Saturday 15 March 2014

RRR - Robert B Parker's Wonderland by Ace Atkins

Robert B. Parker's Wonderland: The New Spenser NovelRobert B. Parker's Wonderland: The New Spenser Novel by Ace Atkins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 4 days

Publisher - No Exit Press

Pages - 192

Blurb from Goodreads

Henry Cimoli and Spenser have been friends for years, yet the old boxing trainer has never asked the private eye for a favor. Until now. A heavy-handed developer is trying to buy up Henry's condo on Revere Beach and sends thugs to move the process along. Soon Spenser and his apprentice, Zebulon Sixkill, find a trail leading to a mysterious and beautiful woman, a megalomaniacal Las Vegas kingpin, and plans to turn to a chunk of land north of Boston into a sprawling casino. Bitter rivals emerge, alliances turn, and the uglier pieces of the Boston political machine look to put an end to Spenser's investigation.
Aspiration, greed, and twisted dreams all focus on the old Wonderland dog track where the famous amusement park once fronted the ocean. For Spenser and Z, this simple favor to Henry will become the fight of their lives.


My review

Spenser is out main character and a private eye. His friend Henry is an old man who trains boxers and is getting pressure to sell up his condo. He enlists the help of his old friend to find out who is behind it and why. Before long things get violent and out of hand, Vegas big wigs are involved and murder is a foot. Will Spenser get to the bottom of it before he and his friends end up in peril danger?

So this is the first I have ever read this author. The series has over 40 books however this author has only been in place for two (the third is now available), taking over the series after the last author died. This is my first introduction to the series and I did enjoy the banter between the characters however I felt there were a lot of people introduced. Not all had massive parts however it was a lot to take in and try to keep up with what was happening. The story starts up about Henry being forced into giving up his condo however things take a deadly turn and the story becomes much more complex with lots of twists and turns.

Spenser has a sidekick who is referred to a lot but is not in this story and Z aka Zebulon Sixkill is seemingly new to the team or at least still training. He is a troubled character, nothing outrightly obvious but a few things hinted at. I think I need to go back and find out more about these characters in order to fully appreciate these books and the characters relationships with each other.

That said I did get into the story quickly, it has lots of twists and turns and your not too sure what is coming next. It goes a long at a good pace and by the end your questions are answered which I always like in a crime story. 3/5 for me this time, thanks to Realreaders for introducing me to a new author and sending me a copy to review in exchange for an honest review. I will definitely seek out the earlier books in this series and see the difference between the authors and learn more about the characters.

View all my reviews

6 comments:

  1. Over 40 books in the series! And with different authors? Wow. I'm sure that makes for interesting reading, with different authors styles. Glad you enjoyed this one.

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  2. Sounds like a fun and engaging book.

    I am a bit obsessive about reading series in order so I do not think that I would likely just jump in this late in the game.

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  3. I find it so frustrating when I read a book that has so many characters. It makes me feel like I need a dry erase board so I can keep a chart of who everyone is.

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  4. Ooh, I do like a good crime novel with lots of twists and turns.

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  5. I'm again in a no reading mode, looking forward to spring and sun to go out on the terasse and enjoy a good book!

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  6. It sounds like a good read, but maybe I would need to make notes along the way. I do that sometimes when there are loads of characters.

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