Death in paradise

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The Paradise Men's Softball League has wrapped up another game, and Jesse Stone is lingering in the parking lot with his teammates, drinking beer, swapping stories of double plays and beautiful women in the late-summer twilight. But then a frightened voice calls out to him from the shore of a nearby lake. There, two men squat at the water's edge. In front of them, facedown, is something that used to be a girl.The local cops haven't seen anything like this before, but Jesse's L.A. past has made him all too familiar with floaters. This girl hasn't committed suicide, she hasn't been drowned: she's been shot and dumped, discarded like trash. Before long it becomes clear that she must have had a taste for the wild life; and her own parents can't be bothered to report her missing, or even admit that she once was a child of theirs. All Jesse has to go on is a young man's school ring on a gold chain, and a hunch or two.

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ISBN
9780425187067
9781101546376
9780399147791

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Also in this Series

  • Night passage (Jesse Stone mysteries Volume 1) Cover
  • Trouble in Paradise (Jesse Stone mysteries Volume 2) Cover
  • Death in paradise (Jesse Stone mysteries Volume 3) Cover
  • Stone cold (Jesse Stone mysteries Volume 4) Cover
  • Sea change (Jesse Stone mysteries Volume 5) Cover
  • High profile (Jesse Stone mysteries Volume 6) Cover
  • Stranger in paradise (Jesse Stone mysteries Volume 7) Cover
  • Night and day (Jesse Stone mysteries Volume 8) Cover
  • Split image (Jesse Stone mysteries Volume 9) Cover
  • Robert B. Parker's Killing the blues (Jesse Stone mysteries Volume 10) Cover
  • Robert B. Parker's Fool me twice: a Jesse Stone novel (Jesse Stone mysteries Volume 11) Cover
  • Robert B. Parker's Damned if you do (Jesse Stone mysteries Volume 12) Cover
  • Robert B. Parker's Blind spot: a Jesse Stone novel (Jesse Stone mysteries Volume 13) Cover
  • Robert B. Parker's the Devil wins: a Jesse Stone novel (Jesse Stone mysteries Volume 14) Cover
  • Robert B. Parker's debt to pay: a Jesse Stone novel (Jesse Stone mysteries Volume 15) Cover
  • Robert B. Parker's The hangman's sonnet: a Jesse Stone novel (Jesse Stone mysteries Volume 16) Cover
  • Robert B. Parker's Colorblind: a Jesse Stone novel (Jesse Stone mysteries Volume 17) Cover
  • Robert B. Parker's The bitterest pill (Jesse Stone mysteries Volume 18) Cover
  • Robert B. Parker's Fool's paradise (Jesse Stone mysteries Volume 19) Cover
  • Robert B. Parker's Stone's throw (Jesse Stone mysteries Volume 20) Cover
  • Robert B. Parker's fallout: a Jesse Stone novel (Jesse Stone mysteries Volume 21) Cover
  • Robert B. Parker's Buried secrets (Jesse Stone mysteries Volume 22) Cover

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Author Notes

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Similar Series From Novelist

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for series you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These suspenseful and gritty hardboiled fiction series find former California cops turned PI (Rick Cahill) and police chief (Jesse Stone) cracking criminal cases while battling demons of their own. Both crackle with intriguing character development, snappy dialogue, and riveting plots. -- Andrienne Cruz
After being pushed out of large city crime units, the protagonists of these hardboiled suspenseful mystery series are battling crime in small towns. While Jesse Stone is set in Maryland and Lu Fei takes place in China, both are fast-paced and gritty. -- Jennie Stevens
Complex police officers crack down on crimes in their small towns in both of these suspenseful and gritty mystery series. Jesse Stone's prose is a bit more spare than Delia Mariola's. -- Stephen Ashley
These atmospheric mysteries star beleaguered police chiefs of fictional towns in Texas (Josie Gray) and Massachusetts (Jesse Stone) trying to keep law and order and investigate murders amid small-town mischief and drama. -- Andrienne Cruz
Police officers dealing with grief (Blue Mumbai) and addiction (Jesse Stone) work through their issues as they investigate twisted crimes in these gritty and atmospheric mystery series. Blue Mumbai is a bit more disturbing than Jesse Stone. -- Stephen Ashley
Metropolitan police officers are relocated to small rural towns in these gritty and suspenseful police procedural (Jessica Raker) and hardboiled fiction (Jesse Stone) series that takes place in England and America, respectively. -- Andrienne Cruz
Complex detectives still reeling from traumatic events in their pasts find themselves investigating crimes in small towns in these atmospheric mystery series. Jesse Stone is a bit faster paced than the more character-driven Two Rivers. -- Stephen Ashley
These suspenseful mystery series both follow tough, keen-eyed sleuths (though PI Roxane Weary is less experienced than police chief Jesse Stone) who navigate their own personal demons as they work on cracking tough cases. -- Stephen Ashley
These series have the appeal factors gritty, spare, and first person narratives, and they have the genre "hardboiled fiction"; and characters that are "sympathetic characters," "flawed characters," and "complex characters."

Similar Titles From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for titles you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These books have the appeal factors gritty and spare, and they have the theme "small town police"; the genres "hardboiled fiction" and "police procedurals"; the subjects "recovering alcoholics" and "cold cases (criminal investigation)"; and characters that are "flawed characters," "brooding characters," and "complex characters."
NoveList recommends "Two rivers" for fans of "Jesse Stone mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
NoveList recommends "Jessica Raker" for fans of "Jesse Stone mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
These books have the appeal factors gritty, haunting, and spare, and they have the theme "small town police"; the genre "police procedurals"; the subjects "police chiefs" and "murder investigation"; and characters that are "sympathetic characters."
NoveList recommends "Delia Mariola novels" for fans of "Jesse Stone mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
NoveList recommends "Blue Mumbai novels" for fans of "Jesse Stone mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
NoveList recommends "Roxane Weary novels" for fans of "Jesse Stone mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
These books have the appeal factors atmospheric and intricately plotted, and they have the theme "small town police"; the genre "mysteries"; the subjects "police chiefs," "murder investigation," and "small town life"; and characters that are "sympathetic characters" and "flawed characters."
NoveList recommends "Rick Cahill crime novels" for fans of "Jesse Stone mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
NoveList recommends "Inspector Lu Fei mysteries" for fans of "Jesse Stone mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
These books have the appeal factors spare, and they have the theme "small town police"; the genre "hardboiled fiction"; and the subjects "police chiefs" and "stone, jesse (fictitious character)."
NoveList recommends "Josie Gray mysteries" for fans of "Jesse Stone mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.

Similar Authors From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for other authors you might want to read if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
Robert B. Parker credits hardboiled writer Raymond Chandler as the inspiration for his mystery series, and Chandler's classic private investigator novels are a good choice for readers interested in the development of the genre. -- Katherine Johnson
These two authors write fast-paced, action-packed, and intricately plotted mysteries marked by flawed and complex detectives, suspenseful and twist-filled plots, a gritty atmosphere, and snappy dialogue that drives the narrative. -- Derek Keyser
Robert B. Parker and Laura Lippman both write crime fiction that features complex characters, witty dialogue, and multiple plot twists that keep the pacing brisk. -- Nanci Milone Hill
Robert B. Parker and Robert Crais write character-centered, often humorous mysteries featuring long-term relationships. Both have branched out from their popular series characters to create new series and stand-alone titles. Los Angeles is Crais' pied-a-terre, and it is as carefully evoked as Parker's Boston. -- Katherine Johnson
Robert B. Parker's Spenser series and Lawrence Block's Matt Scudder adventures are similar, using first-person conversational narrative, detectives caught between unreliable clients and crooks trying to eliminate them, and a seedy underbelly-of-the-city setting. Readers of each author may want to try a range of the other's works. -- Katherine Johnson
Robert B. Parker and John Dunning write mysteries featuring street-smart but erudite and romantic male leads. Parker's plots are less complicated than Dunning's, but both write fast-moving, first-person stories. -- Katherine Johnson
These authors' works have the appeal factors gritty, darkly humorous, and banter-filled, and they have the genre "satire and parodies"; the subjects "women murder victims" and "kidnapping"; and characters that are "sarcastic characters."
These authors' works have the subjects "private investigators," "women murder victims," and "murder suspects."
These authors' works have the genre "hardboiled fiction"; and the subjects "private investigators," "women murder victims," and "middle-aged men."
These authors' works have the genre "hardboiled fiction"; and the subjects "private investigators," "police chiefs," and "women private investigators."
These authors' works have the appeal factors banter-filled, and they have the genre "hardboiled fiction"; the subjects "hawk (fictitious character : parker)" and "kidnapping"; and characters that are "sarcastic characters."
These authors' works have the appeal factors funny and witty, and they have the genre "hardboiled fiction"; and the subjects "private investigators," "murder investigation," and "women murder victims."

Published Reviews

Booklist Review

If this thinly plotted and flatly written thriller were a debut novel from an unknown, rather than the work of one of the reigning heavyweights in the mystery genre, it might not even merit a review. But the author is Robert B. Parker, justifiably touted for his Spenser novels, and his name will draw a crowd. The first problem is with Spenser's new hero, seen previously in Night Passage (1997) and Trouble in Paradise (1998). Jesse Stone, former LAPD cop and current chief of police in Paradise, New England, is no Spenser. He doesn't seem to be any character at all. He plays softball; he's divorced; he engages in painfully obvious station-house one-liners. There isn't the feeling, as there is on every page of a Spenser novel, that you're with a fine intelligence about to make interesting observations. The second problem is the writing, which reads like high-school Hemingway: "It was a bright summer morning. Jesse was feeling good." The relentless rhythm of choppy sentences and short chapters adds up to nothing and is finally only annoying. And the plot--Jesse's softball game is cut short by the discovery of a dead young girl floating in a lake--is a sleepwalk, as Jesse moves through the requisite grilling of negligent parents, oversexed boyfriend, and friends hiding a secret. There's very little to recommend here, except to say that Parker's fans will be curious about it. Connie Fletcher

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
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Publisher's Weekly Review

Melancholy shadows this third, beautifully wrought Jesse Stone mystery; rarely if ever has Parker's fiction conveyed with such solemn intensity the challenge of living a good life in a world of sin. Jesse, erstwhile drunk and now sheriff of small-town Paradise, Mass., tackles two criminal and two personal mysteries here: the murder of a teenage girl found shot dead in a local lake, and the chronic beating of a local wife by her husband; the conundrum of Jesse's attraction to alcohol, and the mess of his love life, shaped by his dependence upon his estranged wife but encompassing a highly sexed affair with a school principal. The search for the identity and the killer of the girl brings Jesse, as such investigations traditionally do, into the realm of high society the prime suspect is a bestselling writer but also to the mean streets of Boston, where the sheriff parries with Gino Fish and Vinnie Morris (outlaws borrowed from the Spenser series). Dogged police work, a hot-to-trot wife, child prostitutes, the solace of baseball, hard-guy banter these and more classic elements inform and bolster this immensely satisfying tale. As usual with Parker these days, though, the book's ultimate pleasure lies in the words, suffused with a tough compassion won only through years of living, presented in prose whose impeccability speaks of decades of careful writing. (Oct.) Forecast: This is Parker's third outstanding novel of the year, after Potshot and Gunman's Rhapsody. To promote it, he plans a vigorous author tour. Expect high interest and sales. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
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School Library Journal Review

Parker here gives Jesse Stone his third case (after Night Passage and Trouble in Paradise), which involves the murder of a prodigal daughter and hardly any clues. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Library Journal Review

While his Spenser series may always define him as a writer, Parker again proves his range in this third entry of his Jesse Stone series. Stone, chief of police in the small New England town of Paradise, is relaxing after a softball game one evening when a murdered girl's body is found nearby. Jesse must first discover the identity of the dead girl and then determine why she was killed. As if searching for a killer isn't enough, Jesse must also balance his police work against personal relationships, especially his complicated relationship with his ex-wife. Stone is a deceptively complex character, one whose problems are both interesting and completely believable. Like his protagonist, Parker doesn't waste words, using them sparingly while still managing to create scenes so vivid that the reader feels like an intimate observer. Another strong effort in what is already an impressive series, this one is a lock for high circulation in public libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/01.] Craig Shufelt, Lane P.L., Fairfield, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Kirkus Book Review

The regular evening game of the Paradise Men's Softball League is interrupted when the body of a young woman floats to the surface of the adjacent lake. Since no one can identify the shooting victim, and no one answering to her general description has been reported missing, Police Chief Jesse Stone (Trouble in Paradise, 1998, etc.) relies on routine inquiries and a telltale class ring to identify her as Elinor (Billie) Bishop, universally labeled the "town pump" by her fellow high-school students. Billie's reputation is so dire, in fact, that her own parents deny she's their daughter. The only link Jesse can find for Billie is to the shelter for runaways that Sister Mary John runs in Jamaica Plains. But that link leads in turn to Alan Garner, whose telephone Billie had given as a forwarding number when she left the shelter, and to Garner's boss Gino Fish, the well-connected gay Boston mobster Parker's major-league sleuth Spenser (Potshot, p. 209, etc.) has tangled with now and again. All Jesse has to do is follow the links-if he can tear himself away from the bottle, his ex-wife Jenn, his current love interest Lilly Summers, and the rest of Paradise's troubled citizens for long enough. Parker regulars will find the same extraordinary stillness-as if every scene were still another frozen tableau-that marks the more famous Spenser novels. What they won't find this time is enough action, detection, or real mystery to keep a self-respecting short story from starving to death. Author tour

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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Booklist Reviews

If this thinly plotted and flatly written thriller were a debut novel from an unknown, rather than the work of one of the reigning heavyweights in the mystery genre, it might not even merit a review. But the author is Robert B. Parker, justifiably touted for his Spenser novels, and his name will draw a crowd. The first problem is with Spenser's new hero, seen previously in Night Passage (1997) and Trouble in Paradise (1998). Jesse Stone, former LAPD cop and current chief of police in Paradise, New England, is no Spenser. He doesn't seem to be any character at all. He plays softball; he's divorced; he engages in painfully obvious station-house one-liners. There isn't the feeling, as there is on every page of a Spenser novel, that you're with a fine intelligence about to make interesting observations. The second problem is the writing, which reads like high-school Hemingway: "It was a bright summer morning. Jesse was feeling good." The relentless rhythm of choppy sentences and short chapters adds up to nothing and is finally only annoying. And the plot--Jesse's softball game is cut short by the discovery of a dead young girl floating in a lake--is a sleepwalk, as Jesse moves through the requisite grilling of negligent parents, oversexed boyfriend, and friends hiding a secret. There's very little to recommend here, except to say that Parker's fans will be curious about it. ((Reviewed August 2001)) Copyright 2001 Booklist Reviews

Copyright 2001 Booklist Reviews
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Library Journal Reviews

Parker here gives Jesse Stone his third case (after Night Passage and Trouble in Paradise), which involves the murder of a prodigal daughter and hardly any clues. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
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Library Journal Reviews

While his Spenser series may always define him as a writer, Parker again proves his range in this third entry of his Jesse Stone series. Stone, chief of police in the small New England town of Paradise, is relaxing after a softball game one evening when a murdered girl's body is found nearby. Jesse must first discover the identity of the dead girl and then determine why she was killed. As if searching for a killer isn't enough, Jesse must also balance his police work against personal relationships, especially his complicated relationship with his ex-wife. Stone is a deceptively complex character, one whose problems are both interesting and completely believable. Like his protagonist, Parker doesn't waste words, using them sparingly while still managing to create scenes so vivid that the reader feels like an intimate observer. Another strong effort in what is already an impressive series, this one is a lock for high circulation in public libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/01.] Craig Shufelt, Lane P.L., Fairfield, OH Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
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Publishers Weekly Reviews

Melancholy shadows this third, beautifully wrought Jesse Stone mystery; rarely if ever has Parker's fiction conveyed with such solemn intensity the challenge of living a good life in a world of sin. Jesse, erstwhile drunk and now sheriff of small-town Paradise, Mass., tackles two criminal and two personal mysteries here: the murder of a teenage girl found shot dead in a local lake, and the chronic beating of a local wife by her husband; the conundrum of Jesse's attraction to alcohol, and the mess of his love life, shaped by his dependence upon his estranged wife but encompassing a highly sexed affair with a school principal. The search for the identity and the killer of the girl brings Jesse, as such investigations traditionally do, into the realm of high society the prime suspect is a bestselling writer but also to the mean streets of Boston, where the sheriff parries with Gino Fish and Vinnie Morris (outlaws borrowed from the Spenser series). Dogged police work, a hot-to-trot wife, child prostitutes, the solace of baseball, hard-guy banter these and more classic elements inform and bolster this immensely satisfying tale. As usual with Parker these days, though, the book's ultimate pleasure lies in the words, suffused with a tough compassion won only through years of living, presented in prose whose impeccability speaks of decades of careful writing. (Oct.) Forecast: This is Parker's third outstanding novel of the year, after Potshot and Gunman's Rhapsody. To promote it, he plans a vigorous author tour. Expect high interest and sales. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Powered by Content Cafe

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