Robert B. Parker's 7th Jesse Stone Novel

Stranger in Paradise by Robert B. Parker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


An interesting book, which shows Parker’s idea of the self-righteous man: “What feels right it’s probably right, regardless what the law says”. Jesse Stone receives an unexpected visit from Crow, a stone-killer with some very precise rules, like: “I will not kill women or children, but everything else goes!” The last time Jesse saw Crow was on a speed boat with a loot of several million dollars. Now, Crow asks Stone’s help to protect a woman and her daughter from their gangster husband & dad. All the time, Jesse continues with his drinking issues and the never ending relationship with his former wife, Jenn. Jesse kind of forgets his police oath, and ignores murder, for the sake of the greater good. Jesse does not let the law get on the way of justice, the way he understands justice. A good read!



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Robert B. Parker's 5th's Sunny Randall's Novel

Blue Screen by Robert B. Parker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It was a good novel, but again I thought the end needed beefing up.
Buddy Bollen, a C movie producer, who made his fortune from a dot-com deal, hires Sunny Randall to protect his girlfriend, Erin Flint, a sexy starlet who is a legend in her own mind. Sunny takes the job, and soon things get complicated. Erin's assistant, Misty, is found dead in the lavish home they share with sugar daddy Bollen. Erin wants Sunny to take charge of the investigation. She doesn’t trust the local Police. “…I'm not leaving it in the hands of some small-town cow-shit sheriff.” She says to Sunny.
Sunny takes the case and in the process develops a relationship with Jesse Stone, chief of police in Paradise, Massachusetts. Jesse and Sunny strike it on from the beginning, while investigating and detecting, they learn about each other-and themselves. Both have hang-ups about their ex partners.
Trying to find out the Misty's murderer reveals a lot of Erin's past and Buddy’s businesses. Misty was her younger sister. Both became prostitutes when they were at their teens. Erin married her pimp, Gerard Basgall. Buddy Bollen's entertainment business was made up of shady film deals, financed by a mobster out for revenge.
It would have been nice if Parker developed what happened to Buddy, but he reaches the end a little too soon. Sunny and Jesse find out who killed Misty, but they realize it was an accidental death. Erin says she did it, and Gerard says he did. Sunny and Jesse let them go.



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Robert B. Parker's 4th's Sunny Randall's Novel

Melancholy Baby by Robert B. Parker

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I liked the book, but not the ending.
Sarah Markham, a young student believes she is not related to her parents, so she hires private eye Sunny Randall to find out 'who her real parents are'. The girl has resources of her own to pay for her services. "They can't find my birth certificate," "They don't remember which hospital I was born in." she tells Sunny.
Sunny takes the job and ploughs forward, while dealing with her feelings for Richie Burke (her ex-husband) with the help of her shrink (Spenser's psychiatrist girlfriend, Susan Silverman). As she moves forward, people are killed, and she zeroes into a holier-than-thou national celebrity, Lolly Drake, who cannot allow her past to be known or it would kill her career.
It is not one of Spenser’s finest novels. An enjoyable novel, yes, but with a less-than-satisfying finish.





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Robert B. Parker's 6th Jesse Stone Novel

High Profile by Robert B. Parker

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


High Profile is the 6th novel in Robert B. Parker’s Jesse Stone series. As in all the previous books, Jesse deals with crimes, attempts to find the murderer, while dealing with love, infidelity and his twin obsessions: Booze and Jenn (his ex-wife). The ending is bittersweet. On the one hand, Jesse shoots the killer but is unable to indict the mastermind behind it all. On the other, he lets go of his girlfriend Sunny Randall while keeping his unfaithful, lying ex-wife.
The mystery plot is about finding who killed a wealthy radio celebrity and his pregnant assistant. Parallel to the case, his ex-wife Jenn asks his help claiming she had been raped. Jesse then asks his current girlfriend, a private detective, Sunny Randall to protect Jenn. It really sounds complicated, but Parker uses these twists to score points about manhood and marital relationships. Jesse is very similar to young Spenser: Drinkers and lovers. Their reasoning and quick wit are similar, except Spenser is a talker and extrovert, while Jesse is quiet and introverted.
I certainly enjoyed reading the book, and definitely recommend it to all Parker's fans, but I lost some respect for Jesse. There are very few hard but good people in the world that would constantly forgive infidelity and lying from a loved one. There is always: No more! Jesse takes it all from his ex-wife, unwilling to let go, showing the kind of weakness an intelligent, tough but sensible person, would not show all of the time, some of the time perhaps, but not all of the time.



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Robert B. Parker's 5th Jesse Stone Novel

Sea Change by Robert B. Parker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


As you can see, I am rereading Robert B. Parker's books. This time I read the 5th of the Jesse Stone novels. I read it before in hard cover and I am reading the whole series now in electronic format: Second time around, twice pleasure. The plot and language are short, crisp, straight and sweet. I read it in a day. The history-line is about finding the murderer of a woman found floating in a lagoon. As Jesse blunders forward, he discovers a sex ring and questions his motivations about his ex-wife. It is a good fun reading. I am starting today on the 6th one, "High Profile".

Robert B. Parker's 39th and last Spenser Novel

Sixkill by Robert B. Parker

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I just finished reading this highly enjoyable book, the last of the Spenser series. The author died in January 2010. I have to say that this is not Parker at his best, but it is still gripping and interesting. The prose is humorous, yet muscular, crisp and direct. He develops a fascinating new character, Zebulon Sixkill, a modern American Indian version of Jim Thorpe. Sixkill has psychological issues that he, after a confrontation with Spenser, is able to overcome with Spenser’s help.
Parker spends time developing Zebulon Sixkill’s character: his growing up, and his football, bouncer and bodyguard careers. However, the book doesn’t follow through. I think Parker was developing a new character for future novels, but he was taken from us long before his time.
The book was probably completed by somebody else. It falls short of explaining where Sixkill goes after being molded by Spenser into the tough, sensitive man he was destined to be. He becomes an errant knight with a clear warrior’s code, just like Spenser: There is a right way and a wrong way. What is right feels right.
The end also doesn’t feel like Parker's. Having said that, it also sounds like Parker’s last good bye and Spenser's exit line: “But life is mostly metaphor, anyway... I got in my car and drove west.”

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