When fourteen-year-old Mattie Sullivan asks Spenser to look into her motherβs murder, heβs not completely convinced by her claim that the police investigation four years ago was botched. Mattie is gruff, street-smart, and wise beyond her years, left to care for her younger siblings and an alcoholic grandmother in a dilapidated apartment in South Boston. But her need for closure and her determination to make things right hit Spenser where he lives- theyβre the very characteristics he abides by.
Mattie believes the man convicted of the crime is innocent and points Spenser to the Southie toughs who she saw carrying her mother away hours before her murder. Neither the Boston PD nor the neighborhood thugs are keen on his dredging up the past, but as Spenser becomes more involved in the case, he starts to realize that Mattie may be onto something. Spenser will need Hawkβs help to find peace for Mattie β a job thatβs more dangerous than he ever thought.
About the Author
Robert B. Parker was the author of seventy books, including the legendary Spenser detective series, the novels featuring Jesse Stone, and the acclaimed Virgil Cole/Everett Hitch westerns, as well as the Sunny Randall novels. Winner of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award and long considered the undisputed dean of American crime fiction, he died in January 2010.
Ace Atkins is the author of eleven novels, including the true-crime based White Shadow ,Wicked City , Devilβs Garden, and Infamous. He is also the author of the Quinn Colson series, which includes The Ranger and the forthcoming The Lost Ones. Bestselling author Michael Connelly has called Atkins βone of the best crime writers working today.β He lives on a farm outside Oxford, Mississippi.