For Spenser, that most unorthodox of private detectives, no case is ever straightforward and the theft of a 14th-century illuminated manuscript proves no exception. His investigation soon leads him into organized crime, dope-pushing, theft, radical politics, adultery and murder.
A hurricane hinders a kidnapping and Spenser goes on a search for the man responsible - the infamous Gray Man, who has both helped and hunted Spenser in the past. Heidi Bradshaw is wealthy, beautiful, and well connected - and she needs Spenser's help. In a most unlikely request, Heidi, a notorious gold digger recently separated from her latest husband, recruits the Boston P.I. to accompany her to her private island, Tashtego. The reason? To attend her daughter's wedding as a sort of stand-in husband and protector. Spenser consents, but only after it is established that his beloved Susan Silverman will also be in attendance.
When Nathan Smith, 51, is found in bed with a hole in his head it's hard not to imagine his young bride as the one with the finger on the trigger. Even her lawyer thinks she is guilty. But given that Mary Smith is entitled to the best defence she can afford - and thanks to Nathan's millions, she can afford plenty - Spenser is hired to investigate Mary's bona fides. Her alibi is flimsy - she claims she was watching TV in the other room when the murder occurred.
In Blue Screen Sunny Randall is hired by Buddy Bollen, a movie producer who lives in Jesse Stone's Paradise, to protect his main lay, Erin Flint, a B-movie actress. When Erin's sister is murdered, Erin asks Randall to investigate and this brings her in contact with Jesse Stone. The investigation involves the usual Robert B. Parker scene of the detective discussing the case with a local mobster, a close friend, and an intimate friend, shuffling to and back from another big city, discussions on the nature of human nature, and all the other Robert B. Parker stuff.
Boston PI Sunny Randall is the daughter Robert Parker's series hero Spenser and his inamorata, Susan Silverman, might have had if they weren't so busy parenting Pearl the Wonder Dog. Like Spenser, Sunny is smart, tough, and fearless; like Susan, she's sexy, droll, and vulnerable; and like Pearl, Sunny's pit bull, Rosie, is the only character who's wise enough to hide when trouble comes knocking at the door. In Shrink Rap, Sunny's working as a bodyguard for a famous romance writer who's being stalked by her ex-husband, a psychiatrist engaged in extremely unprofessional conduct with his female patients.
