"The Next Robert B. Parker?"

Beverly Public Library, 32 Essex St, Beverly, MA | Get Directions »
FREE

Do you miss the novels of the late Robert B. Parker? Well fear not! The reviews are in, and North Shore native James Phoenix is set to fill the giant void left by the 2010 death of Parker, author of the famed Spenser crime fiction series. Phoenix continues the tradition of the tough, wisecracking Spenser with Frame Up, the first in the Fenway Burke Mystery Series, and you can meet the author tonight at the main library. Phoenix will talk about the "Chandler-Parker-Phoenix Connection," read a selection from Frame Up, and reveal what it took to arrive at this point in his very late-in-life literary career.

Who is Fenway Burke, and what is he doing in this well-reviewed debut novel? When a friend of Fenway's asks for help to clear a kid who had been framed for murder, Boston PI Fenway takes the case and soon finds himself up against sinister forces with far more financial resources and ruthless connections than he expected. Come along for the ride as Fenway attempts to beat the odds, accompanied by memorable supporting characters including Tiny, head of Boston's largest bookie operation; a white-bearded lobsterman named Whiff, frequent patron of Maddie's Bar on Front Street, Marblehead; and Fenway's love interest Megan Griffin, a six-foot tall, statuesque Boston public defender.

This free event is located in the Sohier Room on the ground floor of the main library, 32 Essex Street. Copies of Frame Up will be available for purchase, and all sale proceeds benefit the Beverly Public Library. Refreshments served; handicapped accessible. For more information, please contact Robin or Anna at 978-921-6062, or email flynn@noblenet.org.