Night and Day (A Jesse Stone Novel) [Hardcover]

Robert B. Parker (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Jesse Stone Novel | Publication Date: February 24, 2009

Paradise, Massachusetts, police chief Jesse Stone confronts a town’s darkest secrets in the shocking new novel from the New York Times–bestselling author and “America’s greatest mystery writer” (The New York Sun).

Things are getting strange in Paradise, Massachusetts. Police Chief Jesse Stone is called to the junior high school when reports of lewd conduct by the school’s principal, Betsy Ingersoll, filter into the station. Ingersoll claims she was protecting the propriety of her students when she inspected each girl’s undergarments in the locker room. Jesse would like nothing more than to see Ingersoll punished, but her high-powered attorney husband stands in the way. At the same time, the women of Paradise are faced with a threat to their sense of security with the emergence of a tormented voyeur, dubbed “The Night Hawk.” Initially, he’s content to peer through windows, but as times goes on, he becomes more reckless, forcing his victims to strip at gunpoint, then photographing them at their most vulnerable. And according to the notes he’s sending to Jesse, he’s not satisfied to stop there. It’s up to Jesse to catch the Night Hawk, before it’s too late.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In bestseller Parker's fluffy eighth Jesse Stone novel (after Stranger in Paradise), the Paradise, Mass., police chief almost effortlessly performs his laconic magic to restore order and right wrongs. When Betsy Ingersoll, the junior high school principal, decides to conduct a check of girls' undies before an eighth-grade dance, it may or may not have been a crime, but it certainly provokes a firestorm of protests. Then there's a Peeping Tom calling himself the Night Hawk, whose activities escalate from watching to home invasions. In addition, the legal activities of a group of adults calling themselves the Paradise Free Swingers are badly affecting two children. Jesse's ex-wife, Jenn, and his deputies, Molly Crane and Suit Simpson, lend support. With a few bold strokes, Parker sketches characters and plot, then uses long stretches of his trademark pithy dialogue to carry the story briskly forward. The result may not provide much of a meal, but it's certainly an enjoyable snack. (Feb.)
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From Booklist

Paradise, Massachusetts, has seen its share of crime since Jesse Stone became the police chief, and as officer Molly Crane observes, it seems more like Sodom and Gomorrah every day. This time trouble erupts when middle-school principal Betsy Ingersoll does a panty check of her female students before an after-school dance—she was checking “suitability,” according to the unrepentant Mrs. Ingersoll. After Jesse and Molly have dispersed the irate parents, the questions of motive and potential charges remain at issue. It doesn’t help that Mr. Ingersoll is the managing partner of Boston’s most influential legal firm. There’s also the matter of a peeping tom—calling himself the Night Hawk in letters to Stone—who has escalated from just looking to home invasion and photographing his nude victims. The key to the Night Hawk’s identity may lie somewhere within Paradise’s wife-swapping, swinging-couples scene. Stone, who continues to struggle with his drinking and his obsession with his manipulative ex-wife, is the most engaging of Parker’s post-Spenser contemporary protagonists—Everett Hitch and Virgil Cole from the author’s two recent westerns are equally appealing. This is a solid, though lightly plotted mystery, but the dialogue is spot on, and the professional chemistry between Stone and his small force is its own reason to read the series. --Wes Lukowsky

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 289 pages
• Publisher: Putnam (February 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1607516713
• ISBN-13: 978-0399155413
• ASIN: 0399155414
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (100 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #295,059 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert B. Parker (1932-2010) has long been acknowledged as the dean of American crime fiction. His novel featuring the wise-cracking, street-smart Boston private-eye Spenser earned him a devoted following and reams of critical acclaim, typified by R.W.B. Lewis' comment, "We are witnessing one of the great series in the history of the American detective story" (The New York Times Book Review). In June and October of 2005, Parker had national bestsellers with APPALOOSA and SCHOOL DAYS, and continued his winning streak in February of 2006 with his latest Jesse Stone novel, SEA CHANGE.

Born and raised in Massachusetts, Parker attended Colby College in Maine, served with the Army in Korea, and then completed a Ph.D. in English at Boston University. He married his wife Joan in 1956; they raised two sons, David and Daniel. Together the Parkers founded Pearl Productions, a Boston-based independent film company named after their short-haired pointer, Pearl, who has also been featured in many of Parker's novels.

Parker began writing his Spenser novels in 1971 while teaching at Boston's Northeastern University. Little did he suspect then that his witty, literate prose and psychological insights would make him keeper-of-the-flame of America's rich tradition of detective fiction. Parker's fictional Spenser inspired the ABC-TV series Spenser: For Hire. In February 2005, CBS-TV broadcast its highly-rated adaptation of the Jesse Stone novel Stone Cold, which featured Tom Selleck in the lead role as Parker's small-town police chief. The second CBS movie, Night Passage, also scored high ratings, and the third, Death in Paradise, aired on April 30, 2006.

Parker was named Grand Master of the 2002 Edgar Awards by the Mystery Writers of America, an honor shared with earlier masters such as Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen.

Parker died on January 19, 2010, at the age of 77.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest books I've read, June 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Night And Day (Harvest Book, Hb 263) (Paperback)

Woolf portrays the fascinations of self-discovery through relationships with other people, and she also looks into the intricacies of love--are we aware of love? What is the importance of love in a person's life? Does one need it to be happy? Taking a peek into the answers of these questions along with adding delightful humor that made me laugh out loud made this book terrific. The characters are interesting and you can choose for yourself whether or not you like them. I would definitely recommend this book--its many levels are enjoyable for all ages and both sexes!

46 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book, December 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Night And Day (Harvest Book, Hb 263) (Paperback)

Virginia Woolf does such a wonderful job of revealing the many facets of an individual. In this book, she applies that task to couples in love. It is a marvel that she not only identifies the many nuances of a glance, a word, a movement, but that she also conveys them to the reader in a perfect sentence. This book, unlike some of her others, seems written to appeal to a broader audience. It is "easier" than some of her other fiction, but is by no means a bore for Woolf fans.

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great writing, October 23, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Night And Day (Paperback)

As in the other Virginia Woolf books I have read, what strikes me first and foremost is the wonderful writing. The descriptions are phenomenal, starting with the surroundings and continuing with the character's facial expressions. Some of the passages are pure poetry and the characters are beautifully and consistently drawn out. Oddly, although we know that Katharine is beautiful, we do not get a description of her, or of any other person in the story, with the exception of William Rodney.

Woolf became a little heavy when it went into the minds of the characters who are in crises, but as one reaches the end of the book, all is forgiven.

An excellent read!