THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT  
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, May 12, 1996                   TAG: 9605130181
SECTION: COMMENTARY               PAGE: J3   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Book Review
SOURCE: BY GREGORY N. KROLCZYK 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   43 lines

KING'S LATEST INSTALLMENT MOSTLY JUST HINTS AT THINGS TO COME

THE GREEN MILE

STEPHEN KING

Part 2: The Mouse on the Mile

Signet. 92 pp. $2.95 paper.

The Mouse on the Mile is part two of Stephen King's latest venture: a six-part paperback novel-on-the-installment-plan called The Green Mile. Set in 1932, The Green Mile refers to the lime-green linoleum tile that covers the corridor of E Block, death row in the state penitentiary of a southern town called Cold Mountain. E Block's head guard Paul Edgecomb narrates.

In the relatively plotless first installment, The Two Dead Girls, we met a host of characters, including a Cajun killer named Delacroix and his unusual mouse, Mr. Jingles. In The Mouse on the Mile, this duo's relationship is explored in greater detail. Also, William Wild Billy Wharton arrives on death row, sadistic guard Percy Wetmore shows his true colors and two prisoners leave E Block. John Coffey, the black gentle giant convicted of the rape/murders of 9-year-old twin girls, and the apparent main piece in The Green Mile puzzle, is conspicuously absent.

As far as a plot goes . . . Well, there isn't much of one here either. Instead, what we get are episodic little vignettes, as seen through Edgecomb's eyes, focusing on a particular character or event, with little or no concern for chronological order. Of course, this means that - like it or not - an abundance of foreshadowing is inevitable. Whether or not this style is standard for the series remains to be seen.

It's two down, four to go; so far, so good.

Next up: Part 3: Coffey's Hands. MEMO: Gregory N. Krolczyk is a writer who lives in Kill Devil Hills, N.C. by CNB