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agador's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
margardenlady's review
4.0
Jesse show remarkable skill in solving a murder investigation and dealing with domestic abuse. All while grappling with his own personal issues.
ericwelch's review
4.0
Watched one of the Jesse Stone movies with Tom Selleck, and that reminded me I had several of the Jesse Stone books moldering on my Ipod. Opened up Death in Paradise, started listening and became enthralled.
I really enjoyed this. I've read a lot of Parker and liked the early Spenser very much. Once Susan entered the picture, they became less interesting. Jesse Stone is understated, his problems with booze real but not overly dramatized, and his relationships with girlfriends real. There is an undercurrent of humor in the terse language that I find quite appealing.
You can find plot summaries all over the place. If you like Ed McBain, you'll like the early Parker and Jesse Stone series.
BTW, the DVD series staring Selleck is really good too.
I really enjoyed this. I've read a lot of Parker and liked the early Spenser very much. Once Susan entered the picture, they became less interesting. Jesse Stone is understated, his problems with booze real but not overly dramatized, and his relationships with girlfriends real. There is an undercurrent of humor in the terse language that I find quite appealing.
You can find plot summaries all over the place. If you like Ed McBain, you'll like the early Parker and Jesse Stone series.
BTW, the DVD series staring Selleck is really good too.
pescarox's review
1.0
Uck! This was utterly terrible. It read like a screenplay, no not even that. It was pure dialog. Besides the lame murder mystery there was some personal stuff about drinking and the ex wife - they'd sit around together and talk about how much they want each other, but can't be together. Meanwhile, other women just throw themselves at him.
guiltyfeat's review
3.0
Another perfectly serviceable Parker. I'm struggling a little to find the spark in Jesse and Jenn's relationship and I get the sense that it's more about Parker playing out his feelings on monogamy than a working character description, but the rest of the action rattles along at a reasonable pace. One of the subplots went a bit squiffy when Jesse Stone tells an abusive husband that if he hurts his wife again he will kill him. This leads to a hostage situation that Stone has essentially caused with his interference and in which he is "forced" to publicly execute the man in front of his wife and many others. Odd.
hlandes1's review
2.0
Amazing how much this changed for the made for TV movie. I rarely like the movie better than the book but in this case I felt the movie had merit where the read was slow and ploddy.
arbieroo's review
3.0
This is a serviceable detective thriller about the police chief of a small coastal town near Boston. The protagonist is an alcoholic who blew his career as a homicide detective in L.A. and his marriage, too. He's not a complete loner; he still meets his ex-wife frequently and starts a relationship with the head of the local high school...which interested me: The parts of the book where it is demonstrated that Stone has a life beyond his job mostly distract from rather than advance the plot. It's more realistic than a complete loner but slows things down. So maybe that's why the loner is such a cliche of detective fiction; having a real life gets in the way of solving crimes which is what people who read detective fiction (presumably) want to read about.
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