I remember watching a lot of Spenser for Hire when I was younger and I couldn't help seeing the characters when I was reading this.
The characters are amusing, with humourous comments from all sides and the two main male characters read like they've known each other for years, as does Spenser and Susan, his long-term girlfriend.
This book has two charity cases, two cases where Spenser is doing favours for people, one for Hawk, the other for Susan.
Susan has a patient who is sure she's being stalked, but is unsure by whom, the two main suspects are her ex-husband and her ex-boyfriend who dumped her once she'd left her husband. The fact that she keeps coming onto Spenser confuses things.
Hawks case is one of tenure, where suspicion of being involved in a suicide denies a lecturer tenure. His father was an old father-figure for Hawk, so they look into this, to ensure that justice is done.
Fun with all the ingredients of a good fun novel including a cookery session.