10X Health - Shop now
Buy new:
$9.99
FREE delivery Saturday, January 18 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$9.99
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Saturday, January 18 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or Prime members get FREE delivery Wednesday, January 15. Order within 1 hr 31 mins.
Only 19 left in stock (more on the way).
$$9.99 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$9.99
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
30-day refund/replacement
30-day refund/replacement
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$6.65
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery January 27 - February 5 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery January 27 - February 3
$$9.99 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$9.99
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Robert B. Parker's Kickback (Spenser) Paperback – May 3, 2016

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 4,412 ratings

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$9.99","priceAmount":9.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"9","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"8T5RGwPbJcGKI5xpLJMEtRfZpHmX%2BZpUJvE1xbIr6s7xcURsBtWGQY0kTf7QCl%2BIQ0AW5krCJZG87Srul6V4JwHkkzTaPGVw4%2BlUXpdI04atgVYrostT4xk2emxP%2FdhXETg%2FGMAKVpI9Fjxe1G9qUQ%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$6.65","priceAmount":6.65,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"6","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"65","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"8T5RGwPbJcGKI5xpLJMEtRfZpHmX%2BZpUADBq6As%2FoiNGENJX%2B56r3pksum0iIbctQAgua%2BvSt%2B%2BgMtQ5RXCs3GI%2BEJ4xgdDADCaZHxvfCGpdw9o0nXoulXBwHHlTH3ZcHVBzA0tWk8uSGQf2jQWOLog8OyjIU879E6d9JOk9RpcpbYep1P%2B5smQJRguGhAPC","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

PI Spenser, knight-errant of the Back Bay, takes on corruption in the justice system in this stellar New York Times bestselling thriller in Robert B. Parker’s series.
 
What started out as a joke landed seventeen-year-old Dillon Yates in a lockdown juvenile facility in Boston Harbor. When he set up a prank Twitter account for his vice principal, he never dreamed he could be brought up on criminal charges, but that’s exactly what happened. This is Blackburn, Mass., where zero tolerance for minors is a way of life.
 
Leading the movement is tough-as-nails judge Joe Scali, who gives speeches about coming down hard on today’s wild youth. But Dillon’s mother, who knows other Blackburn kids who are doing hard time for minor infractions, isn’t buying Scali’s line. She hires Spenser to find the truth behind the draconian sentencing. From the Harbor Islands to a gated Florida community, Spenser and trusted ally Hawk follow a trail through the Boston underworld with links to a shadowy corporation that runs New England’s private prisons. They eventually uncover a culture of corruption and cover-ups in the old mill town, where hundreds of kids are sent off to for-profit juvie jails.
The%20Amazon%20Book%20Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now

Frequently bought together

This item: Robert B. Parker's Kickback (Spenser)
$9.99
Get it as soon as Saturday, Jan 18
Only 19 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
$9.99
Get it as soon as Saturday, Jan 18
Only 17 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
$9.99
Get it as soon as Saturday, Jan 18
Only 20 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price: $00
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
spCSRF_Treatment
Some of these items ship sooner than the others.
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Robert B. Parker’s Kickback

“It’s great to see Spenser tackle a social evil with its roots in real life.”—
Kirkus Reviews
 
“A topical plot line propels bestseller Atkins’s engrossing fourth Spenser novel...Once again, Atkins has done a splendid job of capturing the voice of the late Robert B. Parker.” —
Publishers Weekly

“Atkins does a wonderful job with the characters created by Parker. To loyalists it may be heresy, but a case can be made for the Atkins novels being better than some of the last Spenser mysteries penned by Parker. A top-notch thriller.”—
Booklist
 
“Classic Spenser—the Spenser of wry wit, tasty food and drinks, hard workouts and lethal confrontations...Once again, Atkins has delivered a thriller that evokes the best of Parker’s Spenser series, not least the punchy back-and-forth of the dialogue.”—Associated Press

“Written in impeccable style by Ace Atkins...Robert B. Parker is smiling down on this brilliant Spenser adventure. It's full of everything we've come to expect from the Boston Private Investigator—action, smart-mouthed sarcasm, the assistance of Hawk and most of all, justice.”—
Suspense Magazine

Praise for Ace Atkins and the Spenser Series

“Handpicked by the Parker estate to be the keeper of the flame for the Spenser franchise, award-winning author Ace Atkins rises flawlessly to the occasion. In addition to the signature dialogue, all the familiars are fully resurrected: Susan, the sexy shrink; Pearl, the wonder dog; Hawk, the wonder sidekick; good cop Quirk, and, of course, Spenser himself, that consummate knight errant for the twenty-first century.”—
Kirkus Reviews

“It’s a feat when a writer creates characters who live and breathe on the page and make readers care and keep coming back for more. To manage that with someone else’s characters, let alone with an icon like Spenser, is a minor miracle. Ace Atkins pulls it off.”—
Chicago Sun-Times

About the Author

Robert B. Parker was the author of seventy books, including the legendary Spenser detective series, the novels featuring police chief Jesse Stone, and the acclaimed Virgil Cole–Everett Hitch westerns, as well as the Sunny Randall novels. Winner of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award and long considered the undisputed dean of American crime fiction, he died in January 2010.
 
Ace Atkins is the New York Times bestselling author of the Quinn Colson novels, the first two of which—The Ranger and The Lost Ones—were nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel (he also has a third Edgar nomination for his short story, “Last Fair Deal Gone Down”). In addition, he is the author of several New York Times bestselling novels in the continuation of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series. Before turning to fiction, he was a correspondent for the St. Petersburg Times, a crime reporter for the Tampa Tribune, and, in college, played defensive end for the undefeated Auburn University football team (for which he was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated). He lives in Oxford, Mississippi.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ G.P. Putnam's Sons (May 3, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0425278875
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0425278871
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.2 x 0.89 x 7.4 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 4,412 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Ace Atkins
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

One of the best crime writers working today, Ace Atkins has been nominated for every major award in crime fiction, including the Edgar three times, twice for novels about former U.S. Army Ranger Quinn Colson. He's written eleven books in the Colson series, with many more to come. He continued Robert B. Parker's iconic Spenser character after Parker's death in 2010, and has added ten best-selling novels in that series.

A former newspaper reporter and SEC football player, Ace also writes essays and investigative pieces for several national magazines including Time, Outside, and Garden & Gun.

He lives in Oxford, Mississippi with his family, where he’s friend to many dogs and several bartenders.

Find out more about Ace and his novels on his official website: aceatkins.com, on Facebook Ace Atkins, and on Twitter @aceatkins.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4,412 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers

Customers say

Customers find the book an enjoyable read with an action-packed storyline. They enjoy the characters and appreciate that they live on after their creator's passing. The writing quality is praised as good, replicating Parker's style. Readers appreciate the humor and witty dialogue. Overall, customers say the book continues the Spenser series well.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

191 customers mention "Readability"188 positive3 negative

Customers find the book readable, though some found the lingo too smarmy. They consider it an enjoyable read in the Spenser tradition and better than any of Parker's works. Some readers also describe it as a perfect summer read and the best effort from Ace to date.

"...(with a side and very entertaining detour to Tampa)..." Read more

"...All in all, a good entertaining read. Ace Atkins isn't quite on Parker's level, but he's probably as close as anyone is likely to get." Read more

"...I was flabbergasted. It was incredibly good. Better than many of Mr. Parker's last entries into the series...." Read more

"...Now I have read Ace Atkins novels and they are a good read. The problem is this...." Read more

98 customers mention "Storyline"80 positive18 negative

Customers find the storyline engaging and action-packed. They appreciate the perfect narrative rhythm and humor. The plot is interesting, though predictable, with a realistic ending. The shootout scene is also praised, as it revolves around justice.

"...(with a side and very entertaining detour to Tampa), relentlessly, compellingly, and with plenty of style and irony...." Read more

"...Atkins keeps the story moving at a brisk clip, with colorful characters old and new, and saucy dialogue throughout the novel...." Read more

"...Atkins gives us everything we want. A very tight and action packed story. Great characters and great dialogue abound...." Read more

"...This story revolves around justice (but don’t they all?) - but more so than your standard Spenser novel ever did...." Read more

48 customers mention "Character development"40 positive8 negative

Customers enjoy the characters and like that they continue after their creator's passing. They find the villains reprehensible, the story has humanity with heart, and Spencer is their favorite detective. Ace Atkins does a fine job of capturing the spirit, verbal style, and the classic American detective novel.

"...One of the great things about the classic American detective novel is that, when it works, it balances two genres...." Read more

"...A very tight and action packed story. Great characters and great dialogue abound...." Read more

"...The adage was wrong; It was good to come home again to a great character and a gripping storyline...." Read more

"...The characters are so well described that you feel you know them." Read more

48 customers mention "Writing quality"38 positive10 negative

Customers enjoy the writing quality. They find it easy to read and the author has mastered the Parker style, phrasing, and dialogue. The characters' personalities come through clearly, making it a quick and believable read.

"...I had read him before and found him a very good writer. Before the first book came out I was hearing some rumblings that it was quite good...." Read more

"...Another will written Spenser novel...." Read more

"...because, as I said, Adkins has captured Parker's characters and voice perfectly. But this one is not up to his usual standards." Read more

"...it deals with horrible things being done to children, it is difficult to read at times, but you just know Spenser will find a way to bring justice..." Read more

36 customers mention "Humor"32 positive4 negative

Customers enjoy the humor in the book. They find the dialogue witty and entertaining, with quick quips in the Parker style. Readers appreciate the logical deductions and intelligent writing that never insults their intelligence. The verbal style and irony are also appreciated.

"...relentlessly, compellingly, and with plenty of style and irony. If you're a Spenser fan, you'll enjoy it immensely...." Read more

"...a brisk clip, with colorful characters old and new, and saucy dialogue throughout the novel...." Read more

"...A very tight and action packed story. Great characters and great dialogue abound...." Read more

"...His voice was there, the dialogue still alive and fresh, but the plots and the wrap ups were less than Parkeresque...." Read more

21 customers mention "Series continuation"19 positive2 negative

Customers are pleased with the series continuation. They praise Ace Atkins's work continuing the Spenser series after Robert B. Parker's death. The book breathes new life into an old series that needed a refresh.

"...With this year’s installment he once again breathed new life into a series that needed some refreshing...." Read more

"...To be fair I think he did quite well with the first several books, but honestly it just wasn't Robert B. Parker's writing...." Read more

"Ace Atkins does a great job with the Spenser series in general...." Read more

"Ace Atkins has done a great job continuing the Spenser series since Robert B. Parker's death. I've read them all & will stick with Ace...." Read more

12 customers mention "Aging"12 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the aging of Spenser and Hawk. They say the series is still fresh as it was twenty years ago.

"...This Spenser is gritty, moral, tough and yet aging...." Read more

"...And I love that Spenser is getting older and has normal complaints of aging. I can't say enough good things about this book!..." Read more

"...Nice to see him getting more help as he gets older. Hawk doesn't get old." Read more

"...He's allowing Spenser to age a little. When you aren't reading the book, you will be thinking about it and stealing moments to read a page or two." Read more

90 customers mention "Pacing"61 positive29 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the pacing of the book. Some find it good, with spot-on dialogue and the magic of a good Spenser novel. Others say there is no satisfactory denouement, it's not the best they have read, and the book is slow-paced.

"...entertaining yarns, well, it's time ... because this novel works on its own terms, even without the enormous history of its main characters...." Read more

"...Atkins keeps the story moving at a brisk clip, with colorful characters old and new, and saucy dialogue throughout the novel...." Read more

"...Spenser is not exactly great literature, but always an enjoyable reading experience...." Read more

"...Kickback</em> is a fairly straight forward story. A group of individuals are doing bad things...." Read more

Copy of Wilke-Barre Kids for Cash Case
3 out of 5 stars
Copy of Wilke-Barre Kids for Cash Case
Plot is a just a copy of the real life scandal of the case in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (see Kids for Cash in Wikipedia). So the plot is not original but plot is not important to Spenser books. Dialogue is good. As always, things get better when Hawk shows up. I purchased the book on Audible.com and that make it interesting as Joe Mantegna does a good job as Spenser.Would like to see a more original plot like the C.J. Box and Steve Hamilton books.
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2015
    Every year, at just about this time, a book arrives at my home. For years, the author of the series of books was Robert B. Parker; for the last few years, it has been Ace Atkins, who picked up Parker's mantle after the iconic writer passed away.

    That's what happened this week. The book was "Robert B. Parker's Kickback." I opened it lovingly, cracked open a beer, put my feet up, and read the following opening paragraph:

    <i>On the first day of February, the coldest day of the year so far, I took it as a very good omen that a woman I'd never met brought me a sandwich. I had my pair of steel-toed Red Wings kicked up on the corner of my desk, thawing out, when she arrived. My morning coffee and two corn muffins were a distant memory.</i>

    It is spring, and all is right with the world because Spenser is on the case yet again.

    I am happy to report that "Kickback" is the best of Atkins' four Spenser books; they've all been worthy successors to the Parker canon, but with each book he seems to gain confidence and familiarity, adopting the Boston PI's first person narration with increasing ease.

    "Kickback" has all the elements that one would like from a Spenser novel. Our hero finds himself facing off against authority figures of surpassing arrogance - in this case, corrupt Massachusetts judges who are sending teenagers guilty of minor crimes off to an Alcatraz-like detention center without benefit of counsel or trial. The judges have managed to convince the municipality that this is the kind of requisite tough love that will return the teens to the straight and narrow, but Spenser is smart enough - in part because he probably would've been one of those teenagers - to know exploitation and corruption when he sees it.

    One of the things that is interesting about "Kickback" is that Atkins is allowing his protagonist to age a bit, to show some vulnerability. He's just come off knee surgery: "A life's work of busting heads and kicking butts could be hard on the joints," he says at one point. And he seems to be comfortable with some level of diminished capacity: "I was still able to leap medium-size buildings in a single bound, but my X-ray vision was a bit iffy."

    But even slightly diminished Spenser is worth a visit, because in the end, as important as physicality is to the character, his moral center is far more critical to how he approaches his work and environment. One of the great things about the classic American detective novel is that, when it works, it balances two genres. On the one hand, most of them are, at their heart, westerns - the main character is trying to tame a hostile town. But they also are morality plays, as the detective serves as a kind of personification of ethical behavior, trying to put things as they <i>should</i> be.

    Raymond Chandler put it this way about his detective hero, Philip Marlowe:

    <i>Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. He is the hero; he is everything. He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man. He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honor—by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it ... The story is this man’s adventure in search of a hidden truth, and it would be no adventure if it did not happen to a man fit for adventure.</i>

    The good news about Ace Atkins, and "Kickback," is that he makes it work with a specific sense of the place about which he is writing, the characters who embody this world (especially Hawk, one of the best literary sidekicks ever invented), and a plot that moves forward though the mean streets of Boston (with a side and very entertaining detour to Tampa), relentlessly, compellingly, and with plenty of style and irony.

    If you're a Spenser fan, you'll enjoy it immensely. If you've yet to crack open one of these entertaining yarns, well, it's time ... because this novel works on its own terms, even without the enormous history of its main characters.

    Which leads me to the business lesson. (You knew there would be one, right?)

    I had a chance to sit down with Ace Atkins this week as he started his publicity tour for "Kickback." (This has become a nice little tradition for the past several years. Ace probably doesn't enjoy it as much as I do, but for me, it is a rite of spring.)

    One of the things we talked about was the nature of writing characters that were invented by another writer, and Ace said that he brings to the table an ability to "find great stories for Spenser and Hawk to star in. It is almost like they are actors who are in my company, and I need a vehicle for these guys that's a damned good story for them to be in ... I'm looking for new, modern stories for them to have something good to do." It wouldn't be hard to find a writer who could simply imitate the rhythms of Parker's prose, find some familiar scenarios, and cash in on the name ... but Ace is after something more profound than that.

    As a former journalist, he 's looking for fresh ways into the characters and stories, for different angles. He may be playing jazz, just like Parker did, but he's riffing on the melody, creating a unique backbeat, finding chords with a different progression.

    That's a great business lesson. Companies that think they've found the formula, think they've identified the magic sauce, and try to replicate that over and over, almost certainly are going to lose any sense of authenticity, of discovery, of a unique connection to the customer. I'm impressed by how Atkins is nurturing the tradition without being trapped by it, and I'm already looking forward to his next Spenser novel.

    Spring 2016 cannot come fast enough.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2016
    Since Robert B. Parker's death in 2010, I've sorely missed reading his work, and probably always will. No one can truly replace him or his writing, but I do appreciate Atkins' take on Parker's tough but sensitive Boston private eye.
    In this novel, Spenser is recovering from knee surgery and almost back to his fighting weight when Sheila Yates from Blackburn, a small town north of Boston, asks Spenser to help her teenage son Dillon who has been incarcerated in a juvenile detention center for a school prank. He's the latest in a long line of kids facing harsh sentences for minor infractions by Judge Joe Scali, a man famous for his stance of zero tolerance for bad behavior. But Sheila suspects Scali's motives are not so noble and hires Spenser to find the truth.
    Spenser uncovers corrupt judges and a mysterious corporation that runs New England's private prisons, both with links to Boston's criminal underworld. All the while, Dillon befriends a new arrival at the detention center, a young teenager who refuses to bend to the harsh treatment, particularly from one guard known only as "Robocop."As Spenser and Hawk do battle with a variety of criminals, ranging from powerful judges to the latest line of Boston mobsters, the race is on to save the boy, along with countless others languishing on an island purgatory.
    Atkins keeps the story moving at a brisk clip, with colorful characters old and new, and saucy dialogue throughout the novel. Though Spenser's age has slowed to a crawl (his Army service in the Korean war is no longer mentioned), the shadows of time and mortality pop up again and again in the story, from Spenser's troublesome knee to missing Boston landmarks to once powerful criminal figures like Joe Broz or Tony Marcus either dead or diminished.
    All in all, a good entertaining read. Ace Atkins isn't quite on Parker's level, but he's probably as close as anyone is likely to get.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Sc
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read
    Reviewed in Canada on August 19, 2024
    Love all Robert B. Parker books. Love Ace Atkins Robert B. Parker versions. Great sense of humor between characters.
  • Navneet Singh
    5.0 out of 5 stars As good as thought
    Reviewed in India on April 25, 2020
    Spenser books never disappoint with new plots and lots of suspense along the way. Always wait for more. Keep it up.
  • Constant Bookworm
    4.0 out of 5 stars More Spenser
    Reviewed in Germany on August 20, 2015
    If you like this series, if you love to hear about Spenser and Hawk and Susan, and a bit of Vinnie for extras, then this is more of the same. This was the first continuation of the series after Parker died, I think, so obviously Atkins tried hard to stick to the formula. His later books are a bit better, he introduces his own ideas.
  • Mrs F Wilson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Ace Atkins is shaping up to be almost more fun to read as the voice of Spenser than the ...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 19, 2015
    Ace Atkins is shaping up to be almost more fun to read as the voice of Spenser than the wonderful Robert B. himself.
  • Jane Burns
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Australia on May 3, 2016
    All of these Spenser series are great reading