Melancholy Baby

Melancholy Baby by Robert Parker
Mystery
Finished on 3/16/06
Rating: A (9/10 Terrific!)

Once again, Robert Parker delivers a fun-filled read, but I’m glad I didn’t pay full price in order to get my Sunny Randall fix (thank goodness for libraries!). I thought the book was a bit too short (lots of white space on the page – wide margins; larger-than-usual font; chapters beginning low on the page), and I zipped through it in just a few quick hours. Nonetheless, it was just as enjoyable as the previous three in this series. Sunny is hired by a college student who wishes to find her biological parents, much to the annoyance of the couple who claim to be Sarah Markham’s real parents. Sunny’s personal life continues to wreak havoc on her emotional well-being, particularly in the wake of her ex-husband’s remarriage; and with the help of psychiatrist Susan Silverman (in a type of literary "cameo appearance," since Silverman is a regular character in Parker's Spencer series), she begins to uncover the source of her unhappiness and inability to commit to a relationship, even with the one she truly loves.

Melancholy Baby lacks suspense and the mystery is all too easy to figure out, but I still enjoyed the snappy dialogue and continuation of Sunny’s search for happiness. I’m anxious for the release of Blue Screen, due out on June 6th. Hmmm, I wonder if it’s too soon to put my name on the reserve list for this one at my library.