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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
Some
Some violence — confrontations and a shooting; no graphic gore
Language
Some
Spenser's signature witty, hardboiled dialogue; some strong language
Sexual Content
Barely any
Adult relationships examined honestly; mild
Substance Use
Barely any
Social drinking characteristic of Spenser's world
Emotional Intensity
Barely any
The psychological complexity of a marriage that broke down long before the crisis; questions of women's autonomy and self-determination
What this book is about
Spenser is hired to find a man's missing wife — a search that takes him to Cape Cod and into a feminist collective, a bank robbery plot, and a marriage that had been failing long before the wife disappeared. One of the best of Parker's early Spenser novels: sharp dialogue, moral complexity, and genuine engagement with questions about marriage, feminism, and what it means to choose your own life.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
A kidnapping with politically complex underpinnings
A failing marriage examined with honesty and moral seriousness
Reader Verification
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