It is both a blessing and a curse to be typecast. You work to establish an identity and, if you're part of the lucky one percent that catches the public eye, you work like crazy to establish an identity that people look for, seek out, want. That's the blessing part. The "curse" part comes when you want to try something new. Your hard-core fans will seek out whatever you do, but more often than not, your new, or different, work passes under the radar of public perception.

In the case of Robert Parker, he has hit the mark --- and then some --- with his Spenser novels. Slap Robert Parker on the spine and "A Spenser Novel" across the cover and you've got all the pub you need. I'm sure he's not complaining. He worked for years to get to that point and now he's there. Great. Except...create a new character and it's almost like starting over again.

Such is Parker's blessing and curse with Jesse Stone. Parker's third Jesse Stone novel, DEATH IN PARADISE, is in danger of missing a lot of scanners, and this is quite unfortunate; Stone is one of mystery literature's most interesting new protagonists.

Stone is a former L. A. cop whose alcoholism resulted in the loss of two of the elements in his life most important to him: his job and his marriage. He has gotten a second shot at both. He is the police chief of a small east coast town called Paradise, and his ex-wife lives nearby, which permits them to maintain a relationship of sorts, one they are both still coming to grips with. Stone continues to do battle with alcohol, abusing it frequently, dancing on the edge of the abyss. It is against this backdrop that DEATH IN PARADISE begins, with Stone being present when a decomposed body is discovered in a lake.

It quickly becomes obvious that this is not a case of death by drowning; the deceased was shot and dumped. The investigation proceeds slowly. It develops that the deceased is a young woman whose engine idle was stuck on "high" and whose own parents had disowned her. Stone is not supernaturally gifted in the detection department but is experienced with murder investigation, which makes him a standout in a police force that is used to dealing with far more mundane matters. At the same time, Stone possesses elements of doggedness and perseverance that make up for whatever other qualities he may lack. His investigation leads him to a shady underworld figure in Boston before taking an improbable left turn. There is, it turns out, more than one tragic victim here. Stone is ultimately able to see that justice is done, though not all of it is administered in a courtroom.

Those who are somewhat put off by Spenser's good-natured but consistent self-assuredness would be well-advised to check out Parker's Jesse Stone novels. Stone's vulnerabilities are out there; his problems with alcohol, both primary and secondary, are not resolved by the close of DEATH IN PARADISE. Stone, though presently overshadowed by Spenser in Parker's universe, is an extremely interesting character who deserves more exposure and certainly more acclaim. If Parker continues to follow his present schedule --- an annual Parker novel with an alternating Sunny Randall and Jesse Stone novel on a yearly basis --- he may soon find that, as far as Stone is concerned, an appearance once every two years is not enough.

   --- Reviewed by Joe Harlaub

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