Friday, March 13, 2026

Robert B. Parker's Showdown


I just finished reading Robert B. Parker's Showdown, the latest Spenser novel by Mike Lupica. I've always loved this series, created by the late Robert B. Parker, and when he passed away, I thought that would be the end of it. Happily, his family decided to hire first Ace Atkins and now Mike Lupica to continue the series, and both have done a good job of imitating Parker's style and producing new stories. The novels feature Spenser, a wise-guy Boston private investigator with a shady but fun sidekick named Hawk and a girlfriend, Susan Silverman, who is a Harvard-trained shrink. This time attorney Rita Fiore hire's Spenser to help a young man named Daniel Lopez, the son of an undocumented Guatemalan woman recently murdered in an apparent robbery attempt. Going through her papers, Lopez begins to suspect that Vic Hale, one of the biggest podcasters in the nation, who rose to fame with right-wing, anti-immigrant rhetoric, is his father, and wants to prove it, this at a time when Hale is about to sign a huge new contract. Revelations about the affair and a potential child could jeopardize his big deal, and when more bodies start to turn up, Spenser is determined to find out who is behind it all. I really did enjoy this story. The characters are witty and likeable, and it is very much like Parker's novels of old. Be sure to pick up a copy at your local library today.

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