This is the last Spenser novel. So the feeling throughout is kinda like an Irish wake -- sad but full of joyful memories. It is disappointing that Hawk only makes an appearance by reference, but all of the other players -- Susan, Quirk, Rita, etc. -- get a pleasant final turn.

Parker was so prolific that I'm not sure he knew that this was his last Spenser excursion. If he did (or even considered it), then Spenser's reflection, starting on page 205, of why he does what he does, how it gives meaning to his life and his professional values and norms could have just as easily been the author talking directly to us.

As I've said in my previous reviews of the late Robert B. Parker's work, "succinct" doesn't begin to describe how concise/precise Parker's writing is. Here is an excerpt from the NY Times obit from last January: "Mr. Parker wrote the Spenser novels in the first person, employing the blunt, masculine prose style that is often described as Hemingwayesque. But his writing also seems self-aware, even tongue-in-cheek, as though he recognized how well worn such a path was. And his dialogue was especially arch, giving Spenser an air of someone who takes very few things seriously and raises an eyebrow at everything else. Mr. Parker’s regular readers became familiar with the things that provoke Spenser’s suspicion: showy glamour, ostentatious wealth, self-aggrandizement, fern bars, fancy sports clubs and any kind of haughtiness or presumption."

It is that familiarity that brings the catch-in-the-throat reality to the wake: this is the last ride with Spenser. So sad. A thank you in five stars!