Deciding What's Best for Sunny: A Tale of Bonding in Two Families
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Fans of the Sunny Randall series will find Spare Change very satisfying in terms of Sunny finding her way through ambivalence about being with Richie. There's no resolution there . . . but definite progress does occur. You could easily rename this book, Sunny's Quest for Meaning, since the book is also so much about her feelings concerning her father, mother, sister, and her friend, Julie. Much like Spenser, she also takes detecting actions that help her define what's important to her as a professional.
If you haven't read any of the Sunny Randall books before, you may feel like you've been dropped into an alien universe of psychological perspectives at times. Rather than be puzzled and annoyed by this book, I suggest you go back to the beginning and start with Family Honor.
Mystery fans who like character development will find that aspect of Spare Change nicely balances a pretty standard, and not very productive, police investigation into a serial killer. The two strands of the story nicely intertwine in a number of ways that enhance the reading experience. The book has another appealing feature, Susan Silverman and long-time police characters from the Spenser series have small roles. More than some books in the series, you feel like Sunny lives in the same Boston that Spenser does.
As the book opens, Sunny's romantic life is a mess. Richie has gotten remarried and her relationship with Jesse Stone is over because he can't get over his ex-wife and Sunny can't get over Richie. But things look up when her beloved father, Phil Randall, asks her to help him catch a serial killer who leaves three coins after execution-style killings in public places. Much of Sunny's life has always been focused on pleasing her father and getting his attention, and she feels like she's in a warm limelight.
The killings seem to be connected to a series of earlier murders that followed the same MO that ceased 20 years earlier. Captain Phil Randall had been the lead investigator on those killings, and someone claiming to be the perp sent him regular, taunting notes during the investigation. Now Phil is back as a consultant, and the notes start again.
With few clues, the police find that they have to fall back on mass screening to find suspects. During interrogations of some of these suspects, one stands out as enjoying himself too much. Sunny takes over the interrogation and starts meeting with him in bars. She's convinced this suspect is the one and becomes a one-woman committee to find evidence to prove he's the guilty party. Along the way, she gets a lot of good advice from her father, the police, and even a bit of help from Susan Silverman. The investigation isn't all that interesting, but the mystery of "why" the killings are occurring will keep your attention.
After you finish enjoying the book, I suggest that you think about things in your life that you feel you have to do. What are the lessons you can learn about where you have compulsions to act? In addition, think about what's a good way to love someone. Spare Change will have provided you with much food for thought in both areas.
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