Robert B. Parker's Kickback - Softcover

"Ace Atkins has recognised and can emulate well the features of Spenser and he has achieved the same laconic style that Parker inaugurated." -- Promoting Crime Fiction

Praise for Robert B. Parker's Kickback

"It's great to see Spenser tackle a social evil with its roots in real life." -- Kirkus Reviews

"A topical plot line propels bestseller Atkins' engrossing fourth Spenser novel... Once again, Atkins has done a splendid job of capturing the voice of the late Robert B. Parker." --Publishers Weekly

"A classic page-turner, over far too quickly, but with as much depth and chill as the cold waters surrounding the island prison" --Crime Review"Ace Atkins has once again delivered a gritty and tough Spenser novel...The way in which he is able to mimic the original books is stunning" --Nudge"An important topic, handled with aplomb." --Catholic Herald

The iconic, tough-but-tender Boston PI Spenser returns in an outstanding new addition to the 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 in Boston Harbor. 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. This is Blackburn, Massachusetts, where zero tolerance for minors is a way of life. Leading the movement is hard-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.