Rating: 
Summary: Very Enjoyable Reading
Review: It is a little bit of a leap from Spencer to a female detective but it is a nice leap. Parker has developed both a character worth knowing (along with her divorced but still friendly ex-husband, her dog, her slightly neurotic sister, and the rest of the extended family) and another plot worth reading about. His specialty is just enough action to keep you moving while offering enough observations about life and people to keep you thinking. In some ways Parker does for Boston what Lew Archer did for Southern California a generation ago. If you like relaxing and learning Parker is your man and Perish twice is a nice addition to the genre.
Rating:
Summary: Not a bad sequel
Review: After reading many of the earlier reviews, I have come to believe that those who do not like this book either (a) don't like the Sunny Randall character and/or (b) just don't like Robert B. Parker's writing style. I, on the other hand, like both. I am particularly impressed by the author's ability to portray female characters without making them all helpless, vacuous, or just "men in pants." This book is chock-full of female characters with totally different personalities. As for the plot, this is a complex detective story which starts when an outspoken avowed lesbian feminist hires Sunny because she believes she is being stalked. Two murders later, Sunny uncovers a series of interesting and ultimately related characters who have weaved the classic "tangled web." As she proceeds with her investigation, Sunny also counsels her insipid sister and emotionally-wrought best-friend. While some might think that these side-stories do not belong in a detective novel, I found that these characters added to the development of Sunny's character -- maybe it is because I am a woman. This is a very quick read which will keep you guessing pretty much until the end.
Rating:
Summary: mostly classic Parker, poor ending
Review: It's hard not to draw comparisons between Sunny Randall and Spencer: set in Boston, populated with State Street lawyers, Cambridge shrinks, and Tony Marcus and his merry band of thugs. Sunny Randall's world view and dialogue are pure Spencer. Of course, the Spencer novels have always (well, with a couple of exceptions) been fun reads and so is Sunny Randall. The story moves briskly, and the answers to the mystery hang together pretty well. The ending, however, really deserves some protest. It just ends. Sunny learns whodunnit, and the curtain drops. There's no wrap up, no letting the reader in on what she's going to do with her knowledge (options -- go to the police, continue searching for evidence to prove what she now knows happened, decide to let it go, set up the perpetrator to get caught . . . ). None of these things happen. I can only assume that the loose ends will be picked up in a future Randall outing, but it almost reads like Parker hit his deadline and banged out the last five pages so he would make it. Until the home stretch, though, this is a fun read.
Rating: 
Summary: Possibly one of the worst books I have ever read
Review: Sunny Randall and her cohorts embody all the annoying aspects of Spenser without any of his more redeeming features. Every character in this book is a pale (and often less likeable) imitation of a series regular in the Spenser novels. Unfortunately there is no Hawk-like character in Sunny's universe, which might have made it marginally more interesting, but I suspect that any variation of Hawk would have expired from embarrassment or boredom long before the novel's end. Characters aside, Perish Twice also includes the self-analyzing psychobabble, terse and often unintentionally funny dialog, and offhand references to local food and w(h)ine that have made reading Parker's recent novels more of a chore than a delight. But it is missing any semblance of a compelling, or for that matter, comprehensible, plot. The book ends so abruptly and the case concluded so maladroitly, it almost feels like the conclusion has been lifted out of the Cliff notes for some longer version of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Not Spenser, But Still Good
Review: I wish Parker would spend his time writing Spenser Novels. But, hey any Parker book is better then no book at all. The first book in this series reads way to close to Spenser in a blond wig. With this one he truly created a new character. Sunny goods, but Spenser better. Got my wife to read this one and she also like it. And yea I'll read the next Sunny book when it comes out. Yea, I am hooked.
Rating: 
Summary: Rehashing old hash
Review: After delighting in "Family Honor", I was expecting great things from PI Sunny Randall's second outing. I was bitterly disappointed to find what amounts to little more than a contemporary rewrite of "Looking for Rachel Wallace" solved by a female incarnation of Spenser. The plot is so banal that when I finished, all I could think was "Geez, who cares?" The rest is fillers of psychobabble, neuroses, and non-believable relationship problems. Shoot, the sanest and most believable character was the dog. Maybe Parker should ditch Sunny and let the dog solve the next case.
Rating:
Summary: Sunny rules
Review: I love reading about Sunny, her sister, Elizabeth, and friend Julie and their escapades. Spike and Richie add spice to the mix. I've loved both Sunny books - couldn't wait for Perish Twice to reach publication. It definitely was not a disappointment--a great read with characters I want to read about again and again. If you want a fun book that you can't put down, grab this, a cup of something hot to drink, and settle in for a great time. It's perfect for the beach or a blustery evening! I can't wait for the next book!
Rating: 
Summary: PERISH TWICE - Does not suffice
Review: Boston private eye Sunny Randall is protecting three women in her life: her uppity high-brow sister who has husband problems; a therapist friend who needs some couch time of her own; and a feminist client who thinks she is being stalked. And in between these quirky episodes, Sunny finds the time to hang out with her ex-husband, as well as her gay friend and restaurateur, Spike, who sometimes doubles as her PI sidekick (much like monosyllabic muscleman Hawk in the ROBERT PARKER Spenser novels.) Things take a turn for the worse when the client's co-worker is murdered, and Sunny's snooping services are abruptly terminated as well. With or without a paying client, Sunny continues to follow a trail of murder, prostitution, and organized crime to solve the whodunit. And in the end, the problems plaguing all three women get some form of poetic closure. PERISH TWICE is the second Sunny Randall novel, which followed the great debut of the series premiere, HUGGER MUGGER. HUGGER MUGGER is hilarious and clever; and the characters are often caricatures of themselves. PERISH TWICE does not sustain what are the strengths of the first Sunny Randall novel. Let's hope that the third installment in this neat new series will be a charm.
Rating:
Summary: Perish the Thought (of reading this book)
Review: Sunny Randall, a Boston P.I. (like her Parker stablemate Spenser), is a smart-alecky streetwise ex-cop. Hired to provide security for a lesbian activist, Sunny quickly finds herself involved with a prostitution ring, Boston's Irish mob, and multiple murders. One gets the feeling Parker intended for his sleuth to be charming, but her character misses the mark. There is too much changing of POV, and way too much non-essential filler stuff--and not nearly enough mystery or action. Pass on this one.
Rating:
Summary: Perish Twice perishes
Review: I regret writing this; I'm a great fan of Parker's and have everything he's written. The first Sunny Randall book was great; a nice transition to a woman protagonist, as good as John Sanford's, for instance. In Perish Twice Parker, and his publishers, are trying to cater to what they think is the female market. The result is a mish-mash with nearly no plot. The dialogue might have saved the book, but now almost everyone is cracking wise. Add to this that the dialogue takes up a LOT of the space and the book is therefore barely book length, and the cost of the hardbound adds insult to injury. Too bad; another good writer scuttled for marketing purposes.
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