Sunny is back... Blood Feud a solid resurrection of the Sunny Randall series

$13.99 Kindle Edition

Sunny is back. As a longtime devoted fan of Robert B. Parker, the dean of American crime fiction, I was devastated when he passed away in 2010. I felt mixed emotions when the estate decided to continue Robert B. Parker's characters and series by turning them over to other authors. While I mourned the loss of Spenser especially, I found myself in agreement with John D. MacDonald's son Maynard when he explained why he refused offers to continue his father's popular and influential Travis McGee series. “It is because I have never seen a really good imitation, be it art, literature, or music, that carries that poignant echo of the original artist.”

Parker not only revived the private detective novel, but he also revolutionized it by bringing to the genre a literary-like quality that made it respectable. It's quite difficult to imagine another author ever filling those big shoes by giving us fanatical Parker fans a novel that reads anywhere close to those penned by Spenser’s late creator.

Yet, I've been pleasantly surprised to see how well Ace Atkins and Reed Farrel Coleman have done with the Spenser novels and Jesse Stone series respectively. Neither author is Robert B. Parker, but both are excellent writers and do a credible job with the series each has continued. It was for that reason I was keen to see how Mike Lupica would do with the Sunny Randall series when I learned the estate had tapped him to continue it.

I was counting the days until the release of Blood Feud when I had the good fortune of being offered a complimentary ARC to review by the publisher which I happily accepted. Like Atkins and Coleman, Mike Lucia is not Robert B. Parker, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading his first Sunny Randall novel. Sunny along with all the other principal supporting characters seemed the same as I'd remembered them. Also, the case that provided the basis for the story was one which I could easily imagine Sunny pursuing.

Lupica didn't disappoint. For the most part, his writing is tight and exciting, and he kept me turning the pages. I'll be looking forward to his next Sunny Randall novel as Blood Feud was a worthwhile and entertaining read.

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Blood Feud, slated for release November 27, 2018, is available for preorder on Amazon. While I give the book a four out of five stars rating, I'm  a little surprised the publisher has set the eBook cover price at $13.99. The most recent Spenser book by Ace Atkins is priced at $12.99 and the most recent Jesse Stone book by Reed Farrel Coleman is priced at $9.99. I'd think both of those authors are more well known than Lupica and should command higher cover prices. I might wait until used print editions of this one are available before snagging one, or until the publishers relent and lower the eBook price to a more reasonable one once the early sales figures come in after the launch.