"HIGH PROFILE" by Robert B. Parker (A-)

In this latest Jesse Stone novel, the decidedly low profile police chief of Paradise does everything that he can to maintain his low profile after the bucolic nature of Paradise has been destroyed by the appearance of the body of a famous personality found hanging from a tree in the town park.

The apolitical Stone along with the rest of his small police department don't know who the individual was until the ID's come back from the state police. The victim turns out to be Walton Weeks, a nationally known columnist and radio talk show host. Thereafter a media circus ensues that only intensifies when the Governor sends his operative down to ensure that the case is quickly solved. It seems that the decedent was a vocal supporter of his upcoming reelection bid.

Rather than having a lot of enemies, everyone around Walton Weeks liked him and has nothing bad to say about him. Even his two former wives and a current wife all profess to love him in spite of his reputation for being a womanizer. What troubles Chief Stone, however, is that none of them express any real sorrow at his murder. And it was murder. Walton Weeks had been killed by three gunshot wounds from a .38, and the lack of blood at the site evidences that he had died somewhere else and had been lifted up to hang from the tree in order to make some sort of a statement.

The oddity of this display raises questions, but no answers are forthcoming. No one even knew that Walton Weeks was in Paradise, nor can anyone even figure out what connection he had to Paradise or any possible reason that this highly public figure might have had for going there.

The mystery deepens when a second body, this one of a young woman, is found in a dumpster behind Daisy's Restaurant. She is found to have been killed by the same gun, and an autopsy shows her to have been ten weeks pregnant with Walton's child. She turns out to have been Carey Longley, the long time personal assistant to Walton Weeks.

Now here might be a motive, especially for a jealous wife or ex-wife, but still there are no clues connecting this dual homicide to anyone. Everyone connected to Weeks seems to have an ironclad alibi, so Chief Stone has to wait for developments. In the meantime, he has to fend off both the media hordes and the obnoxious flack sent down from the governor.

Jesse has more problems on his plate. His ex-wife, Jenn, has moved out to Massachusetts to be near him, and now she works as a weather caster for a Boston television station. They both have an addictive relationship with each other. A former bit actress obsessed with her looks, she can't stay faithful, but he still remains the most important person in her life. For his part, Jesse still loves her in spite of her many flaws. They are bad for each other, but neither can let the other go.

It becomes a control issue, and now Jenn is pulling all of the strings, or maybe yanking Jesse's chain, by claiming to have been raped. She also claims that she is being stalked by the rapist. Jenn will not go to the police and file a police report, because, so she says, the publicity will be bad for her career. Maybe it will or maybe it won't, but it is surely a way to keep Jesse dancing to her tune.

This is the worst possible time for this to come up, but fortunately Jesse has the help of Sunny Randall (the star of several Robert B. Parker detective novels on her own) to watch after Jenn in his absence. Since Jesse is now romantically involved with Sunny, this is a strange setup at best.

The most enjoyable part of this novel is the respectful banter that Jesse has with his fellow police officers. Officer "Suitcase" Simpson idolizes his chief, but he is also ambitious. This is not a good thing in a small police department with a limited budget. "Suit" wants to attain the rank of detective in a department that doesn't have that position. Nevertheless, he keeps angling for the nonexistent job, and he thrills to act like a detective during the interviews with the people who had been involved with Walton Weeks.

Officer Molly Crane, the lone woman on the force, has a tenderly romantic but platonic relationship with Jesse even though she is happily married with kids of her own. They thoroughly understand and respect each other. Molly is smart enough to see through Jesse and understand his motivations. Jesse knows that she is aware of his faults, but appreciates the fact that she doesn't hold him to account for them. This allows for moments of tender affection and respect for each other.

This book is a breezy and pleasurable read and the pages fly by with their quick verbiage. The defects are all in the character of Jesse Stone, who besides being an alcoholic is an extraordinarily weak individual in that he is unable to deal with his relationships. The crassly manipulative Jenn plays him like a violin. He knows it and she knows it, and yet nothing ever comes of it.

There is a part of me that is becoming tired of this nonsense. I want to see him grow up, move on, and get a life. Even Molly tells him that Sunny Randall is perfect for him, but Sunny has relationship problems of her own. Wonderful. This is Parker's solution for keeping Stone available for romance, but never ready for commitment. I find the dialogue about these issues to be rather annoying, sort of like watching a dog chasing its tail. Nothing ever changes. 2007, G. Putnam's Sons, 290 pages.