" I really liked this one. There wasn't really a lot of action but maybe that made it better. This novel was more about Spenser growing up a bit and taking a young boy under his wing, showing him how to be his own person and take care of himself. If I'm not mistaken, this young man becomes Spenser's surrogate son in the rest of the series. Another great story from Parker that illustrates a "genre" novel can be more than what some people define as "a silly distraction" or "not real literature". Genre or "serious" fiction, if the story isn't compelling, it doesn't matter what it's called; it will bore the reader and no one will care to read it. Robert B. Parker, in my opinion, doesn't have to worry about having that problem. The man could tell a wonderful story and he proves it here. "
— M., 2/15/2014