As in other Leonard novels, assorted grotesques abound in Maximum Bob, among them: the extended Crowe family of petty and not so petty criminals; alcoholic dermatologist Dr.

Tommy Vasco, whose Community Control anklet restricts him to his oceanfront mansion; and Leanne Gibbs, the Palm Beach County judge's wife, a former underwater dancing mermaid and a spiritualist with a dual personality, her second half a twelve-year-old 1850s slave who sounds like Butterfly McQueen in Gone with the Wind.

The major character, however, is thoroughly normal. Miami born Kathy Diaz Baker, a Palm Beach County probation officer who narrates most of the novel, is twenty-seven years old and has been on the job for two years. Two of her brothers are cops, and her father was a Miami policeman until he was shot and had to retire on disability.

Says Judge Gibbs: "I'd call that a law enforcement family." She...