PAYBACK is the ninth installment in the late Robert B. Parker’s Sunny Randall series and the third to be written by veteran newspaper scribe and author Mike Lupica. It finds Lupica hewing a bit closer to his own style and away from Parker’s while still including the latter’s stylistic touches. He also quite impressively continues to incorporate Jesse Stone, another Parker character, into Sunny’s storyline with an enviable finesse. This makes him something more than a shoehorned cameo player while keeping him from taking over Sunny’s story. It’s a neat line to walk, and Lupica does it well.

"PAYBACK is a quick and satisfying read... Some guest appearances from Parker’s cast of Boston inhabitants on both sides of the law are most welcome..."

The novel takes place at a point just after the end of the pandemic. Sunny’s good friend, Spike, has suffered, as have many tavern owners, and is eager to get back to full business. Spike is shocked to learn that Alex Drysdale, a high-powered hedge fund manager who patronizes the bar and who he had considered a friend, has deeply betrayed him. Drysdale lent Spike a significant amount of money to keep his business open, but their repayment agreement effectively made Drysdale the new owner. Spike goes to Sunny for help, which she is more than willing to give because of their friendship and her personal sense of debt to him. It does not take a great deal of investigation to learn that Drysdale is involved with some high-powered and nasty associates bent on turning Boston into a base of operations.

At the same time, Sunny is asked by Lee Farrell, her contact in the Boston Police Department, to quietly assist him with a delicate matter concerning his niece, a college student named Emily Barnes. Emily had been the victim of what appears to be a random assault that could be something more. What is suspicious to Farrell is that she was only cooperative up to a point with the police. Emily tells Sunny to butt out in no uncertain terms, which of course makes the PI all the more determined to find out what is going on. She also is warned against assisting Spike with his Drysdale matter by a quietly dangerous character whose criminal connections are expansive.

Ritchie, Sunny’s ex-husband, is willing to help by using his own criminal connections, as is Stone and Sunny’s own father, whose law enforcement skill set is ingrained in him. Sunny needs all the help she can get when Emily’s matter suddenly intersects with Spike’s difficulties, and the body count starts to rise in surprising ways.

PAYBACK is a quick and satisfying read, even if the plot gets unnecessarily complicated at times. Some guest appearances from Parker’s cast of Boston inhabitants on both sides of the law are most welcome, as is the news that Lupica will be taking over writing the Jesse Stone series.