Last year, New York Times bestselling author Mike Lupica joined Ace Atkins, Reed Farrel Coleman, and Robert Knox—writers who’ve taken over different series for Robert B. Parker’s estate, continuing the late author’s beloved characters.
While Atkins has successfully helmed the Spenser books, Coleman the Jessee Stone series, and Knox the Cole and Hitch westerns, Lupica was brought on to bring back Parker’s fan-favorite Sunny Randall, a Boston-based private eye who is as beautiful as she is smart, who first appeared in the 1999 novel Family Honor.
Randall, Parker’s only female protagionist, was the target of an aggressive social media campaign launched by fans, who in recent years voiced their desire to see the series resurrected. That finally happened in 2018—ten years after Parker’s last Sunny book—when Lupica’s Robert B. Parker’s Blood Feud hit bookstores. Following its publication, Lupica, a longtime friend of Parker, was widely praised for the authentic feel to his novel, with many critics (including this one) pointing out that his writing style is much closer to Parker’s than Atkins, Coleman, or Knox.
Now, Lupica is set to release his second contribution to the series, Robert B. Parker’s Grudge Match, the eighth book overall, on May 5, 2020.
Speaking about Grudge Match way back in November of last year, Lupica told me in an exclusive interview that “I’m not spoiling anything—it happens on Page 1—by telling readers that Richie’s ex-wife is back. And she brings a world of troubles with her, and not just for Richie. Let’s just say,” Lupica continued, “it’s not going to be one big happy family.”
Check out the official cover art and plot details below.
Robert B. Parker’s beloved PI Sunny Randall returns on a case that blurs the line between friend and foe…and if Sunny can’t tell the difference, the consequences may be deadly.
When Sunny’s long-time gangster associate Tony Marcus comes to her for help, Sunny is surprised—after all, she double-crossed him on a recent deal, and their relationship is on shakier ground than ever. But the way Tony figures it, Sunny owes him, and Sunny’s willing to consider his case if it will clear the slate.
Tony’s trusted girlfriend and business partner has vanished, appears to have left in a hurry, and he has no idea why. He just wants to talk to her, he says, but first he needs Sunny to track her down. While Sunny isn’t willing to trust his good intentions, the missing woman intrigues her–against all odds, she’s risen to a position of power in Tony’s criminal enterprise. Sunny can’t help but admire her, and if this woman’s in a jam, Sunny would like to help.
But when a witness is murdered hours after speaking to Sunny, it’s clear there’s more at stake than just Tony’s love life. Someone–maybe even Tony himself—doesn’t want this woman on the loose . . . and will go to any lengths to make sure she stays silent.
Robert B. Parker was the author of seventy books, including the legendary Spenser detective series, the novels featuring police chief Jesse Stone, and the acclaimed Virgil Cole-Everett Hitch westerns, as well as the Sunny Randall novels. Winner of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award and long considered the undisputed dean of American crime fiction, he died in January 2010.
Mike Lupica is a prominent sports journalist and the New York Times-bestselling author of more than forty works of fiction and non-fiction.
Fans excited to get their hands on Robert B. Parker’s Grudge Match can now pre-order the latest Sunny Randall novel here, or anywhere else books are sold.
Praised as “One of the hardest working, most thoughtful, and fairest reviewers out there” by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline, Ryan Steck has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). Steck also works full-time as a freelance editor and pens a monthly thriller column for CrimeReads. For more information, be sure to follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He currently lives in Southwest Michigan with his wife and their six children.