The latest read in the
series now being penned by Ace Atkins has a distinct ripped-from-the-headlines
feel to it. Late August and New England Patriots star linebacker Kinjo Heywood
has summoned Spenser to his mansion in Chestnut Hill to discuss a problem.
Kinjo believes he is being followed by a group of guys and wants it stopped. He
also wants to know why they are doing it as he firmly believes the way they acted
is not something regular fans would do. Of course, it could all just be Kinjo
being paranoid. It could also be something more.
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The incident of the day
before was not the first time this following of him has happened. A previous
incident happened after Kinjo and his wife Cristal had dinner at the Capital
Grille. In that incident they were followed despite Kinjo's evasive maneuvers
until he took matters into his own hands and fired his gun. Fortunately, the
incident yesterday ended when he stepped out of the car with his gun and he
chose not to fire it. With Kinjo feeling threatened something bad is going to
happen if the pursuers return or some random stranger does something that could
be perfectly innocent and yet is perceived as a threat by Kinjo.
According Kinjo agent Steven
Rosen, Spenser comes highly recommend by a detective named Belson. Kinjo wants Spenser
to figure out who is doing it, why they are doing it, and put a stop to it. Despite
the recommendation, Rosen, and several others close to Kinjo don’t want Spenser
around for a variety of reasons. They also don't want to listen to Spenser as
the situation seriously deteriorates with the kidnapping of Kinjo's young son,
Akira. With a child's life at stake, Spenser isn't about to worry about what
those in Kinjo's inner circle think about him or his methods. It helps that
Hawk and Zebulon Sixkill are around to back his play.
The latest in the series is
another good read that follows the Parker hallmark of short chapters, little
description, and plenty of dialogue. In a move some readers will love, Susan
Silverman is kept to a minimum number of scenes where she is either a means of
release for Spenser or assisting with the investigation by counseling a
secondary character. The Spenser at work here is also a bit more aware of how
much the underworld of Boston has changed during his long career and that it is
a young man's game on both sides of the fence.
Robert B. Parker's Cheap Shot: A
Spenser Novel by Ace Atkins breaks no new ground nor does it crack the
mold. It gives the legion of Spenser fans exactly what they want and does that
fairly well. It also is a good book to escape reality with and reads at a fast
pace.
Robert B. Parker's Cheap Shot: A
Spenser Novel
Ace
Atkins
Thorndike
Press
ISBN#
978-1-4104-6665-5
May
2014
LARGE
PRINT Edition
417
Pages
35.99
Material
supplied by the good folks of the Plano Texas Public Library System.
Kevin
R. Tipple ©2014
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