Customer Reviews

Stone Cold: A Jesse Stone Novel

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Robert Parker has created an enigma with his character Jesse Stone. Just when you are sure that you know what Jesse will choose to do next, you are surprised.
In this novel, a pair of serial murderers is running rampant in Jesse Stone's small town. The motive is unfathomable, but then, they ARE serial killers. While Jesse and his police force track the killers, not only the why, but the who will be next question hangs densely in the air.
While the investigation proceeds, Jesse becomes more or less involved with a couple of different women, when his ex-wife enters the picture.
In the center of this novel is the third line of the story involving a young girl who claims to have been raped by some of the jocks at her school. The way Jesse handles this investigation is a wonderful new facet to this character.
The mix of emotions is nearly volatile, and as another murder occurs, you begin to wonder how will Robert PArker bring the story together. I thought the serial killers were a little vague, as characters, but still the surprising twists and turns of this author never fail to capture the readers full attention.

I've been a fan of Robert B. Parker for what seems like ages and have been sorely disappointed and verbally assailing in my reviews of some of his more recent offerings. The jazz, the juice, the stuff that makes RBP, well, RBP, seemed to be gone. Where was the drama, the thick plots, the wit? My feeling was RBP was waning into literary obscurity. So, now, STONE COLD comes along. Not a Spenser novel but a Jesse Stone novel. Well, whatever RBP did to inspire himself relative to creating this storyline, he needs to stay with it. STONE COLD returns RBP to his roots, that of vehement distaste for the "bad guys," love for the hero, and some good old fashioned retribution.

For those unfamiliar with Jesse Stone, he is Spenser's career contemporary albeit his personal antithesis. Jesse is the police chief of Paradise (a community on Boston's North Shore), a functional alcholic, and milktoast in the hands of his ex-wife who is blatantly audacious and Jesse's personal nemesis. Suffice it to say that Jesse is quite human, at times, a little too much so.

A man's body has appeared on the beach, two bullet holes in his heart. There is no evidence to speak of and the investigation runs short before it begins. Shortly thereafter, another victim turns up, this time in the parking lot of the Paradise Mall. She was shot twice in the chest as she unloaded her groceries. Jesse has a bad feeling confirmed when he receives the news that the bullets in both murders came from the same gun. A serial killer.

In the meantime, in a parallel story, a local high school girl has been raped and has come to Jesse for help. What Jesse does here is pure Parker. This is what Parker's fans love.

Jesse's incredibly dysfunctional relationship with Jenn, his ex-wife, continues. Still carrying the torch for everything Jenn, Jesse finds solace in many other women "friends." His syrupy need to get Jenn back is old and you really want to slap him around and say, Wake UP!" But, this character flaw makes him human and, at times, the underdog (read: loveable).

Net, net...Parker is back in this one. He introduces the bad guys early and allows the reader to follow their plans as they play cat-and-mouse against Jesse. Consequently, the suspense in this book is evident at two levels, the murder case and whether or not Jesse is going to "make it" to the next day. The thing we love about Jesse is his compassion for the job and desire to see justice.

Recommended.

The new Jesse Stone book by Robert Parker seems to be the best of this series, with the Paradise chief of police becoming a deeper, if darker, figure for readers to understand. As usual, about 90 percent of what we know from reading the new book comes from tight dialogue and spare description. Writing this tight and lean requires an enormous amount of skill, which Parker has in abundance. This time around, Jesse must cope with serial killers who get sexual pleasure from staging and anticipating their killings. In short order, they select Jesse himself as their next victim, and he moves ever closer to a brutal showdown for someone. Meanwhile, Jesse is trying to come to grips with his ex-wife, Jenn, still tugging at his heart, if not his brain. Razor-sharp dialogue as usual, with Jesse Stone more and more becoming a strong figure we care very much about. A good read.

As others have noted, this is not a big book. Lots of white space - I think it was a one day read for me.

I have enjoyed the other Jesse Stone novels, but I guess the author needs to come up with something new. This is same-old-same-old.

1) Stone can't get over the ex-wife not matter what she does are how bad she treats him

2) Every good looking woman Stone meets wants to take him to bed, and almost without fail Stone goes along.

There is no mystery in the book as the author shows you "who done it" at the start. Nor is there much drama or excitement when the guilty are caught.

Might be worth a read at the cost of a paperback, or free from the library.

Jesse Stone is the beleaguered chief of police in tiny Paradise, Mass. He has ended up there after his job as a cop in Los Angeles, alcohol, and his ex-wife have forced him to redirect his life. Parker's Stone is an appealing character. He takes it one day at time, is a man of principle, and takes his new job seriously.

It is Stone's calmness and instincts as a cop that serve him well in investigating a series of seemingly linked killings in Paradise - something new in this small town. Though the strong, silent type, his sensitivity is evident in his handling of a sexual assault case in the local high school.

Stone has managed to get his alcohol abuse under control, but his ex-wife Jenn, a local TV personality, continues to bedevil him. He simply cannot move on without her, and this is despite his obvious appeal to other attractive and smart women.

The character of Jesse Stone is the reason to read this book, though it is mildly disappointing that the author really gives us little of his background. In addition the perpetrators of the murdering spree remain mostly a puzzle. How did they get to this point? Basically the book is a quick and enjoyable read.

A husband and wife team of serial killers begins operating in Paradise, Massachusetts. They choose a victim and then methodically track their movements until they identify the perfect time to kill them, which is done by two simultaneous shots, one from each of them. After committing the crime, they go back to their apartment and make love while watching videos of their victim. Jesse Stone, the police chief in Paradise, is placed under great pressure to solve the murders. There is no apparent connection between the victims and the last one is a woman that Jesse was dating.
There is also another major case that Jesse is working on. A sixteen-year old girl was gang-raped by three guys who held her down and photographed her. Since the girl had immediately taken a bath after the rapes, there is no physical evidence. They have terrorized her so that she is afraid to accuse them. Jesse is furious and baits a trap for them by supposedly launching an undercover drug investigation at the high school. Since he sends officers that everyone knows, it is generally laughed off. However, one of his officers is female and while driving the bus, she spots one of the rapists smoking a joint. He is arrested and they find one of the photos in his backpack. This starts a process whereby they manage to identify and capture all three boys. However, since they are underage, a plea agreement is reached and they receive relatively light punishment. Jesse does what he can to help the girl, but eventually her family moves out of town.
While Jesse is chasing the demons that are killing people, he must also face some internal demons, his addiction to alcohol and his attachment to Jen, his ex-wife. She is a very selfish woman; she works for a local news station and tries to use Jesse's love for her to get inside information concerning the investigation. Jesse is able to stay away from the alcohol, but despite his relationships with other women, he cannot break away from Jen. When the other women ask him to explain it to them, all he can say is, "I love Jen (more)."
Jesse gets a break in the case when the serial killers target him as their next and last victim in Paradise. He understands that and positions several officers around the site they have chosen to commit the hit. Jesse wears a vest, counting on their pattern of shooting their victims in the chest. He is shot in the chest, but the killers have planned it so well, they manage to escape after killing another officer. However, their arrogance proves to be their undoing, Jesse manages to track them to Canada where they are arrested.
While the story line is a good mystery, what makes this story work so well is the quality of the dialog. The conversations between Jesse and his fellow officers, especially with Molly and Suitcase Simpson, are occasionally hilarious and always entertaining. Even though the dialog is nearly always deadpan and occasionally requires a bit of thought, it is as funny as other stories that are meant to be humorous. Robert Forster's narration also adds a bit of additional intensity, as he deadpans the jokes with just the right lack of extra inflection.

I like Robert Parker's way of writing, view of life and knack for weaving interesting stories about as much as anyone writing today. I am totally captivated by Spenser but find myself growing more and more fond of the Jesse Stone novels.

In this case, a couple that is entirely ruthless and gets their kicks from killing strangers has moved into Stone's small town. As police chief, Stone is faced with tracking down very smart people who have developed a method for identifying and killing people that does not require them to make any significant mistakes or leave any evidence.

The couple begins to be fascinated with the idea of killing Stone; the plot thickens.

In the middle of all this, Stone continues to long for his ex-wife and continues to date without the ability to commit. He struggles with the amount of alcohol he uses to compensate for the emptiness he feels from living without his ex-wife.

Parker has written a number of times about the power of being committed so deeply to someone that you have no choice but to live it out (most powerfully in Love and Glory). Stone Cold takes a deep step into that territory and does it while spinning a very good mystery story.

"Stone Cold" is one of the better, if not the best thing, Parker has written for a while. His Spencer novels are still great, but much of the allure of that series lies in the readers' love for Spencer, Susan, Hawk, and (of course)Pearl the Wonder Dog II. In "Stone Cold" the characters are still interesting--especially Rita--but it is the story and the action that drives the novel and keeps the reader turning the pages even, in my case, when I knew I should have been sleeping. You can feel the heat that Stone is under from the killing spree that he is trying to stop along with the tension of his mixed-up love life. The best part, however, lies in the readers being allowed to see some form of violence acted out on such characters--and here Parker does not spare the reader. In a world that has such monsters in it, it is good to feel Jesse hitting the bastards--and you do feel it--the writing is that damned good. This is Parker at his best, folks, don't miss it.

I really enjoyed this one. The first few Stone novels were a mixed bag, but Parker pulled it togther in this effort. Jesse is definitely not a one dimensional guy. He's complex, introspective and can be tough one moment and vulnerable the next. Did I say "vulnerable"? Oh no! Now I sound like one of Parker's interesting female characters, of whom there are a bunch in this book. Best Stone novel yet.

I have been following Jessie Stone since his creation and was delighted to see another book come out. After reading it I would be delighted if I don't see another book come out.

The book ran parallel plots which did not intersect except in time frame. A rape and a serial killer. I don't have a problem with that. I like Ed McBain's method of doing that in his 87th novels. Here is just seemed as if neither plot got fleshed out and took off. One bounced off the other until you reached the end leaving a "Thank God that is done" feeling not the satisfied feeling I expect when I close a book.

Did I care about anyone? No not even Jess who I rathered liked in previous stories and Jenn managed to really get on my nerves. Jenn was one dimensional. Jess almost made it to two dimensional and everyone else were caricatures of people. They like the plots never fleshed out. Jess is still obsessing about Jenn. [Yawn Jess hint get a life. You might be more interesting. I really don't care at this point] He's still denying his drinking. Anyone who is pouring himself a third drink and getting smashed who says "Maybe I should just give it all up and be a drunk to make the little woman happy" needs a detox asap. Even when he appears to be making progress [or regression in Jenn's case] I couldn't bring myself to care.
If he had been a friend telling me this I would have responded 'yeah right blah blah blah.' Call me when you get real. That was the problem he was never real in this book.

The serial killers were a laugh a second. I just couldn't buy this sex crazed couple killing people to get off. They looked like crazed bunny rabbits compared to the real thing. Shake Serial killers shake. Here comes the fluffy yuppie killers. I didn't buy the reasoning. I didn't buy Dix's diagnosis. I didn't buy Dix period. The rape didn't make it either. The scenes that should have moved me left me yawning. The scenes that should have been bitter were reduced to an oh yeah so sad too bad. The diagnosis of rape read like a male authors concept who doesn't understand the emotions involved or the fears. What the author thought would be the fears of the majority of women alive today was projected. why do I say this? I worked a rape hot line. I was almost insulted by what he wrote.

Don't get me wrong. I really like Parker. I like Stone. I like Spenser. I like some of his other works. This is simply a badly written disappointing book. If you feel you must read it check out your local library. I have all the other Stone books on my library shelves but on this one? I pass. It doesn't even get houseroom.

As Ms Dorothy Parker said "This is not a book to be put aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force."