Sweet Deal

Grisly murders, corruption, sex, love, madness and heroism all become strangely humdrum in this lackluster police thriller. After years of cushy public relations duty, officer Jack Mills wants to earn some respect as a homicide detective. A handsome, 36-year-old divorced ex-lacrosse star who is both promiscuous and selfish, Mills strives to reform himself as he investigates the murders of two corrupt fellow cops in Nassau County, Long Island. Mills runs the investigation with Claire Williamson, a tough, sexy Suffolk County detective from a family of cops. Together they search out the connections between the victims, Artie Backman and Richard ``Dicktop'' Mazzarella, two widely despised police captains. Westerman ( Exit Wounds ) initially succeeds in making his protagonist credible, but his evolution is less convincing: Mills breaks his handsome nose, falls in love with Claire and ends up a decorated hero. The novel's other cops are just so many catchy nicknames, difficult to differentiate among from one chapter to the next. Ultimately the caper itself is unsatisfying, its resolution leaving many questions but little desire to dig for the answers. (Feb.)