by Ace Atkins
Part of Spenser, book 1
First published 2000
Spenser takes what seems like a straightforward job recovering a rare stolen manuscript from a Boston university. The private detective's street education prepared him for complications, but he gets more than he bargained for when his only lead turns up with four bullets in his chest. The dead student was a campus radical, and the police want to pin the murder on a blonde coed whose fingerprints cover the weapon. Spenser refuses to accept the obvious answer. He digs deeper into the university's secrets, following a trail that grows more dangerous with each discovery. The manuscript theft connects to something bigger and deadlier than academic crime. As Spenser pursues the truth, he realizes his investigation has made him a target. He must solve the case quickly or risk becoming the next casualty in a game where the stakes are higher than a missing book.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective, academic
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, investigation, private-detective
Setting: Boston, University
204 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Dell