God Save the Child by Robert B. Parker

God Save the Child by Robert B. Parker

In the second Spenser novel, the detective is hired to find a boy who looks like he has run away from home. He’s just gotten started on the case when a ransom demand comes followed later by threats against the mother. So, Spenser’s investigation keeps getting sidelined by other problems, until he finally decides that finding the boy is actually the quickest way to resolve all of the trouble.

 

It's a good novel, exciting from beginning to end, and it introduces Spenser’s love-interest, Susan Silverman, who is a guidance counselor in the high school the boy attends. Susan adds a lot of important information to the story and also gives Spenser a sounding board to clue the reader into what he’s thinking about the case. The real highlight of the novel, however, is the ending in which both of the boy’s dysfunctional parents (and the two and their marriage are a serious mess) get the opportunity to show that their screwed-up son really is the most important thing in their lives. I get choked up just thinking about that scene. It by itself is worth reading the whole novel for.