STRANGER IN PARADISE: A Jesse Stone Novel
Robert B. Parker
Putnam
Mystery
ISBN: 9780399154607

• Read an Excerpt

Can it be that a decade has passed since Robert B. Parker, the dean of American mystery authors, introduced a new series starring Jesse Stone, the police chief of a small town located on the coast of Massachusetts?

Indeed it has. And STRANGER IN PARADISE is the seventh strong entry in this series. Back in 1997 when the first Stone book, NIGHT PASSAGE, appeared, critics wondered if Parker --- who had created one of America’s greatest fictional detectives of all time (Spenser) a quarter century before --- could produce a successful new series and if this would be the end of Spenser. There was much concern and gnashing of teeth among longtime Parker fans.

Well, there was no need for worry or the dental expense. Spenser is still going strong and appears in a novel each year. The Stone books and another stand-alone series Parker created featuring female private eye Sunny Randall prove again and again that he is one of the greatest mystery writers in American literature. Each title is a joy to read, including his latest.

STRANGER IN PARADISE begins with Stone receiving a visit from one of the alleged criminals who appeared in NIGHT PASSAGE, a self-proclaimed full-blooded Apache warrior named Wilson Cromartie, or Crow for short. Crow, who also labors as a hit man, is in town on a job, despite having last been seen escaping from Paradise on a boat with $20 million in ransom after a hostage scheme went bad.

Crow has been hired by a Florida mobster to find his runaway 14-year-old daughter who disappeared with her drunken mother. Crow visits Jesse to convince him to stay out of his way. As with any Parker book, the writing is lean, tight and brilliant.

“They looked at each other some more. The room felt charged, Jesse thought, as if a thunderstorm were near. Then Crow rose gracefully to his feet.

‘I guess we know where we stand,’ Crow said.

‘Stop by anytime,’ Jesse said.”

This is beautiful, understated writing.

Jesse investigates to see if he can hold Crow for the earlier crime, but finds that none of the women who Crow took hostage have any interest in testifying against him. And at least one looks forward to seeing him again!

It turns out that Crow likes women --- really likes women. This complicates his current assignment as he quickly locates the runaway girl and her mother living in squalor, with the girl involved with the leader of a nearby Latino gang. The Florida mobster orders Crow to kill the mother and bring him the girl.

Crow refuses and turns to Jesse for help in protecting the girl. “‘And warriors don’t go to war against women and girls,’ Jesse said.” Crow agrees with that statement. Here we have a hit man with scruples.

But Jesse, as usual, has personal problems of his own. And this is what differentiates him from Spenser. Spenser is the detective as superhero who has it all together. He might not always have the answer, but at least he knows the question.

In STRANGER IN PARADISE, Jesse is drinking again and regularly seeing a psychologist. It was his drinking that cost him his job as an LA homicide detective and made him head east a decade before. And the cause of it is still the same: his on-again, off-again relationship with his ex-wife Jenn.

“He knew he loved her. He knew she loved him. He knew they couldn’t find a way to make it work.

‘Yet,’ he said and drank some more.”

In this story, their relationship is friendly, if not intimate. Jenn works as a weather girl turned investigative TV reporter, which somehow makes perfect sense given the current state of media. A story brings her in close contact with Jesse, much to his anguish. Again, Parker crams a book full of human emotions into just three sentences.

“Jenn came in, dressed to the nines, and gave Jesse a pleasant but passing kiss on the mouth. The thrill of excitement tightened into a knot of desire and sadness. The kiss was passionless.”

Ouch! But Jesse has other things to worry about when the runaway’s mother ends up murdered, and both the Latino gang and the Florida mobster decide to come to Paradise to wage war on Crow. Bodies start appearing in public places.

Crow is a killer and thief, but like Chief Stone, he is calm and self contained. Crow might be for Jesse what Hawk is for Spenser: a scary yet perfect sidekick. It will be interesting to see if Crow finds his way back to Paradise in future installments --- although it might be hard to imagine him in a deputy’s uniform.

STRANGER IN PARADISE is Robert B. Parker at the height of his powers as a writer. He has accomplished with this series exactly what he did so well with the Spenser novels decades ago. We know when we pick up a new book about Jesse Stone that we are going to be entertained and spend time with characters we care about. Few writers can boast of doing that with one mystery series. Parker has done it with three --- an amazing achievement --- and he keeps getting stronger with age.

    --- Reviewed by Tom Callahan

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