Death in paradise

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.