Robert B. Parker's Showdown

Spenser may have uncovered an explosive secret that threatens the career of a controversial figure, in this latest installment of Robert B. Parker's beloved series.

Vic Hale isn't anyone's idea of a father figure. He is one of the biggest - and loudest -- podcasters in the nation and got there by spewing overheated rhetoric that's reviled by some but loved by even more. His particular brand of "entertainment" is so successful, he's about to sign the biggest contract in the history of online broadcasting. Vic's riding high...until he gets a visit from Spenser, who specializes in bringing guys like Hale back down to Earth.

Spenser is there on behalf of Daniel Lopez, a young man who believes Hale may be his father. It's a potentially explosive revelation for a man in the podcaster's position and it might even be enough to blow up his massive new deal. That could explain the bodies that start popping up - bodies connected in one way or another with the mystery surrounding Daniel's birth. There are a lot of questions remaining, and Spenser's going to have to find the answers before someone shuts Hale or Daniel up for good.

Author: Mike Lupica
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Published: 11/25/2025
Pages: 352
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.11lbs
Size: 9.14h x 6.34w x 1.22d
ISBN: 9798217045297


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 11/15/2025

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, the acclaimed Virgil Cole-Everett Hitch Westerns, and 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.

Mike Lupica is a Hall of Fame sports columnist and New York Times bestselling author of more than forty works of fiction and nonfiction, in addition to being a frequent co-writer with James Patterson. A longtime friend to Robert B. Parker, he was selected by the Parker estate to continue the Spenser series, after having previously done the same with the Sunny Randall series, and with Jesse Stone.