This is a hard cover book.
Early Autumn introduces Paul Giacomin, Spenser's adopted son. A bitter divorce is only the beginning. First the father hires thugs to kidnap his son. Then the mother hires Spenser to get the boy back. But as soon as Spenser senses the lay of the land, he decides to do some kidnapping of his own. With a contract out on his life, he heads for the Maine woods, determined to give a puny 15 year old a crash course in survival and to beat his dangerous opponents at their own brutal game.
Spenser "adopts" a son. Or is it Parker's effort to reform a looser, successfully by the way. Interesting.
After Spenser is asked to recover a teenager who is the subject of a custody dispute, he realizes the boy is being emotionally abused by both parents and sets out to prepare him for life as an independent adult.
