Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #324897 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11
• Format: Large Print
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 312 pages

From Publishers Weekly
April Kyle, the damsel in distress that Spenser rescued in two earlier books, Ceremony (1982) and Taming a Sea Horse (1986), again turns to the iconic Boston PI for help in the 34th entry in Parker's popular series. Cynical yet romantic, Spenser easily handles the immediate threat of some men trying to muscle in on the high-class Boston whorehouse April is running. Unfortunately, that isn't the real problem, and Spenser without much surprise finds that April, the thugs and everyone else involved is lying to him. Instead of walking away, Spenser continues to probe, following trails that lead to New York, a con artist, mob connections and other complications. This is vintage Parker, with Spenser exchanging witty dialogue with the faithful Hawk, sexy dialogue with his beloved Susan and smart-alecky dialogue with cops and villains. The old pros can make it look easy, and that goes for both the author and his hero as they deliver the goods smoothly and with inimitable style. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
This is the third appearance of April Kyle, originally a runaway teenage hooker, now a sophisticated Boston madam. Once again, she needs rescuing by Boston's preeminent soft-hearted tough guy--Spenser. Joe Mantegna's pace is perfect for bringing our hero to life, along with his usual gang. This is no mean feat as Parker has spent a generation developing and perfecting the characters and voices in this series. There's no disappointment in Mantegna's rendering of women, blacks, Boston cops, or South Boston gangsters. Readers of Parker will find that listening to Mantegna's Spenser is as exciting as each new story in the series. M.C. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
April Kyle is the young runaway Spenser rescued from Boston's notorious Combat Zone in 1982's Ceremony. Bereft of conventional options, he left her in the care of Patricia Utley, operator of an upscale New York bordello. Now she is back in Boston operating a branch office for Utley and needs Spenserian assistance. Some locals are trying to move in on her operation. Perhaps Spenser and Hawk can dissuade them? They make quick work of the muscle but learn the catalyst for the takeover may have a more complex motive. April knows more than she has revealed to him about the source of the threat and her complicity. Spenser's frustration with Kyle's dishonesty and his avuncular need to help forces him to keep digging. The latest entry in the long-running series finds Parker revisiting familiar themes such as the often-deleterious effect that families have on their members and whether the damage can ever be truly undone. The banter between Spenser and his significant other, Susan Silverman, and the imperturbable Hawk--typically a highlight of the series--seems flat here, even veering toward cliche. Still, no Spenser novel fails to be entertaining, but Parker just may be doing better work these days with his two other series characters, Sunny Randall and Jesse Stone. Here's hoping he gets the big guy back on track. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Hundred-Dollar Baby and Dream Girl = same book
If you like Robert B Parker, you might buy this book under two different titles like I did. Amazon.ca will not tip you off. The book is good, the merchandising trick isn't

A Damaged Woman Breaks

Ceremony is one of Robert B. Parker's best books in the Spenser series. In that book, Susan Silverman persuades Spenser to track down teenaged runaway, April Kyle, and rescue Kyle from the gritty world of the street walker. Kyle didn't want to be rescued and that book ended with Spenser introducing Kyle to a madam in New York City, Patricia Utley, who promises to look after Kyle. Kyle breaks out of that life when she falls "in love" with a pimp during Taming a Sea-Horse. That book was pretty ordinary . . . and occasionally seemed like little more than an opportunity to wrap stylish dialogue around a superficial look at the sex trade. April Kyle is back again in Hundred-Dollar Baby as the madam for a Boston Back Bay mansion where suburban soccer moms do the horizontal for big bucks.

When April Kyle walks into Spenser's office to ask for his help, he doesn't recognize her. But she certainly gets his attention fast enough when Kyle asks him to get rid of some men who are disrupting her operation, which Ms. Utley helped her set up. Spenser and Hawk quickly dispatch some Andrew Square thugs . . . and begin to sense that things are not as they seem. Why would anyone bother to take over a low-profit operation like this one? Naturally, the motives are complex, twisted, and pathological. Susan opines from afar about Kyle's mental health while Spenser and Hawk spend most of the book on boring stakeouts.

Unless you really wanted to know more about how to be a successful madam (including recruiting those suburban soccer moms), there's nothing for you in this book. The story is mostly uninteresting. What does happen moves way too slowly. I felt like I was reading a short story that had been stretched beyond recognition. The ending is unbelievably bad . . . and unbelievable.

For the first time in my reviewing career of looking at Robert B. Parker’s books, my advice is to skip this one. Only occasional glimpses of sparkling dialogue provide any reward for the reader. Certainly, few will be enlightened by Parker's amoral defense of the expensive part of the sex trade. I felt the need to wash my hands of Parker's views on that subject after finishing the book.

ANOTHER TOP FLIGHT STORY AND A FIVE STAR READING


Yes, he's a Tony Award winner for his Broadway role in Glengarry Glen Ross, an Emmy nominee for his television appearances and a star of feature films. Nonetheless, for this listener Joe Mantegna is the voice of Robert Parker's iconic hero, Boston PI Spenser. This actor has brought excitement and thrills to such Spenser escapades as Back Story, Bad Business, Cold Service, Hugger Potshot, and Widow's Walk. He does it again with Hundred-Dollar Baby.

There's little that ruffles Spenser but the reappearance of April Kyle does. She was once a teenage runaway (Ceremony, 1982) who had the beauty and nerve to turn to prostitution because she believed she had no other choice. She learned her trade well and now is back in Boston running a high priced bordello. Problem is some men are trying to muscle in on her territory and she needs Spenser's help.

Well, April may be beautiful and clever, but she's not too candid as Spenser soon discovers. She had maintained that she had no idea who was trying to scuttle her operation but Spenser and his trusty sidekick, Hawk, find that April isn't the unknowing victim that she claims to be.

Another top flight story in this ever popular series.

- Gail Cooke