Robert B. Parker's Lullaby

My trepidation over the first Spenser novel written by Robert B. Parker's successor kept me from buying this the moment it hit the bookstores. So I waited for my turn in the queue at the library, and then I let the book sit for several days before cracking the cover. I need not have worried...Spenser is in good hands. There are subtle differences, and over time these may become more pronounced as Atkins makes the character his own, but for now he certainly has captured the essence of the hero and I found myself reading with great pleasure as Spenser took on a very young client with a lot of determination and a sense of justice to equal his own. From a human perspective, this is probably the best story in the series since Early Autumn, show more which has literary merit above and beyond the genre genius Parker always demonstrated. Where Parker came to rely extensively on dialog to move his novels, Atkins puts more words on the page, without sacrificing the pace or style of the master. Although I liked it, a lot, it remains to be seen how long Atkins can keep the admittedly aging detective on the job. Parker's last completed Spenser novel, Sixkill, had our hero driving west toward his lady love after concluding a case to his satisfaction. As I said at the time, that would have been a fine place to leave him, and I hope Atkins uses good judgment going forward. show less

I hate to say it but this was the best Spenser book in years. I was starting to lose interest towards the end of Parker's series. Very enjoyable, although I still think there was too much Susan. A tiny bit too much of the little girl also.

Robert Parker wrote a Spenser P.I. book almost every year since 1973 until his death in 2010. He was extremely influential on the P.I. genre, but in his later years his quality was sacrificed for cash cow possibilities (he suddenly started publishing two to three books a year after he turned 65). Ace Atkins was tapped by the family/estate to continue the Spenser series, and he succeeds fairly well. I felt like Atkins achieved the Spenser feel, although he’s more of a golden retriever type writer and HE’S GONNA DO IT JUST LIKE PARKER ONLY MOOR BETTER!

Ingredients to a Spenser novel:

-appearance by bestie Hawk, workout buddy, kick-ass, deadly, sharp-dressing black dude. Please ignore the traditional stereotype role.
-Susan, Spenser’s show more Harvard-educated long-standing life-partner, except they never say, ‘life-partner,’ because that would be lame. Susan has an eating disorder (undiagnosed), occasionally -worries about Spenser and enjoys sexy times.
-Pearl the Wonder dog
-doughnuts (with and without sprinkles)
-cop friends. Atkins gives us all of them: Belson, Quirk, and FBI guy, Epstein
-commentary on Boston. Here, Harvard area and Southie area
-cooking episodes. I think there was something with sausage here
-Boston Red Sox
-random literature references
-bonus friends in this book: the smokin'hot (I hear it as one word) Rita and Vinnie the shooter

Atkins gives many nods to prior incidents in the series, such as the time he and Susan separated, the time he shot Gerry Broz, the cases involving Joe Broz, the cases involving Vinnie, the mentions of his semi-adopted kid Paul. He also ‘updates’ the characters. Slightly. Susan actually eats! (Although it’s mostly egg whites, lettuce and a noodle).

I felt the 14 year-old Mattie, the girl who hires Spenser, was somewhat inappropriately characterized. I finally mentally rewrote her age to upper teens and tried my best to ignore it. Basically, she acts like a contemporary to Spenser and Hawk. Spenser also shows an amazing amount of bad judgement in this book in regards to her. I think Parker would have also given us a more heroic ending without the double climax. This feels movie-scriptish at the end.

Overall, pretty fun. Definitely a step up from the 2000-era Spenser novels when he was clearly ghostwritten/phoning it in nearing the end of his career. Who knows? I may even pick up the next. I liked it better than Atkins' Colson series.



P.S. Richard D.: don’t read this because Spenser winks ALL THE TIME. To everyone: FBI, bartenders, 9 year olds and bad guys. He's an equal-opportunity winker. show less

Robert B. Parker passed away just over two years ago. With the blessings of his estate, Parker's iconic characters - Jesse Stone and Spenser will continue to live on the written page. Author Ace Atkins was chosen to continue the tale of Boston P.I. Spenser.

It's always a gamble for a publisher to have someone new take on the voice of a character so many have read and loved. I really enjoyed Ace Atkins' first book The Ranger last year and am eagerly awaiting the second. Atkins himself credits Parker with his direction in life.

"I got into writing crime fiction because of Bob Parker," Atkins says. "For my 21st birthday, my mom waited in line for an hour at a bookstore in Atlanta to get a signed copy of (Parker's) Double Deuce. It was the show more greatest birthday present ever, and it shaped what I ended up doing for a living. I wanted to grow up to be Robert Parker."

So I had a feeling that things might turn out okay...and I was right.

Fourteen year old Mattie Parker stops by Spenser's office, looking to hire him. Her mom was killed four years ago. Although there's a man doing time for her murder, Mattie says he didn't do it. She know who really did - she saw them. Something about the girl - mostly her attitude - radiates with Spenser, so look into her case. And he finds she might be right......

The trademark short snappy dialogue is there from page one and never lets up. Spenser's wry outlook, his witty wise cracking repartee with Hawk and his smooth as silk interactions with Susan all ring true. Spenser's love of food, drink, good music and literature are all lovingly continued and described.

Favourite characters make a return - Hawk is just as big and bad as ever, but Atkins gives him a soft spot that was unexpected. We really know nothing of Hawk's past. Mattie's plight leads him to reveal something Spenser wasn't even aware of after twenty odd years. Susan is just as stunning, sexy and wise as always. And Pearl the Wonder Dog hasn't changed a bit. Many characters from previous books are mentioned or appear in Lullaby.

So the characters, settings, actions and dialogue are all ringing true. But what about the plot? Well, it was just as good. Mattie was a tough, but vulnerable character in a tough situation. I wonder if she'll be brought back in future books, in the same way that Paul Giacomin was? Short chapters, lots of action and Spenser's unerring sense of justice made this a quick read that ended before I knew it.

Spenser lives on - the tough guy with a soft heart. Atkins has chosen to not tinker with the characters too much. Definitely the right decision. No, it's not Robert Parker, but it's really damn close. Kudos to Atkins - he's done a fantastic job. Fans of Spenser will want to pick this one up - and the next one. I will be. show less

Ace Atkins was a great choice to continue the Spenser series. His essay in Otto Penzler's volume "In Search of Spenser" is a must-read companion to "Lullaby" if for some reason this story itself leaves any doubt. Atkins uses spare prose in a way that does justice to Parker's voicing of Spenser, and in some ways brings back some of the spirit of the earlier Spenser novels. The plot finds Spenser in over his head more frequently than some of Parker's more recent entries, which on the one hand makes the action gripping, while on the other dimming just a bit of the lustre of invincibility seen on Spenser since "Small Vices." The other small faults I would find are that Hawk isn't quite right, nor is Susan. Atkins has them playing the right show more parts in the story, but the characterization is just a little off. I think this is largely because those characters existed primarily in Parker's head, and we see the edges of them as they intersect with Spenser's perceptions. Parker gave us more of Spenser, so there is more for Atkins to work with, to "get right," I suppose. And he does. In the end, as Spenser would say, "a thing is what it is, and not something else." This isn't a Robert B. Parker Spenser story, but it's a damn fine Spenser story all the same, and I liked the way it sounded. show less

In what I found to be a surprising move, the Spencer series is continuing through a new writer, Ace Atkins. While I was definitely skeptical, he won me over! The best part of the Spencer series has always been the dialogue and the relationships between both friends and foes. The wit continues in the same, well-loved vein. This time out Spencer takes a case for a 14-year-old girl trying to find the "real" murderer of her mother four years ago. Spencer has a weakness for lost youth and takes the case for a fee of a bag of donuts and a large coffee. The investigation takes him back into the lives of the Broz crime family and necessitates the services of Hawk, Spencer's fearless right hand man. Of course the forces of good overcome those of show more evil (for the most part). I look forward to the next installment of this excellent series. show less

I admit it; after reading Michael Brandman's continuation of the late Robert Parker's Jesse Stone novels, I decided I wasn't going to do this again. No more books by writers trying to write like famous dead writers. After only two pages, I realized Brandman can't do Parker.

Then someone left me a copy of Ace Atkin's continuation of Parker's Spenser series, and I gave it a read.

It is not like Parker at his best, but it's close enough. Atkins does a wonderful job parroting Parker, so while I'll never read another Jesse Stone novel, I probably would read another Spenser book.

As for the book itself, it's very much Spenser; the dialog is witty and Atkins writes the characters with some care.

In some ways, it's probably better than the last show more couple Parker-written Spenser novels, which had grown formulaic and flat. This offers some depth, and you don't necessarily know all the answers in the first ten pages.

The publishers (Putnam) were probably ecstatic to read this manuscript; Atkins does an excellent job, and whether the series continues to sell will probably speak more to the reaction of Parker's fans to his death than the quality of Atkin's writing. show less