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<Bt-4z35>Another tepid, thinly-plotted novel in Spenser series

<BUz12>Hundred-Dollar Baby <$z$><I>(G.P. Putnam's Sons, 304 pages)<BIz10.5>A</I>PRIL Kyle was a teenage prostitute when Spenser tried to rescue her 25 novels ago in <I>Ceremony<$>. He hasn't seen or heard from her since.So he doesn't recognise her when, elegant in a Michael Kors suit, she strides into his Boston office and says: “You don't know who I am.”

Hundred-Dollar Baby <$z$>

(G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 304 pages)

APRIL Kyle was a teenage prostitute when Spenser tried to rescue her 25 novels ago in Ceremony<$>. He hasn’t seen or heard from her since.So he doesn’t recognise her when, elegant in a Michael Kors suit, she strides into his Boston office and says: “You don’t know who I am.”

“Are you going to tell me or do I have to frisk you,” he says in a typical bit of Spenserian banter.

Turns out, she’s management now, the madame of an expensive escort service operating out of a Back Bay mansion. And she needs his help. Some men are threatening her and trying to drive her out of business, she says. No, she doesn’t know who they are or why they want her gone.

It doesn’t take Spenser long to figure out that she’s lying to him; after all, most of his clients lie. But as usual, he pokes around anyway to find out what’s going on and how he can help.

The result is another tepid, thinly-plotted novel by Robert B. Parker (pictured)<\p><$>in a series that has been running on fumes since the mid-1980s.

There is nothing inevitable about the demise of a long-running series. After all, the late Ed McBain kept Steve Carella and his 87th Precinct going strong for 55 books and more than three million words.

Parker’s writing ability hasn’t dimmed. Judging by Appaloosa, a Western published last year, he’s better than ever. But the Spenser series, 34 books long now, has been sputtering since April Kyle’s debut in Ceremony<$> in 1982. Only occasionally, as with last year’s School Days, has Parker approached the quality of his first 10 Spenser books. Most of the time, you get the feeling he would rather be writing about something else.

Spenser’s pal, Hawk, and Boston police detectives Quirk and Belson all make appearances in the new book. They’ve always been strong characters, but sadly Parker hasn’t been giving them much to do lately.

Worse, Spenser’s long-time girlfriend, psychologist Susan Silverman, is back from the business trip Parker sent her on in School Days, free to vandalise another Spenser novel with her stomach-turning, cutsie-pie love talk, her nonsensical, mind-numbingly boring psychobable and her blatantly obvious “insights”.

Like this, as she discusses April with Spenser: “She has spent her life in circumstances where love was a commercial exchange,” Susan said.

Duh! She’s a prostitute.

Susan left Spenser 24 books ago, ran off to the West Coast and took up with a married man. It would have been better for all concerned if she had stayed there, but Parker sent Spenser flying to the rescue.

It’s way past time to get rid of her again. Maybe one of her patients could go berserk and strangle her.

Perhaps she could be shot down by one of Spenser’s enemies. Heck, have her fall and hit her head in the tub. Just get rid of her.

Then Spenser could hook up with that hot former D.A., Rita Fiori, and maybe something interesting could happen.