Robert B. Parker's Wonderland

Boston PI Spenser and Henry Cimoli, owner of a Boston gym, formerly a haven for boxers but now supported by spandex-clad exercisers, have been friends for years. Now Henry needs help. Developers are bullying the mostly older occupants in Henry's condo in an attempt to make them sell cheap. So far it's been mostly intimidation, but folks are scared. Hawk, Spenser's longtime cohort, is out of town, so the PI enlists the assistance of Zebulon Sixkill, an intern of sorts. They send the developer's thugs on their way and then negotiate a lucrative buyout for Henry and his neighbors, but it could be all for naught when the developer is decapitated and a plethora of greedy, jealous, and ambitious players attempt to take control. After an uneven start at re-creating Spenser (Robert B. Parker's Lullaby, 2012), Atkins finds his footing this time, settling into the character more comfortably and concocting a fairly complex caper with urban development, organized crime, and sex all playing roles. Atkins still isn't Parker, of course, but this is quite a good crime novel.--Lukowsky, Wes Copyright 2010 Booklist

Atkins's second novel based on the late Robert B. Parker's famous series finds private detective Spenser and young apprentice Zebulon Sixkill sleuthing their way into a scheme involving the beachfront property occupied by the shuttered Wonderland dog track. Narrator Joe Mantegna has long been associated with the popular Spenser series, portraying the title character in several TV adaptations and narrating numerous audiobooks. That he has done so with Parker's blessing is understandable. The novel contains large sections of fast-paced dialogue-which Mantegna deftly handles. Additionally, the narrator perfectly captures Spenser's sarcastic and flippant tone. And when dealing with friends during times of trouble, Spenser-as interpreted by Mantegna-drops his brittle attitude and becomes more compassionate and less hardboiled. A Putnam hardcover. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Spenser goes to bat for an old friend whose condo in Revere has become a most desirable property for all the wrong reasons. The money bantamweight boxing promoter Henry Cimoli's been offered for his place in the Ocean View Condominium isn't bad, but it isn't great either, and he's too old to move without some inducement; getting beaten up by a pair of goons is not his idea of an inducement. So, although he hates asking Spenser for a favor, he grits his teeth and asks. First, Spenser and his Cree apprentice, Zebulon Sixkill, help even the odds against the goons; then Z gets beaten up himself before Spenser's able to identify Vegas casino mogul Rick Weinberg as the player behind Envolve Development's sexy, brutal Jemma Fraser, who hired the thugs. Armed with knowledge as well as fists and guns, Spenser threatens to go to the newspapers with Weinberg's plans, which will send Ocean View values skyrocketing before he can close the deal, unless he sweetens his offer. Weinberg, perhaps egged on by the conscience of Rachel, his wife of 40 years, obligingly ups the ante, and the condo board votes unanimously to accept his offer. The win-win scenario collapses, however, when someone cuts off Weinberg's head, putting the deal in doubt and forcing Spenser to look deeper into the financials--until he finds himself up against not just two hirelings, but the full majesty of old-time mobster Gino Fish's troops. Since his creator's death, Spenser's dialogue, flippant to start with, has become relentlessly arch, and the tendency must be catching, since several other characters get into verbal jousts with him. Still, it may be unfair to complain that Atkins (Robert B. Parker's Lullaby, 2012) doesn't write exactly like Parker. All in all, an entertaining effort.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.