Shrink Rap

Shrink Rap by Robert Parker
Mystery
Finished on 2/?/06
Rating: A (9/10 Terrific!)


Sunny Randall continues to be one of my favorite characters. She’s a tough, intelligent, no-nonsense private eye who paints landscapes for pleasure, adores Rosie (her miniature bull terrier), and juggles her mixed emotions as she tries to figure out if she really wants to rekindle her relationship with her mobbed-up ex-husband, Richie. She’s the perfect heroine, warts and all.

While surreptitiously investigating a prominent psychiatrist, Sunny not only comes face to face with a manipulative killer, but inadvertently uncovers some of her own unpleasant issues while undergoing therapy.

I zipped through Shrink Rap in record speed, laughing out loud as often as I held my breath. It’s a quick read (99% of the text is comprised of rapid-fire dialogue), but at the time I thought it was the second to the last in the series. Not knowing if Parker had plans to continue indefinitely as he seems to have done with his Spenser series (exceeding 30 titles – all of which I plan to read someday!), I desperately tried to drag my reading experience out as long as possible. This proved difficult as the intense climax caused the pages to fly.

While there is nothing lyrical about Parker’s writing, he delivers a fun-filled read (I like to think of it as brain candy). P.J. Tracy fans might do well to consider taking a look at this series as they eagerly await the release of the next Monkeewrench installment (Snow Blind), which is due out in August.

There’s a lot of good reading to look forward to this summer. I’m elated to have just learned that on June 6th, the fifth in this series (Blue Screen) will be released! And I still have Melancholy Baby in my library stack. Boy, it doesn’t take much to make this fan happy. I love this series and am completely addicted. Parker had me from hello.