In Pursuit of Spenser

One of our upcoming titles is not entirely like the others. I mean, vampires, girls on fire, Mad Men, zombies, Starks—all of that seems pretty squarely up Smart Pop's alley. Private detective Spenser? Not our usual fare.

I have to admit: I came in to this project not knowing anything about Spenser. When our publisher, Glenn (a huge Spenser fan), brought up the idea, I had only a vague sense of who Robert B. Parker was, much less of the series for which he's best known—the series that's...