jonmhansen's review against another edition
5.0
This one was particularly good. Atkins has this down cold.
"Everyone in Blackburn says I'm an outsider," she said. "They tell me to let this all play out. Keep my mouth shut. Don't piss people off."
"Let me piss 'em off," I said.
"I heard you're good at that."
"Yeah," I said. "I've had years of practice."
"Everyone in Blackburn says I'm an outsider," she said. "They tell me to let this all play out. Keep my mouth shut. Don't piss people off."
"Let me piss 'em off," I said.
"I heard you're good at that."
"Yeah," I said. "I've had years of practice."
kayeness's review against another edition
3.0
Traditional detective thriller. If you like this kind of thing, you will find this the kind of thing you like.
benfiretag's review against another edition
4.0
A Spenser novel – where our hero is called upon to find out why a kid was sent to an island on a misdemeanor where his mother cannot see him. Turns out a lot of other kids are being sent to the same corporate rehabilitation island – enough to pay for the judge to get a nice mansion in Florida and a share in a fishing boat. But Spenser can’t let a thing like that go, even if the mob is involved.
nonna7's review against another edition
3.0
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.
tunesmithnw's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent story! Ace Atkins has a real feel for Robert B. Parker's style of writing. I started this in the morning and finished it that same evening.
tvisser's review against another edition
4.0
In this addition to the series Hawk is back and that always make the story more fun in my opinion.
papi's review against another edition
4.0
Spenser brings down a "recruiting" scheme for a for-profit prison, with the help of a few old and new pals. Atkins does a pretty good job, though I don't think he has accurately captured the Hawk/Spenser dynamic yet.
margardenlady's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
tdeshler's review against another edition
3.0
It's been a long time since I read a Spenser book. The characters' predictability is part of the charm I suppose, but the surprise is also missing.
lakekiwi's review against another edition
4.0
Always enjoy this author's ability to carry on the themes and characters. Deals with many current issues.