Boston PI Spenser and his right hand guy, Hawk, follow a con man's trail of smoke and mirrors in this fast-paced entry to the iconic crime series. After conning everyone from cable news to the local cops, it looks like the grifter's latest double cross may be his last.

Connie Kelly thought she'd found her perfect man on an online dating site. He was silver-haired and handsome, with a mysterious background. The CIA was mentioned! She fell so hard for M. Brooks Welles that she wrote him a check for almost three hundred thousand dollars hoping for a big return on her investment.

Within weeks, both Welles and her money were gone. There was one ray of hope; her therapist, Dr. Susan Silverman, had handed her Spenser's card.

A self-proclaimed military hotshot, Welles is a frequent guest on national news shows speaking with authority about politics and world events. But when he disappears, he leaves not only a jilted lover but a growing list of angry investors, duped cops, and a team of paramilitary contractors looking for revenge. Enter Spenser who quickly discovers that everything is phony. As the trail winds from Boston to Georgia, Spenser works to make sure Welles's next con never takes place.

Librarian's note: this is one of the Ace Atkin's Spenser series. As of 2021, there are 9 volumes by Atkins. The first was "Lullaby" in 2012, the 40th in the overall series created by Robert B. Parker; the most recent, "Someone to Watch Over Me," is the 48th.