by Ace Atkins
Part of Spenser, book 13
First published 1987
A wealthy New York madam approaches Spenser with a straightforward job: locate April Kyle, one of her missing girls. Spenser takes the case expecting routine detective work. He finds April Kyle, but the discovery leads him into something darker. Another prostitute turns up murdered. The trail pulls Spenser deeper into Boston's commercial sex world, where money flows freely and violence lurks beneath polished surfaces. His investigation stretches from familiar Boston streets to an exclusive Caribbean club that caters to expensive tastes. Someone in this network kills young women for profit and pleasure. Spenser must navigate brothels, pimps, and wealthy clients to identify the killer. The case forces him to confront the brutal economics of exploitation, where women become commodities and murder becomes business.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: investigation, moral-dilemma
Setting: Boston, Caribbean, New York
Period: contemporary
320 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Dell
Content warnings: explicit-sexual-content, violence