Death in Paradise

Robert B. Parker

At the softball field one night, one of the players finds a body floating at the edge of the lake. He called over one of the other players, the sherriff in Paradise. Now Jesse Stone is on a quest to discover who the teen age girl was and who killed her. He also begins another quest - to cut down or quit drinking.

He has one clue on the body as to its identity - a man's high school class ring from a neighboring city. The ring doesn't have any inscription. He can only hope there is a way to track it down. He starts with the principal from the high school. She gives him some information and names that may be useful. She offers to help in any way she can.

The more he digs into the case, the more confused he gets. He discovers who she was. She had problems, but why would someone want to kill her?

In the meantime, Jesse is living with his personal demons as well. He realizes he's an alcoholic. But does he want to deal with it? Jen, his ex-wife, is still the most important person in his life. The alcoholism could alienate her and lose him his job. Yet he knows he needs his alcohol.

This books never quite gets itself together. It flows, and the mystery is a good puzzle. Jesse's demons are very realistic. But the book is too short. It is shallow when there are depths that could be plumbed. It seems Parker is more interested in getting his books out these days rather than getting a strong story together. He can do it, but he didn't do it in Death in Paradise.

Night Passage
Trouble in Paradise
Death in Paradise
Stone Cold
Sea Change
Blue Screen
High Profile
Stranger in Paradise
Night and Day
Split Image