I've read about fifteen Spenser novels, enjoyed the series thoroughly, and this is the first one I've found disappointing. The story line is more unbelievable than the rest of the series, and Spenser is out of character when he murders a pimp just to get some working capital and hires on as an assassin to get out of trouble with the feds. Worst of all is the endlessly repetitive descriptions of his angst over Susan's affair (and a lot of similar angst from Susan), which read like something Woody Allen would have churned out. Other reviewers have praised this as showing his sensitive side, but to me it was mostly tiresome psychobabble. On the plus side, his smart mouth is still present, and the jailbreak sequence was right up to snuff. If you're reading the Spenser novels in chronological order you need this as a bridge to later (and better) ones, but otherwise it's expendable.