Parker's Spenser Turns To Stone

Trouble in Paradise by Robert B. Parker

Readers might expect that authors who write science fiction or fantasy live outlandish lives or pursue dreams that make Howard Hughes appear as a bastion of middle class stability. Spider Robinson, disciple of Heinlein and Ben Bova, dismisses the notion in his short story, Melancholy Elephants, when his protagonist defines the development of both genres as ".a small group of writers, desperate for something new to write about, for a new story to tell." after the mainstream abandoned the Novel of Ideas post-Henry James and the Novel of Character a century later.

But, lordy, those detective boys sure live in interesting times.

Chief among the detective storywriters with what one might politely term eccentricities is Edgar Allen Poe, the troubled soul who brought The Raven and suspenseful stories to light. Poe is widely credited with creating the modern detective story. Cramming decades more of life into his forty corporeal years, Poe battled alcoholism and the societal mores he violated upon marrying his thirteen year old cousin.

The father of Bogie's Sam Spade and perhaps the twentieth century's top detective storyteller, Dashiell Hammett, died penniless in New York in 1961. Hammett's writing chops were never questioned, but he was swept up in McCarthyism run rampant in the 1950s, and as a Communist party member for more than a decade, made a perfect target for the witch hunts that plagued America's artistic community.

Robert B. Parker is the literary descendant of Hammett and the relatively staid Raymond Chandler, but Parker's lifestyle is also a frequent topic of fan and critical discussion. Looking in his sixties as if he could crush a beer car against his forehead like a real life Senator Blutarski and seemingly having fun while doing so, Parker lives with his wife, Joan, in a huge Boston home with separate apartments for each. The unique living arrangements are not for a marriage of convenience in the traditional sense, but rather, as both are quick to state, because their quarters allow them to accent their strengths as a team while eliminating the areas ripe for potential conflict. The couple raised two children, both gay, and has become very involved in equality issues. Joan Parker is also a breast cancer survivor whose experiences were chronicled in a book the couple authored together.

While Parker's Spenser hero is the focus of many novels, a television series and several made-for-television movies, the author continues branching out. The Raymond Chandler estate selected Parker to finish Chandler's last novel, a collaboration that led to critical acclaim. Parker also wrote a novel based on several generations of an Irish family set in Ireland and America which reads like a miniseries awaiting pre-production planning. But the detective genre is the area in which Parker excels, which brings us to Trouble In Paradise, the second story he wrote with new hero, small town police chief Jesse Stone.

I Know Spenser, Chief Stone, And You, Sir, Are No Spenser

Critics of the Spenser novels complain that Parker began using the series as a means of cathartic self-indulgence sometime around the period in which his own life began experiencing difficulties. A two-year marital separation led to the introduction of Spenser's girlfriend Susan Silverman. Shortly thereafter, Spenser acquired a surrogate son, whose characteristics on the surface appeared to be a composite of his own children. Critics also slammed the prolific author for shifting the mix of dialogue-laden action and expository writing. Spenser indeed has become a truly introspective Renaissance man, and with his psychologist lover, one who examines each action in minute detail in a never-ending quest to determine why things are.

That trend continues with Police Chief Stone, an alcoholic who carefully rations his intake with the rationalization of someone fighting for control while still unwilling to do more than pay lip service acknowledgement of his problem. Stone, like Spenser, is a Boston area investigator who is not above bending the law to benefit society when no one is looking. The two also share Captain Kirk Syndrome in which every significant female character is elevated (or lowered, depending upon one's point of view) to The Strong Woman Standing By Her Man or The Conquest. Stone and Spenser share a gift of bedding all who cross their paths with a combination of square jaw, righteous justice and a never-ending series of witty remarks.

Beyond the obvious geographical connections, and who can blame a successful series author for wanting to expand their fictional universe, Stone and Spenser share a number of attributes. Readers may come away from this story with the notion that Stone is an outgrowth of Spenser's weaker side, that element when Parker began cloaking every action in a series of psychological exploration. This, in the end, is what weighs Stone's character down. Parker imbues him with the athleticism and avenging spirit shared by many of his heroes so readers quick to dismiss Stone are surprised when the Chief administers justice by firing off a few rounds at a bad guy.

The Plot In Exactly One Hundred Words

Jimmy Macklin is a career criminal with a loyal girlfriend and a plan. Shortly after his release from prison, Macklin recruits a rogue's gallery of other criminals and plans an ambitious assault on Stiles Island, an ultra-wealthy community connected to the town or Paradise. The story switches between Macklin and Chief Stone as each battles his demons and prepares for life-altering events simultaneously converging in Paradise. Stone is haunted by his drinking problem and the reappearance of his ex-wife, from whom he never emotionally separated. The novel naturally culminates in the caper and the aftermath that pits hero against villain.

What Works Well

Stone's dialogue, especially with members of his small police force, recalls the zip of scenes in early Spenser novels. Parker has repeatedly said in interviews that he began writing Stone and his latest series, Sunny Randall, because he wanted to write in third person. The shift does not detract from Parker's lovely way with dialogue.

Third person also allows Parker to write from Jimmy Macklin's perspective, and these scenes are among the book's best. Parker deftly delves into Macklin's motivation and comes up with a character who at once is reprehensible and sympathetic. That is a tall order for an author who used to order his villains from central casting.

What Doesn't Work As Well

Parker continues sliding into the molasses-like trap of imbuing each character with the gift of narrative introspection. Annoying when it occurs in the Spenser series, the trait bogs down this Stone story. And while no reader should ever confuse genre for classical literature and the formulas should always remain more or less intact, Parker is locked into several predictable plots that continue to be recycled in his stories.

The Bottom Line, Dog Earred Pages and All

Betcha can't read just one. Those who started down the Spenser path with Parker all those years ago will find this Stone story pleasant enough to read. Others will want to start with Spenser, or better, one of the classic Chandler or Hammett stories written decades ago. Trouble in Paradise stands well on its own and does not require the reader be intimate with the series, but the book is simply not Parker's best nor his latest. Start with his early Spenser story, The Godwulf Manuscript and work forward if you are interested in Parker's updating of the genre.

--G. Bounacos