ANGEL EYES is the 48th(!) novel featuring Spenser, who still remains mystery fiction’s most confident and self-satisfied private investigator. And yes, we are glad for it. Though Spenser and his supporting characters have outlived Robert B. Parker, their creator, the torch has been carried for almost a decade by the stalwart Ace Atkins in what has been, for all intents and purposes, a flawless passing of the franchise. To say that Atkins has “copied” Parker’s style in the series would not be accurate. Instead, he has managed to capture the spirit of the characters and continues to convey it, as Parker did, through sparkling dialogue interspersed with action.

In this latest installment, Atkins takes Spenser out of his familiar Boston environs for a return visit to Los Angeles, a locale that was first featured in Parker’s A SAVAGE PLACE. The change of scenery gives Spenser the opportunity to work with his apprentice, Zebulon Sixkill, who has set up his own private investigation agency on the West Coast. Spenser’s purpose for being there is to locate Gabby Leggett, a young woman from Boston who moved to Hollywood a couple of years ago and has been missing for two weeks. He is doing so at the behest of Gabby’s mother, who is a friend of Susan Silverman, his longtime significant other and confidante.

"[W]ith ANGEL EYES, Atkins brings his take on the iconic Spenser and those in his orbit to an entirely new level. It’s terrific storytelling, and you should be reading it..."

In fairly short order, Spenser discovers that the Gabby who has been living in Hollywood is far different from the woman who said goodbye to Boston. Somehow she has become involved on a number of levels with a self-help guru who is a charlatan at best and a possible murderer at worst. An Armenian crime lord also has worked his way into the mix, warning Spenser and Sixkill off of locating Gabby, who, as it turns out, does not seem to feel that she needs to be rescued. Consequently, Spenser is somewhat limited in what he is able to do from a legal standpoint, a problem with which he is not entirely unfamiliar.

Meanwhile, the Armenian connection is becoming more forceful in opposing Spenser and Sixkill in their efforts to interject themselves in Gabby’s situation. It is not long before the bodies start piling up. Spenser turns to associates old and new for help, and as a result, veteran readers of this long-running series will encounter characters they have not seen in quite a while. He also will receive some unexpected, though not altogether surprising, assistance from a familiar source at about the book’s halfway point. As the novel violently winds down, we see that not every story has a happy, or even totally fulfilled, conclusion.

Atkins stepped into Parker’s shoes in 2012 and has proceeded with nary a stumble since then. As good as Atkins has been (and continues to be) with his own projects, I am surprised at how solid the fit has been. However, with ANGEL EYES, Atkins brings his take on the iconic Spenser and those in his orbit to an entirely new level. It’s terrific storytelling, and you should be reading it whether or not you are a fan of Parker, Spenser and Atkins.