Rating: 
Summary: Self-plagiarism by Parker
Review: You have to kind of respect the size of the cojones on Robert Parker to put out this book. Not only is the main character Spenser with breasts, but she has her own tough-guy sidekick like Spenser, her own cute dog like Spenser, and the relationship with her boyfriend ends up exactly like Spencer's and Susan's. What makes Parker the winner of the chutzpah award is the fact that the PLOT of the book is the same as the Spenser novel "Early Autumn"! I give this 2 stars because if you've never read any Spenser books it's a pretty decent read, but if you're a fan of the series, this is just Spenser rehashed.
Rating: 
Summary: Spensette?
Review: Mr. Parker takes what he does best but down a parallel street this time with a female private eye. Okay, our lady detective definitely has a distaste for the diminutive, but she's pretty cool anyway. Parker steals some of the Spenser-familiar locales, the coffee and the doughnuts, and even a Spenser plot, but manages to do a pretty fresh little story from a very different perspective. The dialogue is witty, the plot twists are clever, the character interaction is charged, there is an marvelous dog in the action, and plenty of lowlifes and violence. Some of Sunny Randall's feminine angst is pretty much on target too. A fun and fast summer read.
Rating: 
Summary: Utterly delightful!
Review: This is not Spenser having a gender identity crisis. What this is, is what I hope is only the first book of a whole new series.Meet Sunny Randall, a tough but feminine Boston PI with an artistic soul and a Mob-connected ex-husband who she still loves but can't live with. Sunny has a great loft, a charming dog-child named Rosie with whom I am completely infatuated, and a fearless gay pal named Spike who not only cooks but rides shotgun when necessary. When Sunny is hired by wealthy, jaded, ultra-snobbish Brock and Betty Patton to find their 15-year-old runaway daughter Millicent, it doesn't take her long to locate the child on the mean streets of Boston and liberate her from her pimp. But until the question of why Millicent chose to flee the known, i.e., a mansion with staff and all the amenities, for the harsh and ugly unknown is answered, Sunny has no intention of relinquishing the girl to her parents. Millicent isn't talking aside from refusing to set foot back in her parents' home. Sunny takes the girl home with her to think things through, but it isn't long before two armed thugs show up at her door, compelling Sunny to dispatch one of them with a shotgun. Sunny is forced to move in temporarily with Spike to ensure Millicent's safety while she tries to figure out who wants the girl dead and why. This book is not only a first-rate detective story, but is replete with themes of the effects of love, betrayal, loss, friendship, and forgiveness on the human (and canine) heart. Sunny Randall is as earnest and hardworking as Anna Pigeon and Kinsey Milhone, though she dresses better; as tough and straightforward as Kat Colorado and V. I. Warshawski; and as funny as Stephanie Plum and Carlotta Carlyle. She's a bright and welcome new star in the female detective arena. Please, Mr. Parker -- give us more!
Rating: 
Summary: A big disappointment
Review: The only thing I'm happy about is that I got this book from the library and didn't pay for it. It was the worst book I've ever read. I finished it because I couldn't believe it was as boring and shallow as it was and thought, hoped it might change. Some men can write from a woman's point of view, but this author cannot or did not in this book. I feel he wrote it while watching a crime drama on TV. Nothing new, interesting. The dialogue was the most trivial and boring I've ever read in a book. The characters were flat, shallow and full of the Boston cynicism that is reason I left Boston. All the softness, love and caring was focussed on the dog. People are afraid to show themselves. I wouldn't want to meet any of the characters or the author!
Rating:
Summary: All in the Family
Review: Defining "family" these days depends on what person you ask and in what circumstances he or she lives. Trying to describe "Family Honor" presents the same difficulties for this reviewer and for the heroine, Sunny Randall, whose concept of "family" changes with her company... From her relationship with her mismatched parents, to that with her Mafia-connected ex-husband, Richie, to her single life with her friends, dog (Rosie) and painting, Sunny is a thoroughly modern gal-about-Boston, wearing a mask of self-assurance and independence but often losing it when confronted with being totally alone and without "family". In the aftermath of her divorce (resulting from her work as a cop conflicting with Richie's "family" relations), she becomes a private detective. She is hired by Brock and Betty Patton, a wealthy, affluent couple, to find their teenage, runaway daughter, Millicent. Finding Millie "hooking" and in danger from powerful thugs, Sunny becomes her bodyguard, supporting Millie's refusal go home and believing that she escaped the Patton household as a matter of self-preservation, not as an act of teenage rebellion. Getting to know a vulnerable Millie and seeing the damage inflicted by her aloof, dysfunctional parents exposes Sunny to unexpected emotions and her own fragility, regarding her own notions of "family". With her own life in danger trying to protect Millie, Sunny enlists her friends (and their shady connections) and her ex-husband's "family" to unearth a ambition-fueled conspiracy, based on sex, lies and photographs, with far-reaching political and social implications. Many reviewers have expressed dismay at Robert B. Parker for trying to make a female Spenser or for creating a lead character who is not Spenser. "Family Honor" is my first exposure to Robert Parker; I have never read a Spencer work (nor the more recent Jesse Stone novels). I think it important, however, to judge this book on its own merits. Simply, I hope Parker writes more about Sunny Randall! She is smart and driven but not without frailties, as a single woman, trying to re-discover herself after divorce, in a new career and new surroundings, sans Richie, all while acknowledging ties to him which are not broken. I found her confusion about her "ex" to be honest and refreshing; she recognizes a sincere loss without him in her life, although she can and does survive and prosper on her own. For Sunny, who tries to teach a helpless Millie about life in their time together, independence means embracing the freedom to make choices and to do things only for herself, such as learning to cook, working-out, painting and detective work. Richie, who once tried to stand in her way in these pursuits, recognizes and regrets his loss; they would make a good couple working together on some project in a future story. Occasionally, Sunny's "toughness" seems a bit affected and unrealistic - clever zingers and witty repartee do not always sway the rude and/or powerful - and a bit too much is made of the rarity of a female PI, but I think Parker may have been feeling his way through the female mind with Sunny's debut. I trust he will get to know her better in future novels. Sunny is very similar to Kinsey Milhone, in Sue Grafton's Alphabet Mysteries, and although Sunny doesn't have the same colorful past as Kinsey, I enjoyed her biting outlook on life and her place in it. I welcome Sunny Randall to the family of strong, female lead characters.
Rating:
Summary: Spenser's back!
Review: Good dialog and plot -- and it's reassuring to know Spenser's world is pretty much the same (even Pearl is not older), but although Hawk gets a mention, he is not involved, and a Spenser tale without Hawk is just not as enjoyable.
Rating: 
Summary: The More Things Change . . .
Review: O.K., so the detective is a female and the sidekick is gay and the setting is Boston and there's a dog in the picture and a woman-at-the-edge being rescued has a familiar ring, but Sunny Randall is not quite Spencer with a sex-change operation. And Parker's prose is so pristine that maybe it wouldn't matter. But for a tough-guy (but sensitive) author who writes about a tough guy (but sensitive) detective to try things from a feminine perspective and pretty much get it right is both an accomplishment and worth a tip of the hate from a longtime Spenser fan. Much of the working out of the story does seem familiar but it still is well worth the read. I understand there's to be a second Sunny Randall and I can't help wonder: Will the young woman she saves in her first story and has arranged to see a good psychologist end up going to Susan Silverman?
Rating:
Summary: Spenser in Drag (and I loved it! )
Review: Parker leans too heavily on his need for acerbic wit in his detectives, and the heroine of this book seems like Spenser with an estrogen problem. However, it is a wonderful read, and fans of Robert B. Parker will gobble it up with pleasure. When the next in this projected series comes out, I will stand in line to get it! Nobody writes about Boston better than RBP!
Rating:
Summary: Vapid and vacuous
Review: The main character was insufferable. Parker has tried to create a male Spencer but fails miserably. She appears to be without fault and has an answer for everything. At least Spencer admits to feet of clay. The plot was implausible.
Rating:
Summary: Actually 3 1/2 stars!
Review: No matter what anyone say or writes, Robert Parker writes a romping fun story. Having a female leading character was enjoyable. I like her toughness, and her ability to handle rough situations with brains, using any available resource, from weapons to exhusband mafia family/pals. Don't let the similarities between Sunny and Spenser deter you from reading this. It was a fun read.
|
