A blazingly original new novel from the undisputed dean of American crime fiction, featuring a sharp, tough, sexy new P.I., Sunny Randall.Sunny Randall is a Boston P.I. and former cop, a college graduate, an aspiring painter, a divorcee, and the owner of a miniature bullterrier named Rosie. Hired by a wealthy family to locate their teenage daughter, Sunny is tested by the parents’ preconceived notion of what a detective should be. With the help of underworld contacts she tracks down the runaway Millicent, who has turned to prostitution, rescues her from her pimp, and finds herself, at thirty-four, the unlikely custodian of a difficult teenager when the girl refuses to return to her family.But Millicent’s problems are rooted in much larger crimes than running away, and Sunny, now playing the role of bodyguard, is caught in a shooting war with some very serious mobsters. She turns for help to her ex-husband, Richie, himself the son of a mob family, and to her dearest friend, Spike, a flamboyant and dangerous gay man. Heading this unlikely alliance, Sunny must solve at least one murder, resolve a criminal conspiracy that reaches to the top of state government, and bring Millicent back into functional young womanhood.

Boston P.I. Sunny Randall — as conflicted as she is beautiful — helps a troubled young woman locate her birth parents, only to uncover some dark truths of her own.My ex-husband was getting married to a woman I wanted to kill. I didn’t actually know her, and killing her would only make matters worse. But I got as much pleasure out of the idea as I could before I had to let go of it.And so begins Melancholy Baby, the fourth novel in the bestselling series featuring Sunny Randall, who now faces the unthinkable: the marriage of her ex-husband, Richie, to someone else. Despite the formality of divorce, Sunny and Richie’s relationship continued, in its own headstrong way, until his desire for marriage overtook her need for freedom. Now Sunny must try to pull herself together and move on — or around — these emotional roadblocks. When college student Sarah Markham comes asking for help in finding her birth parents, Sunny realizes she must take the case, if only to distract herself from her personal life. Sarah has long felt something was not quite right about her family, and though her father was loving, her relationship with her mother has been chilly at best. Sunny’s initial inquiries have some alarming consequences.The P.I.’s life and work have a curious — and dangerous — way of intersecting: before the investigation has a chance to really take off, two key players are dead, and Sunny is back on a psychiatrist’s couch, probing her own past for clues. What she discovers has the potential to shatter Sarah Markham’s family and destroy her sense of self, while Sunny’s own beliefs are put to the ultimate test.Emotionally complex and rich with insight, Melancholy Baby is the Grand Master at his storytelling best.