I was a big fan of the early Spenser series by Robert B. Parker, and I read and enjoyed most of the books in the series, although there were some that felt formulaic and tired…but I’m not sure ANY series has a 100% rating. In general, I’ve NOT been a fan of the novels cranked out after a successful author’s death, written by someone or other with the successful author’s name displayed prominently on the cover…so I was not especially eager to read Robert B. Parker’s Someone To Watch Over Me, by Ace Atkins. If I had not read a review that said it captured the essence of the early Spenser novels, complete with beloved characters like Susan Silverman, Hawk, and Pearl (the dog), I would never have picked it up. But, pandemics are perfect times to pick up books you might not have ever read in “normal” times, so I was happy to get a copy of Someone to Watch Over Me (a Spenser Novel) from Penguin Group/Putnam/G.P. Putnams’ Sons and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review.

This story picks up with Mattie Sullivan, the teenager who was helped by Spenser to find her mother’s killer, ten years older and working on following in Spenser’s footsteps as an investigator. Mattie is now a college student with a side job working for Spenser, and is taking on her first big case, involving a fifteen-year-old girl assaulted by a much older man at one of Boston’s most prestigious private clubs. Sounds very much like a Jeffrey Epstein roman a clef, right? The girl, Chloe Turner, is only looking to get her  laptop and backpack (which she abandoned in her flight from the club) returned. But Mattie has already learned a LOT from her mentor and boss, and she has begun her investigation is a very Spenser-ish fashion, asking the right questions of the wrong people.

Spenser and Mattie uncover an eccentric billionaire and his sadistic henchwoman (not named Ghislaine, but might as well be) with a mansion and connections that go far beyond Massachusetts. Spenser and Hawk keep watch over Mattie as she proceeds to unravel a sex-trafficking ring, traveling from Boston to Florida and the Caribbean. S. It’s a fun read, and will be enjoyed by Spenser/Hawk fans. I’m an easy grader…and working to be less so. I would honestly give this more than three but less than four stars…but hate to round down, so I’ll go with four.