Constantine's central thematic concern is the use and misuse of authority. The dramatization of this concern produces books with a significant, although seldom obtrusive, social message. As his books are rooted in the contemporary reality of their settings, the conflicts — of class, race, generations, politics and family — of that reality inevitably expose serious social issues. As Constantine's protagonist, Mario Balzic, attempts to use his own authority as police chief, he is constrained by a wide range of institutions, each embodying its own, frequently conflicting, authority. Balzic must deal with such forces as the church, family ties, and ethnic loyalties. However, these institutions are made up of people, and it is Balzic's ability to understand the very real people he deals with, and, using that understanding, to manipulate them (especially through his effective use of language) that makes possible his exercise of his own limited...