Stone Cold: A Jesse Stone Novel (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "After the murder, they made love in front of a video camera..." (more)
Key Phrases: Peter Perkins, Candace Pennington, Kenneth Eisley (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

It's taken four novels, but finally Parker's Jesse Stone series has produced a book as good as top-drawer Spenser. This outing finds the laconic, troubled cop tackling three problems: to capture the pair of serial killers who are murdering random victims in small-town Paradise, Mass., where Stone is chief of police; to bring to justice the three high-school students who gang-raped a younger schoolmate; and to come to terms with his love of both alcohol and his ex-wife, Jenn. The serial killers, revealed early to the reader and soon enough to Stone, are a married yuppie pair who taunt Stone, whom they take as a dumb hick cop, as he collects evidence to bring them down; his pursuit of them leads them to kill someone close to him, then to target Stone himself, and eventually to an emotionally cathartic climax in Toronto, where the killers have fled. That story line serves as a fine little police procedural, but Parker is at his max here when following the rape plot, especially in scenes in which Stone, in his cool, compassionate way, tries to help the besieged victim as best he can. Meanwhile, under intense media attention and pressure from town elders for the ongoing serial killings, Stone works his way toward an understanding of the roles that booze and Jenn play in his life. Told in third-person prose that's a model of economy, with sharp action sequences, deep yet unobtrusive character exploration and none of the cuteness that can mar the Spenser novels, this is prime Parker, testament to why he was named a Grand Master at the 2002 Edgar Awards.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Paradise, Massachusetts, police chief Jesse Stone is an addictive personality. Booze cost him his job as a homicide detective with the LAPD, and after that blew up, he traveled across the country to be near his ex-wife, television journalist Jenn. He refuses to believe it's over between them, and she doesn't help with her come-hither, leave-me-alone mood swings. But the qualities making his personal life hell also make him a good cop. You don't want Jesse to get you in his sights if you're a criminal. The baddies in this case are a couple who target their victims based on looks, stalk them, and kill them with two simultaneous shots from identical .22 caliber pistols. While hunting the psychos, Jesse is also after three middle-class juvenile predators who raped a classmate. Stone is much like Parker's Spenser, but with self-doubt overriding self-confidence. That formula worked fine in the first two Stone novels, but this one is less successful. Too much dime-store psychology between Stone and his Zen therapist; too much love-for-the-ages blather between Stone and his ex; and too much squad-room violence between Stone and his prisoners. Stone is a worthy character, but this is not the novel to make the case. But that doesn't mean Parker's fans won't want the chance to decide for themselves. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult (September 29, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399150870
• ISBN-13: 978-4152085528
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #442,437 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 4 in The Jesse Stone Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Serial killers running wild.........., February 5, 2004

By	jeanne-scott (Asan, Guam) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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.

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The magic is showing again., November 6, 2003

By	R. Shaff "Velocipede" (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty lightweight reading, January 23, 2004

By A Customer

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.