Pastime

Pastime is the 18th Spenser novel by Robert B. Parker, a hardboiled detective story set in Boston. When Spenser's semi-adopted son Paul can't find his missing mother, Spenser takes the case as a favor, and the two of them are drawn into a dangerous investigation involving a local mob boss and a conspiracy that escalates far beyond a simple missing-persons case. Told in Spenser's trademark first-person voice, the novel blends gritty crime with moments of dark humor and fierce loyalty. The title refers to the fact that the book was originally planned as a standalone novel before it was folded into the Spenser series.