What do you think?
Rate this book
Spenser #43
Robert B. Parker's Kickback
That knight-errant of Boston's Back Bay, P.I. Spenser, returns in another stellar addition to the iconic "New York Times" bestselling series from author Ace Atkins.
What started out as a joke landed seventeen-year-old Dillon Yates in a lockdown juvenile facility. When he set up a prank Twitter account for his vice principal, he never dreamed he could be brought up on criminal charges, but that’s exactly what happened.
Now we visit Blackburn, Massachusetts and its facility, where zero tolerance for minors is a way of life. Leading the movement is tough-as-nails Judge Joe Scali who gives speeches about getting tough on today’s wild youth. But Dillon’s mother, who knows other Blackburn kids who are doing hard time for minor infractions, isn’t buying Scali’s line. She hires Spenser to find the truth behind the draconian sentencing.
From the Harbor Islands to a gated Florida community, Spenser and trusted ally Hawk follow a trail through the Boston underworld with links to a shadowy corporation that runs New England’s private prisons. They eventually uncover a culture of corruption and cover-ups in the old mill town, where hundreds of kids are sent off to for-profit juvie jails.
Librarian's note: this is one of the Ace Atkin's Spenser series. As of 2021, there are 9 volumes by Atkins. The first was "Lullaby" in 2012, the 40th in the overall series created by Robert B. Parker; the most recent, "Someone to Watch Over Me," is the 48th.
What started out as a joke landed seventeen-year-old Dillon Yates in a lockdown juvenile facility. When he set up a prank Twitter account for his vice principal, he never dreamed he could be brought up on criminal charges, but that’s exactly what happened.
Now we visit Blackburn, Massachusetts and its facility, where zero tolerance for minors is a way of life. Leading the movement is tough-as-nails Judge Joe Scali who gives speeches about getting tough on today’s wild youth. But Dillon’s mother, who knows other Blackburn kids who are doing hard time for minor infractions, isn’t buying Scali’s line. She hires Spenser to find the truth behind the draconian sentencing.
From the Harbor Islands to a gated Florida community, Spenser and trusted ally Hawk follow a trail through the Boston underworld with links to a shadowy corporation that runs New England’s private prisons. They eventually uncover a culture of corruption and cover-ups in the old mill town, where hundreds of kids are sent off to for-profit juvie jails.
Librarian's note: this is one of the Ace Atkin's Spenser series. As of 2021, there are 9 volumes by Atkins. The first was "Lullaby" in 2012, the 40th in the overall series created by Robert B. Parker; the most recent, "Someone to Watch Over Me," is the 48th.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published May 19, 2015
647 people are currently reading
1636 people want to read
About the author
Ace Atkins
71 books1,558 followersAce Atkins is the author of twenty-eight books, including eleven Quinn Colson novels, the first two of which, The Ranger and The Lost Ones, were nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel (he has a third Edgar nomination for his short story "Last Fair Deal Gone Down"). He is the author of nine New York Times-bestselling novels in the continuation of Robert B. Parker's Spenser series. Before turning to fiction, he was a correspondent for the St. Petersburg Times and a crime reporter for the Tampa Tribune, and he played defensive end for Auburn University football.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 516 reviews
September 6, 2016
This may well be the best Spenser novel in a good long time, including many of the last books in the series that were written by Robert B. Parker himself.
As most fans of crime fiction know, the series is now being written by Ace Atkins, who currently has an excellent series of his own featuring a Mississippi sheriff named Quinn Colson. This book has all the familiar touchstones of a Spenser novel, including the Boston setting; Hawk, the very dangerous sidekick; Susan, the romantic interest that so many fans of the series love to hate; Pearl, the wonder dog; a lot of beer, donuts and other culinary delights; and, of course, the irrepressible wisecracking P.I., Spenser himself.
What sets this novel apart from so many of the recent books in the series is that this one tackles head-on a major problem of the modern era, the private prison racket that is doing so much damage to the nation's penal system and which is also corrupting the politics in so many states.
As the book opens a woman appears in Spenser's office asking for help. Her son has been sentenced to nine months in a tough-love juvenile facility that is run by a private prison company. The boy's offense was to ridicule the vice principal of his high school on a fake Twitter account, and it turns out that he's only one of hundreds of young people sentenced to this prison for relatively minor offenses by a judge who poses as a strict law-and-order guy, but who has suspiciously close ties to the company that runs the juvenile facility.
The boy and his mother, as well as a lot of the other young victims of this system, live in a small, down-at-the-heels town near Boston. Most of the people are poor; they can't afford attorneys, and they don't really understand what they are doing when they agree to consign their children to the horrors of this system. But once Spenser starts poking around, he discovers a great deal of rot at the core of this whole mess and, being Spenser, he won't let go until he has thoroughly roiled the pot.
It's a very compelling and entertaining story that allows Spenser to shoot off his mouth with great frequency as he takes on corrupt judges, venal lawyers and other powerful figures, as well as any number of "organized" crime members. There's enough action and other violence to keep things interesting and a plot that will leave any reader with a conscience seething. All in all, it's another great installment in the Spenser saga from an author who has made Spenser and the world he inhabits his own.
As most fans of crime fiction know, the series is now being written by Ace Atkins, who currently has an excellent series of his own featuring a Mississippi sheriff named Quinn Colson. This book has all the familiar touchstones of a Spenser novel, including the Boston setting; Hawk, the very dangerous sidekick; Susan, the romantic interest that so many fans of the series love to hate; Pearl, the wonder dog; a lot of beer, donuts and other culinary delights; and, of course, the irrepressible wisecracking P.I., Spenser himself.
What sets this novel apart from so many of the recent books in the series is that this one tackles head-on a major problem of the modern era, the private prison racket that is doing so much damage to the nation's penal system and which is also corrupting the politics in so many states.
As the book opens a woman appears in Spenser's office asking for help. Her son has been sentenced to nine months in a tough-love juvenile facility that is run by a private prison company. The boy's offense was to ridicule the vice principal of his high school on a fake Twitter account, and it turns out that he's only one of hundreds of young people sentenced to this prison for relatively minor offenses by a judge who poses as a strict law-and-order guy, but who has suspiciously close ties to the company that runs the juvenile facility.
The boy and his mother, as well as a lot of the other young victims of this system, live in a small, down-at-the-heels town near Boston. Most of the people are poor; they can't afford attorneys, and they don't really understand what they are doing when they agree to consign their children to the horrors of this system. But once Spenser starts poking around, he discovers a great deal of rot at the core of this whole mess and, being Spenser, he won't let go until he has thoroughly roiled the pot.
It's a very compelling and entertaining story that allows Spenser to shoot off his mouth with great frequency as he takes on corrupt judges, venal lawyers and other powerful figures, as well as any number of "organized" crime members. There's enough action and other violence to keep things interesting and a plot that will leave any reader with a conscience seething. All in all, it's another great installment in the Spenser saga from an author who has made Spenser and the world he inhabits his own.
May 25, 2015
“On the first day of February, the coldest day of the year so far, I took it as a very good omen that a woman I’d never met brought me a sandwich.”
This may be the smartest client that Spenser has ever had because one sure way to motivate the private detective is to offer him food. It also helps if you’re hiring him to help an innocent person who got royally screwed over by powerful people because Spenser enjoys sinking his teeth into a case like that almost as much as biting into a free sandwich.
In a rundown old mill town a judge has sentenced a young man to nine months in a juvenile detention facility for making fun of a school official on Twitter. (And if making fun of people on Twitter is a jailable offense then I’m in a lot of trouble because my mocking of former Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli would probably have been enough to get me the death penalty.)
Spenser investigates and finds a pattern of the judge throwing every kid he can into jail for minor infractions, and some more digging reveals ties between the judge and the private company getting paid by the government to run the prison as well as a dangerous mobster. Spenser soon finds himself threatened by both the local cops and thugs.
This is the fourth Spenser novel that Ace Atkins has done after being hired by the estate of Robert B. Parker to carry on the series, and he’s done an exceptional job of writing these in a way that feels like his own style while still being true to the character. This one has scenes and dialogue that really feel reminiscent of the early Spenser, and I especially like how Hawk has regained some of the rougher edges he used to have that had gotten sanded off in the later RBP books.
One of the more interesting changes is that while the Atkins books are still self-contained stories that he’s been leaving plot threads hanging to be addressed later, and this gives the series more of a sense of on-going serialized continuity than it typically had before. Spenser still exists in a kind of ageless limbo, but there’s been changes to his world since Atkins took over that are adding layers to the stories.
So we’ve got all those elements along with the kind of plot in which Spenser can really shine as he takes on corrupt officials and criminals with his usual mix of tough guy stubbornness and smart ass comments. That makes for a great read that any fan of the private eye genre should enjoy.
Also posted at Kemper's Book Blog.
This may be the smartest client that Spenser has ever had because one sure way to motivate the private detective is to offer him food. It also helps if you’re hiring him to help an innocent person who got royally screwed over by powerful people because Spenser enjoys sinking his teeth into a case like that almost as much as biting into a free sandwich.
In a rundown old mill town a judge has sentenced a young man to nine months in a juvenile detention facility for making fun of a school official on Twitter. (And if making fun of people on Twitter is a jailable offense then I’m in a lot of trouble because my mocking of former Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli would probably have been enough to get me the death penalty.)
Spenser investigates and finds a pattern of the judge throwing every kid he can into jail for minor infractions, and some more digging reveals ties between the judge and the private company getting paid by the government to run the prison as well as a dangerous mobster. Spenser soon finds himself threatened by both the local cops and thugs.
This is the fourth Spenser novel that Ace Atkins has done after being hired by the estate of Robert B. Parker to carry on the series, and he’s done an exceptional job of writing these in a way that feels like his own style while still being true to the character. This one has scenes and dialogue that really feel reminiscent of the early Spenser, and I especially like how Hawk has regained some of the rougher edges he used to have that had gotten sanded off in the later RBP books.
One of the more interesting changes is that while the Atkins books are still self-contained stories that he’s been leaving plot threads hanging to be addressed later, and this gives the series more of a sense of on-going serialized continuity than it typically had before. Spenser still exists in a kind of ageless limbo, but there’s been changes to his world since Atkins took over that are adding layers to the stories.
So we’ve got all those elements along with the kind of plot in which Spenser can really shine as he takes on corrupt officials and criminals with his usual mix of tough guy stubbornness and smart ass comments. That makes for a great read that any fan of the private eye genre should enjoy.
Also posted at Kemper's Book Blog.
November 16, 2021
Ace Atkins does a good job capturing the feel of Robert B. Parker's Spenser books, with a straightforward plot and characters that feel authentic. In this 43rd book in the series, Spenser looks into 'for profit' jails for juveniles. The book can be read as a standalone.
Robert Urich played Spenser on the vintage television series
*****
As the story opens a distraught mother from Blackburn, Massachusetts, armed with one of Spenser's favorite sandwiches as inducement, asks the PI to help her son Dillon Yates. The teen has been sentenced to 9 months in a privately run juvenile lockup for the 'crime' of 'twitter-pranking' his vice principal.
Spenser soon learns that Judge Joe Scalli, who presides over youth hearings in Blackburn, is notorious for sending kids to privately run jails - almost always without benefit of counsel.
Further investigation reveals that Judge Scalli and others - including another Blackburn judge, a network of mobsters, and a crooked attorney - are part of a complex crime network that has connections to the juvie jails. And the lockups, whose main purpose is making money, hire inept administrators and sadistic guards. Scenes of Dillon and his fellow inmates in juvie prison are interspersed through the story, and they're quite disturbing.
Spenser wants to get Dillon out of jail, expose the judges, and close down the corrupt prisons. Since the PI has all kinds of useful acquaintances he soon rounds up people to assist him. As part of Spenser's inquiries he travels to Florida with his friend Hawk - one of the toughest characters in literature. Of course Spenser and Hawk exchange clever quips with tough guys, get in fights, shoot people...the usual.
I especially like the scene where Spenser and Hawk make a surprise visit to Dillon's prison. I don't think it's a spoiler to say this doesn't bode well for some bad guys.
Spenser also spends time with his longtime love Susan, hangs out with his dog Pearl, and waxes eloquent about soup dumplings and lobster rolls (which made me very hungry).
Spenser is clearly getting on in years and - in this story - recovering from a knee injury. I'll admit the idea of Spenser's mortality makes me sad. 😥
The story, though fictional, makes a good point about private prisons - which seem ripe for corruption, bribery, kickbacks, etc.
I liked the book and recommend it to fans of the Spenser series.
You can follow my reviews at http://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com/
January 28, 2024
4 Stars. There's a bit of editorial in this exciting Spenser novel. Ace Atkins, Robert B. Parker's successor in the series, is commenting through "Kickback" on private prisons, a growing phenomenon in the United States. Our P.I. is hired by a woman whose son has been sent to one of these juvenile facilities north of Boston in the hard-as-nails town of Blackburn, Massachusetts. Is this just a wrongly convicted young man? He set up a humourous but fake, and certainly this side of criminal, Twitter account for his high-school principal. An obvious prank deserving of discipline, but prison? Is there something else going on? Possibly judicial corruption? In collusion with the mob? Following leads, Spenser and Hawk spend time in the Tampa area: palm trees, bikinis, patios and beer. What can I say? I reveled in the mental image. That image contrasted with Ace Atkins' frequent inserts of snippets of the narrative of Dillon Yates, the young lad in question, as he experienced the horrors of life in Blackburn. It's a page-turner. I reached for the next Spenser adventure just a few days later! (September 2017)
August 18, 2024
Spenser takes on a greedy corporation, sleazy judges, and the mob to rescue imprisoned children by exploited for profit. From Boston to Miami, the tension and action doesn’t let up as the wisecracking PI and his partner, Hawk, poke and prod the criminal underworld seeking clues to bust open the corrupt plan.
April 24, 2015
Ace Atkins definitely continues carrying the torch for Robert B. Parker. If you're a Spenser fan, you'll find Kickback to be the quintessential hard-boiled Boston noir for which Robert B. Parker was known. In Kickback, juvenile offenders in a town called Blackburn are being handed harsh sentences for minor infractions, and Spenser knows something malevolent is afoot. Greed, corruption and unsavory connections work in subversive ways, and Spencer must get to the bottom of this snake-pit. Most amazing is Ace Atkins's ability to keep the voice of Spencer very much alive, because if you read Ace's Quinn Colson series, you'll see he uses a very different (Southern) voice in telling those tales. But Boston and Spenser live on in this exciting series. Five well-deserved stars!
Mark Rubinstein
Mark Rubinstein
July 26, 2015
Ace Atkins has a great job of filling huge shoes of Robert B Parker in the Spenser series! Very entertaining from the get go. If you have liked the other 42 books in this series, you will enjoy this one!
June 1, 2015
“Kickback” is Tripe
It is time for the estate of Robert B. Parker to give up its pursuit of the almighty dollar and let the poor man rest in peace.
I have read and enjoyed every Spenser novel, and a couple of the earlier copycat books were passable, but not this one. Spenser rarely sounds like Spenser. Susan never sounds like Susan. Hawk never sounds like Hawk. The plot is confused and confusing.
Atkins includes scatological humor, torture of children, gore-filled descriptions…none of which Parker ever did.
The publisher has given up using the think quality paper that the last 10 or so novels by Parker were printed on and gone back to thin paper and small type. And evidently didn’t even pay for a proofreader, since there are more typos in this than any novel I have seen in many a year. I am not even sure an editor looked at it. At one point, Spenser says to a couple of bad guys who are tailing him, “You guys are even dumber than your replacements….” He is referring to the people who had the job of tailing Spenser before these two bad guys.
If it didn’t have Parker’s name on it, I doubt it would have ever been published.
Read the books actually written by Parker and forget the stuff by hacks hired by the greedy family of a talented writer.
It is time for the estate of Robert B. Parker to give up its pursuit of the almighty dollar and let the poor man rest in peace.
I have read and enjoyed every Spenser novel, and a couple of the earlier copycat books were passable, but not this one. Spenser rarely sounds like Spenser. Susan never sounds like Susan. Hawk never sounds like Hawk. The plot is confused and confusing.
Atkins includes scatological humor, torture of children, gore-filled descriptions…none of which Parker ever did.
The publisher has given up using the think quality paper that the last 10 or so novels by Parker were printed on and gone back to thin paper and small type. And evidently didn’t even pay for a proofreader, since there are more typos in this than any novel I have seen in many a year. I am not even sure an editor looked at it. At one point, Spenser says to a couple of bad guys who are tailing him, “You guys are even dumber than your replacements….” He is referring to the people who had the job of tailing Spenser before these two bad guys.
If it didn’t have Parker’s name on it, I doubt it would have ever been published.
Read the books actually written by Parker and forget the stuff by hacks hired by the greedy family of a talented writer.
January 4, 2024
Entertaining mystery listening 🎶🔰
This is a kindle e-book novel from my local library book 44 in the series
Spenser is hired by a mother concerning her son who has been arrested and sent to a juvenile detention center for a number of months. His investigation leads to the mafia run detention scam from police officers, judge, and elected officials. Another will written Spenser novel.
I would highly recommend this series and authors to 👍 readers of romantic murder mystery adventure novels 👍🔰. 2024 😀👒😡😮🏡
This is a kindle e-book novel from my local library book 44 in the series
Spenser is hired by a mother concerning her son who has been arrested and sent to a juvenile detention center for a number of months. His investigation leads to the mafia run detention scam from police officers, judge, and elected officials. Another will written Spenser novel.
I would highly recommend this series and authors to 👍 readers of romantic murder mystery adventure novels 👍🔰. 2024 😀👒😡😮🏡
August 28, 2015
I think I'm in the camp with the other reviewers who were unhappy with Ace Atkins' most recent take on Spenser, Boston private eye. I agree that the Parker voice seems pretty faint, and the Spenser character of timeless,solid integrity wasn't as apparent - not that he was anything but 100% for right, justice and wise-cracks. He just seemed thin and going through the motions.
I also thought Atkins' depiction of Hawk was a bit tone-deaf - having Hawk, who was always a man of few words and extraordinary economy of motion, talk too much and be too obvious in his pursuit of a passing pleasure while the duo were detecting in Miami. There were other wrong notes of this sort.
The story, about a crooked pair of suburban judges and their mob cronies who were milking the Commonwealth's system for juvenile miscreant rehabilitation, was in the now-typical Parker vein of grim, grimmer and nigh unto hopeless. But Atkins' attempt to revive the ghosts of bad guys way past their sell-by date, Joe Broz, Gino Fish and others from decades past in the Spenser pantheon rather clunks.
Then again, if one has been a faithful reader of Parker's Spenser series since the beginning, one knows that Spenser served in KOREA, which would make him into his 80s if there were adherence to the entire story arc and the calendar.
The series has gotten tired, and Robert Parker's been dead for over five years. I think Spenser needs to be put out to pasture, or else he needs a better inheritor of Mr. Parker's singular mantle.
I also thought Atkins' depiction of Hawk was a bit tone-deaf - having Hawk, who was always a man of few words and extraordinary economy of motion, talk too much and be too obvious in his pursuit of a passing pleasure while the duo were detecting in Miami. There were other wrong notes of this sort.
The story, about a crooked pair of suburban judges and their mob cronies who were milking the Commonwealth's system for juvenile miscreant rehabilitation, was in the now-typical Parker vein of grim, grimmer and nigh unto hopeless. But Atkins' attempt to revive the ghosts of bad guys way past their sell-by date, Joe Broz, Gino Fish and others from decades past in the Spenser pantheon rather clunks.
Then again, if one has been a faithful reader of Parker's Spenser series since the beginning, one knows that Spenser served in KOREA, which would make him into his 80s if there were adherence to the entire story arc and the calendar.
The series has gotten tired, and Robert Parker's been dead for over five years. I think Spenser needs to be put out to pasture, or else he needs a better inheritor of Mr. Parker's singular mantle.
May 13, 2016
Another good Spencer book by Atkins who has kept this series alive. He doesn't write a lot like Parker, but this is an improvement, a lot less "he said, she said". He does, however, keep the interpersonal dynamics correct. In this one Spencer helps out some kids who had been railroaded into a juvenile facility by corrupt judges. Nice to see Hawk back. Recommended.
July 17, 2015
I liked the previous three by Ace Atkins, but this one was terrible. For example, To his credit, Atkins has me wanting to read the next one to find out what's going to happen with Vinnie Morris. Parker has his own duds in the Spenser series, so I'm not ready to bail on Atkins just yet.
June 20, 2016
Ace Atkins is in fine form as Spenser takes on a corrupt judge and a prison-for-profit in the town of Blackburn. If you are a minor and you step out of line in Blackburn, you will be sent to a prison that promises rehabilitation but is a study in misery and punitive punishments. Parents are forced to sign away their rights. When a single mother reaches out to Spenser he is determined to get to the bottom of the problem and if it happens to take him (and Hawk) to the beaches of Florida to uncover shell corporations and figure out who is really running the show, Spenser is willing to take that responsibility. It's a story almost straight out of the headlines and it's always good to see Spenser do what he says he is going to do and have the good guys win.
January 12, 2019
What a hoot! This was a very enjoyable romp featuring Spenser, with backup from Hawk, as he sets out to right some very wrong wrongs! Sure, Spenser's wisecracking ways can sometimes be a bit annoying, as can his relationship patter with girlfriend, Susan. Nevertheless, it's part of the package you sign up for when reading one of these novels, and taken with a grain of salt, it's fine.
The story begins with a teenager, Dillon Yates, finding himself remanded to a privately funded juvenile detention facility in the middle of Boston Harbor. His crime? Creating a phony Twitter account in his vice principal's name, to mock the administrator. Probably deserving of a brief suspension from school, but criminal charges and detention on Boston's version of Alcatraz? Not going to fly once Spenser is hired by the boy's powerless mom.
Once he visits the old mill-town where kids are being sentenced by the scores, Spenser quickly discovers that Judge Joe Scali, who was elected on a get-tough on kids policy, and police force seem to be enjoying a private little dictatorship.
Spenser and Hawk discover a network of underworld connections to the corporation that runs the private prison housing Dillon and many other vulnerable boys. They figure that the judge, along with another high ranking official, are corrupt and profiting from these harsh convictions. Proving it makes up the balance of the story.
The plot isn't earth-shattering, but simply and artfully revealed. Atkins keeps the pace tight and, for the most part, straightforward. Credible? Eh, so-so-- as much as any Spenser or similar character-driven fiction novel. Entertaining? Yep, you bet. Worth a couple of days to spend in the cold Boston winter watching bad guys eventually brought down? Definitely.
The story begins with a teenager, Dillon Yates, finding himself remanded to a privately funded juvenile detention facility in the middle of Boston Harbor. His crime? Creating a phony Twitter account in his vice principal's name, to mock the administrator. Probably deserving of a brief suspension from school, but criminal charges and detention on Boston's version of Alcatraz? Not going to fly once Spenser is hired by the boy's powerless mom.
Once he visits the old mill-town where kids are being sentenced by the scores, Spenser quickly discovers that Judge Joe Scali, who was elected on a get-tough on kids policy, and police force seem to be enjoying a private little dictatorship.
Spenser and Hawk discover a network of underworld connections to the corporation that runs the private prison housing Dillon and many other vulnerable boys. They figure that the judge, along with another high ranking official, are corrupt and profiting from these harsh convictions. Proving it makes up the balance of the story.
The plot isn't earth-shattering, but simply and artfully revealed. Atkins keeps the pace tight and, for the most part, straightforward. Credible? Eh, so-so-- as much as any Spenser or similar character-driven fiction novel. Entertaining? Yep, you bet. Worth a couple of days to spend in the cold Boston winter watching bad guys eventually brought down? Definitely.
July 12, 2015
This is the first of the novels that I've read after a full year's delay after catching up. I'm happy to say that it is still working, and this feels like one of the best yet.
In Kickback, corrupt judges are shuffling kids off to a private prison for kickbacks without proper process and with the slightest of excuses. Spenser reacts to this about as one would expect, and helps not only his client but many others along the way.
In Kickback, corrupt judges are shuffling kids off to a private prison for kickbacks without proper process and with the slightest of excuses. Spenser reacts to this about as one would expect, and helps not only his client but many others along the way.
September 13, 2015
We like the Spenser series plenty well enough to add these continuations of the original Parker 39-book set by Atkins, “Kickback” herein his fourth so far. As before with these extension tales, we find mixed blessings with the minus of less humor but the plus of less Susan worship! Otherwise, the outings are satisfactory enough and reminiscent enough of Parker to please.
In this latest addition, a horrible juvenile court judge is sending children to jail for months at a time for silly deeds that are mostly not even crimes, let alone that warrant going to a privately-run prison on an island. The book’s title foreshadows the rest of the plot, with our man Spenser hired to get one of the kids back. In just a few pages he figures out what is basically going on, and with a little help from Hawk when things get rough, naturally enough prevails.
We’ve noticed Atkins’ resolutions don’t always satisfy as well as hoped – we wish an editor could spruce up his endings. On the whole, “Kickback” is probably decent enough, but not really all that exciting – and borders on a expositional message book about kids doing jail time.
In this latest addition, a horrible juvenile court judge is sending children to jail for months at a time for silly deeds that are mostly not even crimes, let alone that warrant going to a privately-run prison on an island. The book’s title foreshadows the rest of the plot, with our man Spenser hired to get one of the kids back. In just a few pages he figures out what is basically going on, and with a little help from Hawk when things get rough, naturally enough prevails.
We’ve noticed Atkins’ resolutions don’t always satisfy as well as hoped – we wish an editor could spruce up his endings. On the whole, “Kickback” is probably decent enough, but not really all that exciting – and borders on a expositional message book about kids doing jail time.
May 26, 2015
Ace Atkins' loose plotting and preachy, topical story tropes continue to water down the iconic Spenser character. It's like a string of one-liners with after-school special morality and occasional gunplay. Even Hawk seems a bit embarrassed by the proceedings.
January 5, 2025
I can see why this book has such mixed reviews.
Sending kids to a for profit prison to make cash off of them seems super gross. This has been in the news recently since Biden pardoned this judge that was doing this to those kids. Yikes!
Having one of the kids be anonymous throughout the story was SUPER weird. Why do that?!?!?
All the abuse on page of these kids was traumatic to read too. Caution ⚠️ on that.
Most get what they deserved but most don’t. Spenser and Hawk can only do so much. Meh.
Sending kids to a for profit prison to make cash off of them seems super gross. This has been in the news recently since Biden pardoned this judge that was doing this to those kids. Yikes!
Having one of the kids be anonymous throughout the story was SUPER weird. Why do that?!?!?
All the abuse on page of these kids was traumatic to read too. Caution ⚠️ on that.
Most get what they deserved but most don’t. Spenser and Hawk can only do so much. Meh.
May 27, 2015
I doubt I'm the first to say that I'll never enjoy the Spenser books as written by Ace Atkins nearly as much as those by the late, great Robert B. Parker. Because of that alone, it's unlikely that any of the post-Parker books will earn 5 stars from me. But doggone it, I enjoyed this one - and I remain happy that Mr. Atkins got the nod to continue the series.
But regrets? I've got a few, starting with a more subdued Susan - private investigator Spenser's main (make that only) - squeeze. And then there's the formidable sidekick Hawk, who seems to have lost a lot of the witty, irreverent banter of years past - with a few notable exceptions like this one:
Hawk to Spenser as they drive past an IHOP: "You eat here?"
Spenser: "God, no."
Hawk: "Good, 'cause there's a limit to the sh** I'll do for you."
Conversation aside, Hawk also is a major presence (or should be), and it's very disappointing to me that he doesn't make an appearance until halfway through this book - give or take a chapter or two.
Another complaint is that this one - which focuses on the mistreatment of young boys who are sentenced to a private "tough love" island prison mostly on the whim (and personal financial enrichment) of a couple of corrupt judges - borders on the preachy in spots. I haven't decided which kind of prison system is better - that operated by the government or privately owned - I'm convinced only that neither works very well. But I got the distinct feeling that the author has made up his mind and is intent on converting the rest of us. I read the Spenser books for enjoyment, so save the lectures for a non-fiction effort, if you please.
The book begins as the Boston-based Spenser is hired by the mother of a 17-year-old who was sent to the Boston Harbor prison because he set up a Twitter account on which he ridiculed his high-school vice-principal. The corrupt judge, known for his zero tolerance policy on youthful miscreants, sentences the kid to the island prison. His mother understandably is upset, and when mama ain't happy, nobody's happy; even the hard-nosed Spenser caves when she insists he look into the case even though it's on a pro bono basis.
Of course, proving that a respected local judge (and a higher-up) are acting illegally isn't easy - especially true when the dots connect with heavy-duty mobsters who aren't exactly Spenser's close and personal friends. Collecting the evidence takes Spenser and Hawk from frigid Boston to sunny Florida and back, with their lives - and perhaps those of the young prisoners - in the balance every mile of the way. In the end, it may not be the perfect Parker, but it's pretty sweet nonetheless.
But regrets? I've got a few, starting with a more subdued Susan - private investigator Spenser's main (make that only) - squeeze. And then there's the formidable sidekick Hawk, who seems to have lost a lot of the witty, irreverent banter of years past - with a few notable exceptions like this one:
Hawk to Spenser as they drive past an IHOP: "You eat here?"
Spenser: "God, no."
Hawk: "Good, 'cause there's a limit to the sh** I'll do for you."
Conversation aside, Hawk also is a major presence (or should be), and it's very disappointing to me that he doesn't make an appearance until halfway through this book - give or take a chapter or two.
Another complaint is that this one - which focuses on the mistreatment of young boys who are sentenced to a private "tough love" island prison mostly on the whim (and personal financial enrichment) of a couple of corrupt judges - borders on the preachy in spots. I haven't decided which kind of prison system is better - that operated by the government or privately owned - I'm convinced only that neither works very well. But I got the distinct feeling that the author has made up his mind and is intent on converting the rest of us. I read the Spenser books for enjoyment, so save the lectures for a non-fiction effort, if you please.
The book begins as the Boston-based Spenser is hired by the mother of a 17-year-old who was sent to the Boston Harbor prison because he set up a Twitter account on which he ridiculed his high-school vice-principal. The corrupt judge, known for his zero tolerance policy on youthful miscreants, sentences the kid to the island prison. His mother understandably is upset, and when mama ain't happy, nobody's happy; even the hard-nosed Spenser caves when she insists he look into the case even though it's on a pro bono basis.
Of course, proving that a respected local judge (and a higher-up) are acting illegally isn't easy - especially true when the dots connect with heavy-duty mobsters who aren't exactly Spenser's close and personal friends. Collecting the evidence takes Spenser and Hawk from frigid Boston to sunny Florida and back, with their lives - and perhaps those of the young prisoners - in the balance every mile of the way. In the end, it may not be the perfect Parker, but it's pretty sweet nonetheless.
March 16, 2022
This is a tricky one. I don't like stories about abuses of power and so the storyline rubbed me the wrong way. None wrong with the book, I just didn't like the subject matter.
July 6, 2015
I swore I was done reading Robert B. Parker's franchise books. But I picked this one up and flipped through it, and it looked good, so I got drawn back in. I was pleasantly surprised. Ace Atkins doesn't write much like Parker, but he does write well, and he honors the characters and Parker's themes of salvation and redemption. So I'm back, and I'm okay with that. :)
June 11, 2015
Oh, hey, Spenser.. *twirls lock of hair around finger*
It's been awhile, how you doin'? *Joey Tribiani voice*
You've hardly changed at all... *bats eyelashes*
I make no apologies for my love of Spenser, not a one.
It's been awhile, how you doin'? *Joey Tribiani voice*
You've hardly changed at all... *bats eyelashes*
I make no apologies for my love of Spenser, not a one.
October 7, 2015
I don't care for hapless, poor children as victims. Hawk's role is marginally and minimally defined. There was no point to running back and forth between Boston & Florida. Only the ending raises the score to acceptable. 4 of 10 stars
May 24, 2015
Atkins best Spenser yet - definitely in the Parker style, and Hawk is back! Love the Spenser series, and so glad that Mr. Atkins is able to continue it in superb style.
July 23, 2015
If you are a teen and run afoul of the law in Blackburn, Massachusetts, you are going to experience some bad times out on a rock out in the harbor. According to Sheila Gates, who comes to Spenser on the recommendation of Rita Fiore, her son Dillion Yates was put out there by a local judge. Making a fake twitter account for his vice principal and making some smart aleck tweets got him charged with terrorism, stalking, and making threats against an administrator.
What was clearly a joke to anyone with a sense of humor has resulted in a harsh sentence of nine months in the juvenile facility per Judge Scali. Legendary in Blackburn, thirty miles north of Boston, Judge Scali is a law and order type judge with zero tolerance for any misbehavior by those under the age of 18. Shelia Yates can’t see her son out on Fortune Island where he and many other kids are locked up for all sorts of crimes--- real and imagined--- and she can only talk to him by phone for a few minutes every couple of weeks. While Rita Fiore is handling the appeal case, Sheila would like Spenser’s help to figure out what is going on out there.
He agrees and before long he is on the way to Blackburn, Massachusetts. Spenser does not like his bullies, never has and the smart thing would have been to not try and bully him. Instead, some of the locals tried just that and in typical Spenser fashion got push back.
Ace Atkins once again continues the characters made so famous by the legendary Robert B. Parker. Along with an interesting mystery featuring Spenser with some assistance from Hawk and Susan, observations about the situation regarding for profit prisons and their real cost in terms of financial and society are made. In a case that could easily come from the headlines Spenser works to get to the bottom of some nasty business in Robert B. Parker’s Kickback: A Spenser Novel by Ace Atkins. While not epic, it is certainly solidly good and well worth your time.
Robert B. Parker’s Kickback: A Spenser Novel
Ace Atkins
http://www.aceatkins.com
Thorndike Press (Gale, Cengage Learning)
http://www.gale.cengage.com/thorndike
May 2015
ISBN# 978-1-4104-7736-1
Large Print Hardback (also currently available in regular print hardback, audio, and e-book)
400 Pages
$35.99
Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano, Texas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2015
What was clearly a joke to anyone with a sense of humor has resulted in a harsh sentence of nine months in the juvenile facility per Judge Scali. Legendary in Blackburn, thirty miles north of Boston, Judge Scali is a law and order type judge with zero tolerance for any misbehavior by those under the age of 18. Shelia Yates can’t see her son out on Fortune Island where he and many other kids are locked up for all sorts of crimes--- real and imagined--- and she can only talk to him by phone for a few minutes every couple of weeks. While Rita Fiore is handling the appeal case, Sheila would like Spenser’s help to figure out what is going on out there.
He agrees and before long he is on the way to Blackburn, Massachusetts. Spenser does not like his bullies, never has and the smart thing would have been to not try and bully him. Instead, some of the locals tried just that and in typical Spenser fashion got push back.
Ace Atkins once again continues the characters made so famous by the legendary Robert B. Parker. Along with an interesting mystery featuring Spenser with some assistance from Hawk and Susan, observations about the situation regarding for profit prisons and their real cost in terms of financial and society are made. In a case that could easily come from the headlines Spenser works to get to the bottom of some nasty business in Robert B. Parker’s Kickback: A Spenser Novel by Ace Atkins. While not epic, it is certainly solidly good and well worth your time.
Robert B. Parker’s Kickback: A Spenser Novel
Ace Atkins
http://www.aceatkins.com
Thorndike Press (Gale, Cengage Learning)
http://www.gale.cengage.com/thorndike
May 2015
ISBN# 978-1-4104-7736-1
Large Print Hardback (also currently available in regular print hardback, audio, and e-book)
400 Pages
$35.99
Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano, Texas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2015
May 26, 2015
It's always enjoy to kickback with a Parker/Atkins book. But having it CALLED "Kickback," made it just a little more fun. The books is based on the real life story of the Pennsylvania judge who recently went to jail. He was convicted of getting payments from a private boys' "rehabilitation center." It's a phony. They advertise education and wholesome meals and nature walks. What they really do is eat slop, stare at old workbooks that are already filled in and pick up trash that has washed ashore on the island where the facility is located. A zero tolerance policy started by a weasel-like Judge Scali puts boys in the facility for even minor infractions: things that in the past would have merited detention and, perhaps, counseling. The town where this is going on is Blackburn, MA, a place that has seen better days and is mainly populated by working people with little education and immigrants who don't understand the system. Both are afraid to make waves. Some think that Judge Scali is the only person preventing the town from descending into chaos from gangs and drugs. When a boy creates a fake twitter account in the school principal's name and tweets outrageous tweets, he is arrested. His divorced mother allows the boy's grandfather to take him to court. He signs a waiver that he doesn't understand which means that her son is waiving his right to an attorney. She is determined to get him out. She has a young Harvard Law grad attorney working in Rita Fiore's office. (If you've read others, you know who Rita is.) They tell her to contact Spenser. Both the attorney and Spenser, of course, do he case pro bono. The book is really interesting with a lot of detail. Atkins writes in Parker's style, but with the detail that Parker stopped using in his later books. For instance Susan, who is a psychotherapist in addition to being Spenser's very sexy long term love, comments that while juvenile crime is down, juvenile incarcerations have remained the same. This is a thought provoking book that made me angry after reading it. Don't miss it.
August 26, 2016
Kickback – Another Brilliant Spenser Novel
Once again Ace Atkins has captured the essence of Robert B. Parker’s Private Eye Spenser who works the mean streets of Boston and the wider Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Once again Ace Atkins does not waste words, but delivers maximum suspense like Rocky Marciano used to deliver punches.
What started out as a social media joke, making fun of his high school’s vice principal, Dillon Yates has been arrested and sentenced to a juvenile prison out in Boston bay. When Dillon’s mother makes contact with Spencer, she wants to look at ways he can help her get her son back. Nobody should be going to jail for a joke, Judge Joe Scali disagrees and is leading a movement of being tough on crime and juveniles.
When Dillion Yate’s mother appears in Spenser’s office with a sandwich and a request to help her get her boy back there is only going to be one inevitable out course. Spenser will travel to Blackburn Massachusetts to find out what is really happening up there. When kicking over the stones in Blackburn to see what crawls out soon has the Blackburn PD and other shady people turning up at his office.
Little did Spenser know that the case about juvenile detention would take him from the cold of Blackburn to the warmth and sun of Tampa. The city of sun has some interesting stories to tell about corruption of the judicial system up in Blackburn, and as for the judge’s yacht! Spenser and his trusted ally Hawk are kicking ass and taking names between Florida and Massachusetts all in the name of finding the truth.
Ace Atkins has once again delivered a gritty and tough Spenser novel following in the tradition of Robert B Parker. The way in which he is able to mimic the originals is stunning and so delivers a punch novel that will deliver for all readers.
Once again Ace Atkins has captured the essence of Robert B. Parker’s Private Eye Spenser who works the mean streets of Boston and the wider Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Once again Ace Atkins does not waste words, but delivers maximum suspense like Rocky Marciano used to deliver punches.
What started out as a social media joke, making fun of his high school’s vice principal, Dillon Yates has been arrested and sentenced to a juvenile prison out in Boston bay. When Dillon’s mother makes contact with Spencer, she wants to look at ways he can help her get her son back. Nobody should be going to jail for a joke, Judge Joe Scali disagrees and is leading a movement of being tough on crime and juveniles.
When Dillion Yate’s mother appears in Spenser’s office with a sandwich and a request to help her get her boy back there is only going to be one inevitable out course. Spenser will travel to Blackburn Massachusetts to find out what is really happening up there. When kicking over the stones in Blackburn to see what crawls out soon has the Blackburn PD and other shady people turning up at his office.
Little did Spenser know that the case about juvenile detention would take him from the cold of Blackburn to the warmth and sun of Tampa. The city of sun has some interesting stories to tell about corruption of the judicial system up in Blackburn, and as for the judge’s yacht! Spenser and his trusted ally Hawk are kicking ass and taking names between Florida and Massachusetts all in the name of finding the truth.
Ace Atkins has once again delivered a gritty and tough Spenser novel following in the tradition of Robert B Parker. The way in which he is able to mimic the originals is stunning and so delivers a punch novel that will deliver for all readers.
December 18, 2015
I received an ARC of this book. I enjoyed Cheap Shot so was looking forward to it. I'm sorry to say it was a disappointment. I hope that since it's an ARC, the prose will be tightened up before the final version comes out. Without spoiling it, I've encountered the basic plot before (Leverage 3.01 and elsewhere). There are interpolated scenes involving different (nameless) characters in a different location that are just annoying.
December 4, 2015
Robert B. Parker's Kickback (Spenser #43) by Ace Atkins (G.P. Putnam's Sons 2015) (Fiction – Mystery). Spenser investigates a shadowy juvenile detention center on an island in Boston Harbor filled largely with inmates sent there by a sketchy judge. This is old-school minimalist Spenser driven by the interplay of Spenser, Susan, and Hawk. Ace Atkins makes Robert B.'s old formula work this time out. Well done! My rating: 7.25/10, finished 10/21/15.
January 1, 2016
This was the second of the Ace Atkins Spenser books I have read. This was better then the previous one I read. Felt more in that Parker style, worth a read for the Spenser fan. I gave Kickback 3 1/2 stars.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 516 reviews