Hundred-Dollar Baby
Encyclopedia
Hundred-Dollar Baby is the thirty-fourth Spenser
novel by Robert B. Parker
. The novel was also alternatively titled, Dream Girl ISBN 1-84243-186-2. The story follows Boston-based PI
Spenser as he tries to help an old runaway prostitute he helped several years earlier, April Kyle.
by her mentor, the madame Patricia Utley. She says she's being harassed by someone who wants her to pay an extraordinary protection fee
. Thugs appear and scare off her customers. Spenser and Hawk manage to fend off the thugs, but things are not as they seem as soon as Spenser starts asking questions. April begs him to stop investigating, but, Spenser being Spenser, can't stop until he unravels the mystery. What surfaces is a web of deceit, greed and the fragile psyche of April Kyle.
Spenser (fictional detective)
Spenser is a fictional character in a series of detective novels initially by the American mystery writer Robert B. Parker and later by Ace Atkins...
novel by Robert B. Parker
Robert B. Parker
Robert Brown Parker was an American crime writer. His most famous works were the novels about the private detective Spenser. ABC television network developed the television series Spenser: For Hire based on the character in the late 1980s; a series of TV movies based on the character were also...
. The novel was also alternatively titled, Dream Girl ISBN 1-84243-186-2. The story follows Boston-based PI
Private investigator
A private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...
Spenser as he tries to help an old runaway prostitute he helped several years earlier, April Kyle.
Plot
April Kyle appears in Spenser's office after several years without any contact. She's been put in charge of a new upscale brothelBrothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
by her mentor, the madame Patricia Utley. She says she's being harassed by someone who wants her to pay an extraordinary protection fee
Protection racket
A protection racket is an extortion scheme whereby a criminal group or individual coerces a victim to pay money, supposedly for protection services against violence or property damage. Racketeers coerce reticent potential victims into buying "protection" by demonstrating what will happen if they...
. Thugs appear and scare off her customers. Spenser and Hawk manage to fend off the thugs, but things are not as they seem as soon as Spenser starts asking questions. April begs him to stop investigating, but, Spenser being Spenser, can't stop until he unravels the mystery. What surfaces is a web of deceit, greed and the fragile psyche of April Kyle.
Recurring characters
- Spenser
- Hawk
- April Kyle
- Dr. Susan Silverman, Ph.D
- Cpt. Martin Quirk, Boston Police Department
- Sgt. Frank Belson, Boston Police Department
- Teddy Sapp
- Patricia Utley
- Tony Marcus
- Leonard
- Ty-Bop
- Junior