First edition very fine

Spenser breaks Hawk out of jail and rescues Susan from a very controlling man she has taken up with after breaking up with Spenser. The controlling man is the son of a notorious arms dealer that the CIA wants taken care of. In addition to selling weapons illegally he has an army of mercenaries that he rents to foreign governments, non-governments, rebel groups and sometimes both sides. The CIA tell Spenser and Hawk that they can make the many criminal charges relating to the jail break and several deaths go away if they can kill the arms dealer. Will they succeed? Does Spenser win Susan back. Read and see. ( )

When Susan can't make up her mid to leave abusive boyfriend she calls Hawk for help; Hawk ends up in trouble and Spenser loses all moral compass in quest to 'rescue' Susan.

Although I have to admit this one felt a little bit more dated than I might have liked, I really enjoyed diving back into the universe of Parker's Spenser. Parker has a way of bringing characters and scenes to life even against fast and dialogue-driven scenes, and this was an easy, enjoyable read to sink into while on vacation. It's a reminder to me to go back to the other Spenser novels I never got around to and wander through them as I get the chance.

I probably wouldn't recommend starting with this one if you're not already a fan of this series, but it's worth getting around to once you become a fan. ( )

An absolutely preposterous story, built on the difficulties in Spenser's relationship with Suze. ( )