Years ago, Boston PI Spenser made a difficult decision in helping troubled teen April Kyle get off the streets. Now the adult April is back in Boston running an upscale call-girl operation. April says she has been pretty successful in running the all-women business, but recently some thugs have been threatening to take it all away from her. They've come by the business a few times to squeeze some money from her and now they've starting beating up some of her workers and she wants Spenser to stop them. Spenser, who still wonders if he made the right decision years ago in sending April to work for Madame Patricia Utley, agrees to help April. But the more involved Spenser gets, the more he realizes that several people are lying to him, including April. The deeper Spenser digs into the case, the more he realizes that it's not going to have a happy ending. Robert Parker fans will enjoy "Hundred-Dollar Baby" but other readers may find it lacking. It's a sequel of sorts to Ceremony, an earlier, gritty and thought-provoking Spenser book. "Hundred-Dollar Baby" is not as good as "Ceremony", but it's still a good, quick read. At this point, Parker can probably write the Spenser books in his sleep. The book is dialogue driven and much of the dialogue feels like it could be lifted from this book and inserted into any other Spenser book especially Spenser's conversations with long-time girlfriend Susan Silverman (as can his observations about her eating habits). I love the repartee between Hawk and Spenser, but all too often other characters exchange the same witty dialogue, so they all blur together as characters. The plot line with April is interesting, with some twists and turns and a surprising, if somewhat unbelievable ending. Long-time fans will enjoy seeing characters from other Spenser books turn up in this one including April, Patricia Utley, Eugene Corsetti, and Tedy Sapp. Parker's greatest strength is his ability to capture the streets of Boston in his writing and he again does it well in this book - I could picture the various streets and locations in my mind while reading the book. "Hundred-Dollar Baby" doesn't break any new ground, but Spenser fans will still enjoy it.
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. (view spoiler)[Spenser learning how damaged and murderous April has become, and then her subsequent suicide in front of him is one of the darkest and most powerful moments in the series. I especially liked Hawk’s conversation with Spenser leading up to it in which it’s evident that they both know that April is bad news. Hawk’s effort to gently push Spenser into facing up to the truth shows just how well the two men know each other. (hide spoiler)]
An entertaining read. Not the best book you'd ever pick up, but still it held your attention. This time Spenser is hired by a woman from his past, who now runs an upscale bordello. She's being hasseled by some thugs and Spenser is tasked with finding out who is behind it and convinving them to stop. Along the way, he encouters murder, the mob, and a whole house full of working girls. Hawk is around, but not a lot. Susan and Pearl are around as well, fleshing out Spenser's supporting cast. If you have the opportunity, the audio book is pretty good and read excellently by Joe Mantegna. My biggest dislikes with this book are (like with my previous Spenser outing) was Parker's overuse of the word "said". Particularly when listened to, "he said", "she said", "Spenser said", etc. gets a little repetitive. Also, the ending seemed to just pop out of nowhere, like oh- I know who did it and then they're dealt with. However, not a horrible read for a mystery lover, it would probably take you just an afternoon.
—Jeff
Hundred Dollar Baby is much like the other Spenser novels that I have read. After reading a few of them, they fill into a familiar pattern. The novel is filled with deceit, humorous interchanges between Spenser and Hawk, and wise-guy interactions with the cops involved. These novels tend to be more style than substance, which make them enjoyable reads but not too deep. This novel fits into that pattern. April Kyle, who Spenser has a history with, saving her in a previous novel, turns to Spenser when mobsters are trying to muscle their way into a whorehouse that she runs. Before long, Spenser finds out that April isn’t exactly being truthful to him. Despite that, he rushes headfirst into the case, determined to get to the truth.As I mentioned, this is an enjoyable novel. I enjoy Robert Parker’s Spenser character more than his other fictional characters. This novel has an easy going style that makes it a quick read. The plot isn’t the greatest out there, but it isn’t worse than other Spenser novels that I’ve read. Entertaining but unspectacular.Carl Alves – author of Blood Street
—Carl Alves
It's a Spenser novel. If you like them, and I do, you'll like it. If it's not your thing, this won't change your mind. Parker was very good at creating likeable recurring characters you are happy to see again and again and that you can still tell apart even if you haven't seen them for a few novels or, like me, have taken a few years off between books. (Apparently, I missed a few in there, too.) They're also good for rereading, unlike many mysteries, and not only because it's fun to recognize that I've eaten lunch in those same restaurants, too.This one has some moral self-examination but not so much rumination on aging as some written in the last 10 years. (Really, if you sit down and do the math, it is improbable that these characters, all of them, have managed to keep up with their own lives. So just don't so the math.) I do like that Parker (seems to me) wondered later what would have happened to this character or that one from decades ago, as in this book. Although there is much formula involved in this genre, Spenser novels remain fresh.Bad people in this and other of the author's books use bad language. It's not everybody, and it's not every page, but it is frequent.
—Tobinsfavorite
