For many of us who followed Robert B. Parker’s Spenser, there is something comfy about these cases. Note, I said “comfy” not “cozy” because there is a level of raw meat involved in many of them. I believe that Ace Atkins is the right guy to keep the world supplied with Spenser stories.I probably would have passed on another one of this series, or at least put it lower in the TBR stack if it were not for the hook. For those who know Boston, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is a unique place to...

4 Stars. Spenser is at his sarcastic best in this one. I love his come-backs but I'm certain he could drive people in positions of power crazy. Does he ever answer a question with a straight response? Maybe when he and his lovely Susan are together and sex is imminent, or when Pearl is looking at him inquisitively for sure. Everyone in Boston remembers the theft of three works of art from the prestigious Winthrop Gallery twenty years ago. The statute of limitations on the theft is running out an...

I liked Robert Parker. I like Ace Atkins. I liked this book, with a couple of (minor) caveats. Deductions for getting too heavily into Spencer's gourmet cooking habits (imitation not always the sincerest form of flattery) and one-armed push-ups. Bonus point: Fabian mention. Overall, this was a fun read.

Let’s face it, I have been a sucker for Spenser since day one. I think Ace Atkins has done a masterful job of picking up the pen in Robert Parker’s absence. I did think this one was a little short on the snap and humor of earlier books but the understory was not too cheerful, anyway. I do enjoy these characters.

Akins has taken over Parker’s Spenser series and honestly, has probably surpassed the final decade of books that Parker himself was able to push out. Still, reading the merging of such a long-running (1973, people!) series into the style of a new author is interesting, with both things that improve, and that detract. I suppose I could view it as just another kind of writer’s evolution.In this edition, a dying private eye begs Spenser to take the Unfinished Case, a 60 million dollar painting that...

Ace Atkins could be Robert B. Parker's Doppelganger! He took the baton and carried on the Spenser series without a hitch! How fortunate for all of us listeners/readers that the beat goes on. What better way to pay homage to Mr. Parker than to continue writing his beloved Spenser series? Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!Old Black Magic is smart, funny, and not only is Spenser Boston's best PI, he is a gourmet cook! Love hearing his mouth watering descriptions of the various scrumptious meals he th...

Another winner from Atkins. I think this one may be the best. There is an actual mystery and Spenser has to follow the clues with Vinnie Morris at his side instead of Hawk. Would have liked Hawk to have made an appearance. Susan is kept in the background again which seems to be this author's prerogative instead of where Parker dedicated chapter after chapter to Susan and Spenser's undying love in his last few books.

I enjoyed this one. Felt like meeting up with an old friend and catching up. All the Spenser books have that element to me.This one felt like it meandered, though. Too much of the same ground got recovered. And I didn't feel like Atkins stuck the ending.Loved the Vinnie Morris insights.

I received a free advance copy from NetGalley for review.I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like. And I like books by Ace Atkins.Spenser is asked to look into a famous unsolved art heist, but since it occurred twenty years ago the trail is very cold and the museum people he’d be working for are couple of overbearing snobs guaranteed to be a pain in the ass. The only reasons to take the case are a five million dollar reward for the return of one particular painting and that Spenser ha...

From the publisher: Iconic, tough-but-tender Boston PI Spenser delves into the black market art scene to investigate a decades-long unsolved crime of dangerous proportions. The heist was legendary, still talked about twenty years after the priceless paintings disappeared from one of Boston’s premier art museums. Most thought the art was lost forever, buried deep, sold off overseas, or, worse, destroyed as incriminating evidence. But when the museum begins receiving detailed letters about the the...

Atkins is competent, but not spectacular, in his efforts to continue Spenser's legacy. Spenser is trying to solve a cold case of art theft as a favor to a dying detective. The case is quickly solved, but Hawk is missing and Susan is stuck way in the background. Recommended only to true Spencer fans.

This is the most recent of the post Robert B. Parker Spenser novels and it well worthy of some praise.Some of the late Parker written novels were meandering more about Parker and his dame. The continuation novels show a far leaner and more PI oriented approach towards Spenser and they feel far more adventurous somehow.Anyhow Spenser gets approached by a collegae in the PI trade to pickup his work concerning a twenty year old robbery concerning three paintings being stolen form the Boston museum....

I won't say I liked the plot in this book as well as others I've read, but my husband and I - both long-time fans of the Spenser series - agree that the Boston private eye's "voice" here is more true to that of original series author, the late Robert B. Parker. In 2011, Parker's estate chose Ace Atkins to carry on the legacy, and he's written - if my research is correct - six Spenser books prior to this one (all of which we've read and enjoyed).Twenty years after an extremely valuable El Greco p...

Twenty years after a storied theft from a Boston institution—no, not the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum—the powers that be want Spenser, another Boston institution, to recover three stolen artworks that are still missing.Spenser, who wouldn’t be interested in the Winthrop Museum’s problems if Locke, a dying colleague who’s been keeping an eye on it for two decades, hadn’t entreated him, agrees to grab the reins even though he’s not crazy about temperamental Winthrop director Marjorie Ward Phill...

This is another very entertaining Spenser novel, written by Ace Atkins who took over the series following the death of Robert B. Parker. This is the seventh of the novels that Atkins has written, and he long ago established his bona fides as the right person to take over from the master. It's not an exaggeration to say that the series now belongs to him almost as much as it does to Parker.This story is based on an actual art theft that occurred in Boston in 1990, and as the book opens, Spenser i...

ROBERT B. PARKER’S OLD BLACK MAGIC is written by Ace Atkins, who’s written several fine books in the Spenser series since the passing of Robert B. Parker.Spenser has had experience with a case involving art previously, but this case is in another league altogether. “Gentlemen in Black” is an extremely valuable piece of art that Spenser is hired to locate by a Boston museum, and was stolen in a crime more than twenty years ago, and as Spenser finds has changed hands several times since then, with...

Oh Spenser, how I've missed you! It's been at least 15 years since I've read a Spenser novel, not counting the rereads. I certainly understand why Ace Atkins was chosen by the Parker estate to take on this series. This book was everything I remember a Spenser novel being. Spenser still pisses off the cops, cooks up a storm, has Pearl and Susan! And hangs out at Henry's gym. The only thing missing was Hawk. This had a very Maltese Falcon feel to it, which was fun for me. I gave this 5 stars, beca...

"I thought the private detective motto was 'We never sleep.'" - suspect Alan Garner"That's the Pinkertons. I have a different [one]." - Spenser"And what's that?" - Garner"Coffee before justice." - SpenserThe Beantown P.I. returns in another really good twisty mystery-adventure. This time Spenser is asked to work a cold case - on behalf of an older, ailing colleague - involving stolen artwork from a museum heist twenty years ago and a lot of nefarious characters. My one minor gripe was the notice...

Another very enjoyable installation of the Spencer series by Ace Atkins. Except for the seemingly unnecessary scenes with girlfriend Susan, Spencer does what he does best: crack wise and eventually track down a stolen piece of art for the Winthrop museum. However, without telling too much, all will not end as it seems. Atkins has done an admirable job of creating twists to the plot, even offering Spencer an interesting substitute “back up“ in the form of his old pal, Vinnie. The latter, it seems...