Robert B. Parker's Lullaby

Ace Atkins, Robert B. Parker

G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2012 - Boston (Mass.) - 320 pages

When fourteen-year-old Mattie Sullivan asks Spenser to look into her mother's murder, he's not completely convinced by her claim that the police investigation four years ago was botched. Mattie is gruff, street-smart, and wise beyond her years, left to care for her younger siblings and an alcoholic grandmother in a dilapidated apartment in South Boston. But her need for closure and her determination to make things right hit Spenser where he lives--they're the very characteristics he abides by. Mattie believes the man convicted of the crime is innocent, and points Spenser to the Southie toughs she saw carrying her mother away hours before her murder. Neither the Boston PD nor the neighborhood thugs are keen on his dredging up the past, but as Spenser becomes more involved in the case, he starts to realize that Mattie may be on to something. He will need Hawk's help to find peace for Mattie--a job that's more dangerous than Spenser ever thought.

What people are saying

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - dasam - LibraryThing

Not as good as Parker's Spenser novels when he was at his best, but much better than Parker when he was writing plots that were just too off the wall. Atkins does a great job of capturing Parker's style, dialogue, and it is good to see these characters stay alive a little longer.

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - CSDaley - LibraryThing

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.

About the author

Robert B. Parker was the author of seventy books, including the legendary Spenser detective series, the novels featuring Chief Jesse Stone, and the acclaimed Virgil Cole/Everett Hitch westerns, as well as the Sunny Randall novels. Winner of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award and long considered the undisputed dean of American crime fiction, he died in January 2010.
Ace Atkins is the author of eleven novels, including the true-crime based "White Shadow, Wicked City, Devil's Garden, "and "Infamous. "He is also the author of the Quinn Colson series, which includes "The Ranger "and "The Lost Ones." Bestselling author Michael Connelly has called Atkins "one of the best crime writers working today." He lives on a farm outside Oxford, Mississippi.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Robert B. Parker's Lullaby; Spenser novel, Robert B. Parker; Volume 1 of Spenser, Robert B. Parker
• Authors: Ace Atkins, Robert B. Parker
• Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2012
• ISBN: 1780879865, 9781780879864
• Length: 320 pages