Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin Tipple’s Corner Annex – Robert B. Parker’s Big Shot
Showing posts with label Jesse Stone series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesse Stone series. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 18, 2026
Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Publication Day Review: Robert B. Parker’s Big Shot: A Jesse Stone Novel by Christopher Farnsworth
Paradise Police Chief Jesse Stone is on the night
shift as Robert B. Parker’s Big Shot: A Jesse Stone Novel begins
and he likes it. He really likes it. It is something he does from time to time
as they are an eleven member police department. There Is plenty of money in
Paradise, Massachusetts, so the sight of the McLaren sports car on its own is
not surprising. At the same time, summer is over and that means the summer
people are gone. So, it is something to look at as it is just parked at the
side of the road.
When Jesse looks closer he realizes the driver is passed
out in the car. Woken up by Jesse, he comes out of the car belligerent and very
intoxicated. Not only does he refuse to cooperate, he takes a swing at Jesse.
Before long, he is in cuffs and on his way to the jail.
It isn’t until late in the morning of the next day
that Molly informs him that he arrested and jailed a notorious celebrity. The
man is Ramsey Devlin. The same Ramsey Devlin that beat the federal fraud case,
moved out of NYC, and into a newly constructed mansion monstrosity in the area.
The same house that many of the neighbors complained to the police about as the
eyesore was being constructed even though the situation had nothing to do with
the police.
Like his client, his attorney, Gordon Wilkes, is
arrogant and aggressive. The attorney claims that the arrest is nothing more
than police harassment at the behest of the federal government. Neither he nor
his client see that Devlin was out of line. Instead, they plan to sue the
department into oblivion.
Unfortunately, that first incident is not the last.
All too soon, Jesse is accused of murder and gets another lesson regarding
actual friends.
Robert B. Parker’s Big Shot: A Jesse
Stone Novel by Christopher Farnsworth is a mighty
good read. As author Reed Farrel Coleman did with the series years ago across several
books, and as Mr. Farnsworth did in the last novel, Buried Secrets, he again
captures the voice and spirit of the series as written by Robert B. Parker. The
book comes alive for the reader. It only takes a handful of pages before that
the tale is from somebody other than the original author. He has every aspect
of those reads down and this new tale just flows for the reader.
Strongly Recommended.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/48ZTwtx
My digital ARC came by way of the publisher, G.P. Putnam's Sons, through NetGalley, and with no expectation of a positive review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2026
Tuesday, February 04, 2025
Publication Day Review: Robert B. Parker’s Buried Secrets: A Jesse Stone Novel by Christopher Farnsworth
Robert B. Parker’s Buried Secrets: A
Jesse Stone Novel by Christopher Farnsworth is a breath of
fresh air. This book in the long running Jesse Stone series reads like a Jesse
Stone novel. One forgets that this is not done by Robert B. Parker and
that is a very good thing.
The Paradise Police Department is very short handed.
The normal situation has been made worse by the fact that three officers are
out with Covid. Things are so bad that Molly Crane is working dispatch and
Chief Jesse Stone has been doing patrols. After a long day, Jesse is looking
forward to going home. Instead, after some back and forth with Molly, Jesse
heads to an address for a welfare check.
On arrival, he finds a young man by the name of
Matthew Peebles. He is a bit agitated and explains that the man inside the
aging house is a friend of his parents. His mane is Phil Burton. Mr. Peebles
says he and Phil Burton talk by phone on a semi regular basis and that he comes
out from the city (New York City) now and then to visit and check on him as he
is elderly. He says that he has not heard from him in awhile and is worried.
Jesse manages to eventually get inside the house through
the back as a sliding glass door is partially open. It is very clear as he
steps inside that Mr. Burton is a very serious hoarder. At least, he was. He clearly
been dead on his couch for quite some time.
Jesse makes his way back out of the house with the
intention of breaking the news to Mr. Peebles and alerting the coroner, having
the house cleared out, and more. Once he gets to the front of the house, he
realizes that Mr. Peebles is long gone.
Soon Luther “Suitcase” Simpson arrives and he and
Jesse go back into the house. Everything in the massive piles of stuff in the
house is very unstable. Simpson accidentally brushes a tower of carboard boxes
and the tower collapses and falls spilling some of the boxes open. Other stuff
slides around them making walking very difficult. When Simpson regains his
footing, Jesse spots a polaroid picture on the floor.
It, and many more that can now be seen, showcase
what appears to be dead people at various locations and conditions. Whatever
Phil Burton was involved with, it was bad.
As that investigation gets underway, Jesse also
welcomes the newest officer, Derek Tate, to the force. This was a hire forced
on him by the Mayor, Gary Armistead, and Jesse isn’t totally comfortable with him.
Due to the workload in recent days, Jesse has not been able to do a deep dive
into him as much as he would with any new officer. On paper he looks good. But,
there was an incident when he worked in Philadelphia.
Tate owned up to it, expressed some remorse, and
claims to want a fresh start in Paradise, Massachusetts. Paradise certainly was
a fresh start for Jesse many years ago and it could be for Tate as well. So, he
brings him onboard and puts him out on patrol unsupervised as Tate has experience.
It does not take a rocket scientist to know that things are not going to go
well.
What follows is a fast moving read as Jesse deals
with the Burton investigation, Tate and his version of police work, and other
personal and professional issues. The author does a masterful job of pulling
the reader along at a fast clip in the Jesse Stone world. It has been some time
since an author could make the characters in the series come alive in the right
voice and Mr. Farnsworth definitely pulls that off in Robert B. Parker’s
Buried Secrets: A Jesse Stone Novel.
Strongly Recommended.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/42WtvtV
My reading copy came from the publisher, G.P. Putnam's Sons, by way of NetGalley with no expectation of a review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
Tuesday, September 28, 2021
Review: Robert B. Parker's Stone's Throw: A Jesse Stone Novel by Mike Lupica
Robert B. Parker's Stone's Throw: A Jesse Stone Novel by Mike Lupica finds Jesse Stone missing drinking as well as Sunny
Randall. They are in a relationship time out and she is out in Los Angeles
working a case. That means she is far from home and working for an old boyfriend,
Tony Gault. He is some sort of Hollywood talent agent and hired her to deal
with a problem. That case and his presence are not why they are in a
relationships time out, but it certainly does not help matters.
One of the ways Jesse keeps
drinking at bay is by going for long walks. As the book begins in earnest,
Paradise Police Chief Jesse Stone is on one of those late evening walks. This
night he has walked over to an area of land known as “The Throw.” It is the
last big piece of beachfront property in the area and is up for sale by Thomas
Lawton III. The sale has caused massive controversy
locally and is being fought over by two very rich men who have their own designs
for how they will develop the property once the Board of Selectmen approve the
sale. Billy Singer, a guy out of Vegas, and Boston based, Ed Barron, have competing
plans to build a casino and a hotel on the property.
While the rich have been battling it out in public and on the airwaves
with their competing golden promises, some local opposition has come about from
folks who have environmental and other concerns. The opposition are underdogs
as the rich guys, as they always do, are promising a massive boost to the local
economy that has been ravaged by Covid-19 as well as a lot of new jobs. Some in
the opposition have resorted to a sort of guerrilla tactic of digging graves
and placing ironic tombstones n the fresh grave each time. It happens every so often
and at random intervals which makes it hard to catch the people doing it.
Not that Chief Jesse Stone is much worried about it. The current
property owner is irate each time it happens, but in the big scheme of things
and the fact the land is soon to be ripped apart by bug tractors and the like,
it does not really matter.
So, his only concern when he sees evidence of a new shallow grave
is the fact that Lawton will be in his office loudly complaining yet again.
That would have been preferable to what Jesse actually finds at the new grave. Instead
of another empty one, he finds his friend and the Paradise mayor, Neil O' Hara,
very much dead by way of an apparent suicide.
Of course, it isn't a suicide for several reasons soon explained.
The questions of who did it and why are ones of many that have to be answered
in Robert B. Parker's: A Jesse Stone Novel by Mike Lupica.
Fast moving with short chapters and a brevity of dialogue and
scene details, the book is an okay fast read. It hits all the usual touchstones
regarding local and distantly located characters and keeps action front and
center. A lightweight and simplistic read that serves as a pleasant enough multi
hour diversionary escape despite the fact there is no new ground here and even
the final twist is rather expected. The estate really should have stayed
with Reed Farrel Coleman for these books. It would have been way better.
Robert B.
Parker's Stone's Throw: A Jesse Stone Novel
Mike
Lupica
G. P.
Putnam’s Sons
ASIN: B08R1BDKFC
September
2021
ISBN#
978-1-4328-6858-1
eBook
334Pages
My
reading copy, in eBook format, came courtesy of the Dallas Public Library System.
As always, Scott provided the technical assistance needed to get it up and
working on my iPad.
Kevin R.
Tipple © 2021
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Review: The Bitterest Pill: A Jesse Stone Novel by Reed Farrrel Coleman
If you have been
paying any attention at all you know about the Opioid crisis and the fact that
the war on drugs has been a colossal and expensive failure. Author Reed Farrel
Coleman uses that common knowledge as the background for The Bitterest Pill: A Jessie Stone
Novel.
The opioid crisis has made it to the coastal region of Paradise,
Massachusetts. When the legal drugs run out, those desperate have to turn to
heroin to get their fix. That can have tragic and disastrous consequences. Local
student and cheerleader Heather Mackey has been found dead in the bedroom of
her home thanks to a heroin overdose. Clearly, she had to have gotten the drugs
from somewhere and the most obvious place would by way of somebody, at her
school, Paradise High School.
The end user is just the tip of the iceberg. Somewhere and hidden
in the shadows are the folks pulling strings and make money off of addiction
and death. While Paradise Police Chief Jesse Stone and his team work to uncover
the bosses, the bosses and others work to obstruct and kill off all venues of
investigation by any means necessary.
The latest book in this series is another good if depressing read.
Plenty of facts about the drug problem in this country are interwoven into the
fictional storylines as work in The Bitterest Pill: A Jesse Stone Novel.
For those of us who have battled our own addictions to pain killers and alcohol
while dealing with chronic pain and more, much of this read will ring very true.
As one would expect from this author, the book is another solidly good read
well worth your time.
The Bitterest Pill: A Jesse Stone Novel
Reed Farrrel Coleman
Thorndike Press (Gale, a Cengage Company)
2019
ISBN# 978-1-4328-6858-1
Large Print Hardback
475 Pages
Large print material came from the Lakewood Branch of the Dallas
Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2019
Thursday, October 18, 2018
Review: Robert B. Parker's Colorblind: A Jesse Stone Novel by Reed Farrel Coleman
It is fall in
Paradise as Robert B. Parker's Colorblind: A Jesse Stone Novel by Reed Farrel Coleman begins. For
Police Chief Jesse Stone, it is a time of new beginnings. He is back from
alcohol rehab having been gone the last two months. His old house was sold back
during the summer and he has moved into a two-bedroom condo.
While
there has been quite a change in his personal life, life and crime continues on
in Paradise, Massachusetts as does politics. Biker gangs have been a
problem while Chief Stone has been gone. And the latest version of them seems
to be of the racist skinhead type. During a recent incident, things were said
to the newest member of the police department who is African American and it
has caused a little bit of internal strife. That was on top of the mood of some
of the local population which had an issue with the hiring.
In the
nearby town of Swan Harbor, they have a serious assault victim who may not be
alive much longer. The State Chief Homicide investigator, Brian Lundquist,
quietly suggested to Police Chief Forster that he ought to have Jesse Stone
come over and share his expertise. The woman has been sexually assaulted and
horribly beaten and the locals don’t have any detectives, let alone anyone that
is equipped to work the case now or when it soon becomes a murder case. That
isn’t the only reason Lundquist wanted Jesse Stone involved in the case.
At
first, Lundquist didn’t realize the victim was in the same shape as a victim
years ago when Jesse firsts started work in Paradise. A veteran of the Swan
Harbor police with 20 years plus did, Officer Drake Daniels, and said something
to his boss. Now Jesse will be poking around the fringes of the case while
Lundquist takes over on the behalf of the state.
Robert B. Parker's Colorblind: A Jesse
Stone Novel is the latest in the series and another very good read. Author
Reed Farrel Coleman has had a hard task since he took over the series several
years back. Breathing new life into the character while staying true to the
roots and flavor of Jesse Stone as well as the earlier books is no easy feat. Mr.
Coleman has constantly performed the task admirably and does so again with Robert B. Parker's Colorblind:
A Jesse Stone Novel.
Robert B. Parker's Colorblind: A Jesse Stone Novel
Reed Farrel Coleman
Thorndike
Press
September
2018
ISBN#
978-1-4328-5514-7
Large
Print Hardback (also available in audio, eBook, and regular print hardback formats)
505
Pages
$37.99
Material
supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Public Library System.
Kevin
R. Tipple ©2018
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Monday, November 21, 2016
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Review: Robert B. Parker’s Debt To Pay by Reed Farrel Coleman
Late summer and Paradise, Massachusetts has been pretty
calm. The biggest issue has been some petty vandalism. For Police Chief Jesse
Stone the break from anything significant has been good as he is a bit preoccupied
with his personal life. On the plus side, there is Diana who is becoming
increasingly important to him and the feeling seems to be mutual. He is also
working on his sobriety and making a definite effort to resist the deeply
ingrained ritual of drinking.
On the negative side, Jesse is coming to the realization that
his diamond skills are diminishing. Age does that to all ball players and there
comes a time when the player can no longer compete at the level he or she set
for herself long ago. There is also the fact that Jenn is getting married again
and has invited him to her wedding to Hale Hunsicker down in Dallas. The
wedding is set for October and after a lot of thought about their past Jesse has
decided to tell her he won’t be there.
His plan to skip the wedding begins to change when Vinnie
Morris contacts him about the sudden death of Gino Fish. The mobster supposedly
killed his current male secretary and then himself. That is what the Boston police
believe and they are not about to listen to anything Vinnie has to say. Vinnie
does not believe that Gino would have done either act despite the fact that all
the evidence seems to indicate that is exactly what happened. He wants Jesse to
look into it and is calling due the favor Jesse promised Gino awhile back for his
help on a case.
Jesse agrees to look into the situation. He soon realizes that
the serial killer they know as “Mr. Peepers” is back and seeking vengeance. He
plans to kill everyone on his payback list while playing an elaborate mid game
with them. It isn’t enough to just kill those he holds responsible. He wants to
hurt them first by killing those they care about. For Jesse, that means Diana
as well as Jenn down in Dallas are at high risk.
Shifting in character point of view as well as by location,
the chase for Mr. Peepers goes from New England, to Dallas, and back again.
Readers know from nearly the start as they spend time with the killer why
things are happening the way they do. As a result, this is not a mystery read,
but a thriller style read where the hunt is on for the bad guy before he can
kill again and again.
Debt To Pay is also a turning point novel for several of the
characters including Jesse. Even if one had not read the recent interview with
author Reed Farrel Coleman, it is clear that some things are being wrapped up
to start Jesse on a new course. By the end of the read, it is clear that
nothing will ever be the same.
As one expects there will be complaints from some that this
novel does not read exactly like it would if Robert B. Parker was still doing
them. It does not. It comes very close and does so while creating a highly
entertaining read that continues the series.
Because numerous events that occurred in Blind
Spot are referenced and heavily discussed, as they are a major plot
point of Debt To Pay, I would suggest reading that book first. I would
also suggest reading the very interesting interview, You
Don’t Ask a Praying Mantis Why: MysteryPeople Q&A with Reed
Farrel Coleman , after reading the book as there are things in it that could be construed
as spoilers.
Robert B.
Parker’s Debt To Pay
Reed Farrel
Coleman
G. P. Putnam’s Sons (Penguin Random
House LLC)
September 2016
ISBN# 978-0-399-17143-7
Hardback (also available in large print
hardback, audio, and eBook formats)
352 Pages
$27.00
I won the book via a contest at Lesa’s Book Critiques.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2016
Saturday, September 17, 2016
Thursday, October 01, 2015
Review: "Robert B. Parker’s The Devil Wins: A Jesse Stone Novel" by Reed Farrel Coleman
“You
know what I think, Chief Stone?”
“What’s
that?”
“Most
of the time he loses, but sometimes the devil wins.” (Page 243)
It isn’t a point Police Chief Jesse
Stone can argue. First with the LAPD and now with the Paradise PD, Stone has
seen things that prove to him that evil does exist in the world whether or not
one wants to specifically ascribe such things to the devil. It is especially
true currently with the discovery of the recent bodies in Robert B. Parker’s The Devil Wins.
The Nor’easter that struck Paradise,
Massachusetts was a hard storm. It did damage around the area including causing
the partial collapse of an old abandoned factory building on Trench Alley. This
is an area of town that does not fit the picture post card idea of a scenic New
England town and won’t any time soon. It is an area of decay featuring old and
long abandoned warehouse buildings that in their day provided jobs and now
serve to be last resort refuge for the homeless, drug users, and others.
In checking out the collapse, Office
Molly Crane found a body. A body that near as she could tell in the few minutes
she was surveying the scene had not been there long. She didn’t get to look at
the scene much before the Fire Department folks arrived and she was ordered out
of the building. Good thing to as minutes after Jesse Stone arrives on site and
is briefed by Crane, more of the building collapses.
When, days later, Molly and Jesse
are finally allowed back into the building they discover that the body is not
alone. Two other bodies, dead for years, are also present. Two skeletons that,
based on what little are left, appear to be childhood friends of Molly Crane. Two
young teen friends who vanished without a trace years ago.
With Suit still recovering from
recent events and limited to desk duty and Molly nowhere near the top of her
game due to her close proximity to the case, it is up to Jesse Stone to figure
out what happened and how everything is connected. He also has to stop a killer
or killers bent on tying up their last few loose ends.
Author Reed Farrel Coleman’s latest
effort in the Jesse Stone series is another good one. This read finds Jesse finally
at home in Paradise (after all it has been ten years) and at peace with his
drinking. In several other areas he is not remotely at peace and the guilt over
those situations drives him as he works to solve the murders in a town that
doesn’t want to deal with its own shameful past. Robert B. Parker’s The Devil Wins
is another good one as Red Farrell Coleman makes it all work from start to
twisted and surprising finish.
Robert B. Parker’s The Devil Wins: A Jesse Stone Novel
Reed Farrel Coleman
Thorndike Press (Gale Cengage
Learning)
September 2015
ISBN# 978-1-4104-8027-9
LARGE PRINT Hardback (also available
in regular print hardback, e-book, and audio formats)
490 Pages
$37.99
Material supplied by the good folks
of the Plano Public Library System who do not care if my review is objective or
not and just want their books and movies back on time and undamaged.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2015
Wednesday, September 09, 2015
Monday, October 06, 2014
Review: "Robert B. Parker's Blind Spot: A Jesse Stone Novel" by Reed Farrel Coleman
Paradise Police Chief Jesse Stone only went to the
reunion in New York of his old triple-a team to get rid of the past. One play
on the diamond ruined his shoulder, ended his prospects of ever playing for the
Dodgers, and ended his relationship with the stunningly beautiful Kayla. It was
an all-expenses paid trip by way of Vic Prado, former roommate, and the man who
took his girl and who was part of the double-play that ended Jessie’s career.
The past is not a friend that Jesse wants to visit, but the reunion is a way to
deal with it.
Everyone involved, including Kayla, seems to want a
private word and to be working some kind of agenda tied into memory lane. The
only bright spot in the whole deal was the incredible Dee. Dee may be friends with
Kayla and Vic, but Jesse won’t hold that against her as he likes her quite a
lot. He would have definitely spent more time with her, and clearly that
feeling was shared, but a murder and possible abduction back in Paradise means
he has to cut the NYC weekend short and get back home to Paradise, Mass.
Martina Penworth is very much dead having been shot
and killed in the old Salter family home on a bluff near the yacht club. Built
in 1888 the Victorian style house is little used these days except for the
occasional romantic interlude. The youngest of the family dynasty, Benjamin
Salter IV brought Martina to the house for just such an event. Now she is dead,
he is missing though his car sits in the driveway. Either he killed the young
lady or he was abducted for ransom or something. Either way, Jesse needs to get
back and take charge of a case that will grow more complex by the minute.
Robert
B. Parker’s Blind Spot: A Jesse Stone Novel marks
the takeover of the Jesse Stone franchise by talented author Reed Farrel
Coleman. Known for his excellent Moe Prager series, Robert B. Parker’s Blind Spot
bears his stamp of authority with multiple storylines, complex characters
working multiple agendas, and his interpretation of how the Jesse Stone
character is to be going forward. While it carries all the usual hallmarks of limited
dialogue, short chapters, and returning characters, it also manages to work complexity
and nuance into the well established Jesse Stone character as well as nearly
everyone around him.
In short, this is quite possibly the best in the
series in quite some time and does the series proud. Robert B. Parker’s Blind Spot: A Jesse Stone
Novel by Reed Farrel Coleman breathes new life in a series that was
languishing. It is well worth your time.
Robert B. Parker’s Blind Spot: A Jesse Stone Novel
Reed
Farrel Coleman
Thorndike
Press
September
2014
ISBN#
978-1-4104-7139-0
LARGE
PRINT HARDBACK (also available in hardback, audio, and e-book)
507
Pages
$35.99
Material supplied by the good people of the Plano,
Texas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2014
Monday, April 07, 2014
Monday, August 26, 2013
Review: "Robert B. Parker's Damned If You Do: A Jesse Stone Novel" by Michael Brandman
Paradise Police Chief Jesse
has a feeling he knows the dead woman from somewhere. Found in a bungalow at
the Surf and Sand motel the dead woman might be 20 or a little younger. Whether
the name she used on the motel register is correct or not is any one's guess. Naked
and dead with no identification makes things hard with identifying her. Then there
is the compounding fact she drove a car with stolen plates. Finding out who she was is going to be a huge
problem and a definite hindrance to the homicide investigation.
What is clear from the get
go that based on where she had been found and her recent short stays at the run
down motel Jesse Stone has quickly determined that she was making money the old
fashioned way. Apparently she was an independent contractor, despite the serious
efforts of two different pimps, who both wanted her in their respective
stables. She was a young and attractive pawn in their turf battle for power and
her death has escalated the tensions involved in that situation. Jesse will
deal with that later---right now he wants to identify her for her parents and
then find her killer.
Robert B. Parker's Damned If You
Do: A Jesse Stone Novel written by Michael Brandman continues the
series in a good way. Both the primary storyline of the above homicide case as
well as a secondary one involving possible abuse of the elderly at a local
retirement home move forward at a rapid pace. Along the way there are plenty of
opportunities for Jesse to crack wise, chat with Dix his therapist, and do what
he does best to irritate those in power and seek justice.
Scheduled to be released in
September this latest in the series is another good one. It breaks no new
ground in terms of the continuing characters and none is expected by faithful
readers. It continues the late Robert B. Parker's writing style of short
chapters, very little description of settings, and snappy dialogue used to move
the action forward. The book comes together well and provides another
entertaining fast read with Jesse Stone.
Robert B. Parker's Damned If You
Do: A Jesse Stone Novel
Michael
Brandman
G.
P. Putnam’s Sons (Penguin Group USA)
September
10, 2013
ISBN#978-0-399-15950-3
Hardback
(also available in e-book and audio formats)
288
Pages
$26.95
I received an ARC of this title due to my participation
in the “LibraryThing Early Reviewers” group for my use in an objective
review. As such, my above review
appeared there first last Saturday before appearing here on the blog.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2013
Tuesday, October 02, 2012
Review: "Robert B. Parker’s Fool Me Twice: A Jesse Stone Novel" by Michael Brandman
After the death of author Robert B. Parker, Michael
Brandman took over the Jesse Stone series. The first one, Robert B. Parker’s Killing The
Blues was a fairly good book. It certainly was not Robert B. Parker, but
the book was good and there was the suggestion that Michael Brandman had plans
to push the boundaries a little bit. Unfortunately, this novel is simply nowhere
as near as good while it reads like discarded pieces of a movie script due to
the lack of depth to characters or scenes. The book features three equally weak
storylines that are way too predictable for any mystery reader.
The primary storyline is about threats against
actress, Marisol Hinton, who is in town to film a movie. Her marriage to another
actor is collapsing due to his ego, his lack of movie roles, and his heavy drug
use.
The two secondary storylines involve water usage and
rates and the spoiled teen of a rich family who is acting out.
In a sense, all three storylines in this latest Jesse
Stone novel are about folks acting out in one way or another. In all cases,
those involved get dealt with in easily predictable fashion over the course of
the 278 page novel. A novel that features very little scene description,
nothing new in the Jesse Stone character, and weak storylines that seem to have
come straight from a discarded movie script of the now cancelled series. On a positive
note, the mentions of Jesse’s ex-wife, Jenn, are kept to a bare minimum giving
the impression that Jesse is slowly moving on.
Going back on the promise of a slightly edgier Jesse
Stone, Robert B. Parker’s Fool Me Twice: A Jesse Stone Novel is saccharine
even for this series. One knew that it would be all but impossible for anyone
to continue the Jesse Stone series as written by Robert B. Parker. One hoped that Mr. Brandman would not make it
the series even lighter in terms of storylines, plots, settings, etc. Thanks to
an absolute minimum of scene setting, limited dialogue that often reads forced,
and three storylines where the resolution is obvious from early on, this read
is a very disappointing step backwards and not anywhere near the level of the
last book.
Robert B. Parker’s Fool Me Twice: A Jesse Stone Novel
Michael
Brandman
G.
P. Putnam’s Son (Penguin Group)
2012
ISBN#
978-0-399-15949-7
Hardback
276
Pages
$25.99
Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano,
Texas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2012
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