High Profile

I claim to prefer mysteries where the detective's personal life does not intrude upon the story or at least doesn't get in the way much -- ten people are in a mansion on the moors, one gets poisoned, and Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot sort out the clues and pronounce who the murderer is. Nice and clean. So, I shouldn't like Robert B. Parker's recent novel High Profile, in which characters Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall -- from two of Parker's mystery series -- not only have a messy relationship between themselves, they each have a messy, unresolved and all-consuming relationship with their former spouses. But this is a Robert B. Parker novel and I haven't come across any of his books I haven't enjoyed for one reason or another.

This one has two nifty plot lines. A famous talk show host and his girlfriend are found murdered in Paradise, Massachusetts, where Jesse Stone is chief of police. In the midst of trying to solve these killings, Jesse's ex-wife Jenn shows up and claims to have been raped. Who does Jesse get to guard Jenn and look into the rape claim? Of course, he gets Sonny Randall, with whom he has recently had a relationship.

Parker's world seems to be getting smaller and smaller. Not only has Parker started to weave the main characters from two separate mystery series, Spenser, the main character in a third series looms off stage while his girlfriend Susan Silverman acts as Sonny Randall's psychiatrist. There are a number of other characters that all three series share. One sometimes has the feeling that all of these people may show up in a future book, interact with each other, and spark a nuclear reaction that will cause Boston and the surrounding towns to all disappear from the earth.

As with Parker's other books, High Profile has crisp and often witty dialog, especially when Jesse is speaking with two of his department subordinates, Molly Crane and Suitcase Simpson, who both deserve awards for their supporting roles in the series.

Parker's many fans are sure to enjoy this book. Newcomers to these mysteries can jump in here and work their way back to the beginning.