<p><b>The iconic tough-but-tender Boston PI Spenser returns in an outstanding new addition to the <i>New York Times</i>-bestselling series from author Ace Atkins.</b></p><p>Kinjo Heywood is one of the New England Patriots' marquee players-a hard-nosed linebacker who's earned his reputation as one of the toughest guys in the league. When off-field violence repeatedly lands Heywood in the news his slick agent hires Spenser to find the men who he says have been harassing his client.</p><p>Heywood's troubles seem to be tied to a nightclub shooting from two years earlier. But when Heywood's nine-year-old son Akira is kidnapped ransom demands are given and a winding trail through Boston's underworld begins Spenser puts together his own all-star team of toughs. It will take both Hawk and Spenser's protégé Zebulon Sixkill to watch Spenser's back and return the child to the football star's sprawling Chestnut Hill mansion. A controversial decision from Heywood only ups the ante as the clock winds down on Akira's future.</p>