Early Autumn

In Robert B. Parker's gripping hardboiled classic, "Early Autumn," the seasoned Boston private investigator Spenser finds himself embroiled in a uniquely complex family drama. What begins as a bitter and financially motivated divorce between two wealthy parents escalates terrifyingly when the father employs ruthless thugs to abduct their fifteen-year-old son, Paul. Subsequently, the distraught mother turns to Spenser, desperate for him to retrieve the boy. However, Spenser, ever the moral pragmatist, quickly discerns that the boy is not merely a pawn but a victim of both parents' destructive impulses. Rejecting conventional methods, Spenser orchestrates his own audacious 'kidnapping,' spiriting Paul away from both warring factions and into the rugged solitude of the Maine woods. With a price on his head and dangerous adversaries closing in, Spenser embarks on a radical mission: to strip away Paul's privileged, fragile upbringing and impart the harsh, invaluable lessons of self-reliance and survival. More than just a rescue, it becomes a profound journey of mentorship, forging a new man from a frightened boy while Spenser simultaneously outwits and confronts his brutal pursuers in a game where survival is the ultimate stake.