THE author of more than 24 Spenser mysteries, Robert B Parker has never tried to hide his admiration for the late Raymond Chandler.
In fact, he once told an interviewer that he created Spenser to pay homage to Chandler's famous Philip Marlowe after the author died. It is not surprising, therefore, to find he has 'modelled' a new protagonist - female, this time - after Spenser.
Parker launches the detective career of Sunny Randall in Family Honor. Like Spenser, Randall has a tough, streetwise sidekick. She also has ties that can help her crack cases. She boxes, is artistically inclined, and has a dog she talks to . . . all of which will bring a sense of deja vu to those who have been following Spenser's career.
Randall - recently divorced from someone she loves but cannot stay married to for reasons only she can fathom - is called in by gubernatorial candidate Brock Patton. He and his wife, Betty, want Randall to find their missing daughter, Millicent.
With the help of her assistant, a flamboyantly gay bar owner named Spike, and the mob connections of ex-husband Richie's family, Randall saves Millicent from prostitution. With even more help from her ex-husband's family and shady underworld figures, Randall and Millicent escape death and shed light on the Pattons' dirty dealings.
It has been said that Parker created Sunny Randall at the behest of actress Helen Hunt, who probably sees herself as a Spenser-in-a-skirt for a television series or film. If that is the case, Parker has taken the easy way out and Randall exists for the wrong reasons.