Back Story

Robert B. Parker's 30th Spencer novel is another solid crime story, this time involving the PI's investigation into a 28-year-old cold case. The procedural details are mediocre and the entire set-up (in which Spencer rather easily discovers new leads in a very old case) is implausible. But the book's dialogue has a certain machismo charm (in my opinion anyway; not all will agree) and there is something comfortable and familiar about stepping back into Spencer's world.