Publication Date November 26, 2024

I’ve been a fan of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series since…forever. I know it was in the 1980s that he came to do a reading at a bookstore (Capitola BookCafe) in my hometown, and I was taken aback when he went on and on about the Boston Celtics…but he was witty and charming and smart…like his protagonist, Spenser. Over the years, I grew to love the characters (especially Hawk and Susan Silverman, in addition to Spenser himself – and then there was attorney Rita Fiore, another super-strong female character who always seemed to spend as much time and energy flirting with Spenser as she did in her law practice. 

After Parker died, somehow the Spenser series continued, following the forty (!) novels written by Parker himself. There were ten novels by Ace Atkins, and although I read two and tried a couple more, they just didn’t do it for me. Then I saw that there was a new one written by Mike Lupica, a columnist (mostly sports-related) and novelist whose work I had enjoyed, so I thought “let’s give it a try” Thanks to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley, I received a copy of “Robert B. Parker’s Hot Property – A Spenser Novel” in exchange for my honest review. 

In this one, the main characters are Spenser, Hawk, and Rita Fiore. Rita, who is considered family by both Spenser and Hawk, is shot and of course Spenser and Hawk leap into action to figure out who might have wanted her killed. After many years as a courtroom bulldog, Rita has made many enemies, so there is a multi=layered mystery as to who might be responsible. 

It’s got the familiar dialogue between the main characters, along with some action and mystery. I hope Mr. Lupica writes more stories featuring the characters introduced by Parker and loved by many readers over the years. Four stars.