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Summary
Summary
Sunny Randall, the Boston P.I. with a personal life as tangled as that of her clients, is hired on as a bodyguard to an up-and-coming starlet, and discovers some ugly truths behind her glossy façade.
Buddy Bollen is a C-list movie mogul who made his fortune producing films of questionable artistic merit. When Buddy hires Sunny Randall to protect his rising star and girlfriend, Erin Flint, Sunny knows from the start that the prickly, spoiled beauty won't make her job easy. And when Erin's sister, Misty, is found dead in the lavish home they share with sugar daddy Bollen, there doesn't seem to be a single lead worth pursuing.
But then Sunny meets Jesse Stone, chief of police in Paradise, Massachusetts, under whose jurisdiction the case falls.
Tracking Misty's murderer reveals a host of seedy complications behind Erin's glamorous lifestyle as well as Buddy Bollen's entertainment empire, made up of shady film deals and mobsters out for revenge. But in a world where there's little difference between the good guys and the bad, exposing the killer could prove to be Sunny's undoing.
Author Notes
Robert Brown Parker was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, on September 17, 1932. He received a B.A. from Colby College in 1954, served in the U.S. Army in Korea, and then returned to receive a M. A. in English literature from Boston University in 1957. He received a Ph.D. in English literature from Boston University in 1971.
Before becoming a full-time writer in 1979, he taught at Lowell State College, Bridgewater State College and Northwestern University.
In 1971, Parker published The Godwuff Manuscript, as homage to Raymond Chandler. The character he created, Spencer, became his own detective and was featured in more than 30 novels. His Spencer character has been featured in six TV movies and the television series Spencer: For Hire that starred Robert Urich and ran from 1985 to 1988.
He is also the author of the Jesse Stone series, which has been made into a series of television movies for CBS, and the Sunny Randall series. His novel Appaloosa (2005) was made into a 2008 movie directed by and starring Ed Harris. He has received numerous awards for his work including an Edgar Award for Best Novel in 1977 for The Promised Land, Grand Master Edgar Award for his collective oeuvre in 2002, and the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. He died of a heart attack on January 18, 2010 at the age of 77.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Bestseller Parker's two non-Spenser leads, Boston PI Sunny Randall, and Paradise, Mass., police chief Jesse Stone, join forces in this breezy, fast-paced whodunit. Buddy Bollen, a sleazy Hollywood producer, hires Sunny to protect his girlfriend, Erin Flint, a stunning action star who's trying to become major league baseball's first female player, for Buddy's franchise, the Connecticut Nutmegs. When one of Erin's entourage turns up dead, Sunny discovers that the deceased was Erin's younger sister, Misty, and that the two share a sordid past. Since the murder takes place on Jesse's quiet turf, the detective and the police chief, both of whom are on the rebound from failed marriages, must take each other's measure and are soon sizing each other up romantically. While the mystery's resolution may be fairly predictable, the witty byplay between the principals and the convincing portrayal of their burgeoning relationship will leave Parker fans eager for the next book to feature Sunny and Jesse as sleuthing and romantic partners. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Erin Flint is on all the magazine covers, and her last movie--lotta body, acting not so much--was boffo box office. Her lover-manager, Buddy Bollen, who also owns a major-league baseball team, wants Flint to play for his team--a cameo, but timed to coincide with the release of her next movie. But Erin fears there may be an attempt on her life, so Boston investigator Sunny Randall is hired to be her bodyguard. While working on her batting skills in the resort town of Paradise, one of Erin's entourage is murdered. Sunny, with the blessing of Paradise police chief Jesse Stone--another Parker series regular--sets off to find the killer. Parker has never been big on plots. He's all about character, characters, and snappy dialogue, and all are present here in spades. What makes this special is the dalliance between Stone and Randall. Both are smart, clever, witty, brave, burdened with the weight of past loves, and, well, downright horny. This isn't Parker's best work, but it may be his most lighthearted. --Wes Lukowsky Copyright 2006 Booklist
Kirkus Review
Boston shamus Sunny Randall's fifth case takes her out to Hollywood, but her most fateful meeting is a lot closer to home. Trillionaire producer Buddy Bollen, of Paradise, Mass., may be a mogul of doubtful tastes, but the five popcorn movies he's made with Amazonian star Erin Flint have netted him a handsome profit. Now he sees a way to parlay his ownership of an underperforming baseball team into major synergy with his most recognizable property. Under intensive tutelage, he's grooming Erin to become the first female major-leaguer--if only he can protect her from unnamed hostile interests and the possibility of her own missteps. That's where Sunny (Shrink Rap, 2002, etc.) comes in--as bodyguard, watchdog and role model. It's a mystery why Sunny signs on for the gig. Maybe she knows that she'll be pulled off guard duty and assigned to detecting seconds after Misty Tyler, Erin's longtime personal trainer, is found dead of a broken neck. In truth, Sunny isn't much better at sleuthing than Erin is at acting. But fans will hardly notice the slack mystery-mongering here because they'll be agog when Sunny hooks up with Paradise police chief Jesse Stone (Sea Change, 2006, etc.), and their professional partnership quickly develops an undercover dimension. Does Spenser's creator plan to tie up both his second- and third-string series in a single knot of domestic bliss? The riddle is one more reminder that his heroes have always been more important than their cases. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Nothing's sunny for Sunny Randall when he's hired to protect a sleazy movie mogul's girlfriend and the woman's best buddy ends up dead. But joining forces with Paradise, MA, police chief Jesse Stone sure helps. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
