18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not a Sunny Day, October 6, 2002
By A Customer
As her ex-husband says, Sunny Randall, Robert Parker's fresh, new heroine is as cute as Meg Ryan and tougher than a Mafia Don. Unfortunately, she may be losing Robert Parker's interest already, well before she loses ours.
_Shrink Wrap_ does not do justice to her early promise.Sunny's case, where an appealing and likable author of Romance novels is being stalked in some pretty creepy circumstances, is an intriguing and original one. The plot moves along briskly, making it difficult to put the book down. But Sunny is becoming increasingly one-dimensional and thinly drawn.
There is no way not to like her. She is honest, earnest, smart and tough. She is trying to make her life into something honorable. She is sometimes as fast with a comeback as Spenser himself, and almost as funny. So Parker does her an injustice when he has eight people tell her she needs to ask for help, and makes her give each and every one the exact same answer, that she needs to do it herself. Understandable, laudable even, but we get it after the third time. Repeating it is a nuisance, like a one-note song.
There is much about Sunny we would like to know, and while Parker explores a little, the whole character development of the book is built around one insight Sunny has into herself at the end, as a breakthrough, which is --- wait for it -- that her relationship with her father and mother has strongly influenced her relationships with men. Um, okay, good insight. But we could all have used a little more of Parker investing himself here, Sunny most of all.
And then there is the dog. Spenser and Susan's Pearl is a delight, as is the way they feel and talk about her. But this little dog is taking up more emotional space in Parker's minimalistic story than any other supporting character. Which seems to me to be a mistake and again, a waste of potential. Spike, for example, is a magnetic character, not up to Hawk exactly -- who would be? -- but worth a lot more space on the wide-margined, large-typefaced pages.
The books are getting shorter, thinner, more off-hand, as if Parker is writing while he's watching a ballgame. He can grab hold of Sunny and make her someone who will hold our interest for years. If he decides to make the effort.
In _Shrink Wrap_ it rains or snows and is bleak every day, except on the last page, when the sun comes out. Hopefully that lift out of the grayness will carry over to the next Sunny Randall book. She's worth it.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
fresh, witty, August 29, 2005
Sharp dialogue, fresh witty characters, fast-paced mystery. As some of the hateful reviews here note, yes, there is a stong woman as the protagonist. If you don't like that, get another book and crawl back under your rock--But it is not a valid criticism of the book in and of itself.
Those of us in the 21st Century who think both men and women should be allowed self-determination, find Parker's Sunny Randall to be interesting (if not always perfect--like most of us), strong, intelligent, witty, realistic and curious. The degree of hate in these reviews against independant women is frightening. They obviously have some problems with equality and are using this venue to make a point at the cost of sincere book reviews.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good stuff--sympathetic character damaged but dealing, October 23, 2002
Romance author Melanie Joan Hall hires Private Investigator Sunny Randall to help guard her against the the author's stalking ex-husband. Sunny wants to do more than guard--but as she begins to investigate the ex-husband, psychiatrist John Melvin, she begins to discover hints that Melvin is doing more than stalking. A psychiatrist whose practice seems to consist solely of beautiful women has plenty of opportunities to do evil. Sunny's investigations soon lead her to trouble--and danger. Sunny's personal problems form a reverse image of Melanie Joan's. Like Melanie Joan, Sunny can't get over her ex-husband and, as she investigates Melvin, she starts to work on her own issues.
Author Robert B. Parker delivers an enjoyable mystery. Fans of Parker will be familiar with the issues of being unable to live with, or without, a particular relationship, but here Sunny's problems and their mirror image problems with Melanie Jone add rather than detract from the story. Parker does a good job showing the positive as well as dangers of psychiatry, avoiding a fall into cliche.
Sunny's dialogue doesn't pack the impact of Parker's more famous Spenser series but this character remains fresh and interesting. Her mix of toughness and vulnerability makes Sunny sympathetic even when she doesn't make the most logical decisions.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
