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Executive Times |
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2007 Book Reviews |
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High
Profile by Robert B. Parker |
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Rating: |
*** |
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(Recommended) |
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Click on
title or picture to buy from amazon.com |
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Obsessed Robert B.
Parker reprises both Paradise Police Chief Jesse Stone and P.I. Sunny Randall
in his latest novel, High
Profile. When a political talk show star is found dead, the media descend
on Jesse was in the squad room
with Molly Crane, Suitcase Simpson, and Peter Perkins. They were
drinking coffee. “State lab has him,” Peter
Perkins said. “They’ll fingerprint the body and run the prints. They haven’t
autopsied him yet, but I’ll bet they find he died of gunshot. I didn’t see
any exit wounds, so I’m betting they find the slugs in there when they open
him up.” “Had to have happened last
night,” Suitcase said. “I mean, people are in that park all the time. He
couldn’t have hung there long without being spotted.” Jesse
nodded and glanced at Peter Perkins. “I haven’t seen all that many dead
bodies,” Perkins said. “And very few who were hanged from a
tree. But this guy looks like he’s been dead longer than that.” Jesse
nodded. “And.. .” Peter Perkins glanced at Molly. “And
he smells,” Molly said. “I noticed it, too.” Jesse nodded. “And
there was no blood except on him. He got shot and hanged, he’d have bled
out and there’d be blood on the ground,”
Suitcase said. “So,”
Jesse said. “He was shot somewhere else and kept awhile before they brought
him up to the hill and hanged
him.” “You think it’s more than one?” Molly
said. “A
two-hundred-pound corpse is hard for one person to manhandle around and
hoist over a limb,” Jesse said. “But not impossible,”
Molly said. “No,” Jesse said. They
all sat quietly. “Anyone reported
missing?” Jesse said. “No,” Molly said. “Anyone else know anything?” “Nobody I talked with,” Suitcase said. Molly Crane and Peter Perkins both shook their heads. “Even
if you knew the guy,” Simpson said, “be kind of hard to recognize him now.” “Anyone want to
speculate why you’d shoot some guy,” Jesse said, “hold his body until it
started to ripen, and then hang it on a tree?” “Symbolic,” Molly
said. “It must have some sort of symbolic meaning to the perps.” Jesse waited. “Obviously they wanted
him found,” Suitcase said. “But why hanging?”
Peter Perkins said. Suitcase shook his
head. Jesse looked at Molly. She shook her head. “Perk,” Jesse said.
“Any theories?” Perkins shook his
head. “Okay,” Jesse said.
“It looks like, for now, we wait for the forensics report.” “Unless something
turns up,” Suitcase said. “Unless
that,” Jesse said. Parker uses
dialogue and the reliance on well-developed characters to make his novels
satisfying for readers. In High
Profile, he does it again. Steve Hopkins,
March 23, 2007 |
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The recommendation rating for
this book appeared in the April 2007
issue of Executive Times URL for this review: http://www.hopkinsandcompany.com/Books/High
Profile.htm For Reprint Permission,
Contact: Hopkins & Company, LLC • E-mail: books@hopkinsandcompany.com |
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