Stranger in Paradise - New Jesse Stone

[Miss Q]

Hi Gang,

I just noticed this new release on my book club website! It will hit the tores on Feb 5th.

Stranger in Paradise

Robert B. Parker, bestselling author of hardboiled crime fiction, has a new winner with Jesse Stone, “the most compelling character [he’s] created since he introduced us to a private eye named Spenser more than thirty years ago.” (Associated Press) Now, as Paradise, Massachusetts’ police chief, Stone faces a long-lost adversary in the latest addition to a celebrated series.

Stone last saw Apache hit man Wilson “Crow” Cromartie ten years ago, racing away in a speedboat after pulling one of the most lucrative—and deadly—heists in the town’s history. The boat later turned up with a body on board. Stone still suspects Crow of the murder, but can’t seem to put together a case against him.

Now Crow shows up at Stone’s office, but not to turn himself in. Seems he’s been hired by Florida mob boss Louis Francisco to find his 14-year-old daughter, Amber, and bring her back to Miami. She and her mother, Fiona, are living in squalor in an old town section of Paradise, and Amber is mixed up with a street gang. But Francisco doesn’t just want Amber back—he wants Fiona dead!

Crow may be a nasty piece of work, but he’s got a code of ethics: he doesn’t kill women. Yet if he won’t do it, maybe someone else will.

[Shermy]

Thanks for the notice. This is a sequel to Trouble In Paradise, which was the second Jesse Stone novel. Selleck and Co. skipped that one when making the films. I wonder if they will ever go back and adapt it, or if they have decided to only do original stories from here on out?

[Shermy]

I finally got around to picking this one up.

*minor spoilers*

It's not one of the strongest entries, but at least it maintains the usual brisk pacing. Jesse almost feels a little sidelined here, as a lot of focus is given to a returning character from Trouble In Paradise: A hitman named "Crow". Despite the focus, we never really learn anything about his character, except that he basically charms everyone he meets.

Parker tries to portray Crow as a darker version of Jesse, and the two eventually form an unlikely partnership in order to stop the real villains. Unfortunately, Crow helped kill some of Jesse's officers last time he was in Paradise- a point you wouldn't expect Jesse to forget. After a brief attempt to build a case against him, Jesse basically just decides to co-exist with the guy. It seems a little forced.

One of the biggest complaints of Selleck's films (specifically Sea Change) is that they take some liberties with the characters and often go in strange directions. Ironically, Parker seems to have adopted a similar approach for this newest book.

[SelleckLover]

Very interesting! I think it will make a great 2 hour TV movie.