Customer Reviews

Night Passage (Jesse Stone Novels)

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Night Passage is the first in Robert B Parker's "Jesse Stone" series, set in the mythical town of Paradise, up near Lynne, Massachusetts. Jesse conveniently runs into just about every major character from the Spenser for Hire series during his adventures over the years.

In essence, Parker is getting back to his roots. At this point in time Spenser is getting far too old to keep detecting, a point that many, many readers have made with a grin. Stone is picking up the mantle, and returning to the hard liquor, hard edged attitude that Spenser had back when he was a pup.

You start with Jesse Stone, aged 34, born in Tucson Arizona, staring at the Santa Monica ocean and pondering how he quit the LAPD. Divorced, 6', 175 pounds, he was a point guard in high school and almost went professional in baseball, but for a career-ending injury. Oh yes, he was in the marines, too.

So he drives his Explorer cross country to the tiny town of Paradise, Massachusetts. The drive takes quite a bit of book to tell. When he gets there, to be their new police chief, he finds a mess. White Supremacists, money laundering, lots of sex. And all through it, you get soap opera scenes of Jesse and his ex-wife Jenn who can't quite live together but can't quite leave each other either.

The writing is classic Spenser style, although in 3rd person. You get both the good and the bad in that sense. I enjoy the wit and the quick paced action, but I really don't like the soap-opera long drawn out scenes where you have to hear for the 800th time how a couple loves each other but has issues with living together.

Also, a number of the actions of the characters make little sense, and seem like they were thrown in for plot reasons. The ending is very rushed and forced. I really like the idea of a new character to keep this universe going, but I hope that by trying to write three series at once, Parker isn't spreading himself a little thin.

IN one of his boldest moves of late, Robert Parker introduces us to a new and highly likeable character in Chief Jesse Stone. Fresh from a dead-end job and a serious drinking problem in Los Angeles, Jesse Stone comes to a quaint little town known as Paradise to take over the responsibilities of police chief. Little does he realize what mayhem lurks just below the surface of this seemingly innocent little harbour town. In a plot full of strange characters and even stranger plot twists, Parker unravels another classic suspense mystery novel. If you like Spenser... you'll LOVE Stone!! Just like he handles the "seedy element" in Paradise, Jesse Stone will catch up to you one way or another by the end of the book. I highly recommend it to all Spenser fans that want to welcome Parker's newest hero with open arms ( and minds!).

It is usually not a good sign when a series author decides to branch out to a new series; it usually means that the author himself has become bored with his creation and wishes to stretch his writing muscles a bit with something new. At best, this gives the faithful reader a new reason to enjoy his favorite author. At worst, the previous creation becomes a sort of exercise in frustration as the writer focuses his attention on his new baby.

In Robert B. Parker's case, we get the latter. Parker had already registered his continued contempt for his first creation, Spenser, by allowing the stories to get maudlin and sloppy, the margins to get wider and wider, and by publishing two installments of new Philip Marlowe adventures, as well as creating a new series starring a female private eye named Sunny Randall. To add insult to injury, here are we are now with "Night Passage", a fourth series concerning an L.A. cop named Jesse Stone transplanted to Paradise, Massachusetts, a bucolic little town on the Atlantic Ocean.

Jesse, plagued by drink and a wishy-washy ex-wife, sets out to remake himself as Chief of Policein a town where no one knows his name. But things get confusing when the department cat is murdered, followed by the killing of the previous chief of police and finally, a young, unwed mother. Jesse is, underneath it all, a good cop, so he is able to pull himself together, solve the crimes and have casual sex with a couple of ladies, thereby working on his abandonment issues.

Parker seems intent on making Stone as different from Spenser as possible, but the differences are superficial. Where Spenser is a hulking ex-boxer, Stone is slight. Spenser enjoys a beer or a glass of fine champagne once in a while but is, ultimately, in control, but Stone is a drunk just barely keeping his head above water. Where Spenser's relationship is stable to the point of saccharine sweetness, Stone's is wobbly. Spenser has Hawk. Stone has . . . Suitcase Simpson,. a gangly redheaded police officer. But none of this matters. The writer is still Parker, the soul is still Spenser.

Nearly half the novel is taken with Jesse's drive across country and settling in to Paradise. By the time Parker gets around to leveling the plot, we almost wish he hadn't; it is ridiculously unlikely and unworthy of a writer of Parker's heart and intelligence.

What makes this novel a good read are the spare, Hemingwayesque prose, the likeable secondary characters, the hints of what is to come. It's an okay start and, I'm not giving anything away, the second book in the series is a grand-slam homerun of a book. You don't need to read this book to enjoy the second (I didn't, until after), but it may set your mind at ease.

I love Spenser (even 'Spenser for Hire'). His strength, indomitability, intelligence, wit and integrity are in short supply in this world, and a well written story (and Parker CAN write) that showcases these character traits makes me feel warm and fuzzy all over.

Stone is smart and competent, and his heart is in the right place. But he's entirely without humor, alone (no Hawk for backup and witty repartee), and spends all of his non-working time feeling sorry for himself because of his recent divorce. And there's no worthy protagonist! Only a couple of spineless, loony bozos. (Vinnie Morris, a frequent and interesting Spenser opponent is here in a very minor role, but as I recall he and Stone never meet.)

There is one constant in this comparison of the two. Stone's ex-wife is also sans any worthwhile qualities (Stone loves her primarily because she's 'quirky'). Susan, Spenser's main squeeze is similarly unendowed, but redeemed herself somewhat in later books. So, as is the wont of such heroes, both Stone and Spenser are true-blue to their self-absorbed partners.

Overall, the story is just OK. Stone's character is just OK. Parker's narrative talents as usual are terrific. But what is missing is our hero's frequent manipulation of the characters and the system to provide an unexpected ending that matches his unusual sense of justice and unity. These conclusions may not at first satisfy the reader, but after some thought can be appreciated nonetheless.

For those who would rate Parker's talents having read only 'Night Passage', don't! Read Spenser. Some of my favorites (in no particular order): 'Early Autumn', 'Small Vices', 'Ceremony', 'Paper Doll', 'Valediction', 'Looking for Rachel Wallace', 'Pastime'.

As you read Robert B. Parker's "Night Passage" you are always thinking in the back of your mind how this book and its hero Jesse Stone are different from his Spenser novels. "Night Passage" is written in third person rather than first person, although there were a few Spenser novels (most notably "Crimson Joy") that had third person sections reflecting the ramblings and doings of the villain. Consequently we get ahead of the hero in terms of knowing what is going on with the bad guys. In terms of the hero, Jesse Stone is the new Chief of Police rather than a detective, talks very little rather than always having a clever quip, is carrying a torch for the wife he recently divorced instead of having a fulfilling relationship with the love of his life, tends to buy store wrapped food rather than cook his own, drinks too much scotch instead of having a taste for imported beer, and does not know who in town or even on his own police force he can trust instead of having a small circle of trustworthy friends. However, the basic elements that make Spenser such an enduring character are present in Parker's new hero as well. Stone takes his job seriously, knows how to pick up on what's happening in town, and is just as concerned with helping people as he is in following the letter of the law. Also, "Night Passage" is set in the Massachusetts of the Spenser novels, as evidenced by the fact that four familiar supporting characters pop up in the course of the book. So, certainly, Parker is still on familiar ground. But do not think that this novel is going to be as quick a read as his Spenser novels.

The plot finds Stone leaving L.A., having lost his job as a homicide detective after he turned to the bottle in the wake of his divorce. Stone has been hired to be the Chief of Police in the town of Paradise and it quickly becomes clear to us that he was hired not in spite of being drunk but because of it. The powers that be want a lush in that key position. But Stone wants to get his life in order and the police officers and citizens of Paradise eventually learn there is more to their new Chief than meets the eye. "Night Passage," despite its time and place, is a good old-fashioned western. There is a new "sheriff" in town to bring law and order to the good folks of Paradise. In that regard the ultimate showdown is a bit over the top, but very must in the vein of the classic western. It will be interesting to see how Parker plays out this hand in future novels in this series.

This is a must read if you are a fan of the Robert B. Parker character Jesse Stone. I had read most of the other books in the series so I don't know how I missed this one, perhaps because the Kindle edition was just published.

This book is the first in the series and tells the story of Jesse leaving LA and taking the job as chief of police in Paradise, Massachusetts. In Paradise he encounters local government corruption, money laundering, white supremacy, and murder (oh, also lots of adultery). Jesse deals with the town problems while fighting his own ... recovering from a recent divorce, and fighting alcoholism.

I enjoyed this book very much and it helped to fill in some blanks about Jesse's past which are referenced in the subsequent novels.

Jesse Stone is a cop on his way down.

Paradise, Massachusetts is a town that isn't quite the idyll it appears on the surface.

Robert B Parker is beginning a new series that bids fair to bring back that snap and magic that i found in the mid-period Spenser books which has, sadly, been somewhat less in evidence in the later ones.

Stone is an LA homicide detective who has hit a bad patch when he realises that his wife is cheating on him, which leads to their divorce which results in his determined attempts to crawl into a bottle of scotch.

Which, in turn, leads first to his long-time partner's reluctant refusal to continue working with him and thence to his captain's offer: resign or be fired.

Paradise, Massachusetts is one of those neat little Colonial towns full of yuppies and Old Money types, and they just happen to need a Chief of Police... and Jesse is Just What They Want, even if he WAS rather more than half-drunk during his employment interview.

In many ways, this story is an "inverted" mystery story, since Parker all along the way keeps us informed as to what the Bad Guys are up to, alternately with showing us Jesse's growing conviction that Something Bad Is Going On.

Jesse is not the wise-cracking near-thug that Spenser is; he is good cop (once he discovers that he doesn't HAVE to get plowed every night and remembers how to be one) with a dry understated sense of humour, and an appreciation of the legal, political and practical aspects of his position. Faced with a thuggish body-builder who laughs in his face while telling him that the restraining order his (the body-builder's) ex-wife has against him is unenforceable, Jesse nods, agrees, and then tells the thug to stay away froem her anyway... following up by proving with sudden and effective violence that even if the Court's restraining order is unenforceable, HIS isn't...

The final confrontation is a bit unbelievable, but, then again, i found most of the mechanics of the actual plot a bit strained and creaky (which explains the 3-star rating given how much i enjoyed the book on first reading) -- but the plot isn't really important, in the last analysis; what IS important is Jesse's beginnings on a journey that will being him back to being a complete man and a complete cop, and THAT doesn't creak at all.

Experienced Parker readers, be warned: Jesse Stone, like Spenser with Susan Silverman, carries a lot of emotional baggage and hang-ups regarding his ex-wife (which she reciprocates. On the other hand, though his emotional states are (or appear), much more intense than Spenser's, he mostly doesn't wax quite so lugubrious and elaborately on about it, though this may be mostly because he is presented third-person rather than as first-person narrator.

These minor caveats aside, this book (and, even more, the sequel, "Trouble in Paradise") is highly recommended, especially for whose reading diet lacks a little something tough to chew on lately.

Recommended whole-heartedly.

I write this only because I like Parker so much and, if you're reading this, you do too. I read this book in about three nights-- twice the time I suspect it took Parker to write it. I'm surprised by all the glowing reviews, since Parker obviously only wrote this one for the money. Yes, there's a new character and a new setting, but beyond that not much. Jesse Stone is a one-dimensional hero with problems that he doesn't really confront or overcome--they just sort of go away (his alcoholism, for example: midway through the book he just kinda forgets to keep drinking or something). His plot offers up inept bad guys (a pathetic wannabe militia who--in the days of Waco, OK City, and the Freemans-- aren't much more menacing than the local Elk's Lodge), and Jesse actually doesn't do much detecting. Mostly he just sort of hangs around places and people confess to him. The dialogue between Jesse and vitually everyone else seems to consist solely of one-sentence phrases that read like they've been written by Ernest Hemingway--if he'd suffered from Attention Defecit Disorder. If you want a quick, easy, shallow read this is it. If you're looking for a smart, compelling page-turner with real characters battling real demons (internal and external) skip this one and read anything by James Lee Burke.

Jesse Stone, a 34 year old cop, has spent fifteen years with the LAPD, his last assignment before his alcoholism got the best of him, a detective in the Robbery Homicide division. With his career with LAPD and his marriage with his actress wife down the tubes, Jesse accepts the job as Chief of Police in a small suburb above Boston, Massachusetts, oddly named Paradise. Soon upon his arrival he learns that names can be deceiving, when he comes across political corruption and a militia group running loose in his town. Add murder and you have a perfect day.

This was the second book in the series that I read (following "Sea Change") and I have to admit I have to add Parker's Jesse Stone series to the list of my all time favorite detective series (eg the 87th Precinct by the late Evan Hunter BKA Ed McBain, and the Alex Cross series by James Patterson).

Jesse Sone, Chief of Police, divorced, drinking problem. A very real world character Parker has invented. Some qualities of this character can be attributed to our super sleuth Spenser if he had stayed with the police department. But there are more qualities that cannot be attributed to Spenser. Jesse is climbing up a hill to get his life back in some order after his divorce.This jesse Stone is a very complex character that I would like to see at the top of that hill once he reaches it. Spenser was missing something in the past few novels from Parker, but it looks like Parker has found what was missing in his new character Jesse Stone. Welcome back Mr. Parker (applause).