Robert B. Parker, Blue Screen

Blue Screen

Robert B. Parker

Putnam, June 2006, $24.95

ISBN: 0399153519

Buddy Bollen has made a fortune producing movies that are notoriously known for their tastelessness; his work lands on the list of all time worst movies. However, his flicks also sell, as exploitation means ticket sales, which in turn means money.

To keep his latest investment safe for movie stardom and his bed, Buddy hires private investigator Sunny Randall to protect his girlfriend Erin Flint. Sunny learns early on that the nasty rising star will make her work difficult if not impossible. When Erin's sister Misty is found murdered in Bollen's extravagant home in Paradise, Massachusetts, Police Chief Jesse Stone searches the crime scene, but finds no clues. Immediately feeling an affinity through their work and a sexual attraction, Jesse and Sunny team up in more ways than one, but especially in search of a killer.

In her fifth appearance, Sunny is at her best working for a sleazy client who hires her to protect a sleaze. The storyline is character driven, though it has the Robert B. Parker trademark of action and more action. It is the support cast that drives Sunny nuts, as her ward makes it almost impossible to keep safe. The twist into a whodunit with Jesse, a terrific protagonist who brings out both the woman and the sleuth in Sunny, add to a fine tale, as the two heroes investigate Bollen's sleazy film empire filled with enemies willing to kill again.