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Spenser #34
Dream Girl
A client from a decades-old case reaches out to Boston PI Spenser-but can he rescue troubled April Kyle once more?
Longtime Spenser fans will remember that once upon a time, though not so long ago, there was a girl named April Kyle-a beautiful teenage runaway who turned to prostitution to escape her terrible family life. The book was 1982's Ceremony, and, thanks to Spenser, April escaped Boston's "Combat Zone" for the relative safety of a high-class New York City bordello. April resurfaced in Taming a Sea-Horse, again in dire need of Spenser's rescue-this time from the clutches of a controlling lover. But April Kyle's return in Hundred-Dollar Baby is nothing short of shocking.
When a mature, beautiful, and composed April strides into Spenser's office, the Boston PI barely hesitates before recognizing his once and future client. Now a well-established madam herself, April oversees an upscale call-girl operation in Boston's Back Bay. Still looking for Spenser's approval, it takes her a moment before she can ask him, again, for his assistance. Her business is a success; what's more, it's an all-female enterprise. Now that some men are trying to take it away from her, she needs Spenser.
April claims to be in the dark about who it is that's trying to shake her down, but with a bit of legwork and a bit more muscle, Spenser and Hawk find ties to organized crime and local kingpin Tony Marcus, as well as a scheme to franchise the operation across the country. As Spenser again plays the gallant knight, it becomes clear that April's not as innocent as she seems. In fact, she may be her own worst enemy.
Longtime Spenser fans will remember that once upon a time, though not so long ago, there was a girl named April Kyle-a beautiful teenage runaway who turned to prostitution to escape her terrible family life. The book was 1982's Ceremony, and, thanks to Spenser, April escaped Boston's "Combat Zone" for the relative safety of a high-class New York City bordello. April resurfaced in Taming a Sea-Horse, again in dire need of Spenser's rescue-this time from the clutches of a controlling lover. But April Kyle's return in Hundred-Dollar Baby is nothing short of shocking.
When a mature, beautiful, and composed April strides into Spenser's office, the Boston PI barely hesitates before recognizing his once and future client. Now a well-established madam herself, April oversees an upscale call-girl operation in Boston's Back Bay. Still looking for Spenser's approval, it takes her a moment before she can ask him, again, for his assistance. Her business is a success; what's more, it's an all-female enterprise. Now that some men are trying to take it away from her, she needs Spenser.
April claims to be in the dark about who it is that's trying to shake her down, but with a bit of legwork and a bit more muscle, Spenser and Hawk find ties to organized crime and local kingpin Tony Marcus, as well as a scheme to franchise the operation across the country. As Spenser again plays the gallant knight, it becomes clear that April's not as innocent as she seems. In fact, she may be her own worst enemy.
Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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About the author
Robert B. Parker
489 books2,291 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database named Robert B. Parker.
Robert Brown Parker was an American writer, primarily of fiction within the mystery/detective genre. His most famous works were the 40 novels written about the fictional private detective Spenser. ABC television network developed the television series Spenser: For Hire based on the character in the mid-1980s; a series of TV movies was also produced based on the character. His works incorporate encyclopedic knowledge of the Boston metropolitan area. The Spenser novels have been cited as reviving and changing the detective genre by critics and bestselling authors including Robert Crais, Harlan Coben, and Dennis Lehane.
Parker also wrote nine novels featuring the fictional character Jesse Stone, a Los Angeles police officer who moves to a small New England town; six novels with the fictional character Sunny Randall, a female private investigator; and four Westerns starring the duo Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch. The first was Appaloosa, made into a film starring Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen.
Robert Brown Parker was an American writer, primarily of fiction within the mystery/detective genre. His most famous works were the 40 novels written about the fictional private detective Spenser. ABC television network developed the television series Spenser: For Hire based on the character in the mid-1980s; a series of TV movies was also produced based on the character. His works incorporate encyclopedic knowledge of the Boston metropolitan area. The Spenser novels have been cited as reviving and changing the detective genre by critics and bestselling authors including Robert Crais, Harlan Coben, and Dennis Lehane.
Parker also wrote nine novels featuring the fictional character Jesse Stone, a Los Angeles police officer who moves to a small New England town; six novels with the fictional character Sunny Randall, a female private investigator; and four Westerns starring the duo Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch. The first was Appaloosa, made into a film starring Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 408 reviews
November 4, 2019
Hundred-Dollar Baby was a last hurrah of sorts for the Spenser series, and a return to near-greatness for Parker as a writer. The emotional impact of the final entry in the sad April Kyle trilogy within the Spenser canon was well written and deeply moving. The years seemed to disappear — almost — as you turned the pages of Hundred-Dollar Baby, aka Dream Girl. This was a return to the early days of Spenser, before Parker shifted the focus of the series to the vain and pretentious mess that was Susan Silverman, allowing the cloying and nauseating exchanges between the two, and the psychobabble to eclipse plot, and depth.
It was the shift in focus brought about by events in Parker’s own life which, in my opinion, throttled the literary heights to which he had begun to strive for with the series. The second entry in the story-line, Taming a Sea-Horse, came after Catskill Eagle, and the focus had shifted completely. Reading it after Ceremony was almost a shock. Having re-read Hundred-Dollar Baby on the heels of reading Sea-Horse that book feels like an aberration sandwiched between Ceremony and Hundred-Dollar Baby. But whereas reading Sea-Horse is a disappointing shock after Ceremony, Hundred-Dollar Baby is a startling surprise after the changed focus in Sea-Horse.
Parker had invested a lot in the April Kyle saga. Proof of that is that he kept returning to her in the series. Perhaps he sensed that neither this series, nor its writer, could go on forever, and he wanted to at least write one more great one. The fact that he chose to make it the final book in the April Kyle story, speaks volumes about his own feelings for the character. Parker once again, and finally gave readers a real mystery, with both Spenser and the reader not quite able to connect the dots in a multi-layered plot in which every time Spenser peels back one layer, another emerges. It’s the classic detective novel — Parker’s style imposed on it — of a detective working on a case where everyone is lying to him, including his client. In this case the client is a beautiful and sophisticated woman Spenser doesn’t at first recognize when she walks into his office — April Kyle.
The years have apparently been kind to April, as the troubled kid once hooking in Boston’s Combat Zone seems to have become very much like Patricia Utley. While Spenser might have hoped she would find love at some point and take a Linda Rabb route, it’s impossible to be disappointed with the smiling, lovely and elegant woman in front of him. Outwardly at least, April seems to have overcome her damage, but as Spenser attempts to help her, he gradually realizes things are not as they seem. Before this one is over, there will be no doubt that April never really overcame the damage at all, and that Spenser’s morally ambiguous solution in Ceremony — even if it seemed like the only one at the time — was the wrong one.
April is running a Back Bay branch office of sorts for New York’s Patricia Utley, but someone is trying to horn in on the very high-end operation. The carefully recruited women working for April are teachers, real estate agents, graduate students, and bored but beautiful housewives. The clientele is upscale and as painstakingly screened as possible. When Spenser speaks with them during the investigation, it becomes clear that at least in this instance, these women are doing what they want to do, and feel like they’re the ones doing the exploiting. The psychology of that is of course hashed around by Spenser and Susan, but this is more the Spenser and Hawk show; and eventually, the Spenser and April show.
Parker could not change what he’d done from Valediction going forward at this point in the series, so he just worked around Susan. He gave the reader a real mystery with a labyrinth plot, and a depth missing in the Spenser entries which were simply great entertainment. By keeping the interludes between Spenser and Susan to a not-too-nauseating level, he kept the focus on April Kyle, which is what the character deserved. Only twice, when Susan mentions that business out West, does the reader cringe, because it’s a reminder of where this series jumped the rails, and never found its way to its intended destination once it got back on them.
As Spenser and Hawk discourage the thugs attempting to muscle in, Spenser learns that the overhead on April’s operation is so great, it leaves little for Patricia Utley. Then he discovers Utley only expanded into Boston because she cares for April, and wanted her to have something of her own. Once Spenser realizes there really isn’t a lot worth taking, he sadly concludes that April must be lying to him. It bothers Spenser on a personal level more than professional, and it bothers him that April seemingly rejects even the possibility of love. It is an early hint to both the reader and Spenser, that there will be no Linda Rabb happy ending, and suggests that the fateful decision at the end of Ceremony, was not the right one.
The threat to April’s operation escalates when one of her girls get worked over and put in the hospital. Because Spenser can already feel something wrong, the beating makes no sense. With Vinnie in Cincinnati helping his new boss, Gino, “persuade” some people, and Chollo on his way to Mexico to do similar work, Spenser brings in Tedy Sapp from Hugger Mugger to help Hawk watch over the Back Bay brothel, while he pokes around in New York. What Spenser discovers, he doesn’t like. But the more layers of a possible con game Spenser peels back, the more confused he is. With everyone lying to him, including Patricia Utley, it’s unclear just who is doing the playing, and who is getting played.
This time around, just as in Sea-Horse, Tony Marcus and Spenser have parallel interests, and Tony is content to let Spenser rid him of a problem. Tony is getting a cut of April’s operation, and doesn’t want anyone else splitting up the pie. Corsetti, the New York cop from the earlier book in the saga, lends Spenser out of town support in this one, and it’s too bad Parker didn’t include him more in the series. Parker addresses the Hawk issue here, by having Hawk tell Spenser in a moment of banter, that he isn’t Tonto. Parker could not have been unaware of the opportunities he missed with Hawk, Vinnie and others in the series, once he’d shifted the focus to perhaps placate his personal demons, and assuage truncated expectations. He was too good a writer not to be aware of it, or not be aware of how millions of readers disliked the vain and pretentious Susan Silverman — and what she made Spenser become when they were together. One can infer that Parker is acknowledging that he should have never allowed Hawk to become Tonto to Spenser’s Lone Ranger, nor compromised the series.
When the guy doing the muscle work for someone trying to cut into April's Back Bay operation gets burned, and New York mob connections emerge, this one becomes about a dream, and unaddressed damage. The conclusion is deeply sad, and emotionally powerful. Twisting and involving, and in the end, terribly moving, this was Parker’s final great moment. The insipid Now and Then followed this one, and it seemed for a moment as though, having expended so much on this entry, Parker had emptied the tank. But then we got the very good The Professional. It was fumes, but they were high-octane fumes, so it was a terrific read, even if it didn’t have the deeply moving emotional resonance of Hundred-Dollar Baby.
If you’re reading the Spenser series, I suggest reading The Professional before this one, allowing this late entry to be Parker’s swan song. It’s sad and moving, it has a multi-layered plot, and for those who've read the previous entries concerning April Kyle (Ceremony, and Taming a Sea-Horse), the human drama of April Kyle, especially the final scene, is one you’re not likely to ever forget. If you're a true Parker fan, let it end here, on a powerful note in Parker's own literary voice; avoiding the gore and superfluous expletives, and characters that no longer seem themselves now that Parker has passed, and others are writing this series. Parker’s own work was his legacy, just like every writer, and Hundred-Dollar Baby was a sad and powerful way to say goodbye.
It was the shift in focus brought about by events in Parker’s own life which, in my opinion, throttled the literary heights to which he had begun to strive for with the series. The second entry in the story-line, Taming a Sea-Horse, came after Catskill Eagle, and the focus had shifted completely. Reading it after Ceremony was almost a shock. Having re-read Hundred-Dollar Baby on the heels of reading Sea-Horse that book feels like an aberration sandwiched between Ceremony and Hundred-Dollar Baby. But whereas reading Sea-Horse is a disappointing shock after Ceremony, Hundred-Dollar Baby is a startling surprise after the changed focus in Sea-Horse.
Parker had invested a lot in the April Kyle saga. Proof of that is that he kept returning to her in the series. Perhaps he sensed that neither this series, nor its writer, could go on forever, and he wanted to at least write one more great one. The fact that he chose to make it the final book in the April Kyle story, speaks volumes about his own feelings for the character. Parker once again, and finally gave readers a real mystery, with both Spenser and the reader not quite able to connect the dots in a multi-layered plot in which every time Spenser peels back one layer, another emerges. It’s the classic detective novel — Parker’s style imposed on it — of a detective working on a case where everyone is lying to him, including his client. In this case the client is a beautiful and sophisticated woman Spenser doesn’t at first recognize when she walks into his office — April Kyle.
The years have apparently been kind to April, as the troubled kid once hooking in Boston’s Combat Zone seems to have become very much like Patricia Utley. While Spenser might have hoped she would find love at some point and take a Linda Rabb route, it’s impossible to be disappointed with the smiling, lovely and elegant woman in front of him. Outwardly at least, April seems to have overcome her damage, but as Spenser attempts to help her, he gradually realizes things are not as they seem. Before this one is over, there will be no doubt that April never really overcame the damage at all, and that Spenser’s morally ambiguous solution in Ceremony — even if it seemed like the only one at the time — was the wrong one.
April is running a Back Bay branch office of sorts for New York’s Patricia Utley, but someone is trying to horn in on the very high-end operation. The carefully recruited women working for April are teachers, real estate agents, graduate students, and bored but beautiful housewives. The clientele is upscale and as painstakingly screened as possible. When Spenser speaks with them during the investigation, it becomes clear that at least in this instance, these women are doing what they want to do, and feel like they’re the ones doing the exploiting. The psychology of that is of course hashed around by Spenser and Susan, but this is more the Spenser and Hawk show; and eventually, the Spenser and April show.
Parker could not change what he’d done from Valediction going forward at this point in the series, so he just worked around Susan. He gave the reader a real mystery with a labyrinth plot, and a depth missing in the Spenser entries which were simply great entertainment. By keeping the interludes between Spenser and Susan to a not-too-nauseating level, he kept the focus on April Kyle, which is what the character deserved. Only twice, when Susan mentions that business out West, does the reader cringe, because it’s a reminder of where this series jumped the rails, and never found its way to its intended destination once it got back on them.
As Spenser and Hawk discourage the thugs attempting to muscle in, Spenser learns that the overhead on April’s operation is so great, it leaves little for Patricia Utley. Then he discovers Utley only expanded into Boston because she cares for April, and wanted her to have something of her own. Once Spenser realizes there really isn’t a lot worth taking, he sadly concludes that April must be lying to him. It bothers Spenser on a personal level more than professional, and it bothers him that April seemingly rejects even the possibility of love. It is an early hint to both the reader and Spenser, that there will be no Linda Rabb happy ending, and suggests that the fateful decision at the end of Ceremony, was not the right one.
The threat to April’s operation escalates when one of her girls get worked over and put in the hospital. Because Spenser can already feel something wrong, the beating makes no sense. With Vinnie in Cincinnati helping his new boss, Gino, “persuade” some people, and Chollo on his way to Mexico to do similar work, Spenser brings in Tedy Sapp from Hugger Mugger to help Hawk watch over the Back Bay brothel, while he pokes around in New York. What Spenser discovers, he doesn’t like. But the more layers of a possible con game Spenser peels back, the more confused he is. With everyone lying to him, including Patricia Utley, it’s unclear just who is doing the playing, and who is getting played.
This time around, just as in Sea-Horse, Tony Marcus and Spenser have parallel interests, and Tony is content to let Spenser rid him of a problem. Tony is getting a cut of April’s operation, and doesn’t want anyone else splitting up the pie. Corsetti, the New York cop from the earlier book in the saga, lends Spenser out of town support in this one, and it’s too bad Parker didn’t include him more in the series. Parker addresses the Hawk issue here, by having Hawk tell Spenser in a moment of banter, that he isn’t Tonto. Parker could not have been unaware of the opportunities he missed with Hawk, Vinnie and others in the series, once he’d shifted the focus to perhaps placate his personal demons, and assuage truncated expectations. He was too good a writer not to be aware of it, or not be aware of how millions of readers disliked the vain and pretentious Susan Silverman — and what she made Spenser become when they were together. One can infer that Parker is acknowledging that he should have never allowed Hawk to become Tonto to Spenser’s Lone Ranger, nor compromised the series.
When the guy doing the muscle work for someone trying to cut into April's Back Bay operation gets burned, and New York mob connections emerge, this one becomes about a dream, and unaddressed damage. The conclusion is deeply sad, and emotionally powerful. Twisting and involving, and in the end, terribly moving, this was Parker’s final great moment. The insipid Now and Then followed this one, and it seemed for a moment as though, having expended so much on this entry, Parker had emptied the tank. But then we got the very good The Professional. It was fumes, but they were high-octane fumes, so it was a terrific read, even if it didn’t have the deeply moving emotional resonance of Hundred-Dollar Baby.
If you’re reading the Spenser series, I suggest reading The Professional before this one, allowing this late entry to be Parker’s swan song. It’s sad and moving, it has a multi-layered plot, and for those who've read the previous entries concerning April Kyle (Ceremony, and Taming a Sea-Horse), the human drama of April Kyle, especially the final scene, is one you’re not likely to ever forget. If you're a true Parker fan, let it end here, on a powerful note in Parker's own literary voice; avoiding the gore and superfluous expletives, and characters that no longer seem themselves now that Parker has passed, and others are writing this series. Parker’s own work was his legacy, just like every writer, and Hundred-Dollar Baby was a sad and powerful way to say goodbye.
December 16, 2019
Oh goodness, definitely a good thing I was a helicopter parent. Not a good fit for dad. Suddenly I understand why Parker has the Jesse Stone series: as Spenser is the noir-ish (heavy on the -ISH, post-1990) side of mystery, Stone lets him cater to a reader that wants a more lawful sort of experience.
This is the one where Spenser gets a call from someone he helped in the past, first as a deeply troubled and abused teen, then as a call girl. This time, April is running her own house of prostitution in Boston. An unknown person is harassing her and she calls Spenser for help. Spenser, despite having been doing this for at least twenty years by now, remains extraordinarily gullible. Hawk is at his side, however, and keeps him in line. Tony Marcus makes a brief appearance, as does Patricia Utley.
Obviously, the reader needs to be comfortable with all sorts of hypotheticals, although Parker takes pains to make this the rightest of setups. The sex-workers are all women who enjoy sex, working for fun and cash (/eyeroll), April screens her clients and has protections in place so no one does what they don't agree to, 'girls' are medically screened (but not the johns), blah-blah.
In fact, Spenser and Susan are going strong in this one, which gives Susan a chance to psychoanalyze April and the sex-for-money issue for the reader, proving that it is probably exploitative in some manner (I kind of appreciate her leading the reader to that conclusion). We also get to hear a number of times how awesome their relationship is and how healthily they've adjusted to bumps in other books. This aspect may prove annoying to fans who have limited Susan tolerance. I will note that she does eat part of a doughnut in this one, as well as cooks some beet risotto, so that's kind of fun.
These are short, four to five page chapters on the whole, but there's a great ending, and some even better dynamics between Spenser and Hawk that make it series notable. But I think I'll be exchanging these for the Jesse Stones for the dad.
Two-and-a-half stars, rounding up because today I felt like it.
This is the one where Spenser gets a call from someone he helped in the past, first as a deeply troubled and abused teen, then as a call girl. This time, April is running her own house of prostitution in Boston. An unknown person is harassing her and she calls Spenser for help. Spenser, despite having been doing this for at least twenty years by now, remains extraordinarily gullible. Hawk is at his side, however, and keeps him in line. Tony Marcus makes a brief appearance, as does Patricia Utley.
Obviously, the reader needs to be comfortable with all sorts of hypotheticals, although Parker takes pains to make this the rightest of setups. The sex-workers are all women who enjoy sex, working for fun and cash (/eyeroll), April screens her clients and has protections in place so no one does what they don't agree to, 'girls' are medically screened (but not the johns), blah-blah.
In fact, Spenser and Susan are going strong in this one, which gives Susan a chance to psychoanalyze April and the sex-for-money issue for the reader, proving that it is probably exploitative in some manner (I kind of appreciate her leading the reader to that conclusion). We also get to hear a number of times how awesome their relationship is and how healthily they've adjusted to bumps in other books. This aspect may prove annoying to fans who have limited Susan tolerance. I will note that she does eat part of a doughnut in this one, as well as cooks some beet risotto, so that's kind of fun.
These are short, four to five page chapters on the whole, but there's a great ending, and some even better dynamics between Spenser and Hawk that make it series notable. But I think I'll be exchanging these for the Jesse Stones for the dad.
Two-and-a-half stars, rounding up because today I felt like it.
August 9, 2019
This is the third Spenser adventure featuring high-priced hooker April Kyle, and, taken together, the three of them—Ceremony (1981), Taming a Seahorse (1986), and Hundred Dollar Baby (2006)—are close to being a Spenser trilogy. The three books resonate with each other, illuminate each other, and Hundred Dollar Baby brings April’s story to a reflective and haunting conclusion.
In Ceremony Spenser encountered April as a high school runaway who hated her parents and was determined to make her living as a sex-worker. Unable to persuade the teenager to choose another life, Spenser finds a high-class madam In New York who consents to be April’s employer and mentor. (Spenser realizes this is a morally unsatisfactory decision, but feels it is the best option he has.) Five years later, he must save April again from the schemes of an enterprising pimp who April is convinced truly loves her. Now, twenty more years have passed, and April is a beautiful and elegant madam who has recently opened her own Boston franchise. But there’s a problem: some anonymous hood is demanding a big piece of the action. The threats and the harassment is serious, and April needs Spenser’s help.
One of the continuing themes of this series is that moral choices can be extremely messy, that even the best alternative at the time is inevitably flawed, and may lead to failure as well as success. Spenser explores this theme more deeply in these three books—particular when they are taken together—then he does elsewhere. The scenes involving sexwork—from the seedy Combat Zone streets of Ceremony to the elegant bordello of Hundred Dollar Baby—are vivid and believable . And Spenser (and, yes, even gal pal Susan) offer interesting insights into the nature of sex work, and the relations of men and women in general.
Come to think of it, if you have never read Spenser, or if you are thinking of visiting the Spenser books again after a number years, try this: read the three books I mentioned above, in order. They are a great introduction to what Parker does best. And after you finish them, you still have 36 more Parker books to read!
March 8, 2013
Once upon a time, Spenser tracked down a young runaway prostitute named April Kyle in Ceremony and had to save her again in Taming A Sea-Horse. Now April is back and in need of his help. Hopefully the third time’s the charm.
April is now a polished veteran of the world of high class prostitution, and she’s graduated to madam status by setting up a classy brothel in Boston. Someone is trying to muscle into her business so she turns to Spenser for help.
Spenser has always felt responsible and guilty for April ending up as a professional sex worker even though he did the best he could for her. Despite seeming like a relatively well-adjusted business woman, Spenser can’t help but feel that the life he couldn’t entirely save April from has taken a toll on her. It’s that dynamic that adds some extra depth to this one. April represents a failure at some level to Spenser, and he’s never really come to terms with that.
This is a pretty solid late entry in the series although once again the book gets weaker when it moves from Spenser trying to protect April’s business from thugs to Spenser trying to delve into April’s psychological well-being. There’s a fair amount of Susan, but she’s only moderately annoying.
What really sets this one apart is the ending.
Next up: Susan’s life is threatened but unfortunately Spenser’s enemy doesn’t get the job done in Now & Then.
April is now a polished veteran of the world of high class prostitution, and she’s graduated to madam status by setting up a classy brothel in Boston. Someone is trying to muscle into her business so she turns to Spenser for help.
Spenser has always felt responsible and guilty for April ending up as a professional sex worker even though he did the best he could for her. Despite seeming like a relatively well-adjusted business woman, Spenser can’t help but feel that the life he couldn’t entirely save April from has taken a toll on her. It’s that dynamic that adds some extra depth to this one. April represents a failure at some level to Spenser, and he’s never really come to terms with that.
This is a pretty solid late entry in the series although once again the book gets weaker when it moves from Spenser trying to protect April’s business from thugs to Spenser trying to delve into April’s psychological well-being. There’s a fair amount of Susan, but she’s only moderately annoying.
What really sets this one apart is the ending.
Next up: Susan’s life is threatened but unfortunately Spenser’s enemy doesn’t get the job done in Now & Then.
August 15, 2025
Чета историите за Спенсър разбъркано и когато се присетя за тях, защото от опит знам, че всяка една ще ми достави удоволствие.
Това е поредната бързооборотна кримка, в която той се опитва да направи нещо невъзможно - да спаси човек, който не желае да бъде спасен…
Хареса ми!
Това е поредната бързооборотна кримка, в която той се опитва да направи нещо невъзможно - да спаси човек, който не желае да бъде спасен…
Хареса ми!
April 13, 2024
Your usual Spencer mystery. Not bad but the dark ending left a bad taste in my mouth.
January 3, 2025
Once again Spenser does his best to try and “save” April Kyle. This is the third time she has appeared in the series. As with her other appearances you know you’re in for a deeply moving human drama wrapped in a Spenser mystery. Will Spenser finally be able to save her or is it true that some people can’t be saved?
November 10, 2022
April Kyle returns from the 1982 novel, Ceremony.
Previously, April was a beautiful abused runaway teenager becoming a prostitute saved by Spenser.
Spenser introduced Patricia Utley, a high-class madam in New York for help & teach April the business.
In this book, April returns as a “madam” running her own successful Boston Back Bay high-class whorehouse asking Spenser for protection.
Spenser’s partner Hawk, girlfriend Susan Silverman, a shrink/psychiatrist, BPD Sgt. Frank Belson, Homicide Commander Martin Quirk, NYPD Det. Eugene Corsetti appear to help.
April faces problems with a “boutique whorehouse” named DreamGirl being run by a mob in Boston, Philly & New Haven.
Threatened by DreamGirl mobsters and/or “dishonest” customers (Tony Marcus, Ollie DeMars, Lionel Farnsworth??) skimming/taking money for business protection or lose everything……
The end is good. Some of the 3 are murdered with a .22 gun.
Spenser confronts April on her return to him & her current “madam” involvement….. Can Spenser save her? Could April be threatened or killed by any of these living?
Previously, April was a beautiful abused runaway teenager becoming a prostitute saved by Spenser.
Spenser introduced Patricia Utley, a high-class madam in New York for help & teach April the business.
In this book, April returns as a “madam” running her own successful Boston Back Bay high-class whorehouse asking Spenser for protection.
Spenser’s partner Hawk, girlfriend Susan Silverman, a shrink/psychiatrist, BPD Sgt. Frank Belson, Homicide Commander Martin Quirk, NYPD Det. Eugene Corsetti appear to help.
April faces problems with a “boutique whorehouse” named DreamGirl being run by a mob in Boston, Philly & New Haven.
Threatened by DreamGirl mobsters and/or “dishonest” customers (Tony Marcus, Ollie DeMars, Lionel Farnsworth??) skimming/taking money for business protection or lose everything……
The end is good. Some of the 3 are murdered with a .22 gun.
Spenser confronts April on her return to him & her current “madam” involvement….. Can Spenser save her? Could April be threatened or killed by any of these living?
November 17, 2014
Oh, my. Someone said tired...Robert B. Parker and his once great character Spenser, Hawk and Susan (blah) are all tired.
And they are making me tired, too.
I usually complete series but thinking I might not complete this one. They just seem boring. Same old, same old.
Parker maybe changes things up in the remaining series. There are 44 and at this time I am NOT reading them in order. Listening in car while I'm driving to the pool, well, I'm driving anyway, so don't feel like I'm wasting my time. If I was reading with a book in hand, afraid I would feel as though I'm wasting my time.
Maybe nine left to read so I'll finish by way of audio but honestly, not expecting much.
Looking through the list though, I remember "The Judas Goat"...great read and gave it five stars, I think, and same with "The Godwulf Manuscript." Ah, those were the days...no mas.
And they are making me tired, too.
I usually complete series but thinking I might not complete this one. They just seem boring. Same old, same old.
Parker maybe changes things up in the remaining series. There are 44 and at this time I am NOT reading them in order. Listening in car while I'm driving to the pool, well, I'm driving anyway, so don't feel like I'm wasting my time. If I was reading with a book in hand, afraid I would feel as though I'm wasting my time.
Maybe nine left to read so I'll finish by way of audio but honestly, not expecting much.
Looking through the list though, I remember "The Judas Goat"...great read and gave it five stars, I think, and same with "The Godwulf Manuscript." Ah, those were the days...no mas.
May 27, 2017
(The word "maroon" appears twice in this novel)
4.5 stars
I loved this book, the complex mystery, the sleuthing, the snappy dialogue and consistent humour, the dark, broken femme-fatale, the almost total lack of Pearl-surrogate-child, the return of Susan to normality, the reduced (repetitive) banter with Hawk, and the sense of impending train wreck throughout.
April was a sad, damaged child, who grew into a sad, damaged woman in spite of the shining light in Spenser's heart and his refusal to give up on her. A classic greek tragedy here, and in previous April books, all leading to this final and sadly inevitable denouement.
If you have ever in your life tried to save someone, in spite of themselves, especially someone with promise and life and potential, Hundred-Dollar Baby will be more than "just a Spenser book" for you.
The only flaw in the book, truly, is ....
------------
Other notes:
The dialogue below with Susan, looks back at their breakup with the wisdom of age, and the gratitude that they were able to recover their marriage.
--
"When I was about twenty-two,” I said, “I went with two other guys to Japan on R & R." from the Korean War.
This makes Spenser about 74 years old now.... Same as Parker. A bit old for a thug? Just sayin'...
--
There was some great dialogue in this book, especially between the cops and Spenser. Lately his best dialogue has been with cops, and his worst with Hawk, sadly. Susan, of course, mirrors his relationship and his banter with Parker's wife, Joan.
Quote here, and more below:
“Maybe some houses in Philly and New Haven. Maybe April. There’s some kind of scheme to defraud somebody. Maybe Mrs. Utley. Maybe all of the above, defrauding each other. Everybody is telling me stories they make up on the fly. None of it makes much sense.”
“And then you go back and talk to them again and point out where they were lying and they make up another story,” Belson said.
“Oh,” I said, “happens to you, too?”
“Every coupla hours,” he said.
“Maybe I’ll stop asking,” I said. “Maybe I’ll just nose around until I stumble over a fact or something.”
“Think you’ll recognize a fact?”
“If I’m confused,” I said, “I’ll call you.”
“Misery loves company,” Belson said. “I’ll hold Quirk off as long as I can.”
4.5 stars
I loved this book, the complex mystery, the sleuthing, the snappy dialogue and consistent humour, the dark, broken femme-fatale, the almost total lack of Pearl-surrogate-child, the return of Susan to normality, the reduced (repetitive) banter with Hawk, and the sense of impending train wreck throughout.
April was a sad, damaged child, who grew into a sad, damaged woman in spite of the shining light in Spenser's heart and his refusal to give up on her. A classic greek tragedy here, and in previous April books, all leading to this final and sadly inevitable denouement.
If you have ever in your life tried to save someone, in spite of themselves, especially someone with promise and life and potential, Hundred-Dollar Baby will be more than "just a Spenser book" for you.
The only flaw in the book, truly, is ....
------------
Other notes:
The dialogue below with Susan, looks back at their breakup with the wisdom of age, and the gratitude that they were able to recover their marriage.
--
"When I was about twenty-two,” I said, “I went with two other guys to Japan on R & R." from the Korean War.
This makes Spenser about 74 years old now.... Same as Parker. A bit old for a thug? Just sayin'...
--
There was some great dialogue in this book, especially between the cops and Spenser. Lately his best dialogue has been with cops, and his worst with Hawk, sadly. Susan, of course, mirrors his relationship and his banter with Parker's wife, Joan.
Quote here, and more below:
“Maybe some houses in Philly and New Haven. Maybe April. There’s some kind of scheme to defraud somebody. Maybe Mrs. Utley. Maybe all of the above, defrauding each other. Everybody is telling me stories they make up on the fly. None of it makes much sense.”
“And then you go back and talk to them again and point out where they were lying and they make up another story,” Belson said.
“Oh,” I said, “happens to you, too?”
“Every coupla hours,” he said.
“Maybe I’ll stop asking,” I said. “Maybe I’ll just nose around until I stumble over a fact or something.”
“Think you’ll recognize a fact?”
“If I’m confused,” I said, “I’ll call you.”
“Misery loves company,” Belson said. “I’ll hold Quirk off as long as I can.”
September 27, 2024
What an end to the April Kyle saga!
Spenser is too good some times. Not everyone can be saved. This was a 3 book arc over several years. April Kyle from girl to woman. She was always a mess. Sadly, Spenser was sucked into her orbit yet again.
This ends as it only could. In tragedy, at least Spenser is free.
Spenser is too good some times. Not everyone can be saved. This was a 3 book arc over several years. April Kyle from girl to woman. She was always a mess. Sadly, Spenser was sucked into her orbit yet again.
This ends as it only could. In tragedy, at least Spenser is free.
August 3, 2011
THis book drives the point home yet again that the Spenser novels are tired. Now instead of inventing new characters, we get old characters who end up in hot water, and instead of going to the police, Spenser takes the law into his own capable hands
November 21, 2019
The third in the April Kyle series, it finds Spenser immersed in a web of lies. Along with Hawk, he tries to help the one time troubled teen, now a seasoned prostitute and madame. Fist and gun play rear their heads again.
March 31, 2015
It makes me so sad to know that Robert B. Parker is gone. I feel like I know Spenser, that he's a personal friend. I've read almost every one of the books in this series at least once. Spenser's tongue-in-cheek humor, morality, friendships, intelligence, honor, and "his" Boston are all tremendously endearing to me. Then this story, which he wrote nearing the end of his life, about his re-acquaintance with April Kyle and the efforts he went through to "save" her once again. There's a very thin line between goodness and badness - and Parker has always made me realize that there can be a lot of goodness in the bad guys and badness in the good ones. These mysteries, for me, aren't just figuring out whodunnit. They probe deeper, and leave me thinking for a good long while.
August 23, 2021
“Whatever the truth is, it’s nothing we can’t fix.”
“Looking for love in all the wrong places.”
“Maybe she can’t be saved.”
April Kyle is back in her third Spenser book, and as always, Robert B. Parker executes it perfectly. Spenser, over many, many books has gone out of his way to try to save certain young people from a troubled past. Some, like Paul Giacomin, have turned out for the better. April Kyle was always the exception as Spenser in past books has helped her navigate from a horrific past to a present/future that is by no means respectable. In Ceremony, Robert B. Parker gives us a Gone, Baby, Gone moment where readers can decide whether he made the right choice. In Taming The Sea Horse, you can feel for Spenser in that he is still trying to do the best thing. By Hundred-Dollar Baby, we can easily put ourselves in Spenser’s shoes and ask the question “Are there some people who just can’t be saved from a bad past?” We all want to believe it, even when the odds are against it. And that’s what makes Hundred-Dollar Baby another really great Spenser book. There is the return of Susan in this one but it’s fairly minimum. Only a chapter or two of Spenser and Susan trying to attach a definition to their relationship that has been done in so many books. But other than that, it’s one of Parker’s best.
“Looking for love in all the wrong places.”
“Maybe she can’t be saved.”
April Kyle is back in her third Spenser book, and as always, Robert B. Parker executes it perfectly. Spenser, over many, many books has gone out of his way to try to save certain young people from a troubled past. Some, like Paul Giacomin, have turned out for the better. April Kyle was always the exception as Spenser in past books has helped her navigate from a horrific past to a present/future that is by no means respectable. In Ceremony, Robert B. Parker gives us a Gone, Baby, Gone moment where readers can decide whether he made the right choice. In Taming The Sea Horse, you can feel for Spenser in that he is still trying to do the best thing. By Hundred-Dollar Baby, we can easily put ourselves in Spenser’s shoes and ask the question “Are there some people who just can’t be saved from a bad past?” We all want to believe it, even when the odds are against it. And that’s what makes Hundred-Dollar Baby another really great Spenser book. There is the return of Susan in this one but it’s fairly minimum. Only a chapter or two of Spenser and Susan trying to attach a definition to their relationship that has been done in so many books. But other than that, it’s one of Parker’s best.
Read
March 12, 2008I have been reading Robert Parker books since 7th grade. The Spenser series is unparalleled, and I love the Sunny Randall and Jesse Stone series, too. Awesome! Great writing and great plot combined -- love it! (I have loved the Spenser series more since working in downtown Boston. I have enjoyed experiencing Spencer's Boston -- thank you, Robert B. Parker!!!!)
April 10, 2017
A super fast read. 3 1/2 stars. A lot of fans seemed really frustrated at this point in the franchise. And it's definitely not the what it once was. But it's still fun to get updates to the characters. Even annoying Susan, who nibbles on a single donut hole all day and takes micro-sips of Cosmopolitans.
December 9, 2013
Easily the best Spenser novel in the last dozen or so books. An old charcater or two resurface in Spensers life forcing him to confront the consequences of his previous good intentions.
April 30, 2020
স্পেনসার বুড়ো হয়ে যাচ্ছে। সামান্য একটা কাল্পনিক চরিত্র অথচ সে বুড়ো হয়ে যাচ্ছে দেখে কী তীব্র একটা খারাপ লাগা কাজ করছে। এটা কি আমার অপরিক্বতার বহিঃপ্রকাশ নয়?
February 2, 2017
In the third and final book of the April Kyle subseries, Spenser sets out to help her once again with men who are trying to get her out of her prostitute business in Boston. April was getting a tad annoying. Never have particularly cared for her character but in this book she goes to new annoying levels. Till the end Spenser tries to save her.
National franchises for high end prostitution is April's idea. She gets bored housewives and college girls who like sex and realize they can make money too. The clients come over to the mansion and sample from the high end selections April offers. April wants to expand her idea but she needs help and those who agree to help her aren't exactly stop drawer citizens. Surprise there. So...April calls for Spenser to come to the rescue again as he has in two previous books.
Not the best Spenser book but I did enjoy the ending.
National franchises for high end prostitution is April's idea. She gets bored housewives and college girls who like sex and realize they can make money too. The clients come over to the mansion and sample from the high end selections April offers. April wants to expand her idea but she needs help and those who agree to help her aren't exactly stop drawer citizens. Surprise there. So...April calls for Spenser to come to the rescue again as he has in two previous books.
Not the best Spenser book but I did enjoy the ending.
March 25, 2020
This one was methodical, solved the way Spenser always says he gets it done. Slowly, asking every question and more until he figures it out. I might have known before he did but it was another enjoyable read from Parker.
January 10, 2024
Thirty-four down, and sixteen to go! I can see the other side!
May 20, 2015
April Kyle, the damsel in distress that Spenser rescued in two earlier books, Ceremony (1982) and Taming a Sea Horse (1986), again turns to the iconic Boston PI for help in the 34th entry in Parker's popular series. Cynical yet romantic, Spenser easily handles the immediate threat of some men trying to muscle in on the high-class Boston brothel April is running. Unfortunately, that isn't the real problem, and Spenser without much surprise finds that April, the thugs and everyone else involved is lying to him. Instead of walking away, Spenser continues to probe, following trails that lead to New York, a con artist, mob connections and other complications. This is vintage Parker, with Spenser exchanging witty dialogue with the faithful Hawk, sexy dialogue with his beloved Susan and smart-alecky dialogue with cops and villains. The old pros can make it look easy, and that goes for both the author and his hero as they deliver the goods smoothly and with inimitable style.
August 10, 2015
So amusing! Actually I borrowed this book from my sister to read something non "high-literary" for the Summer. Just something to relax with...
The writing style was good, not outstanding, but definitely not bothering me. The dialogue was brilliant though! The dialogue was alive and sharp. The multitude of "He said" or "I said" was getting annoying sometimes, but that is a part of the writing style I guess...
Towards the end of the book the dialogue gets a little less strong, but it remains very good still.
It was overall entertaining to read. It's a shame we don't have any more Spenser novels here (and I'm not in the financial position to buy more of them).
I recommend this book to anyone who wants something relaxing to read for the lazy sunny afternoon in a comfortable chair or hammock in the garden with a glass of fruit juice or Sangria! ;D
The writing style was good, not outstanding, but definitely not bothering me. The dialogue was brilliant though! The dialogue was alive and sharp. The multitude of "He said" or "I said" was getting annoying sometimes, but that is a part of the writing style I guess...
Towards the end of the book the dialogue gets a little less strong, but it remains very good still.
It was overall entertaining to read. It's a shame we don't have any more Spenser novels here (and I'm not in the financial position to buy more of them).
I recommend this book to anyone who wants something relaxing to read for the lazy sunny afternoon in a comfortable chair or hammock in the garden with a glass of fruit juice or Sangria! ;D
December 2, 2010
I am clearly not of the target audience for this book.
I can't understand why authors such as Parker and James Patterson sell so many books. Are we really that illiterate? This book is written at about a sixth-grade level, with a few big words like "ablutions". There are few compound sentences, and the bulk of the book is short lines of dialogue. I know I don't write the most descriptive, literate reviews, but I don't pretend to be a professional writer, either.
The characters and plot are both flimsy and unbelievable. The dialogue is so bad that it's painful to read. The book made me long for something more complex, like some of Dennis Lehane's latest works.
I can't understand why authors such as Parker and James Patterson sell so many books. Are we really that illiterate? This book is written at about a sixth-grade level, with a few big words like "ablutions". There are few compound sentences, and the bulk of the book is short lines of dialogue. I know I don't write the most descriptive, literate reviews, but I don't pretend to be a professional writer, either.
The characters and plot are both flimsy and unbelievable. The dialogue is so bad that it's painful to read. The book made me long for something more complex, like some of Dennis Lehane's latest works.
April 17, 2017
I'm re-reading ALL of Parker I should have given this book a higher rating for the quality of it's writing, but Parker and his whores with a heart of carbon are not for me. In the Hitch-Cole series, Virgil Cole's whore Allie French is constantly performing acts that would destroy any relationship, yet she is constantly forgiven. In at least three Parker books, the prostitute April Kyle appears and she is cut from the same cloth--looking for a rescuing knight-errant, a Parker speciality, but so undeserving. Spoiler alert. If he hadn't killed off the character at the end, I swear I would have clawed through the pages and done it myself. Spoken like a true "Hawk."
February 27, 2010
Fantastic. I don't want to give any spoilers, but I'll just say that it was a moving and difficult ending. Maybe I related to this book because it places Spenser in a very paternal role. Sure, he's always the gallant knight, but this one really reveals how caring and not just smart-assed and hard-boiled he is. This was from 2004, so maybe Parker had had plenty of opportunities to be paternal himself by the time he wrote it. It's hard to remember that you can't save everybody and that many people don't even want to be saved.
March 29, 2018
Hundred- Dollar Baby by Robert B. Parker.
April Kyle is the center of attention in this mystery. April walks into Spencer's office looking nothing like the runaway teenager she was years ago. She's now a successful madam and needs Spencer's assistance. Someone is trying to shake down her business and finding out who is the brains behind this shakedown is put into Spencer's hands.
Hawk is with Spencer which always livens up the party and makes the story all the more enjoyable.
Well done once again by Joe Mantegna-the voice of Spencer. I listened to this book on CD.
April Kyle is the center of attention in this mystery. April walks into Spencer's office looking nothing like the runaway teenager she was years ago. She's now a successful madam and needs Spencer's assistance. Someone is trying to shake down her business and finding out who is the brains behind this shakedown is put into Spencer's hands.
Hawk is with Spencer which always livens up the party and makes the story all the more enjoyable.
Well done once again by Joe Mantegna-the voice of Spencer. I listened to this book on CD.
January 5, 2018
An earlier Spenser wherein he gets hired by a woman he helped out when she was a youngster. She is running an upscale "house" in Boston and is being threatened by someone sending "muscle" to disrupt business. Spenser tries to hel but the situaation becomes messy and ends up badly. Typical Spenser/Hawk/Susan repartee keeps the plot light and moving along.
May 5, 2009
Was one of the dumbest books I've ever read. I actually skipped the last 30 pages and went to the last chapter and didn't miss anything in the story line. Probably could have skipped from page 20 on and still got the same result.
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