Bent Grasses: An Inspector ""Jacko"" Jackson Mystery

A third outing for Inspector ``Jacko'' Jackson brings him up against a femme fatale and a possible traitor in the ranks. IRA gunman William Roberts, who saved himself by trading information, was given a new identity and livelihood-as Michael Hegan, he ran a pub in the English town of New York. He also captured the heart of blonde and rather promiscuous Maureen Beckby, who has recently slept with a cop or two and whose full-time lover is a social worker. Hegan, caught committing a suspiciously easy armed robbery, continues to draw heat in jail when a young prisoner, perhaps mistaken for Hegan, is murdered. Jacko's team investigating the prisoner's death includes one of Maureen's lovers, two other bobbies suspected of being bent and a woman prison officer who is interested in one of Maureen's men. Neither Hegan's duplicity nor Maureen's sensuality is adequately convincing in this series entry that crams too much coincidence and too many suspects into its brief narrative scope. Palmer's incisive characterization, especially of Jacko, remains, but this is a thin tale, especially following the chilling and intricate Unfit to Plead. (Jan.)