Robert B. Parker's Payback (Sunny Randall, #9)

by Mike Lupica

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Robert B. Parker's Payback is the 9th Sunny Randall mystery, this one penned very much in the style of the late lamented RBP capably and respectfully by Mike Lupica. Released 4th May 2021 by Penguin Random House on their G.P. Putnam's Sons imprint, it's 352 pages and is available in hardcover, audiobook, and ebook formats. 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 pitfalls with posthumous series continuations. The characters are generally well loved, especially by die-hard fans of the canonical works. 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 really enjoyed this one. It's tightly plotted, engaging, and really well written in the style of its originator. I also really enjoyed the inclusion of Dr. Susan Silverman in this book (she's Sunny's therapist) and as always, she's the Greek chorus of the play. There is some on-page violence and gunplay and the language is R-rated (some strong cursing, some sexual content - nothing NSFW though. It would be fine for a commute or work-break read).

This would make a perfect summer read.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.