This is the fifth of Parker’s novels about private-eye Spenser, whom the New York Times Book Review calls “the next best thing to Rex Stout’s Archie Goodwin,” and Parker fans will be glad to know it is definitely not the last. In this fast-paced tale Spenser is hired by a millionaire industrialist to get the terrorists, alive or dead, who bombed a London restaurant, killing his wife and daughters and crippling him. The chase starts in London where Spenser quickly realizes that he will need the help of his old friend Hawk, the engagingly cool black of doubtful reputation who was his adversary but savior in Promised Land. It is Spenser (and Parker)at his stylish best in a pursuit that leads to Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and eventually to the Olympic Games at Montreal and a violently satisfying climax. As with Parker’s earlier books, the crackling dialogue and careful characterization add a crucially important dimension to the genre