Plot or Premise

Spenser looks into the case of a missing teen who looks like a runaway until an amateurish ransom demand arrives.

What I Liked

Dipping back into classic Spenser seems indulgent, and perhaps even a bit of a cheat. In this book, you see him meet Susan for the first time and you know where it will all lead. She’s the kid’s guidance counsellor and makes suggestions to Spenser about what the kid is like and where he might be hiding, if he is hiding at all. Later, when Spenser roots out a scamming component of a bodybuilder who confuses having muscles with being tough, there are surprisingly open-minded and advanced treatments of gender identity issues and being gay. Not completely reflective of more modern interpretations, but pretty advanced for the era. I also love the introduction of the ongoing Spenser theme for being able to handle yourself in a fight and keep going.

What I Didn’t Like

Some of the secondary characters are a bit basic, including the parents.

The Bottom Line

Nice to meet you, Mrs. Silverman