Small Vices is obviously related to other books in the Spenser series which deal with Spenser's own personal trials, such as Early Autumn (1981; Spenser's virtual adoption of Paul Giacomin); Valediction (1984; Spenser's loss of Susan); and A Catskill Eagle (1985; Spenser's rescue of Susan from Russell Costigan), and Pastime (1991; which explores Paul Giacomin's failed relationship to his mother and Spenser's own origin in Laramie, Wyoming).

In its study of the problems of race, the novel may also be compared to Playmates (1989), dealing with point shaving actions by a black basketball player (who, it turns out, is a student in good standing at Taft University, despite being unable to read), and Double Deuce (1992), which offers a grim study of life in the ghetto.

Spenser's dramatic confrontation with Rugar suggests Spenser's dangerous showdowns with Joe Broz in Pastime and in The Widening Gyre (1983).