Rating: 
Summary: Parker is a one-note writer
Review: As it turns out, when Parker finally turns away from writing about (and in the voice of) Spenser, and creates a new character...that new character is Spenser, reincarnated as a small blonde woman. I don't like Sunny or the other characters in this book much, and I think they talk much more like men than women, BUT that said, I am still and always a pretty big Parker fan. Spenser was so much a favorite that I had a cat named after him (the detective, not the poet).As proved by Susan Silverman, the therapist who should be hospitalized for fulminant anorexia (and any patient in their right mind who would visit a shrink with an untreated psychological disorder...well, it's a book, so we won't get into that!), Parker isn't so hot at writing women. But he's great at crisp, clean dialogue and witty, sarcastic protagonists. Sunny's apparently (haven't finished the book yet) another in the EXACT (I mean, cookie-cutter exact) same mold as Spenser. In one sense, that's good; Parker writes better than a lot of people. In another sense, I wish he'd just stick with Spenser and his neurotic, self-satisfied shrink Susan. It's kind of eerie to read Spenser's voice attributed to Sunny Randall.
Rating: 
Summary: Feisty female private eye makes for an enjoyable read
Review: I don't normally read airport books but this one caught my eye in LAX among all the other hyped up best-seller production line flotsam. I had never even heard of Robert B Parker,... but no matter. The plot follows the efforts of female private eye Sunny Randall to find out why a teenage daughter disappeared from a powerful Boston family. It has enough twists to keep the pages turning eagerly, the characters may not reach Tolstoy depths but there's enough texture and flavor to hit archetypal buttons and the writing overall is professional and enjoyable. It all resolves to a believably gritty but positive conclusion, give or take a few corpses. The high-minded conflict between white hats and black hats ends up nicely smudged, just like in real life. Above all, I found Family Honor warm-hearted and Sunny Randall a likeable and mostly credible heroine. These days, I'm steering clear of entertainments that leave me feeling bleak, however compelling they may be. I rate Family Honor as a good buy and my appetite is now whetted for some of the other Parker books that other reviewers rate even higher.
Rating:
Summary: Great reading by Andrea Thompson, good story too
Review: As a reader with only a passing knowledge of the Spencer series, I found Family Honor to be a refreshing, fun read. I give much of the credit to Andrea Thompson, the perfomer of the unabridged tape who does a terrific job of maximizing the impact of Parker's one liner's and other humorous (if sometimes cynical) asides. Thompson and Parker combine to create Sunny, a nice addition to the ranks of the female P.I. As a detective, she's not all that unusual. It's as a person that Parker has created a person that I'd really like to spend time with. She's smart but has just the right levels of vulnerability. I could live without the dog, but I'm not much a of dog person. The underlying mystery (and it's solution) isn't exceptional but is interesting enough to keep this reader involved. A fifteen year old has run away from home. Finding out why she's run is ultimately more of a mystery than finding the girl herself. It brings in a mix of Boston high society, state politics and some local mob wars. Sunny's ex-father-in-law proves handy. There's a bit of romance too. Bottom-line: May be redundant for long time Spenser fans but a very enjoyable read for this new fan of Parker's work.
Rating:
Summary: My first Parker Book, Family Honor is a great introduction .
Review: While not "heavy" reading, nor Pulitzer Prize material, I really enjoyed this book. I was introduced to the story with an audiobook (abridged), and didn't like the gaps, so I had to sign the book out of my library. Sunny Randall would be a cool person to have as a best friend, since she's witty and wise, and has a neat dog! I wish I could come up with those quick responses when confronted with life's little challenges, like Sunny can, which cracked me up. I will definitely read more Sunny Randall novels.
Rating:
Summary: Very much a Spenser story (but very much without Spenser)
Review: Sunny Randall, the Boston Private Investigator of Robert B. Parker's 1999 novel "Family Honor," is a former cop, college graduate, aspiring painter, divorcee, who owns a miniature bull terrier named Rosie. Only 5'6" and 115 pounds Sunny is not, as she observes at one point, a 200 pound ex-boxer. This comment is particularly telling because why Parker makes a concerted effort to offer some key differences between the character of Sunny Randall and his more famous Boston P.I. creation, the plot of "Family Honor" is a rather blatant mixture of several Spencer novels: Sunny is looking for a Millicent Patton, a runaway who has turned to hooking (like April Kyle in "Ceremony); Sunny finds Millicent and discovers she has to be a surrogate parent that can teach the young girl how to be a human being (like Paul in "Early Autumn"); as always, there is more to the case than meets the eye, having to do with the political aspirations of Millicent's father (like in "The Widening Gyre"). Consequently, we are covering familiar territory with a new guide. It is pretty much impossible not to be aware of the differences between Sunny and Spencer: instead of Hawk she has Spike, a flamboyant and dangerous gay man; instead of an absolute commitment to a soul mate she is trying to work out her mixed feelings for her ex-husband (similar to Parker's other recent creation, Jesse Stone); instead of having no other living relatives she has a supportive father and a mother she will never impress. Just to make things interesting, Sunny's ex-husband Richie Burke is related to one of the mob families in Boston, and while he is technically "clean" he knows what is going on. One of the nicest things about the Spenser series is the way Parker, for the most part, took his time in creating the major elements and developing them. In contrast, the pieces come together much too quickly in "The Family Honor." I have to wonder if Parker has been thinking about creating a female detective for the last couple of years since Susan Silverman has been especially active in the last few Spenser novels, hitting people with bricks or warning they will be sleeping with the fishes, which now all seems like dry runs for this new character. For all the differences, Parker's readers are going to know they have been this way before. As always, this are great books to read if you are living the commuter lifestyle.
Rating: 
Summary: WONDERFUL & WITTY !
Review: I loved this book! Sunny Randall is the absolute best character that I've seen in a very long time. Sunny has got it going on, as does the author who captured the essence of "today's" woman: independent, corageous, with a life-saving sense of humor. All women will love the characters of this book.
Rating:
Summary: Parker hits a home run with his new series
Review: Sunny Randall is more than a female equivalent of Spenser, though that's a convenient starting point. Like the Spenser novels, these are told in first person by a Boston private investigator. There is a similar wit about her as there is to Spenser. And Parker's writing style is very similar in this novel -- crisp dialogue, brief but important descriptions, and good character development for the genre. Also, as I found in the Jesse Stone novels, there is the occasional involvement of minor characters from the Spenser novels. But -- to a degree -- Randall thinks about the issues that surround her more than Spenser does (or at least Parker shares more of these insights with us). As Spenser sometimes will bounce ideas and theories off Susan Silverman about the psychological make-up of some his clients, Randall does the same about herself, both internally and with her friend, Julie, who is a psychiatrist. Don't get me wrong -- there's plenty of hard-boiled detective mystery here. But Parker continues to prove that he can write more than one-dimensional characters.
Rating:
Summary: Parker's back, full throttle!
Review: The best Parker I've read in ages, tho even his lesser books are great fun. Sunny is sharp, wise, funny, tough - the writing sings, and the character descriptions made me laugh. I'd rank this right up there with the best Spenser (Early Autumn, Looking for Rachel Wallace). Parker is back in touch with his twinkle, and his love of women -and at the peak of his form. Best in genre I've read in years.
Rating:
Summary: Parkersyncophant
Review: Sorry, Robert, you're lucky I gave this as many stars as I did. I found Sunny charming and delightful to read. The only problem is that she is a female Spencer, who I follow and love. Also, why do you suddenly take a stance against Republicans and fathers? The bad guy is really the father, a Republican (mean-spirited, I suppose as we all are), and a father to boot. You're showing your New England roots. But don't worry, I'll continue to buy your Spencer books, and even your Sunny Randall books, with the knowledge that in the latter I will have to put up with a somewhat tempered feminism. You're not, Spike, are you? That's OK, if you are. I liked the guy and you handled the character very well.
Rating: 
Summary: NO MORE SUNNY RANDALL, PLEASE
Review: I have read every Spencer book written by Parker and both Jessie Stone books. I enjoyed them all, some more than others but as a whole I like all of them. I even keep them and read some more than once, which is rare for me. Now comes Sunny Randall. It is the worst thing I have read that Parker wrote. All about a privite eye who finds a fifteen year old for her parents and then decides to not take her home until she can find out why she ran away. Sunny uses her ex-husbands mob family to get her into places and to see people she cannot do by her self. Spike is the answer to Spencers Hawk, I guess. I had to force my self to finish the book. I understand there is another Sunny Randall out in Hardback, guess who WON'T be buying it. I know Robert Parker could care less what I think if this book, but, I wish he would stick to the Spencer books which he does so well. This is about the same as Spencer and Paul in Thin Air. The names have changed but not much else.
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