SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME is an immediate bright spot for the beginning of the new year. Ace Atkins was personally tapped by Joan H. Parker to continue the stories of Spenser, the iconic detective created by her late husband, Robert B. Parker. It was an excellent choice, as Atkins has been able to bring his own fine writing chops to the table while preserving and continuing Parker’s magic.

This latest entry brings back a character I am not particularly fond of: Mattie Sullivan, who is serving as something more than Spenser’s understudy and something less than his partner. It’s slightly awkward, but she does fulfill the purpose of bringing Spenser into his latest case. Mattie has an acquaintance, a young woman named Chloe Turner, who has what appears to be a minor problem. Chloe was employed for what was supposed to be a one-off at a private club for stupid money but ultimately involved duties beyond what she expected and wanted. She left the premises rather hurriedly, leaving her backpack and laptop behind, and enlists Spenser to retrieve her belongings.

"[SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME] is both comfortably familiar and newly intriguing, which is a tough balance to achieve, let alone maintain. Atkins does both, and amazingly well."

Spenser does so in his unique style, but he quickly learns that there is more going on at the club, and elsewhere, than an attempted misappropriation of property. The man and woman who run the place are simply horrible people who offer services that cater to rich and powerful individuals with monstrous desires.

Spenser and Mattie soon become involved much more deeply than they originally intended. He brings Hawk into the mix, which is never a bad thing, and the two longtime friends and associates follow an evidentiary trail that leads them away from the familiar environs of Boston to a quite different place. Their targets, of course, do not take the pursuit either well or passively. As a result, Spenser and those involved with him personally and professionally find themselves in a tremendous amount of danger. Still, he handles things with his usual aplomb, and along the way learns a bit more about his enigmatic partner.

Another character from the canon who is not a friendly one makes a reappearance, while a new presence is introduced as Spenser and his longtime significant other, Susan, have a quiet but deep difference of opinion that takes them most of the book to work out. A lot is going on here, but the reader never gets lost. This is due to Atkins’ remarkable characterization, pacing and plot, the latter of which is drawn from the real world.

SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME is a love letter from Atkins to Parker’s fans, as well as an invitation to a generation of readers to come and join the party. It is both comfortably familiar and newly intriguing, which is a tough balance to achieve, let alone maintain. Atkins does both, and amazingly well. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment, and the ones after that.