This is the forty-fourth book in the Spenser series and the fifth to be written by Ace Atkins in the wake of Robert B. Parker's death. As any number of other reviewers have noted, Atkins has pretty effectively restored the series to its glory years, and with this many books under his belt, he is beginning to make the series his own. With Atkins at the helm, Spenser's universe is slowly changing. New characters are appearing, and the man himself is now moving into the modern day, particularly wit...

Firefighter McGee, suspected of arson, asks Spenser for help

If you aren't a fan of Robert B. Parker's Spenser series, read no further. It has been over half a decade since Ace Atkins has taken over the Spenser franchise. This is one of his best. I just listened to it on a 400 mile drive with Joe Montegna doing the narration. Montegna did many of the audio books for Parker as well and for me he is pitch-perfect.I guess I would say the same for Atkins who has all the Parker writing mannerisms down cold. He know the relationships and builds his banter upon

This is the first Ace Atkin's Spenser that I haven't, in the back of my head while reading, looked for proof that it's not Parker writing. I was always conscious that this was NOT Parker and with this one the thought didn't occur to me once. Whether it's because Atkins has successfully melded into Parker's writing style or because Atkins is good enough on his own that I can disappear into the story doesn't seem to matter. I'm just happen that Spenser and I can continue our relationship.

"Slow Burn" is really a three-star book judged by plot merits. The villains are weak, and their end is more anticlimactic than was intended. And yet the Spenser created by Atkins is sufficiently like Parker's early Spenser, though slowed ever so slightly by age, that I can forgive a lot because I so like Spenser's whole world. There vis a fight between Spenser and two of Joe DeMarco's thugs, one of them a real brute, that captures both Spenser's skill at boxing and his slight slowing down (compa...

Taking over where another fiction writer left off has to be one of the toughest jobs there is. Not only are you "stuck" with the same locations and characters, you've got to make it all read as if you didn't write it - or face the wrath of hundreds of angry fans of the original author. So when the estate named Ace Atkins to keep Parker's popular Spenser series alive (Parker had penned 37 of them at the time of his death in 2010 and unless I missed one I don't know about, I've read them all), I w...

Spenser tries to track down a serial arsonist. I sure hope he doesn’t get burned by the experience….OK, I apologize for that one.Three firefighters were killed in a blaze of undetermined origin, and a year later there are still no answers. That doesn’t sit well with a fireman friend of Spenser who thinks it was arson and believes the authorities haven’t done enough to find whoever was responsible. Spenser starts nosing around and as usual manages to piss off some very dangerous people in the pro...

4 Stars. Lot's of action - who's burning Boston? A number of arsons have the city on edge. Especially the fire department. It started with an old abandoned church and picked up speed. I enjoy the straight-forward writing style and the unusual sarcasm and colourful witticisms of Spenser, our lead private eye. Can it be a Spenser novel without the usual retinue of some bad, bad guys, and some enjoyable and good, bad guys? Joe Montagna can't do as many different voices as some other audio book read...

A fun read for Spenser fans. I think I may have added a star because Susan wasn't as irritating as she has been in some of the earlier books as written by Parker.

My favorite of the Atkin's Spenser novels so far. Robert B. Parker would be proud.

I listened to this audiobook. Spenser books are exactly what I think they are going to be - Spenser, a Private eye, has a literary smarty pants way of talking to low life Boston criminals and clueless cops. Hawk, his best friend, is scary and has witty exchanges with Spenser. The books are quick to read or listen, they are a fun diversion. In this book a firefighter friend comes to Spenser to ask for help in figuring out who set fire a year ago to a Catholic church - a horrible fire that claimed...

In the 44th Spenser book, this one by Ace Atkins, Spenser is trying to find out who is behind all the fires which are breaking out on a regular basis all over Boston. The first started at a former Catholic Church and three firefighters died trying to stop the blaze. One of the survivors came to Spenser asking for his help because he is convinced it was arson. Despite there being no mystery to the story because you know who the bad guys are early on, this was an entertaining story. There are chan...

Another great entry in the post-Parker series of Spenser books. I was thrilled that Hawk was back in a more substantial role (although Atkins hasn't got the same gift for writing their dialogue together as Parker had), and Zee was still around. Susan makes an appearance, and a whole cast of lesser characters appear...often it seemed just to check off that they still existed (although Gino Fish has sadly passed away).All of this is mere decoration, however, as the heart of the Spenser series is t...

Slow, "tortuous," Burn is a more apt title. The marginalization of Hawk and the over saturation of Susan/Pearl contributes little, except boredom. 0 of 10 stars

The Spenser transfer is complete!Ace Atkins has been writing good books in the Spenser series. They have been true to form and true to the characters.But this time around, he is actually aging Spenser a bit, adding levels of character development for the entire cast of characters -- and referring to past and future events in the series (both in his and Parker's time) seamlessly.This guarantees the franchise will not just survive but grow under the watch of its new author.I love the character. My...

Six years since Parker's death. As each year passes, it's harder to hear his voice. I will continue to say this: as loathe as I am to never read another Spenser novel, it's time for these to stop. Spenser wearing cheater glasses. A grey grizzled Pearl. Susan drinks half a glass of wine at once--the orbits spin. Atkins brings in his own Southern touches. Spenser at a fire station cooking shrimp etouffee and we get a lengthy description of making roux? What the... The family needs to let this cash...

Parker is an excellent writer, and to enjoy his works is quite pleasurable. One thing that is difficult for me is his hard language with about an F-bomb for every sentence. throw in some "Sh's", "d's"it really is hard on me (grosses me out) out with such foul language.Boston PI Spenser faces a hot case and a personal crisis in this adventure in Robert B. Parker’s iconic New York Times bestselling series.The fire at a boarded-up Catholic church raged hot and fast, lighting up Boston’s South End a...

First Spenser we listened to, read by Joe Mantegna. Entertaining and very enjoyable for listening to on a long trip.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.---On the Greenway, a carousel turned to calliope music. The two men approached me. They tried to act like they were shopping, but they were as unobtrusive as a couple of linebackers at a Céline Dion concert.Say what you will about the relative merits of Atkins' two current series, but you won't get lines like that from Quinn Colson (maybe from Lille Virgil). (That's not really the best line of the book -- it's just the one that requires the l...

Is this the future of the Spenser series? Are they all going to be from two POVs making it two books smushed into one? And drowning in more foul language than the books have ever had, most of which is there for no other reason than to just because it can be? If it is, this series is definitely going south. Had I been reading the physical book, rather than listenting to the audiobook, I would have skipped right over the scenes from the arsonists' POV. It goes against the model of every book that