Robert B. Parker's Killing The Blues

Jesse Stone #10

by Michael Brandman

Paradise, Massachusetts, police chief Jesse Stone returns in a brilliant new addition to the New York Times-bestselling series.Paradise, Massachusetts, is preparing for the summer tourist season when a string of car thefts disturbs what is usually a quiet time in town. In a sudden escalation of violence, the thefts become murder, and chief of police Jesse Stone finds himself facing one of the toughest cases of his career. Pressure from the town politicians only increases when another crime wave puts residents on edge. Jesse confronts a personal dilemma as a burgeoning relationship with a young PR executive, whose plans to turn Paradise into a summertime concert destination may have her running afoul of the law.When a mysterious figure from Jesse's past arrives in town, memories of his last troubled days as a cop in L.A. threaten his ability to keep order in Paradise-especially when it appears that the stranger is out for revenge.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Audiobook, Detective, Mystery Thriller, Thriller

285 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 13, 2011

About the author

Michael Brandman is an acclaimed novelist, screenwriter, and motion picture & television producer.

His Jesse Stone novels, KILLING THE BLUES, FOOL ME TWICE, and DAMNED IF YOU DO, each based on characters created by the late Robert B. Parker, are all New York Times best sellers.

Together with Tom Selleck, he has written and produced nine Jesse Stone films for television, the tenth of which will premiere in the Spring of 2019.

His new series of Buddy Steel mystery novels debuted in 2017 with MISSING PERSONS. The second book in the series, ONE ON ONE, made its debut in August. WILD CARD, the third in the series, will be released in April, 2019.

He has produced more than forty motion pictures, including works by Tom Stoppard, Arthur Miller, Neil Simon, David Mamet, Elmore Leonard, Louis L'Amour, and Stephen Sondheim.

He lives in Los Angeles and is married to the award winning actress, Joanna Miles. He is the father of two sons.

(source: Amazon)

Reviews

[Kemper · Rating 2 out of 5]

After Robert B. Parker died his family decided to farm out his characters to other writers, and that’s tricky business. However, the hiring of Ace Atkins to take over Spenser turned out to be an inspired choice that revitalized the series. I’d had a fairly low opinion of the Jesse Stone books, but oddly enough had liked the TV movies based on them starring Tom Selleck because they’d toned down the elements I didn’t care for and turned them into a well crafted set of low key mysteries with a brooding atmosphere. So picking one of the main producers and screenwriters of those to carry on seemed like a natural fit.

Well, it looked like a good idea on paper.

There’s a lot to question about Michael Brandman’s choices here. First off, he seems hellbent on shaping the books to conform to the TV movies by having Jesse buy a new house that matches the one that the Selleck version lives in, and he also dumps the budding romance that RBP had started for Jesse in his last book. There’s no real purpose to it other than to try and make the books match the movies and discovering that Jesse and Sunny have gone their separate ways in between books is a bummer if you’d been rooting for those two crazy kids to finally get together.

Even worse is the story here because Jesse comes across as a rogue cop who is also a raging hypocrite. After a string of car thefts turns into a murder case Jesse’s reaction is not to investigate or try to do anything through normal police channels. Instead he immediately launches an off-the-books sting operation in which he illegally holds a suspect for days in a locked room and threatens to murder him. A lot of crime books feature a cop getting his hands dirty at some point, and Jesse has never been above breaking a rule if the situation called for it, but going Code Red right from the jump before even trying to do anything else to stop the bad guys seems like a huge overreaction.

Then we’ve got a subplot involving a revenge seeking ex-con coming to Paradise because Jesse’s beating of him back in his drunken days with the LAPD left the guy with brain damage. Seems like that man has a legitimate beef.

Another subplot finds Jesse trying to help a teenage girl who has been bullied by her classmates. That seems like a pretty noble cause. Yet Jesse meets this girl while she’s holding a gun on her principal. Jesse blames the principal for not helping the girl enough and never charges her with anything. In fact, he then proceeds to shame the principal mercilessly for failing to help the girl enough. Which is true, but it’s just completely nuts that in this day and age that Jesse doesn’t arrest someone who brought a gun to a school and threatened somebody with it.

So Jesse is willing to illegally kidnap a suspect and hold him without due process, he once used unnecessary force that permanently disabled a man, and he doesn’t charge a student who threatens someone with a gun in a school. That’d make you think that Jesse is completely off the rails here and doesn’t give a damn about the rules, right?

Yet when the town’s PR lady (Who just happens to be Jesse’s latest sex partner.) is trying to set up a rock concert Jesse points out that the town curfew is 11 PM, and that he’ll enforce any noise ordinances after that time even if she gets a waiver from the city council.

Yeah, that Jesse is a real stickler for the the rules...

The whole thing is just a mishmash of inconsistent character traits that make the book a mess, and while reading I was hoping that someone would stop Jesse’s reign of terror. The only good thing about this is that it gave me a new appreciation for what a great job Ace Atkins did with the Spenser series, and I can only hope that when the series is handed over to the next writer in a few books that it improves.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Robert B Parker died and for some odd reason the TV movies were stopped on TV it left Jesse Parkers adventures stalled. Jesse Parker easily being Parkers most enjoyable leading character in my humble opinion was well and rounded written and his TV version was easily one of my favorite TV policemen in recent years with the brilliant performance of Tom Selleck.

Here is the 1st continuation novel after the passing of Robert B Parker into the next level of existence. One would expect a drop in quality as Parker is really major league crime writing when it comes to the likes of Jessie Stone, Spenser and Cole & Hitchen.

Well it is actually quite a good book, probably due to the fact that the writer has also been responsible for the scripts of the last few TV scripts in the Jesse Stone series. The book continues the story of Jessie Stone in Paradise not like the TV show but in Parkers book series.

Jesse Stone finally moves to the house he has on the TV show, he gets a cat, gets caught up in a crime wave of Honda cars being stolen which sets him up against an up and coming crime figure. Then there is a freed prisoner who carries a grudge against Jesse and brings it to Paradise in a rather unsavory way. And then there is the case of the bullying of an high-school girl which leads to Jesse looking into some personnel at the school itself. And there is of course a lovely lady ready to jump Jesse's bones.

The whole story is written and develops in a leisurely style to which the readers of the novels are accustomed to until the story is resolved and you wonder what happened to time and are annoyed you have to seek out the next novel to know what Jesse does next.

A worthy continuation story well worth your while.

[Aristotle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the seventh Michael Brandman book i read. Four Buddy Steel and three Jesse Stone, they were all good reads. Expect for this one.
Borderline unreadable. It lacked the crisp snarky dialogue and the plots were just plain ridiculous.

[Jack Heath · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars. With the sudden passing of the inimitable Robert B. Parker, we have a new author. Michael Brandman makes a very good start with this Chief Stone entry. Compared to the 9 earlier volumes, I found his style just a touch heavy, but it's his first. He's a worthy successor. Stone confronts a rash of car thefts. From every-now-and-then, they become almost hourly. Late model Hondas and Toyotas. Because of his previous experience, the Chief knows these thefts are not the result of teenagers out for a joy ride, but mob related, cars being stolen and taken to a chop shop to be sold for parts on the underground market. One enjoyable characteristic of Stone is his innovative approach to crime solving. He pressures his old nemesis, Hasty Hathaway, newly re-elected as a selectman in Paradise after a stint in jail and now an owner of a used car dealership, to provide him with two decoy cars to lure the thieves. The idea works and leads Stone to Boston and Gino Fish. There's another highlight - with the flame cooling between Jesse and Sunny, he meets the new event planner for Paradise, the young and ambitious Alexis. It's a fun read. (No2022/Mar2024)

[Natasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been reading Robert B Parker's various series since forever and loved his witty dialogue and fast-paced action. When Parker died in 2011 I assumed that his characters would die with him. I was quite surprised to discover Robert B. Parker's Killing the Blues by Michael Brandman and incorrectly assumed that Parker left a book unfinished and Brandman stepped in to complete the novel. Not so. This is Brandman through and through. Brandman only bases his version of this Jesse Stone novel on Parker's original series. I initially struggled with this book as the voice is not at all Robert B Parker's voice and Brandman completely missed the mark on the tone and a few of the characters (particularly Molly and Stone's relationship). About half-way through the book I realized that Brandman tells a pretty good story, one that I didn't want to put down. Had this been Brandman's own work, based on his own characters, I would have rated it higher. It's clear that Brandman is still finding his own Jesse Stone voice, and with time it may be easier to accept a Robert B Parker substitute.

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Everyone is blessed with certain talents and attributes that can be developed into skills. One of mine is a well-honed skill of not writing like Robert B. Parker. And because I am so good at not writing like Parker, I can easily tell when others also don't write like Parker.

Michael Brandman doesn't write like Parker. It is apparent that he has studied Parker's writing style, probably talked with others who knew him well and had worked with him (family, friends, editorial team, etc.). The result, however, is a pale imitation of Parker's perhaps inimitable style. The language and word choice is similar, but off. The events described in the story are also off, somehow not what Parker's characters would have chosen to do. Less elegant, less intelligent, less thoughtful, less interesting. Stone's conversations with Dix, his therapist, are like what I might expect from an undergrad in psychology. Certain phrases and words jangle with the harshness of their misplacement (or placement at all) in the story line. It's unfortunate. With Parker gone, their are few writing today who could be his heir apparent. One that comes to mind is Robert Crais, author of the Elvis Cole/Joe Pike mysteries. I recommend Crais rather than Brandman for a flavor of Parker's style.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised by Michael Brandon's take on Jesse Stone. I hadn't intended to read the continuations of the Stone and Spenser series by other writers. But Kevin Tipple reviewed this one on his blog, Kevin's Corner, and it intrigued me enough to give it a try.

Author Brandon has worked in the worlds of Robert B. Parker for years now. He wrote some of the Spenser telemovies and recently on Tom Selleck's series of Jesse Stone films.

He's managed to capture Parker's style very easily in KILLING THE BLUES. There's major crimes going down as the summer season begins and tourists start to populate the small town of Paradise. A car theft ring is moving in and the town fathers don't want the tourists upset. Also, Jesse's is dealing with an incident at school, a girl group bullying another, and he deals with that in a manner designed to keep all safe from stupid happenings.

There's also a career criminal out of prison from his old days as an L.A. cop coming to town to extract revenge. In this new computer age, it's too easy to find someone. Jesse knows he's coming, warned by his old boss.

Liked this and may stick with more. We'll see. Now if someone will do a review of the latest Spenser novel, I may try that one. Or not. I still have Parker's last one to read.

[Eric_W · Rating 2 out of 5]

I always liked the Jesse Stone series better than Parker's Spenser novels. After his death, the series has apparently been taken over by Michael Brandman, and it's been a disappointment. He's tried to capture the staccato cadence of Parker's books and succeeded to some extent, but Stone has lost all subtlety and he's not as interesting a character. Meld that with several irrelevant side-plots that muddy things (cat, bullying, personal vendetta, another real estate agent squeeze, etc.) and one wonders where things are going. Brandman is just trying to hard to add the pop-psychology crap that irritated me in the Spenser novels, and we are expected to believe that Jesse Stone lecturing a group of girls on their bad behavior will immediately reform them. Then he lectures the principal of the school in a silly diatribe. Molly and Suit disappear into the muck whereas in the real Stone books they were developing into interesting characters.

Oh well. Robert Parker should be left to rest in peace. The idea that anyone could simply pick up and continue a series demeans the author's craft.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this novel tight, interesting and a fun read. I think it is well worth your time. Since there maybe contrasting opinions, judge for yourself and let fellow readers know. 9 of 10 stars

[Don Crouch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Your reaction to the simple existence of a Jesse Stone novel written by someone who's not Robert B. Parker will likely define your approach to reading it.

If, like me, you are a long-time reader of the late, lamented Grand Master Parker, you will be rightly skeptical. The stylistic differences, coupled with clearly different skill-sets, will be off-putting. The choices Michael Brandman makes early in the book will drive you crazy. You might want to fling the book out a window, even.

If, however, you come to Killing The Blues as an admirer of the Jesse Stone TV-Movies, on which Brandman and Parker were frequent collaborators, you'll likely be spared such self-righteous angst.

Brandman seems to be blurring the lines between book and movie continuity now, to the point that Killing The Blues is much like those "tv tie-in" books that support CSI and other long-running series. The settings and characters now resemble the movies more than previous books.

By itself, Killing The Blues is a very effective story of obssession, redemption and all the themes Parker made resonate so well. It weaves a few compelling plot-lines together pretty seamlessly. It's very entertaining crime-fiction commerce.

As summer approaches Paradise, Jesse is greeted with a new wave of car thefts, all Hondas. Clearly an organized-crime expansion into His Town to feed their chop-shop appetites. Jesse wants to stop the crimes, but the Paradise Board of Selectmen want to stop the threat to The Season, which creates some cross-purposes, and opportunities for Jesse to display his ironic aversion to authority.

Jesse hears from his old boss in L.A. A former victim of Jesse's dark past, Ruthless Thug Rollo Nurse, has been released, and word has drifted that Jesse will be his target. The cat-and-mouse between Jesse and Rollo form the core of the book's narration. The other threads of Brandman's story weave around it, and provide nice balance.

When Parker died, Jesse seemed headed towards a really fun relationship with Sunny Randall. That's "resolved" rather quickly, so we can watch Jesse do the dance with Alexis Richardson, neice of a town Selectman, and PR person. She wants to launch a Rock Festival in town. Sparks fly, take-out is consumed, frolic ensues.

As Jesse gets close on the car-thefts, Rollo arrives and begins to work his twisted revenge scheme on Jesse. Brandman stages these quite well, creating some real loin-girding moments for us. He also does good work in forcing us to observe Rollo's psychosis as a result of Jesse's Great Flaw. It'll keep ya thinking.

Brandman also takes a trendy whack at school bullying, starting and finishing an episode at the local Junior High providing some character beats for Jesse, but nothing significant beyond them.

So, for Parker fans, what's missing? The obvious is that Parker wrote human dialogue better than almost anyone, so anyone else using the characters is going to suffer by comparison. There's also a marginalization of Molly Crane that is saddening. She's there for comic relief, but the banter between her and Jesse is just functional, totally lacking Parker's insightfulness. She is, here, a reflection of the TV version.

And there's the whole commercial orientation. Parker loved to make money, of course, but he always had something on his mind, and used his characters to flesh out those thoughts. Brandman has a whole other direction here, and it occasionally disrupts the reading experience.

However, anyone getting too high on their horse should remember, in literature, characters always live on. Parker wrote a Philip Marlowe by himself (Perchance To Dream), after finishing Chandler's Poodle Springs, and it was huge fun. Jeffrey Deaver just published a James Bond novel. Ace Atkins (YAY!) will pick up the Spenser series. The key is how involved the Parker estate remains in the execution of these series. That influence will determine the quality of future installments primarily by ensuring selected authors stay true to what made the characters worth continuing in the first place.

So, get Killing The Blues, have fun with it, be wistful, and enjoy the ride. It's what Parker would've wanted us to do.

[Steven Belanger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to dislike it because the continuation of someone else's baby by another writer just doesn't sit well with me--and they usually fail, or seem intent to just make money (see: James Bond). But Brandman does a good job here, keeping most of Parker's Jesse Stone while adding the inevitable small changes. Most of these changes work.

Jesse talks a little more; he actually sounds a bit more like Spenser. I thought the original character was too quiet, as Brandman apparently did. Parker also got hung up too much on Jenn; it was time for her to go, and she has. The Parker combination of Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall always seemed forced to me; perhaps he felt he had nothing much more to say about her,especially after Helen Hunt turned down the role. I don't know, but they definitely needed to break up, and they have. Stone also comes across here as a little more...stoic (sorry), which is odd since he speaks more here. But he admits directly that he didn't miss Sunny. In a Stephen King story, he'd be asking Parker directly why he had to date Sunny, anyway. His direct actions and verbosity work for me, though he also seems too Spenserian when he helps the ex-hood find a job, and when he talked to the female students, the teacher and the principal. (Note to Brandman: Massachusetts doesn't have homeroom anymore; it's now called advisory.) Parker's anti-teacher torch is definitely carried on.

So Stone doing his Spenser impersonation didn't work for me, and Stone is certainly not a cat-lover. I guess Brandman wanted to set up a Stone/Spenser duality; maybe he's taking over Spenser, too. If so, it was wise for him to turn out a Stone book first, before he tackled the iconic Spenser.

Brandman's book is a little edgier than Parker's would've been, maybe a little more noir. That's okay with me. A few things didn't work, but that's to be expected. And Brandman creates an admirable mixture of a book that's 70% Parker and 30% Brandman. Perhaps Parker, notoriously productive, already had a large part of the ms. written--notice that the copyright belongs to the Estate of Robert B. Parker, not to Brandman. Had this been 100% Brandman, I doubt that would be the case. We'll have to see with future Stone books.

The torch has changed hands, but it hasn't gone out. Brandman has earned the right here to run with it.

[mwbham · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a "Robert B Parker" book written by Michael Brandman, who worked with Parker to produce the TV adaptations of Parker's books and also did the screenwriting. This is a Jesse Stone novel. It looks like Parker's books in that it uses unusually thick paper, wide margins, and the majority of short sentences have their own line - even one word sentences. Hence the book cover to cover is greater than an inch thick. However, if you counted words I would expect the number to be 1/3 to 1/2 the number in most books. I didn't mind Parker doing this because I enjoyed his sense of humor and his characterizations. In addition to the obvious differences (after all it's NOT Parker writing), I also noticed details that were incorrect in the Jesse Stone storyline. I'm afraid I only read 30 pages before I gave up. Maybe I should have tried harder.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Brandman continues the Jesse Stone mystery series developed by the late Robert Parker in KILLING THE BLUES. Jesse Stone is the Chief of Police in Paradise MA, a small beach town. In case you are new to the series, Stone's background includes many years as an aggressive LA police officer who relocated to the much smaller town in MA to escape alcohol and serious personal problems.
action.

Stone responds to a variety of events in Paradise including a series of car thefts, a murder at the scene of one of the thefts, animal killings and a new romantic interest. A strange and violent figure from his LA past emerges in Jesse's small Paradise jurisdiction to require his well known decisive action.

Michael Brandman is true to the style and great plotting originated by Robert Parker. I enjoyed the Parker stories and am pleased with Brandman's continuation of the detective series. If you enjoyed Parker , this one will provide a satisfying extension of Jesse Stone novels.

[Giovanni Gelati · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think like many fans saddened by the passing of Robert Parker, we were left with a question in our heads. Is this franchise going to be carried on and if so by whom? I have included Michael Brandman’s bio after the synopsis so if you have not heard of the author or his creds, now you do. I have to admit and have done so many times that I am a huge fan of Parker’s and his many franchises. Jesse Stone, the king of dialogue, is one of my favorites. I saw that this was set for release and I was of two minds. Can they pull it off, can they even come close, and where are they going to this universe that I enjoy so much called Paradise?
The answers came for me rather quickly. I carefully read the jacket and the new author’s bio. I liked that they chose him to do this. I need to say this even though I am a book reviewer. I enjoy Tom Selleck as Jesse Stone; he carries it off pretty well. So when you mix the two, the writer that puts the words into Tom Selleck’s mouth and drives the television action with just the written word, how much closer can you get than to someone like Michael Brandman that has been inside of Robert Parker’s head and carried it off so many times in another media. I was happy, not euphoric, but happy. Now what is between the covers?
I saw a pattern and an agenda here. Was I happy with all of it? No. I was happy I was getting something that was as close to the original as possible, almost but not quite, but then again the guy that invented the brand, the universe, is no longer here. Let’s face facts, as readers and consumers, something was going to change, the visceral feel, that sameness, the fabric of the whole thing, there are a few new wrinkles in it. Are they all bad? No. I was happy to get the read in on a set of characters that I enjoy and hold dear. I think maybe too many “reviewers” took things a bit too seriously when they penned their reviews. A new sheriff is in town, and I am going to guess that includes a new direction and new media tie in as both are being written by the same guy. My question to you as a reader is, do you think that it is good for the same person to have control over both the written work as well as the visual one? Do you think that this franchise would be better carried off by having a different author?
Here is the synopsis and the author’s bio:
“Paradise, Massachusetts, police chief Jesse Stone returns in a brilliant new addition to the New York Times-bestselling series.
Paradise, Massachusetts, is preparing for the summer tourist season when a string of car thefts disturbs what is usually a quiet time in town. In a sudden escalation of violence, the thefts become murder, and chief of police Jesse Stone finds himself facing one of the toughest cases of his career. Pressure from the town politicians only increases when another crime wave puts residents on edge. Jesse confronts a personal dilemma as well: a burgeoning relationship with a young PR executive, whose plans to turn Paradise into a summertime concert destination may have her running afoul of the law.

When a mysterious figure from Jesse's past arrives in town, memories of his last troubled days as a cop in L.A. threaten his ability to keep order in Paradise-especially when it appears that the stranger is out for revenge.
About the Author
Robert B. Parker was the author of more than fifty books. He died in January 2010.
Michael Brandman is uniquely qualified to carry the Jesse Stone series into the future. An award-winning producer of more than thirty motion pictures, he collaborated with Robert B. Parker on more than a dozen of them. Together they wrote the screenplay for Tom Selleck's TNT movie Monte Walsh. Brandman produced and Parker wrote three Spenser films for A&E, and their collaboration continued with the Jesse Stone TV movies currently broadcast on CBS. Brandman lives in California.”
Check out the newest releases from Trestle Press: April Pohren ”Welcome to the Land of Insanity” , Angelique LaFontaine & Eddie Frantom ”Thirty -1: Salvation”, B.R. Stateham ”Insatiable” from the “Drunk on the Moon” series by Paul D. Brazill, David Hoof ”Sharpshooter”, Karen Anna Vogel “The Amish Knitting Circle”, Lisa Taylor “Shana Black: The Invention” , Mark Cooper “Infection” ,Mark Cooper “How I met Your Mother: First Date”, De Miller “12 Steps” volume 2 of the “One” series by Mark Miller, Sam Lang “Reprisal: Shadow Boxing” volume 3, Michelle Vasquez “’Til Death Do Us Part”, Darren Sant ”Community Spirit” volume 2 of “The Tales of the Longcroft Estates”, J.E. Seymour “Pale Horse”, Tom Sumner “All I wanted was a Haircut #5”, Jeffrey Martin & Giovanni Gelati from The Author’s Lab/Collaboration series “Forsaken”, CQ Scafidi “Time Couriers” (Barnes & Noble’s Nook version), Darren Sant “Flashes of Revenge”,S.L. Schmidtz “Mina’s Daughter…The Harker Chronicles, Vol.1”, Chantal Boudreau “Weird,Wicked & Wonderful: Technopathy ,Volume 2”, Werner Lind & Giovanni Gelati from The Author’s Lab/Collaboration series “Mrs. G’s Vampires” , Sam Lang & Giovanni Gelati “Two John’s” from The Author’s Lab/Collaboration series.

[Ashley · Rating 1 out of 5]

The most complimentary thing I can say about this book is that it was a quick read.

[Kevintipple · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Robert B. Parker’s Killing the Blues” is the latest in the Jesse Stone series. With the sudden death of author Robert B. Parker in January 2010, this franchise now rest in the hands of Michael Brandman. Since Mr. Brandman has been the executive producer, among other duties, for the CBS movies it is hard to imagine who else would be better suited to pick up the series.


It is spring in Paradise, Massachusetts and at least some of the board of selectmen are still far more worried about the coming summer season with tourism and public appearances then actually providing constructive support and resources. It is an old situation to Jesse and one that he tolerates as folks do have to make their public positions known. Instead of power points and detailed speeches in public, Jesse Stone prefers to let his actions do the talking.


Behind the scenes, though he does not want to detail it out for the board of selectman, Police Chief Jesse Stone is at work investigating a string of auto thefts. It is a problem when tourists have their cars stolen. Not only does it provide a problem from the tourism angle and the life blood those dollars give the small community of Paradise, Massachusetts the recent thefts signal a far bigger problem with organized crime once again trying to move into the area. Not to mention the latest case of bullying over at one of the schools. If that was not enough, a career criminal recently released from prison is coming to Paradise bent on revenge against Jesse Stone and ultimately killing him. Of course, like any crazed convict of TV show or book, he first must make Jesse and his town suffers through various escalating acts of violence.


The 276 page book serves as a fitting tribute to the series and the style of Robert B. Parker. The Parker tradition of short chapters, the use of very few dialogue tags, very little description and plenty of action continues in this latest novel. This is a slightly harder edged Jesse, somewhat less reflective while more prone to unorthodox and possible illegal actions, as he works to keep his town of Paradise safe. How the series continues from here should be very interesting.


Robert B. Parker’s Killing The Blues: A Jesse Stone Novel
Michael Brandman
G.P. Putnam’s Sons (Penguin Group, USA)
http://www.penguin.com
2011
ISBN# 978-0-399-15784-4
Hardback
275 Pages
$25.95


Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Texas Public Library System.


Kevin R. Tipple © 2012
Reviews, news and more http://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/

[Carl Alves · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had previously read one of Parker's novels in the Jesse Stone series and I absolutely hated it. With a new author on board, I figured I would give it a try and I was pleasantly surprised. There were multiple story lines going on this novel. The most prominent is an ex-con Stone had seriously messed up while he was drunk and angry coming after him in Paradise. A car theft ring with mob ties ends up in murder. A bullied girl holds her principal at gun point, and Stone develops a love interest. It's almost too much going on for such a short novel, but at least it kept the story moving at all times, and there is little wasted space.

I liked the writing style in this novel, more so than Robert Parker's. As I mentioned, the pace was strong. I thought the portrayal of Jesse Stone was well done. There were some elements of believability that were lacking. For one thing, for a small resort town, there is a hell of a lot of crime going on. It's almost a bit much. The other thing that I didn't care for was that the story lines were wrapped up a little too cleanly, and there was too much of a redemption theme going on. Overall, I did enjoy the novel as a light, fun read.

Carl Alves - author of Blood Street

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have never read another Robert Parker novel (or another Jesse Stone story) (or Michael Brandman) so have nothing to compare this book to. My husband reads heavy books (history, non-fiction, etc.) and reads a light detective novel once in a while for a break. He insisted that I read this one because it was quick, humorous and had a cat in it. I was reluctant because I hate detective/mystery type novels, but he insisted. He said it was a very quick read and I would (again) find it humorous and "it has a cat in it."

So, I relented and spent an afternoon on the patio, with a marguerita or two, reading this "quick, humorous book with a cat in it."

It was, indeed, a quick read and it was humorous and it did have a cat in it. Some of of the characters were also humorous, along with the cat, and I did enjoy it. This would not be my type of reading material all the time, but I have to admit it was a nice break and I enjoyed the chuckles and easy read. And, of course, I loved Mildred Memory, the cat.....

[Jerry B · Rating 3 out of 5]

We have a range of mixed feelings about “Killing The Blues”, a tenth entry in Robert B. Parker’s Jesse Stone set about a witty but competent Paradise, Mass., police chief. This is the first, however, written by author Michael Brandman at the request of the estate after Parker’s death; no doubt Brandman was picked for his screen-writing duties in the Jesse Stone films starring Tom Selleck. What bothered us was the telling of multiple stories – car thefts, a girl being bullied, a former convict out for revenge, and so on – that really had nothing to do with each other; and all seemed to have a “Hollywood” ending as though we readers needed everything tied up with a ribbon before exiting the theater. It also took us awhile to warm to the “new” Jesse, in terms of action and dialogue, although we think the author eventually got pretty close on that score.

We see that Brandman has published a second Jesse Stone (“Fool Me Twice”). We’re fond enough of the character to give it another try, but hope for closer proximity to Parker's storycrafting next time out.

[Mya R · Rating 1 out of 5]

This first continuation of Parker’s Jesse Stone series by a different author has a bizarrely chaotic plot, and no depth to the characters or their relationships. Scenes that would have held witticism and banter under Parker’s hand are just brittle here. One can criticize many things about Parker, but the layers of self-deprecating humor in his various protagonists are essential. Brandman fails at including any of that wry insight. Parker’s prose might be abbreviated but it also includes pauses for appreciating beauty, as well as chapters that are entirely angst. I would be fine with less angst in Parker’s writing but Brandman doesn’t include any. His decisions for Stone make it clear he doesn’t understand or love the characters. An unfortunate choice for carrying on the Jesse Stone books.

[Jed Lamprey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm going to give this one three stars as a compromise. As a standalone book, a new character from a new author, it would rate 3.5 stars. As an attempt to take over a series for the late, great Robert B. Parker, it barely rates a 2. Brandman tries, but he really doesn't get the characters very well - Molly is much too confrontational in one scene, a quick action cameo from Vinnie Morris (of the Spenser series) is *way* off, and Jesse feels just a little too unstable. Jesse is supposed to be ice cold, always moving ahead, doing what needs to be done, but here he seems almost ... whiney. I love the characters and will keep following them, but the Parker magic is gone.

[Grey853 · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a daunting task to take over someone else's work. Brandman did that with Parker's Jesse Stone series. I wanted to like it, to see the books continue. However, I was very disappointed. The book is okay but the spark, energy, and humor that were in the previous books just doesn't shine though. The dialogue isn't as crisp and the story itself seemed far too thin. The worse part was the narrative. There was just something missing.

I don't know if I'll bother with anymore if they come out.

[Elaine Tomasso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well it's not Mr Parker but it is still an enjoyable read. Jesse is confronted first by car thieves at the start of the summer season and then by a former inmate he incarcerated years ago. He also finds time to sort out bullying at the local High School and start a new relationship. I think it is fair to say the plot is busier than the previous novels and that Mr Brandman is not as pithy a writer as Mr Parker so it depends on what you like but I found it enjoyable

[Susan Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book in the Jesse Stone series not written by Robert B Parker. I enjoyed it but it just didn't have the same quality of writing. Jesse's dry humor and banter with his subordinates felt clumsy and forced. I am willing to give Michael Brandman another chance though on the next in the series.

[Bing Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s not quite Parker’s tone, at the outset. But then, the signature interwoven plots kick in, a bit of Healy and Gino Fish, some crimes, some sex, some shrinkage and even some rock and roll. Parker lives on. Now if only Jesse Stone can keep his good thing going with Mildred.

[John (JC) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brandman's writing is good but not quite the flair of Parker. His endeavor is good enough to interest me in reading his next Jesse Stone novel.

[Brian O'Leary · Rating 5 out of 5]

New author does a good job of taking over for Parker

[BarbJerry Benjamin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Effort at snappy dialogue was embarrassing.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read.

[Gloria ~ mzglorybe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author and award-winning producer Michael Brandman has picked up the continuation of Robert Parker's Jesse Stone series. I've seen the made-for-TV movies, since my spouse is a fan, but hadn’t read any of the novels. I picked this up from my hubby’s stack to browse through and in a few hours found I had read the whole thing and enjoyed the easy flow. For those that haven't watched the movies, the part of Paradise Police Chief Jesse Stone is portrayed by Tom Selleck, and a couple of the characters in this novel are recurring characters from the movie series as well.

There is one big plot line where a released prisoner comes gunning for Stone, who brutally put him behind bars some years back, and a couple of side stories that go on in this episode in Paradise, MA., where Chief Jesse Stone is trying to keep the peace and his small town safe. In this novel Jesse is moving from a condo to a more remote small house overlooking a bay. He is without his faithful companion, Reggie, a golden red retriever we've seen in the movies, but no explanation is given to what happened to Reggie. I googled the dog and found that in real life the actor-dog died, but don't know how Reggie’s exit was handled in the series. We loved that dog, how could you not? He seemed insightful and mimicked the emotions felt by his complex and flawed owner. Jesse with all his baggage is still a good guy at heart, wants to see the best in people and fix things that go wrong in his town. You can’t help caring about Jesse Stone.

When Jesse moves into his new place a cat adopts him after a few meals. He has named her Mildred Memory, after a favorite teacher of his, so apparently she will be filling a void left by Reggie.

I enjoyed Brandman’s writing style. A fast and pleasant way to pass a few hours with his short but enjoyable story telling. I might mention it is also clean, no graphic sex or potty-mouths, with the exception of one or two expletives from the bad guy.