The Judas Goat

In the past I have read quite a few of Parker's novels. These include some of the later Spenser novels, basically all of his Jesse Stone and Sunny Randel novels, and a couple of his Virgil Cole & Everett Hitch novels. I quite enjoyed them all, so I decided to start reading the earlier Spenser books.

The Judas Goat is Parker's fifth Spenser novel and my second foray into early Spencer. I knocked this short novel out in one evening. Compared to my previous Parker read (God Save the Child), the pacing, characterization, and descriptions were much improved. Parker was obviously learning and improving in his trade.
In this story, Spencer journeys across the Atlantic to hunt down some terrorist killers. The job turns out to be more than he can handle alone. He is one against many, and they are determined to kill him. So, he calls in Hawk (of course) to give a hand and watch his back. Then, the chase is on from city to city.
Good story, but fair warning – things get bloody and brutal.