Robert B. Parker's Payback

Sunny Randall, Book 9

By: Mike Lupica

Narrated by: Kate Burton

In her latest thrilling adventure, PI Sunny Randall takes on two serpentine cases that converge into one deadly mystery.

PI Sunny Randall has often relied on the help of her best friend Spike in times of need. When Spike's restaurant is taken over under a predatory loan agreement, Sunny has a chance to return the favor. She begins digging into the life of the hedge fund manager who screwed Spike over - surely a guy that smarmy has a skeleton or two in his closet - and soon finds this new enemy may have the backing of even badder criminals.

At the same time, Sunny's cop contact Lee Farrell asks her to intervene with his niece, a college student who reported being the victim of a crime but seems to know more than she's telling police. As the uncooperative young woman becomes outright hostile, Sunny runs up against a wall that she's only more determined to scale.

Then, what appear to be two disparate cases are united by a common factor, and the picture becomes even more muddled. But one thing is clear: Sunny has been poking a hornet's nest from two sides, and all hell is about to break loose.

©2021 Mike Lupica (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Lupica makes smart-mouthed Sunny as fully realized as Parker’s better-known gumshoe, Spenser. Readers are sure to look forward to her next outing." (Publishers Weekly)

"Lupica powers his way through the plot in fast-talking Parker style, reveling in the banter and the nicely delineated relationships between Sunny and various other Parker players.... It's all smart-alecky good fun in the hard-boiled tradition." (Booklist)

Love these characters!

Happy Mike Lupica is writing both Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall. Love the dialogue. Looking forward to his next one!

Fantastic!

Please, Mike Lupica, keep them coming. Really looking forward to Jesse Stone in a few months.

Great

The only thing that drives me crazy is the very repetitive “Sonny said” “Richie said; “ “Jesse said; “ after each comment.

Sunny At Her Best

I thought this was a great detective story with numerous twists and a few Russian bad guys sprinkled throughout.

I like to play poker but nowhere near the table stakes in this story.

Story had many characters who I’m familiar with such Susan Silverman, Jesse Stone and Frank Belson (so?)from other Robert Parker novels.

Narrator did an excellent job reading the story.

Kinda lame

Sunny doesn’t really do it for me, but I wanted to hear something by Lupica now that he’s for a Spenser book incoming. This was fine, but it baffles me that he and all the other writer for hire guys all feel compelled to bring in virtually all the other Spenser regulars in every novel, even if it’s just a mention. We believe you, we can tell you’re well versed in the Parkerverse. I’m going to keep an optimistic mind about the new one and just hope for the best.

Distracting

Every line ends in I said, he said, she said, Richie said. It was so distracting I couldn’t focus on the story. I feel it would have been better if read with multiple voices to eliminate the he said she said’s.
Not an audio book I would recommend to others. Maybe the hard copy is better.

Scattered

Have been following the characters since the start and like both Jesse and Sunny. This plot was all over the place Was not hard to follow but it is like an all-star game where every main character is there but not in depth. Will stay with the series, of course, but hope for better next time.