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Spare ChangeRobert B. ParkerPublished 2007 |
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Reviewed and Researched by Lisa Shea
Sunny has always fought with her sis and mom for her father's affections. Now she gets him to herself full time, as the pair team up to solve a serial killer case. Toss into the mix that Jesse is out, Richie is back in, and the inter-family dynamics get more and more twisted, and it's not as much about Sunny finding herself as it is about her untangling her life.
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Lisa Says: I really want the Sunny Randall series to succeed. I love the Spenser for Hire series, and enjoy the Jesse Stone series. To have the same very enjoyable style of writing applied to a female detective would be pretty much the ultimate series for me. The first five books, which relied heavily on the existing cast of characters from the other 2 series, brought Sunny along from a really silly character to an almost well developed and stand-on-her-own woman. For some reason, this sixth book really seems to be a large step backwards. First, if you haven't read the other books in all 3 series, you're going to be lost. The trilogy of series all depend on each other and on previous storylines so intricately that it's like a soap opera. No, it IS a soap opera. Almost every character you meet in the story is one who has shown up for years and years in one storyline or another, with a full, rich background. There's a slight break in that Sunny is no longer with Jesse Stone - she's tentatively talking with Richie, her ex. That only slightly cuts down on the incestuousness of the series inter-mingling. She still has her shrink sessions with Susan, a main character from the Spenser series. Susan is drawn as almost a wonder-woman goddess of beauty and personal force, and, of course, her interest is "palpable". I believe that word is mentioned in every novel at least once. So, about the story. It's summertime in the city of Boston, and the Spare Change killer is back after a 20 year hiatus. Sunny's retired cop father, Phil, had failed to catch this criminal back during his first spree, and is brought back to help figure out the case. He wants Sunny to help. The investigation really takes up only a little of the book. It's less about police work and more about Sunny "knowing" immediately who the killer is and then simply breaking the law in order to prove it. A little breaking and entering, a little entrapment, and voila. In that sense, the book is less about figuring out who the culprit is and more about finding a way to catch him. The real bulk of the story (and I use the word bulk loosely here - like most books by Parker, I zipped through this in a single evening) involves Sunny and her relationships. What made me cringe about the book was how unpleasant it was to read through those sections. She has a therapist friend, Julie. Julie spouts off drivel about men being babies and needing to be taken care of. Then she sleeps with the husband of one of her patients (it's ok because "she'll never know"). Then she sets up a double date with two guys who are only interested in a foursome. Then she asks Sunny to kill one of them for annoying her. Maybe Sunny's family is better? Sunny's obsession in life is to have her father all to herself. Her mom is an unapologetic drunk who Sunny looks down on for enjoying restaurants with chintz. When Sunny is with the family, she deliberately talks with her father about things only he would understand - the cop cases - and explicitly ignores attempts by the rest of the family to bring up more general topics they can all enjoy. Sunny likes wine, and talks about sauvignon blanc and pinot noir in other parts of the book. But when her sis Elizabeth brings up wine, Sunny acts like a beer snob and again rattles on about her cop case. Later, Elizabeth even tries to praise Sunny's painting skills, and Sunny still acts the stuck-up part. It really made her a less-than-appealing character for me. How about her father? Sunny talks with her dad about getting back with Richie - who, remember, has a PREGNANT WIFE. In Blue Screen, the couple knew their child was going to be a boy. I would imagine by now the mom-to-be is almost ready to deliver. Her dad tells her to go ahead and have an affair with him - if it's love, you can do any immoral act you want!! What??? So on one hand Phil says to stick by those you love, like his wife and 2 kids, even if they're flaky. On the other hand, he says it doesn't matter if you completely screw up other peoples' lives, as long as you get what you selfishly want. That really, really bothered me. You'd think Susan would help here. But it was as if scenes were cut-and-paste from Spenser novels. Sunny says (and I'm not kidding here) "we can love each other without living together". Is this a common theme that every Parker hero must follow? Susan of course thinks this is a brilliant idea. We get the dog worship and the lines about Sunny not being a worthy person if she cannot stand up to all danger herself. What happened to the pragmatist who knew when to rely on the support of others? Even Spenser has Hawk with him most of the time. I really am torn by this book. Again, I love Parker's writing style. I love having a lead female character. I like the support for gay characters, although I laughed out loud at the sentence "there were undergraduates of all genders in the library." That seemed a bit expansive to me. I found some of the later Spenser series to have Spenser be a little TOO perfect, TOO predictable, so I am all for characters with some flaws. However, Sunny just drives me crazy. She keeps claiming she wants to stand alone, and never does. Spenser was all about honor - I *love* that. Sunny is in a world where you cheat with the husband of your therapy patient, you cheat with your ex-husband who has a pregnant wife, you read Vogue and Vanity Fair while contemplating manicuring your nails (literally), you deliberately denigrate your sister and mother whenever you can, and where when your friend is in trouble because of a nude photo, you snarkily think that her thighs look chunky. I really can't enjoy this environment that is full of dishonorable, selfish, petty and cruel behavior by the main character and those she chooses to surround herself with. I'm almost forced to keep reading this series because it intertwines with the Spenser and Jesse series and affects the plot of those two books. Maybe I can hold out hope that Sunny will have some sort of revelation in the next book which will make her more likeable going forward. |
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Traveling in Sunny's Footprints her kitchen table back bay fens by Muddy River loft mayor's office, Boston city hall father's office at police HQ parents back yard Boston Gardens - swan boat dock Metropolitan Club, Rte 9 Chestnut Hill Dunkin Donuts, Union Square Somerville her place Charles River in Brighton HQ Susan's office killer's condo - Vendome on Commonwealth her loft bench in public garden Davio's in Park Square with Richie (Richie is staying at the Phillips Club on Avery St) Loft is 4th floor in converted warehouse in South Boston by Fort Point Mom's favorite inn West of Boston with chintz curtains walking near design center Jamaica Pond Noir at Charles Hotel with Julie Spike's Bar loft Taft University library no name fish pier hatch shell on esplanade Ritz-Carlton on Arlington Boston Harbour Hotel patio Julie's condo at old Navy Yard in Charlestown Wellesley branch of Bay Colony Bank Government Center - FBI offices Vicki Russo's home Cranson RI mom's house Cafe in basement of killer's condo Walford police station Langhom Hotel - Post Office Square S. End - Chico Zarilla's condo Police HQ hear Bob's at "Lock's" Spike's Walking Atlantic Avenue |
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Sunny's Menu and Drinks corn + molasses muffins and coffee with Richie beer at parent's house (even though she says she doesn't like it much, she drinks it to be like her father) blood orange cosmopolitans with Julie coffee + cinnamon donuts from DD Black Bush Irish Whiskey with Richie - lowballs with ice sub sandwiches and coffee by Charles coffee at HQ antipasto and sangiovese at Davio's coffee at home scrambled eggs, tomato juice at inn sauvignon blanc at Noir sauvignon blanc at Spike's citron vodka on the rocks with Spike white wine at Ritz Vodka + tonic at Boston Harbor patio Chardonnay ("not my favorite") and pinot noir and lasagna with Julie coffee at Russo's Tuna noodle casserole with tomato aspic on lettuce at mom's salad martini with family coffee at HQ scotch + rocks at Spike's double martini on rocks |
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