Hundred-Dollar Baby |
Due 24 October 2006

Finally some details from Amazon.com:
A client from a decades-old case reaches out to Boston PI
Spenser-but can he rescue troubled April Kyle once more?
Longtime Spenser fans will remember that once upon a time, though not so long
ago, there was a girl named April Kyle-a beautiful teenage runaway who turned to
prostitution to escape her terrible family life. The book was 1982's Ceremony,
and, thanks to Spenser, April escaped Boston's "Combat Zone" for the relative
safety of a high-class New York City bordello. April resurfaced in Taming a
Sea-Horse, again in dire need of Spenser's rescue-this time from the
clutches of a controlling lover. But April Kyle's return in Hundred-Dollar
Baby is nothing short of shocking.
When a mature, beautiful, and composed April strides into Spenser's office, the
Boston PI barely hesitates before recognizing his once and future client. Now a
well-established madam herself, April oversees an upscale call-girl operation in
Boston's Back Bay. Still looking for Spenser's approval, it takes her a moment
before she can ask him, again, for his assistance. Her business is a success;
what's more, it's an all-female enterprise. Now that some men are trying to take
it away from her, she needs Spenser.
April claims to be in the dark about who it is that's trying to shake her down,
but with a bit of legwork and a bit more muscle, Spenser and Hawk find ties to
organized crime and local kingpin Tony Marcus, as well as a scheme to franchise
the operation across the country. As Spenser again plays the gallant knight, it
becomes clear that April's not as innocent as she seems. In fact, she may be her
own worst enemy.