‘The Lost Ones’ good next step for Ace Atkins

After a few years as a writer of solid, entertaining crime novels, Ace Atkins drew a lot of attention among readers in the past year when he was chosen by Robert B. Parker’s estate to continue the beloved writer’s Spenser series. The result, “Robert B. Parker’s Lullaby,” was as good as anything Parker has written in recent years.

But Atkins is at his best when he plays with his own creations, including southern P.I. Nick Travers.

I’ve come to enjoy a new series by Atkins featuring Quinn Colson, an Army Ranger out of the military and back in his small Mississippi home town. Colson debuted in “The Ranger” and is back in “The Lost Ones.”

It’s no surprise that Atkins was chosen to continue Parker’s best-known series. He’s a straightforward writer prone to crime stories that feature a strong protagonist who knows right from wrong and pushes and pushes until the bad guys make a mistake.

In “The Lost Ones,” Atkins sets Colson, now the sheriff of Tibbehah County, against trouble from south of the border. An infant has been killed and Colson and dependable, sarcastic deputy Lillie Virgil and war buddy Boom find themselves dealing not only with a couple that buys and sells babies but also a crew looking to buy enough stolen guns to outfit an army.

Complicating matters are Quinn’s sister, Caddy, a true “lost one,” and his longtime friend Donnie, who’s catering to the gun buyers.

“The Lost Ones” is a satisfying read with an engaging set of characters. I look forward to Atkins’ next story about Colson and company.

Atkins takes over for Parker with ‘Lullaby’

Maybe the greatest compliment that I can give Ace Atkins is that “Lullaby,” his debut taking over the reigns of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser crime novel series, reads link vintage Parker.

Parker had been turning out books featuring Spenser, the boxer-turned-private-eye, since the Vietnam War and straight up until his death in January 2010. Parker told stories about Spenser, his longtime girlfriend Susan Silverman and Spenser’s dangerous cohort Hawk in a relaxed but muscular style that mixed hard-boiled action, genuinely funny witticisms and relaxed, likable characters.

Atkins — one of two writers taking over a couple of Parker series — is an accomplished author on his own. He’s written a series of crime novels that take place in the steamy modern-day south.

With “Robert B. Parker’s ‘Lullaby,'” Atkins has continued the Spenser series with all of the wit and a little more effort than Parker was putting into the books at the end.

Spenser is hired by Mattie, a tough Boston 14-year-old whose drug addict mother was killed four years ago. A neighborhood mook is serving time in prison for the murder but Mattie — hardened beyond her years and raising her younger siblings with no help from an alcoholic grandmother — is convinced that someone else killed her mother. She saw some goons push her mother into a car a few hours before her death.

With Mattie frequently insisting on tagging along, Spenser and Hawk shake down the Boston underworld, top to bottom, looking for the real killers. The good guys take their lumps but there’s little doubt of the outcome.

Most of the Spenser supporting cast is here, from cops Quirk and Belson to loyal hoodlum Vinnie, even gym owner Henry and Pearl the Wonder Dog.

Atkins gets it right when it comes to Parker’s portrayal of Spenser’s style: The PI pushes and pushes and waits for some lowlife to come unglued.

I’m very glad the Parker estate chose Atkins to continue the Spenser series. In just his first outing, he’s found the style that Parker fans have appreciated for decades. And he just might have improved on recent Parker outings.