Rating: 
Summary: A fun, lightning-fast read
Review: Private investigator Sunny Randall is hired by best-selling novelist Melanie Joan to protect her from her psychiatrist ex-husband John Melvin, who has been stalking her throughout her book tour. In her effort to protect herself and her client, Sunny embarks on an investigation of Dr. Melvin and discovers how he has been able to maintain such a psychological hold over Melanie. In the course of her research, Sunny consults with both Dr. Melvin and another counselor, gaining uncomfortable insights into her own relationship with her ex-husband. Among the returning characters are tough, smart, cute Sunny; ambivalent, cute ex-husband Richie; and the very cute bull terrier Rosie. Do you get the idea there is a lot of cute in this book? There is also a surprising depth of character for such a breezy fast read, lots of action, and snappy dialogue presented in brief chapters that will have you turning the pages as fast as you can and looking forward to the next installment in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Good News and Bad News
Review: Shrink Rap is the Sunny Randall novel where the potential of this character starts to become clear. Prior to this book, she seemed merely to be a writing exercise by Mr. Robert Parker to see what a female Spenser would be like. If you enjoyed either of the previous two books in the Sunny Randall series, Perish Twice or Family Honor, you should definitely read this one. That's the good news.The bad news is that Mr. Parker seems to have decided what Sunny's final scene was to be before he started the book . . . and had a horrible time making a believable plot lead up to that scene. Many people have commented that a plot element about being able to disguise herself for extended periods of time at close range from someone she has had confrontations with at close range seems a little hard to take. I thought that problem was one of the minor plot issues. The whole decadent act with regard to what the villain, Dr. John Melvin, has been doing just seems unbelievable. I couldn't take his character or his actions seriously. I also found that reluctance of his ex-wife, Ms. Melanie Joan Hall, to be candid about him more than a little surprising . . . because her lack of candor just increased her danger. Here's the story in a nutshell: Sunny is hired to escort Ms. Hall on a book tour because she's concerned about being stalked by her ex-husband, a psychiatrist, who really knows how to yank her chain. He shows up, and she reacts. Sunny decides to investigate him, and goes so far as to go into analysis with an objective therapist . . . and with the creep. In the process, she makes some startling self-realizations: She's stuck in her relationship with her ex-husband, Richie, in part because she wants Richie to act like her take-charge father . . . while she doesn't want to become her passive mother. Along the way, circumstances with Richie get more complicated because he develops a serious relationship with another woman. Sunny finds herself trying out a fling with a Hollywood type, and liking the taste. The writing about Sunny's relationship with Richie and her feelings about Richie's new girl friend are superb. It's hard to imagine that a man can write what sounds so true about what a woman in the situation might say. The book opens this way: "I always loved Richie's hands . . . They were still. Richie was always still. It was one of the things that had made it hard to be married to him." Sunny later visits Richie's condo to pick up Rosie, the dog they share. Sunny finds herself face to face with Richie's new girl friend. "She was great looking, for a floozie, and she looked nothing like me." After they chat, Sunny thinks, "I could shoot her. I had my gun in my purse. Or I could shoot me. I hated how good-looking she was. How good her legs were. I especially hated how nice she seemed." Later, in the car, Sunny growls at Rosie, "You little round heels. You'll roll over for anyone that will pat your belly and give you a cookie." Writing like this is what makes the book worth reading. So take a big pinch of salt whenever you get into a plot element you cannot stand, throw it over your shoulder and wish for luck. And plow forward looking for the next beautiful section of writing within the thorns of this plot's many unpleasant thickets. After you finish the book, think about where your ambivalence about what you really want is keeping you from moving on with your life. What's behind the door you are inclined to select: The lady or the tiger? If it's the lady, get acquainted. If it's the tiger, be prepared to defend yourself. Either way, you're better off moving ahead. Otherwise, you'll never learn to hesitate to procrastinate, as Dr. Richard Bandler would say.
Rating: 
Summary: Almost made me crazy!
Review: I listened to this book, and I regretted that within the first ten minutes. The constant use of "she said" or "he said" for every single line of dialogue almost made me roll down my car windows and scream like a banshee. Not only that, but the story was sexist and contrived and, well, rather stupid. This was the first book I ever picked up by this author, and I can't see buying anymore if this is any indication. Give me James Patterson or Patricia Cornwell for murder mysteries any day.
Rating: 
Summary: Sexist. Tedious. Silly
Review: When Robert Parker tells me that "tough" Boson PI Sunny Randall is "cute as Meg Ryan," I have to ask "why?" Why is it important to know, among other things, that she's cute? I have a picture of a 100 pound woman, cute, who keeps a loaded sawed off shotgun in her bedroom closet. Frankly, I'm perplexed. I don't think it's necessary for women protaganists to be cute. I like cute. Beautiful. Attractive. I just think it's unnecessary for the lead in a mystery noir to be "cute." We're not interested. It's irrelevant. It's sexist. I've read all 30+ Spenser novels and I couldn't tell you what he looked like. Ditto Dave Robicheaux in the James Burke series or Elvis Cole in the Robert Crais series. I glanced through some Elizabeth George novels and some Francine Matthews novels and the word "cute" never came up. On top of that, every man in the book, reticent ex-husbands, former lovers, mobsters, all want to "take out the bad guys" for her. Yet, she keeps singing that song from the '70's, "I gotta' be me!" What is it about her that all these men want to help? I mean she's got that darn sawed off shotgun in her bedroom! Finally, I have a hard time not believing that this is just another Spenser novel with the lead a heroine instead of a hero. Matthews and George and dozens of others write some of the best mysteries of our time. But Sunny's got the same friends, the same issues, the same code of conduct as Spenser. She's even got the same dog. And the fact is, Spenser did this 30 years ago in Rachel Wallace, a thousand percent better. That's it for me. Good luck Sunny.
Rating:
Summary: One of Parker's best - to a degree
Review: Let me say, first off, that I really like Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels. His Jesse Stone books I find a bit uninteresting and dull (though have only read the first one), and I was still undecided about Sunny Randall - that is, until I read this new book, the third in her series. I have read before that one of the reasons Parker created Sunny Randall was for Helen Hunt to play in the film versions - I think Hunt, talented as she is, would be an AWFUL Sunny Randall, but there you are. The point is, I really enjoyed this book very much. Sunny is hired by a flowery romance novelist (who is not as flowery as she may appear to her public) as a bodyguard; seems the novelist is being stalked by her ex-husband, a psychiatrist named John Melvin who constantly shows up at her booksignings, luncheon engagements, etc. - Melanie Joan is terribly afraid of her ex, though each time he shows he never seems to do more than act menacingly and provide some verbal threats that never truly seem to pass. Nevertheless, Melanie Joan is terrified of him, and it's only after delving a bit more into the good doctor's past that Sunny learns of a very different side of the relationship her client and the shrink had - and, perhaps, that Dr. Melvin is now having with his lady patients. The usual gang are here - Spike, Sunny's friend/confidante who may be gay but is her "muscle" when needed; Julie, her best friend and another psychiatrist that sends Sunny to a shrink that might help her to catch Melvin (and maybe even get her own head cleared); Richie, Sunny's own ex-husband that she can't quite get over; and of course, Rosie, Sunny's English bull terrier that figures as prominantly as any human character in the book - and rightly so. But this time, what I liked about the book most, was that we really see more into the character of Sunny Randall. I thought she seemed cool in the two previous novels in this series, but with "Shrink Rap" I really can now say: I LIKE HER. She's tough but vulnerable, together on the outside and sometimes a mess on the inside, very independent yet just learning she also has needs of her own. What starts off as research to catch the sick Dr. Melvin develops into Sunny's getting some therapy of her own, and learning more about herself - maybe, to some extent, more than she wanted to realize. I agree with the reviewer that the disguise aspect was just totally unbelievable - Sunny, in a dark wig, able to continue to fool Dr. Melvin as his newest patient, when he'd already had a few in-person run-ins with her as Sunny Randall -- well, let's just say I kept waiting for Melvin to reveal that he'd known it was her all along. In fact, for me, that's the only reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 - that was a HUGELY unbelievable plot point in an otherwise one heck of a good book.
Rating:
Summary: Possibly the most painful book I've ever read/heard
Review: There are really no words to describe this book except possibly awful. Or terrible. Or downright painful. Not only were the writing and dialogue completely mediocre, but the plot was so ridiculous and boring, I was stunned. The blurb about the book caught my attention, and well essentially, that was the only interesting thing about the entire experience. The ending (which I suffered to get to) must have been phoned in, because the author completely stopped trying by that point. The only reason I continued to listen to this book was because I just couldn't believe that it could get any worse. And yet, it did. Additionally, I don't think that I've ever been more shocked with a narrator. My five year old sister would have done a much better job. Didn't anyone give this woman an audition before you let her further destroy a really bad novel? Soooo much exagerrrration, soooo much inflecccction, and soooo much over-acting. So much for subtlety. I read many, many books on CD, and I've never written anything about them, but I feel it is my duty to warn all of you out there about this disaster. I've heard some pretty poor narrating and listened to some not-so-great stories, but this one was so over the top, I just couldn't believe it. I sat there iin amazement that someone not only chose to publish this, but decided it should be an audio book, and then let Raffin narrate it. The only positive aspect was that I rented it from the library, and didn't waste any money.
Rating:
Summary: woof-woof
Review: Robert Parker's Shrink Rap is a dog. As a long-time fan of Parker's - I've read 'em all and enjoyed most of them - I found Shrink Rap to be silly, contrived, sexist, and banal - and that's the good parts. This book shows the sign of too much success and not enough effort on the part of the author. After a good start - a successful woman is being stalked by a dangerous ex-husband and hires Sunny Randall to provide security - the novel simply whirls down the drain through some really messy plotting into a totally unsatisfying ending. This thing smacks of the typess of sicko fantasy a demented pre-adolescent might dream up. Go back to what you know, Bob! If Spenser had a problem like this, it would be a subplot in a better novel, because he or Hawk would dispense some street-corner justice and the ex-husband would be on the first bus out of town - as soon as he got out of the hospital. If the next one's this bad, no more Sunny Randall for me!
Rating:
Summary: Sunny Randall back again in Shrink Rap by Robert B. Parker
Review: This third novel of the Sunny Randall character series finds Sunny with her usual problem. Though she is now divorced from Richie she still loves him whether she wants to admit or not. And he still feels the same about her, but has decided he wants to try to move on. He has found someone else by the name of Carrie and she could be the next Mrs. Right. But, as he points out to her in a small diner, he can't seem to get past Sunny.
If he can't and she can't, where does that leave them? That deep intellectual question is quickly shoved to the back burner as Sunny is hired to bodyguard author Melanie Joan Hall. Like Sunny, Melanie is also divorced, most recently for the third time. Unlike Sunny, she has a horrible relationship with her ex-husband Dr. John Melvin. A psychiatrist by training, he is stalking her and trying to cause her to lose control and surrender herself back to his clutches. Her agent recognizes that Melanie needs protection and hires Sunny to provide such protection while Melanie is on her book tour. Things start out well enough and both Sunny and Melanie get along with each other and share a common perspective and background regarding men. And it becomes clear that the good doctor may pose an actual threat, not only in regards to her sanity but to Melanie's life. Sunny decides to investigate the good doctor and eventually moves to pose undercover as one of his patients. As he escalates the stalking and Melanie begins to crack under the psychological pressure, Sunny realizes that time is running out and she may be forced to take drastic action to solve the threat. Like most of Robert B. Parker's novels the dialogue moves the story forward with limited action. Stereotypical shallow characters populate the novel with everything cast clearly as good or evil with no shades of gray in between. The storyline is straightforward with no twists or turns for the reader and at 289 pages an incredibly fast read. With almost no setting descriptions and chapter lengths of three to four pages there is very little weight to the work. In short, it's the perfect book for the beach or waiting for anyone to come out of the mall this holiday season. For what is, it is his usual good stuff, but like most of his, easily forgotten when the book is closed.
Rating:
Summary: 2 1/2 Stars -- Diversity Is Not Better!
Review: The story is plausible but if you can catch a murderer this way you must believe in the Tooth Fairy. Parker should stick to his Spenser series. The character development in Shrink Rap is good but the plot is mediocre. I cannot believe this book made the NY Times Bestseller list unless most of the purchases were made by Parker himself.
Rating:
Summary: Sunny Redux
Review: Ok. We've established several things from the previous reviews, all of them more-or-less true. Sunny Randall is a younger, female version of Spenser. Robert B. Parker is showing his age a bit (not much, but a bit). His stories are sparingly written, with a great deal of snappy dialog and not a whole lot of description or characterization. So what you get is a *spare* plot, not much action, and a great deal of conversation that illuminates what Parker's interested in illustrating while the story's going on in the background. Parker's been dealing with these issues for at least a decaded now (in the earlier books, he was strictly a detective novelist) and he's settled in several themes which he repeats, with variations. Some readers who have followed him religiously will, I suppose, begin to tire of these themes. Frankly, given that those themes don't produce much surprising any more, I still enjoy the books because I like the characters. In this book, the aforementioned Sunny Randall is hired to bodyguard a female romance novelist with a stalker for a husband. This plot device is somewhat old hat for Parker. Spenser first bodyguarded for a writer in Looking for Rachel Wallace back what must be two decades ago. The results are somewhat different though. Here, Sunny decides to engage in some preemptive detective work after she discovers that the husband, a shrink, has a nasty habit of seducing his female patients (almost all of them are female) and then killing them if they get troublesome. I liked this book, I like the series, I like Parker generally. I would recommend the book.
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