkins wasn’t nearly as seamless as they claimed. Atkins didn’t quite capture the essence of the character in that first novel and Spenser just didn’t seem like Spenser. But with each new installment, Atkins improved his interpretations of Spenser and the other characters until his Spenser versions became virtually indistinguishable from the originals. That’s why it disappointed me to read on Atkins’ Twitter feed that Bye Bye Baby, his tenth Spenser novel, is his last, since he feels it’s time to turn his attention to other projects.

Kyle Rosen, chief of staff for Congresswoman Carolina Garcia-Ramirez, hires Spenser, the consummate knight errant Boston P. I. to provide security and help identify those who represent the most credible threats to the congresswoman’s safety. Garcia-Ramirez, an outspoken rising star in national politics on the eve of a tight primary, has received many death threats in response to her progressive and liberal agenda centered on race, poverty, health care, and the environment.

Reminiscent of Rachel Wallace (Looking for Rachel Wallace, 1980), when her publisher, John Ticknor, hired Spenser for a similar assignment, the fearless and self-directed Garcia-Ramirez is less than thrilled about Rosen hiring Spenser to protect her. She resists the idea, but as he did with Wallace, Spenser wins her over. He and longtime sidekick Hawk provide security for the congresswoman while Spenser does the sleuthing to sniff out and neutralize the credible threats. Predictably, considering who Spenser is protecting, the baddies turn out to be a white supremacist group called “The Minutemen,” run by a guy named Bishop Graves.

The action heats up when the FBI gets involved and the Boston special agent in charge, Bobby Nguyen, tries to force Spenser off the case. But despite the uncooperative congresswoman and interference from Nguyen, the intrepid Spenser perseveres. He painstakingly identifies the key players threatening Garcia-Ramirez and puts into motion his own plan to neutralize the threats.

Bye Bye Baby is classic Spenser. With Hawk watching his back, Spenser gets into the usual number of violent confrontations on the way to achieving justice and upholding his personal code of honor. Love interest Susan Silverman lends support with her psychiatric insight. Once again, Ace Atkins captures the essence of the Spenser novels, complete with beloved characters like Susan, Hawk, Belson, Quirk, and Pearl, the wonder dog (version 3.0). Zebulon Sixkill even makes an appearance.

Despite the passing of his creator, I’ve appreciated that Spenser and his world have remained for the past ten years. As he has done with the previous nine books, Atkins does a great job here providing an imaginative plot while retaining the characters and relationships that keep these novels familiar, comforting, and enjoyable to read. And we all need something dependable to rely on in this crazy, polarized, and pandemic plagued world.

The biggest difference I’ve noticed in the last couple of Spenser books I’ve read is that Adkins has leaped forward in time and Spenser is now in the 21st century where the internet now exists and mobile phones have replaced pay phones and the like.

Most of Parker’s books, including those written in the 1990s and 2000s, were set firmly in the seventies and eighties. That has allowed me to continue choosing to ignore the fact that Spenser, a Korean War veteran, has aged little since he first appeared in 1973. I prefer to think of him as a sporty 40-year-old. But moving the Boston P. I. into the 21st century and drawing attention to it by referring to current events makes it increasingly difficult to indulge this suspension of belief. I could be wrong, but maybe Atkins feels he has stretched credibility for the character as far as it will go and that’s part of the reason he is retiring from the series. This makes me wonder if this is finally the end of Spenser, which makes me aware I’m still not ready to give him up.

As in previous installments in the series, the story line and characterizations offer more of the same with few surprises, but Bye Bye Baby is classic Spenser, and an enjoyable read for fans of the series.

Penguin Random House publishes Bye Bye Baby by Ace Atkins from January 18, 2022. I received an advance copy of the book from the publisher via Net Galley used for this review, representing my honest opinions.

This was a REALLY hard book to review as it was a very complex read. I mean this in the best way possible! Robert B. Parker's Bye Bye Baby, is not a book you will fly through but one that you want to sit and absorb. You will need to pay close attention or you will miss it!

I really enjoyed this novel from start to finish. I initially asked for the E-ARC, because I absolutely loved the cover (I mean come on! Its amazing!) but I got just so much more out of it. Ace Atkins, knows how to tell a story and you can tell the research was done. The character development was on point and the plot was done with precision. This book does not disappoint!

I highly recommend this book! 5 stars!

This is a good addition to the Spencer series. Snappy dialogue along with some detective work. All of the main characters are interesting and besides the action there is a bit of humor thrown in with the interactions between the characters. I enjoyed reading this book. Ace has done a good job continuing the series along the same lines as Robert Parker. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Although a life-long fan of the Spenser series, the last couple of books have really seemed to try to hard to adhere to the original spenser character. I think at some point the character needs to be retired and some one else will have to take his place.

Robert B. Parker's Bye Bye Baby by Ace Atkins is a chance to see Spenser and Hawk solve another mystery.

Can't escape from politics, and unfortunately, fiction authors are also riding the woke narrative to collect virtue signals and bank their money. If you're looking for true escapism - a world in which everything is not seen under a magnify glass of gender (or lack of) and color of skin, pass on this.
if you're a Spencer fan, you'll find the usual characters in a woke cliched world (white supremacist vs ethnic woman) that reads much like a Robert B Parker novel.

Thank you Netgalley.