Book review: A welcome return for Robert B. Parker’s Sunny Randall in ‘Bad Influence’

‘Robert B. Parker’s Bad Influence’ by Alison Gaylin. Putnam, 336 pages, $29

The late Robert B. Parker created a universe wrapped around his popular series about Spenser, the single-named Boston private detective. Spenser led to a series about Jesse Stone, the troubled police chief in a small Massachusetts town, and then six novels about Sunny Randall, a Boston private detective who Parker created at the request of actress Helen Hunt though no film version was ever made. After Parker died in 2010, Ace Atkins successfully continued the Spenser franchise, Reed Farrel Coleman picked up the Jesse Stone series and Mike Lupica published four Sunny Randall novels that never quite rose to Parker’s originals.

Enter Edgar winner Alison Gaylin, whose first Sunny Randall outing immediately captures the character’s nuances, personality and work ethic. Lupica’s version of Sunny seemed more like Spenser whereas Gaylin’s vision is a more complete character, frequently delving into Sunny’s emotional life.

In “Robert B. Parker’s Bad Influence,” Sunny agrees to help Blake James and Alena Jade, “Instagram’s it couple,” whose mere presence can “transform” anywhere from “just some place” to a “destination.” Sunny agrees to find out who has been stalking and threatening Blake and Alena because their manager, self-styled “media concierge” Bethany Rose, promises the couple will make popular the bar owned by Sunny’s best friend, Spike.

As promised, Spike’s bar is again thriving and on “The ’Gram.” While helping Blake and Alena proves more elusive, Sunny begins to investigate her own clients, starting with their real identities and their real last names.

Sunny has a lot of work ahead of her to understand two people whose “entire careers were based on letting strangers in on their so-called personal lives.” The threats intensify, including someone sneaking into Blake’s apartment to photograph him sleeping. Sunny ramps up her investigation, including some rather unpleasant talks with Boston mobsters.

Gaylin elevates Parker’s original Sunny by bringing a more contemporary depiction, capturing her sense of humor, confidence, insecurities, anxieties and bravery. Gaylin smoothly incorporates Parker’s Boston world — Sunny used to date Jesse Stone, her therapist is Susan Silverman (Spenser’s longtime girlfriend) and walks the same streets. She doesn’t run into Spenser but his world is there. But “Bad Influence” is fully Sunny’s story, as well as that of Rosie, her lovable miniature bull terrier who often accompanies her.

Welcome back, Sunny. We hope “Bad Influence” is just the beginning of the partnership of Sunny and Gaylin.

Oline H. Cogdill can be reached at olinecog@aol.com.