A Rage in Paradise

Mass market sleuth Willy Hanson flubs his hardcover debut in this thriller about a rare coin called the AMERI, a ketch named Tashtego and the untold dangers of life in suburban New Jersey. Hanson, who ""retired early from a career in publishing to write, sail, and play amateur detective on occasion,"" is stiff as a side of beef, thanks to clumsy dialogue: ""My word! It's an AMERI, and in magnificent condition, it appears."" Character development is weak, too: the heavies, despite their cute names (Bocco, Elvis, Crackers), are as tedious as the good guys. An absorbing plot might have helped, but this one would have been rejected by almost every other Elmore Leonard-wannabe. Wealthy New Jersey coin collector Cliff Blaylock shoots and kills a masked burglar, who turns out to be a neighbor's son; the other thief gets away with some gold coins and a 1793 American penny worth $78,000. As luck would have it, Hanson and Ginny, his ""soul mate of six years,"" arrive at Blaylock's on their ketch for a visit--just in time to get involved. Any number of confusing pages later, you'll wish they'd taken a wrong tack and sailed for Hawaii. (June)