''Potshot'' is the 28th Spenser novel by

Robert B. Parker Robert Brown Parker (September 17, 1932 – January 18, 2010) was an American writer, primarily of fiction within the mystery/detective genre. His most famous works were the 40 novels written about the fictional private detective Spenser. AB ...

. The story follows the fictional

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

-based PI Spenser as he tries to identify the killer of a widow's husband. As is often the case, Spenser's probing uncovers much more than just a simple—or single—

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

Plot

Spenser is approached by a beautiful blonde widow who wants him to find the identity of the murderer of her late husband. He agrees, but this case will take him away from Boston to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and the resort town of Potshot. Questioning all of the victim's acquaintances yields little information. However, the couple had just recently moved from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, so Spenser heads there to talk to their old neighbors. His visit there is very fruitful, but raises as many questions as it answers. Returning to Potshot, Spenser follows-up on what he found out from old neighbors in LA. Meanwhile, he is investigating a band of thugs that live on the outskirts of town in an area called "The Dell". Everyone is convinced that they killed the victim, and had publicly threatened him. "The Dell"

gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...

is led by a man who calls himself The Preacher. He organized the gang from a ragtag group of drunks and junkies. Now, with leadership, they are bullying the townspeople and extorting protection money from local businesses. After a public confrontation with the gang, the town's leaders ask Spenser if he can rid the town of the menace. They agree to pay a healthy sum for the service, so Spenser forms a small private band of mercenaries composed of several associates, most of them criminals or people with criminal backgrounds. But he hires them for their shooting skills, which will be needed for the coming battle. The further Spenser digs, however, he finds that all is not what it seems in Potshot and the killing of the widow's husband may just be part of a much larger conspiracy.

Recurring characters

* Spenser * Dr. Susan Silverman, Ph.D (first appeared in ''God Save the Child'') * Hawk (first appeared in ''Promised Land'') * Tedy Sapp (first appeared in ''Hugger Mugger'') * Chollo (first appeared in ''Stardust'') * Vinnie Morris (first appeared in ''The Widening Gyre'') * Bobby Horse (first appeared in ''Stardust'') * Bernard J. Fortunado III (first appeared in ''Chance'')

External links

Page on the book from Parker's official website
{{Robert Parker 2001 American novels Spenser (novel series) Novels set in Arizona American detective novels