This was a very random purchase because I was like, oh, I haven't read a mystery in awhile, and I did not even realize it was part of the whole Robert Parker universe. Questionable depiction of a Cree Indian who is also definitely the person subject to the most violence in the book (aside from people actually murdered), your standard treatment of women mostly as objects (tho Spenser's relationship with his significant other is actually kind of layered). Idk. Sometimes I read stuff just to see what lots of other people are reading I guess?

I was really pleased to be given this book to review as I'd previously read a few of the Spenser novels by Parker and enjoyed them. Wonderland was written by Ace Atkins following Parker's death in 2010, and as such, I was not expecting this book to have exactly the same kind of witty repartee as the others.

It was a good story; Spenser as good as ever, but there was something really disappointing about this book that I can't quite put my finger on. Something lacking or not quite right.
The characters were interesting, the prose descriptive and gritty, but this one didn't do it for me. 3/5 stars.

Thanks to the Real Readers team for sending me a review copy.

"That's why I always liked you, Spenser," Wayne said. "You are the most sophisticated thug I ever met."

It is amazing that an author can pick up a character from another author and maintain the character in all of his Spenser-eese. I have read a lot of the Spenser novels, but no where near all of them. I did miss Hawk - he was out of town.

Robert B. Parker died nearly four years ago, but his characters live on. In this case, Spenser, carried on by Ace Atkins. (I wish I could say the same for Jesse Stone, but they're not that well done. Nobody has been interested in picking up Sunny which is too bad.) Wonderland has all of the elements that Parker made so famous: Spenser's combination of cynicism and hope, his undying love for Susan, and his relentless drive to find the truth no matter what the cost. The books are a fun, quick read although Atkins seems to have gone back to the earlier Parker books which had a lot more meat to them. It seemed as Parker got older, he tended to write shorter and shorter. His last few books were practically in "large print" and were definitely double spaced. Wonderland offers some insight into the world of legal gambling which is coming to Boston. Spenser's old pal, Henry Cimoli, the ageless former boxer and gym owner, who lives in a condo on Revere Beach. Someone wants to buy the building and raze it. However, they make the mistake of using goons to rough up some of the residents, retirees for the most part, who are resisting the sale. Henry is one of the ones who is threatened. He asks Spenser to look into it. Soon Spenser is enmeshed in a case that involves murder, beheadings and graft.

Engaging story, likable characters and a dash of humor to keep me entertained. It was a fun read.

Atkins is the closest to the original Parker style of any of the fill-in authors I've read. Still, the style isn't the same, and is occasionally disappointing. Harsher language, misdirection of some of the ancillary characters, etc. It seems to me that he has tried to make the series his "own" in some small ways, but the departures are a bit disappointing. Those are relatively small things, though, and overall the storyline kept me interested.

Spenser is on his own turf with his newest "project" Zeb Sixkill. It's a bit reminiscent of Spenser's own struggles early in the series. Hawk is off in Florida, and doesn't make an appearance, and Susan is in NC lecturing, but offers advice by phone. Henry Cimoli brings Spenser in on what seems to be little more than some protection while his condo association works out a buyout deal, but of course it turns into more. Its a convoluted mystery that kept me going until near the end.

Ace Atkins continues the tradition of spenser. The particulars and descriptions are the strength of this fine volume

I've come to the conclusion that, no matter how much you like a dead author, you can't evaluate zombie books based on how well they imitate the author. It's like going to a restaurant and buying a dinner done in the style of the last, great chef. It's either good on its own or it isn't. Spending a lot of time talking about how well the author imitates Parker isn't useful. This is a money play: let the author and publisher and estate make money from an installed base of readers who really like the characters and themes instead of trying to bull their way into a new market with different characters and themes.

This is the first Ace Atkins I've read, after many years of reading and loving Parker. It isn't Parker, but it's not bad as something on its own. The plot is excellent, the writing is good and cliche-free (more or less, everything is relative with these kinds of novels), the characters are interesting, the setting (Revere) is real. What's not to like? Well, casual killing without remorse, ineffectual cops, excessively stupid gangsters, all the things you usually don't like. But it reads like a good book, not a dog. Too bad about Wonderland, though. Never really was a Wonderland, even when I lived there many years ago.

Read for the writing, not for the zombie thrills. And, Ace, write more books. Lots more. Like Parker did.