«Family Honor» by Robert Parker

The first Sunny Randall mystery
Her name is Sunny Randall, a Boston P.I. and former cop, a college graduate, an aspiring painter, a divorcee, and the owner of a miniature bull terrier 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.
'Nobody does it better than Parker' — Sunday Times
'Parker can spin a tale with the best of them — most of the time, he is the best of them' — New York Times
Look out for the rest of the Sunny Randall mysteries: Family Honour, Perish Twice, Shrink Rap, Melancholy Baby, Blue Screen and Spare Change, plus two brand new additions to the series by Mike Lupica, Robert B. Parker's Blood Feud and Robert B. Parker's Grudge Match
Finished all the Sunny Randall mysteries? Search for the Spenser series and the Jesse Stone series to meet Robert B. Parker's other iconic detectives!