annieb123
Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.
Robert B. Parker's Revenge Tour is the 10th Sunny Randall mystery, this one penned very much in the style of the late lamented RBP capably and respectfully by Mike Lupica. Released 3rd May 2022 by Penguin Random House on their G.P. Putnam's Sons imprint, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover, audiobook, and ebook formats. Paperback due out in late 1st quarter 2023. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
There are undeniably pitfalls with posthumous series continuations by authors. The characters are well loved, especially by die-hard fans of the canonical works, who are more than capable of finding the smallest discrepancies and continuity problems. I came into Parker's posthumous series books with some trepidation, since all three of the series (Spenser, Stone, and Randall) were guaranteed booklist reads for me. Parker was always entertaining, always a gifted writer, and such a deft craftsman that I still revisit his books decades later. I needn't have worried. This book slots quite seamlessly into the canon and was a worthwhile and enjoyable read. It's tightly plotted, engaging, and really well written in the style of Parker himself. There is some on-page violence and gunplay and the language is R-rated (some strong cursing, some sexual content - nothing NSFW though.
Four stars. As the 10th book in the series, it would be a superlative choice for a long binge read. For fans of gritty, cleverly constructed PI tales in the classic mold.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.