Customer Reviews

Spare Change (Sunny Randall)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Spare Change by Robert Parker teams up Sunny Randall and her father in a case involving a serial killer who drops coins next to the bodies of his victims. Although Parker's dialogue is always razor sharp and his characters well delineated, there's a certain perfunctory quality about the plot that perhaps comes from writing too many crime dramas over the years. You won't be disappointed by this book, but you won't necessarily remember it as one of Parker's best, either. A good airport read. You'll enjoy yourself between the soft drinks and the on board movie.

Donald Gallinger is the author ofThe Master Planets

SPARE CHANGE, the sixth Sunny Randall novel, shouldn't be read as an entry to the series. Too much subtext from earlier novels is needed for the reader to competently understand all the dynamics of family and self that are going on in this one.

The plot is simple. Sunny and her dad Phil attempt to close out a cold case he had before he left the Boston Police. The case had suddenly turned hot again as a new victim is discovered. The serial killer known as Spare Change (named so because he leaves a nickel, dime, and quarter behind at each murder scene) has struck again. Phil gets called out of retirement to advise on the case and he brings his private-eye daughter with him.

The solution of the murders is the plot that drives Parker's theme: his examination of families, how they work together and how they shape the individuals within them.

On many levels, Parker succeeds admirably. Fans of the Sunny Randall series (of which I am one) will love seeing some of the changes. But a few of them, like the change with her ex-husband, comes out of left field. And that one, to a degree, gets dropped to hang around for the next book. I think the extended views into the dynamics of Sunny's family, and especially the exploration of character between father and daughter, is great and a lot of readers are going to find parallels in their own lives. Always an amazing experience for readers.

However, the story of the serial killer resonates the same theme, but misses the boat because it doesn't offer quite the same reveals.

Parker's writing is as smooth and exciting as ever. I sailed through this book and the pages kept turning. I was drawn as much by the character development and insights as I was the homicide investigation.

Parker is also cross-pollinating his series with characters from other books. Martin Quirk, who's known primarily from the Spenser novels, was present. And Dr. Susan Silverman has been a mainstay for a while in Sunny's series as her counselor. But Frank Belson, Healy, and Lee Farrell were also onboard this one for a while.

I love Parker's books even when they're more comfortable than groundbreaking. Reading one is like sitting down with a friend and catching up on events in that person's life. Long-time fans will enjoy the book and already know what the score it, but new readers would best be advised to at least have read some if not all of the other Sunny Randall novels.

Ok. I have read and enjoyed Mr. Parker's books for as long as I can remember but I am seriously wondering if writing 3 series is too much for him. What's the deal with the continuity issues???

SPOILER ALERT-PLEASE DO NOT READ BELOW IF YOU HAVE NOT YET READ THIS BOOK!!



In Blue Screen, the last Sunny Randall novel, Sunny learned that Richie's wife was PREGNANT. Now all of a sudden, Richie decides he loves Sunny and leaves his wife and there is absolutely no mention of his wife being pregnant in this book??? What the heck??? That's beyond sloppy and a slap in the face of loyal readers who deserve more respect. I am very disappointed...where oh where did the quality of A Catskill Eagle or Valediction go???

but then, that's been the case pretty recently with the Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall series.

I like Parker's writing, generally speaking. His Spenser series ranks near the top of all the series I've read, but only if I focus on the first two thirds or so of the series. Recently, I've become a bit. . .bored with Mr. Parker's series, with all of them.

This one, with a potentially-intriguing protagonist at its heart, doesn't seem to be "growing" at all. Don't misunderstand--Sunny appears to be making progress understanding herself. It's just that the dialogue and the way characters interact is stuck in some sort of holding pattern.

Here's an example for you: in Parker's novels, the characters tend to make psychological assessments and super-intuitive assessments in one-line form. There isn't a whole lot of discussion, not a whole lot of real digging into things. Sunny is seeing Susan Silverman for therapy, and Silverman's whole approach to therapy appears to be inclining her head, offering slim smiles, and teasing little questions and statements that Sunny then responds to with pretty decent insights, but there's no "there" there. Having had some therapy myself, and having spoken to others who've also been through the process, I can tell you that it seems rare to find someone who gets you to really dig into your psyche by, say, smiling at you. There's WORK involved in most therapy, or so I believe, and there doesn't appear to be any in Sunny's.

Sunny continues wanting her ex, and some changes take place on that front. Sunny does a credible job of investigating a crime, but she knows from early-on whom the killer is, so there's not much in the way of mystery or nail-biting suspense going on. And even near the end, when the killer makes a desperate attempt to escape, there's no real action there. It all seems to happen in lazy-dazy slo-mo, and it works out precisely as you'd expect.

All in all, I found this book predictable. I'm weary of characters like Sunny and of Jesse Stone as well. I liked Spenser all along because there was passion in what he did, because he made decisions I sometimes did not agree with, because his partner in detection was someone whose morality, generally speaking, was questionable, which made all their mutual activities somewhat more "grey area" than if Spenser was acting alone.

Ah, well. I must admit to still enjoying Parker's humor. Even when I'm growling over his seeming inability or unwillingness to use question marks, I still remember how many guffaws he's given me, how much enjoyment with his Spenser series.

This is an interesting story about the search for a serial killer. It's a decent story about the lengths a Daddy's Girl will go to in order to please Daddy. And it's a completely ridiculous portrait story of cartoon characters that pass for contemporary women:

Julie? Oh, puh-leeze! Sunny is Counselor Julie's best friend, Sunny is involved in a dangerous situation that puts them in peril, Julie is breaking just about every rule in the counselor's handbook. Yet in all her sessions with the Sainted Susan Silverman, Sunny never mentions any of it. Why the total disregard for her best friend Julie? And worse, Julie's innocent patients?

Dr. Susan Silverman delivers no insights during Sunny's sessions. She just nods and half-smiles at her patient. One wonders how much she charges Sunny. Sunny's fascination with her shrink is kinda weird. Sunny's heart leaps when Dr. Silverman says her name. She's thrilled when the shrink's Mona Lisa half-smile actually escalates to complete smile. We hear about Silverman's lustrous hair, her terrific body, her artfully applied makeup. I went between thinking I was reading the transcript of a therapy session and a Letter to Penthouse.

Sunny's mother has a drinking problem. Every time the family gets together, Mom gets sloshed. Dad sees this but does nothing because, I guess, love means never having to say, "stop that." Mr. and Mrs. Randall are of retirement age. All this drinking cannot be good for her liver, or her bones, or her heart. But as with Sunny and Julie, Dad says nothing. Apparently enjoying being in codependent relationships is, like crime fighting, a bond father and daughter share.

Yet I gave it two stars. I was intrigued by the Chico Zarilla subplot. I enjoyed the police work. And, when it didn't include Julie or Susan or Mom, I enjoyed the dialog.

I just wish Parker would quit trying to write women characters. I suspect he really doesn't like us much.

Like many of his peers, Parker has succumbed to the pressure to produce.....this is not up to his standards by any measure....trite, stupid vignettes (Sunny's friends, romances) which add nothing to the storyline. Wish I had passed on this one...has turned me off an author I use to enjoy immensely.

Another of the author's fast, fun reads. But, be warned, "Spare Change" is extremely heavy in the dysfunction department:

You get all kinds of dysfunction in heroine Sunny Randall's life. Why does she still love her ex-husband? And yet, why can't she bring herself to be married to him again even if he wants to be married to her again?

You get all kinds of dysfunction among the supporting characters: Sunny's ex-husband Richie, Sunny's family, and- most spectacularly- Sunny's friend Julie, who makes the most horrendous personal and professional missteps (often intertwining them) seen in popular fiction in some time. Some of these missteps are at least amusing. Sunny's double date with Julie is a particular hoot. A failed double date among regular folks usually means boredom and watching the clock. A failed date in the world of Sunny Randall means the mace and the gun come out.

The background of the Spare Change Killer is also heaped with dysfunction, but I guess that has to be expected.

Again, "Spare Change" is the usual piece of polished, engaging work routinely produced by Robert B. Parker. The quips, banter, pacing, and plot are all there. Just realize that, this time out, you also get lots of situations and problems seemingly imported directly from the nearest handy Tennessee Williams or Eugene O'Neil play.

If you've been following this series, I'd ultimately say give this entry a whirl. Though laden with heavy issues, many things happen here that will develop or resonate in future installments. And you wouldn't want to be not up to speed when those installments inevitably (we're talking about the prolific Mr. Parker, remember) hit the marketplace, right?

I really like Sunny Randall as a character, and I have liked every book in the series (the one combined with Jesse Stone less so--neither fish nor fowl).

And this book has some great merits.

It's written in Parker's trademark pared-down style.

It's full of wit and snappy dialogue.

It has some of the interesting characters--Spike (though not enough of him), Elizabeth (certainly enough of her), the exasperating Julie, Sunny's mother, Sunny's dad, Rosie and Rich (not enough of either), the brand-new pistol Margie Collins.

But it also has some flaws.

First, and less bad, it's about a serial killer. This is beyond trite. However, to be fair, Parker handles the psychology of the SK well.

Second, and much worse, it has SUSAN SILVERMAN!!!!!!!!!

Christ. Spare me.

I thought we would only get the tedious Susan in the Spenser novels. But no. Here she is again in all her dull glory.

As always, when writing about Susan, Parker becomes turgid and laughably bad.

Listen to this. It is Sunny, describing Susan (her therapist): Susan "was older than I, but it would be difficult to say just how one would know that. She was positively beautiful. Her body was graceful and strong. Even in her self-abnegating shrink mode, she reeked of womanhood. The force of her self filled the room."

This reeks of highschool crush-note. The force of its silliness fills the chapter.

Any character who evokes such prose should be pushed off the boat.

Fortunately, Susan's deadly appearances are brief.

The handling of Sunny's realization about herself is quite deft.

This is the perfect summer read. Pure old-smoothie Parker. The plot is linear. There is no real mystery beyond the serial killer's motivation. That leaves plenty of time for Parker to explore Sunny's character and the people she cares about. Sunny's family is an exquisite creation, particularly mom and dad, and her sister's boyfriend is familiarly academic. My only reservation is the constant adulation for Susan Silverman, who I could do without, and the fact that we never quite see enough of Rosie, Sunny's delightful mini bull terrier. The perp is suitably creepy and the revelation of his motivation very nicely done.

Nobody does this sort of thing better than Parker. And always remember--making it look easy is not.

Memo to Bob: let's see more of Phil Randall. Sandra Scoppettone, writing as Jack Early, did a nice job with father/daughter investigation in Donato and Daughter. Spare Change is a worthy rival. Bring back Phil--early and often.

Years ago, one case had stumped PI Sunny Randall's father. The 'Spare Change' killer murdered, apparently at random, but left three coins behind. When Phil Randall had been assigned the case, the Spare Change killer had written taunting notes. But nothing the police did led to his apprehension. And then, after a string of murders, the killing simply stopped. Now, though, twenty years later, they've started again. Phil Randall is called out of retirement and he brings his daughter, Sunny, with him to work on the case.

Twenty years is a long time, and many cops would wonder if the killer had perhaps been locked up for another crime. Sunny doesn't think so, though. She soon fixates on one man--a man who seems to toy with her and with the police, yet who lacks a motive or any physical connection to the case--except that he was one of dozens captured when the cops closed down an area and rounded everyone up. Sunny finds herself flirting with a man she's certain is the killer (although he's young to have conducted the killings twenty years earlier).

Meanwhile, Sunny is trying to deal with her own life by seeing psychiatrist Susan Silverman twice a week. Silverman nods, smiles, and offers cryptic wisdom, pushing Sunny to insights into her own personality that somehow don't actually lead to any improvements in her case. Poor Sunny is hooked on her ex-husband--so much so that she does everything she can to steal him away from his new wife. She also plays Oedipal games with her mother and sister, vying for her father's affection. She recognizes she even picked her career as a cop and then detective to win his favor.

Author Robert B. Parker can be depended on for a quick read with witty dialogue and a macho world-view where certainties abound and absolute truths are easy. When working on the mystery, Parker keeps the action moving along although I would have liked to see a bit more actual detecting. Unfortunately, the story comes to multiple crashing halts when we deal with Sunny's inability to get on with her life, the wonderfulness of her dog, the wonderfulness of her father (in intriguing juxtaposition to the wonderfulness of the suspected serial killer's father), the wonderfulness of Susan Silverman, and the wonderfulness of Sunny herself.

SPARE CHANGE is not a bad book--Parker doesn't write bad books. It's a short book with plenty of dialogue that could have probably been shortened another hundred pages by elimination of Susan Silverman (always a good idea in a Parker book) and by the elimination of the major eeew-factor relationship with ex-husband Richie.