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Jesse Stone #13
Robert B. Parkers Blind Spot
Struggling with regrets while attending a reunion of his former Triple-A team, Jesse Stone is embroiled in a murder-kidnapping case that is linked to the reunion and one of Jesse's former teammates.
507 pages, Hardcover
First published September 9, 2014
868 people are currently reading
2435 people want to read
About the author
Reed Farrel Coleman
166 books753 followersaka Tony Spinosa
Reed Farrel Coleman’s love of storytelling originated on the streets of Brooklyn and was nurtured by his teachers, friends, and family.
A New York Times bestseller called a hard-boiled poet by NPR’s Maureen Corrigan and the “noir poet laureate” in the Huffington Post, Reed is the author of novels, including Robert B. Parker's Jesse Stone series, the acclaimed Moe Prager series, short stories, and poetry.
Reed is a three-time Edgar Award nominee in three different categories—Best Novel, Best Paperback Original, Best Short Story—and a three-time recipient of the Shamus Award for Best PI Novel of the Year. He has also won the Audie, Macavity, Barry, and Anthony Awards.
A former executive vice president of Mystery Writers of America, Reed is an adjunct instructor of English at Hofstra University and a founding member of MWA University. Brooklyn born and raised, he now lives with his family–including cats Cleo and Knish–in Suffolk County on Long Island.
Reed Farrel Coleman’s love of storytelling originated on the streets of Brooklyn and was nurtured by his teachers, friends, and family.
A New York Times bestseller called a hard-boiled poet by NPR’s Maureen Corrigan and the “noir poet laureate” in the Huffington Post, Reed is the author of novels, including Robert B. Parker's Jesse Stone series, the acclaimed Moe Prager series, short stories, and poetry.
Reed is a three-time Edgar Award nominee in three different categories—Best Novel, Best Paperback Original, Best Short Story—and a three-time recipient of the Shamus Award for Best PI Novel of the Year. He has also won the Audie, Macavity, Barry, and Anthony Awards.
A former executive vice president of Mystery Writers of America, Reed is an adjunct instructor of English at Hofstra University and a founding member of MWA University. Brooklyn born and raised, he now lives with his family–including cats Cleo and Knish–in Suffolk County on Long Island.
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October 23, 2019
Jesse Stone takes a few days off from being police of chief in Paradise to attend a reunion of his old minor league baseball club that has been put together by Vic Prado, one of his former teammates who made it to the majors where he had a successful career. Vic is the guy who made the throw that got Jesse hurt and ended his own dreams of baseball glory. He also stole Jesse’s girlfriend at the time and later married her.
And you thought your high school reunion was awkward….
It turns out that after baseball Vic has gotten involved in a shady financial scheme with a dangerous Boston gangster for a partner, and now that the walls are closing in he was hoping to ask for Jesse’s help. However, Vic’s plan goes off the rails almost immediately which gets a young college girl killed and her wealthy boyfriend kidnapped back in Paradise. As Jesse tries to figure out what’s going on he’ll have to deal with the asshole father of the missing boy, a dangerous hit man, and a mysterious new love interest who has her own agenda regarding Vic. If that isn’t enough, seeing Vic opens up a lot of old emotional wounds that make it even harder than usual for Jesse to keep the cork in the Scotch bottle.
This is a fairly odd situation. Robert B. Parker started this series late in his career, and while he tried to make Jesse different his best known creation, Spenser, he was so locked into certain themes and his own sparse style that Jesse came across as just an internalized drunk who was unhealthily obsessed with his ex-wife. Which might work if you’re trying to make a flawed lead character, but RBP also couldn’t really let go of trying to make Jesse a Spenser-esque hero, either.
Then after RBP’s death his family had Michael Brandman carry on the Jesse Stone series, and since Brandman had been a producer/screenwriter on a pretty good set of TV movies based on the books that seemed like a solid choice. However, the three books Brandman did weren't good with Jesse coming across as a terrible cop who abused his authority for minor matters while ignoring bigger crimes.
I assume the fan response to Brandman was why Reed Farrel Coleman replaced him, and the results are promising in this first attempt. The biggest difference is in character work because RBP pretty much just worked off established templates in his later books so everybody seemed thin and one note. Here, Coleman spends time building up all the major players so that they all have inner lives and a distinct point of view. Coleman manages to build up some nobility and sympathy for a villain who seems irredeemable at the start, and even an entitled star athlete like Vic who is entirely motivated by self-interest has a world view a reader can understand.
In Coleman’s hands Jesse finally seems like a wholly realized person, and not like some shambling Frankenstein’s monster made up of random bits leftover from RBP's files and unproduced screenplays. He’s still an internalized guy who is struggling to cope with alcoholism, but he’s more self-aware of his flaws instead of seeming like a robot fueled by Scotch. While Jesse still has many of the tough-guy traits you’d expect in this kind of series, he also seems more like a decent guy doing his best rather than someone who thinks he’s above normal human interactions.
It’s not a home run of a book. The plot wanders somewhat, and I found the way that several of the bad guys suddenly develop consciences late in the book unbelievable. I also wasn’t wild that while wrapping up most of the story that it ends on a big cliffhanger.
Still, this was a Jesse Stone book that I mostly liked so maybe the third writer is the charm. 3.5 stars.
And you thought your high school reunion was awkward….
It turns out that after baseball Vic has gotten involved in a shady financial scheme with a dangerous Boston gangster for a partner, and now that the walls are closing in he was hoping to ask for Jesse’s help. However, Vic’s plan goes off the rails almost immediately which gets a young college girl killed and her wealthy boyfriend kidnapped back in Paradise. As Jesse tries to figure out what’s going on he’ll have to deal with the asshole father of the missing boy, a dangerous hit man, and a mysterious new love interest who has her own agenda regarding Vic. If that isn’t enough, seeing Vic opens up a lot of old emotional wounds that make it even harder than usual for Jesse to keep the cork in the Scotch bottle.
This is a fairly odd situation. Robert B. Parker started this series late in his career, and while he tried to make Jesse different his best known creation, Spenser, he was so locked into certain themes and his own sparse style that Jesse came across as just an internalized drunk who was unhealthily obsessed with his ex-wife. Which might work if you’re trying to make a flawed lead character, but RBP also couldn’t really let go of trying to make Jesse a Spenser-esque hero, either.
Then after RBP’s death his family had Michael Brandman carry on the Jesse Stone series, and since Brandman had been a producer/screenwriter on a pretty good set of TV movies based on the books that seemed like a solid choice. However, the three books Brandman did weren't good with Jesse coming across as a terrible cop who abused his authority for minor matters while ignoring bigger crimes.
I assume the fan response to Brandman was why Reed Farrel Coleman replaced him, and the results are promising in this first attempt. The biggest difference is in character work because RBP pretty much just worked off established templates in his later books so everybody seemed thin and one note. Here, Coleman spends time building up all the major players so that they all have inner lives and a distinct point of view. Coleman manages to build up some nobility and sympathy for a villain who seems irredeemable at the start, and even an entitled star athlete like Vic who is entirely motivated by self-interest has a world view a reader can understand.
In Coleman’s hands Jesse finally seems like a wholly realized person, and not like some shambling Frankenstein’s monster made up of random bits leftover from RBP's files and unproduced screenplays. He’s still an internalized guy who is struggling to cope with alcoholism, but he’s more self-aware of his flaws instead of seeming like a robot fueled by Scotch. While Jesse still has many of the tough-guy traits you’d expect in this kind of series, he also seems more like a decent guy doing his best rather than someone who thinks he’s above normal human interactions.
It’s not a home run of a book. The plot wanders somewhat, and I found the way that several of the bad guys suddenly develop consciences late in the book unbelievable. I also wasn’t wild that while wrapping up most of the story that it ends on a big cliffhanger.
Still, this was a Jesse Stone book that I mostly liked so maybe the third writer is the charm. 3.5 stars.
March 4, 2024
4 Stars. Have you ever thought about "What might have been?" - in your relationships, occupation or even in the lottery? That person in high school who went on to great things but who you never bumped into? Or the numbers you chose for the recent lottery which actually came up 3 months ago? Regrets anyone? "Blind Spot" develops such thoughts. Most of us have had them. Police Chief Stone of Paradise, Massachusetts too. He often thinks about the baseball career in the big leagues he never had because of a shoulder injury in the minors. He played second base for the Albuquerque Dukes in the Dodgers system. His shortstop and supposed friend was Vic Prado who did go on to a fine career in the majors with its fame and money. Prado invites Jesse to a reunion in New York of the old team. The chief attends only to realize that the event includes Kayla, his first girlfriend, now Vic Prado's wife. Oops. On the plus side, also attending is Kayla's friend, the lovely Dee Harrington. But the event seems artificial to Jesse. To me too. Then a young woman is brutally murdered in Paradise, and the idea grows that there's a connection. It's a well written thriller. (June 2023)
July 12, 2022
Intensely disappointing is the only way I can describe my feelings toward this Jesse Stone novel. I was really enjoying the direction the previous "ghost" writer was taking the Jesse Stone character and to me it seemed to be in the same direction that Robert B. Parker was taking the character as well. Michael Brandman put his own unique advancement on the character, but it fit. In fact, it fit extremely well.
As a continuation of the story this novel and how it depicts a completely alcoholic and unsympathetic Jesse Stone is totally unbelievable if this is supposed to be in chronological order. It simply does not fit at all. Maybe had this been the second or third book in the series where Stone just couldn't shake off the booze it might have worked. At this point it just is a complete head scratcher. It is a shame nobody in Parker's estate seems to have thrown the red flag and had the author change the characters and location and make it about another character so it doesn't stain and mar what to this point has been a very enjoyable series.
And even the other characters like Molly Crane and Suitcase Simpson are unrecognizable. This book shows no respect for the series. And it frankly made me angry reading it. It was an unenjoyable experience.
As a standalone novel, this would have been an okay story. I thought the Mr. Peepers character was so absurd as to ruin the book, even if it weren't a Jesse Stone novel. I do like to have characters that even if they are over the top, are at least somewhat believable. Mr. Peepers is not.
I have read every single one of Robert Parker's books and every single one of the continuations. I really enjoy the characters and Parker's style which other authors writing the continuations of the series mostly get. This author obviously does not.
Please do not publish the clearly set up sequel to this book. I DO NOT WANT TO READ IT. THIS IS NOT JESSE STONE. IT'S AN IMPOSTER.
As a continuation of the story this novel and how it depicts a completely alcoholic and unsympathetic Jesse Stone is totally unbelievable if this is supposed to be in chronological order. It simply does not fit at all. Maybe had this been the second or third book in the series where Stone just couldn't shake off the booze it might have worked. At this point it just is a complete head scratcher. It is a shame nobody in Parker's estate seems to have thrown the red flag and had the author change the characters and location and make it about another character so it doesn't stain and mar what to this point has been a very enjoyable series.
And even the other characters like Molly Crane and Suitcase Simpson are unrecognizable. This book shows no respect for the series. And it frankly made me angry reading it. It was an unenjoyable experience.
As a standalone novel, this would have been an okay story. I thought the Mr. Peepers character was so absurd as to ruin the book, even if it weren't a Jesse Stone novel. I do like to have characters that even if they are over the top, are at least somewhat believable. Mr. Peepers is not.
I have read every single one of Robert Parker's books and every single one of the continuations. I really enjoy the characters and Parker's style which other authors writing the continuations of the series mostly get. This author obviously does not.
Please do not publish the clearly set up sequel to this book. I DO NOT WANT TO READ IT. THIS IS NOT JESSE STONE. IT'S AN IMPOSTER.
February 6, 2018
Blind Spot opens with the chief of police in Paradise, Ma., Jesse Stone, in New York for a reunion with men he played baseball with in his youth, before succumbing to injury. Not only did it rob him of his opportunity to play for the Dodgers, he also lost his girlfriend Kayla to his teammate Vic Prado, who is hosting the reunion. Coasting off his sporting achievements Prado fronts a business empire for crime boss Mike Frazetta, and needs a word with Jesse in private. Kayla is there of course, but Jesse Stone only has eyes for her friend, Dee and they quickly leave the venue.
Meanwhile in Paradise, Ben Salter, youngest son of businessman Harlan Salter IV is abducted from a beach house and his girlfriend killed. Is there a connection? When Ben Salter is found, injured but alive, Harlan IV gets his lawyer, Monty Bernstein, to hire someone “to make people suffer.” Jesse suspects a business deal gone foul, but it takes a lot of misdirection before he gets to the bottom of it.
I confess I had never heard of the late Robert B Parker before reading two novels by his ghost writer Reed Farrel Coleman, which had left me impressed, and the for the first couple of hundred pages I seemed doomed to disappointment, just as Jesse Stone seemed wrapped up in his own disappointments and unfocused on the task at hand. The men were either baseball tragics – a former player who had made the big time while others had fallen short; or tattooed bikies ready to break other’s faces; the women too glamorous and ready to test the bed springs after a first drink or a handshake.
I was ready to set the book aside, and then came the character that turned it all around: the contract killer; a short, unremarkable man driving an unremarkable car in the blind spot of others. Clever stuff, with a chilling ending.
Meanwhile in Paradise, Ben Salter, youngest son of businessman Harlan Salter IV is abducted from a beach house and his girlfriend killed. Is there a connection? When Ben Salter is found, injured but alive, Harlan IV gets his lawyer, Monty Bernstein, to hire someone “to make people suffer.” Jesse suspects a business deal gone foul, but it takes a lot of misdirection before he gets to the bottom of it.
I confess I had never heard of the late Robert B Parker before reading two novels by his ghost writer Reed Farrel Coleman, which had left me impressed, and the for the first couple of hundred pages I seemed doomed to disappointment, just as Jesse Stone seemed wrapped up in his own disappointments and unfocused on the task at hand. The men were either baseball tragics – a former player who had made the big time while others had fallen short; or tattooed bikies ready to break other’s faces; the women too glamorous and ready to test the bed springs after a first drink or a handshake.
I was ready to set the book aside, and then came the character that turned it all around: the contract killer; a short, unremarkable man driving an unremarkable car in the blind spot of others. Clever stuff, with a chilling ending.
August 25, 2014
I found this totally depressing. The characters were from the Jesse Stone series, but the style lacked the spark of Robert Parker. It was much wordier and longer. I felt like I had been wallowing in the sewer for a long time, and then the threat on the last page. I doubt I'll read any more of this series.
March 27, 2020
I really enjoyed Robert B Parker's Jesse Stone the laidback policeman with alcohol issues, I loved Tom Selleck playing the part. Robert B Parker is sadly no longer among us but his creation have been remained through the hands of different writers.
Coleman is the latest and he does not yet in my jumble opinion get the character percee, this Jesse's banter feels off and the witticism that Parker infused in the Stone character is sadly missing or just plain off. Even the characterizations of Molly, Suit en Dix feel not completely true. Perhaps Coleman is still finding his footing, I do not know.
The crime story a dead 18 year old girl and a missing 18 year old boy feels like an interesting start but this new writer immediately wants to make the story a personal matter with Jesse being also confronted with a deep personal backstory about his career ending injury in baseball, the woman whom he lost through this injury and a reunion with his baseball buddies.
Through it all we are being confronted with jesse's drinking problems that seem to take a much bigger place in this story but lacks the subtlety and skill a writer like Block has done .
A bit contrived crime plot with a sort of open ending chosen that feels very out of place in a Jesse Stone book.
This book does not convince me of the new continuation writers skills and handling of the Jesse Stone character and his world, but I like Jesse so will certainly try him again.
Coleman is the latest and he does not yet in my jumble opinion get the character percee, this Jesse's banter feels off and the witticism that Parker infused in the Stone character is sadly missing or just plain off. Even the characterizations of Molly, Suit en Dix feel not completely true. Perhaps Coleman is still finding his footing, I do not know.
The crime story a dead 18 year old girl and a missing 18 year old boy feels like an interesting start but this new writer immediately wants to make the story a personal matter with Jesse being also confronted with a deep personal backstory about his career ending injury in baseball, the woman whom he lost through this injury and a reunion with his baseball buddies.
Through it all we are being confronted with jesse's drinking problems that seem to take a much bigger place in this story but lacks the subtlety and skill a writer like Block has done .
A bit contrived crime plot with a sort of open ending chosen that feels very out of place in a Jesse Stone book.
This book does not convince me of the new continuation writers skills and handling of the Jesse Stone character and his world, but I like Jesse so will certainly try him again.
June 26, 2016
Robert B. Parker's Blind Spot by Reed Farrel Coleman.
I was browsing through the CD's at the main Clearwater Public Library when my eyes saw a gold mine. A Jesse Stone book on CD. I thought I had read all there was to read of that fabulous Chief in Paradise but this was actually written by another. So I thought I would give it a try.
Sensational! Mr. Coleman has it and I love it. He has captured Jesse Stone, Molly and Suitcase along with all the needed ingredients to hold my interest throughout the entire book. In my opinion Mr. Coleman has taken Jesse Stone to a new level bringing out the depth of his character and by eliminating the obsession R.B. P. had with the word "said".
Highly, highly recommended.
I was browsing through the CD's at the main Clearwater Public Library when my eyes saw a gold mine. A Jesse Stone book on CD. I thought I had read all there was to read of that fabulous Chief in Paradise but this was actually written by another. So I thought I would give it a try.
Sensational! Mr. Coleman has it and I love it. He has captured Jesse Stone, Molly and Suitcase along with all the needed ingredients to hold my interest throughout the entire book. In my opinion Mr. Coleman has taken Jesse Stone to a new level bringing out the depth of his character and by eliminating the obsession R.B. P. had with the word "said".
Highly, highly recommended.
December 7, 2025
Entertaining story. I really enjoyed this one.
March 7, 2017
Robert Parker was one of my favorites. This author makes an initial impression that is almost viable in terms of dialogue, but the Jesse banter quickly falls off into something tired. He overworks the plot on Suit. Three characters have almost identical relationship traits. The violence was beyond the Parker punching and kicking.
January 25, 2021
My Jesse Stone is Tom Selleck so I had no objections about the characters
October 22, 2014
Of all Robert Parker’s creations I like the Jesse Stone series the best. A couple of authors have attempted to continue the series, including Michael Brandman and now Reed Farrel Coleman, author of the Moe Prager series. I haven’t tried that series but will. I know some people disagree, but I think Coleman has better captured Jesse than Brandman. The interaction between Molly and Jesse is spot on.
We get a little more back story on what happened to Jesse in the minor leagues as he agrees to go to NY for a reunion with his old teammates at the invitation of Vic, the player who stole Kayla, Jesse’s girlfriend following his injury. Seems Vic needs Jesse’s help on a matter, but before he can reveal what it might be, Jesse has to return to Paradise where a girl has been murdered; one that involves Vic (perhaps a bit too coincidentally.) And the girl Vic had brought along as “entertainment” for Jesse turns out to be -- well, you’ll just have to read the book to find out.
The only thing I didn’t like much was the last couple of paragraphs. That kind of open-ended contrivance seems trite.
We get a little more back story on what happened to Jesse in the minor leagues as he agrees to go to NY for a reunion with his old teammates at the invitation of Vic, the player who stole Kayla, Jesse’s girlfriend following his injury. Seems Vic needs Jesse’s help on a matter, but before he can reveal what it might be, Jesse has to return to Paradise where a girl has been murdered; one that involves Vic (perhaps a bit too coincidentally.) And the girl Vic had brought along as “entertainment” for Jesse turns out to be -- well, you’ll just have to read the book to find out.
The only thing I didn’t like much was the last couple of paragraphs. That kind of open-ended contrivance seems trite.
October 13, 2023
Entertaining mystery listening 🎶🔰
This novel is from my local library.
I enjoyed the last Jesse Stone novel but I couldn't make a connection with this author and story. 2023 😀😯🏡🌙
Having lived in Massachusetts and New Hampshire maybe why I connected before.
This novel is from my local library.
I enjoyed the last Jesse Stone novel but I couldn't make a connection with this author and story. 2023 😀😯🏡🌙
Having lived in Massachusetts and New Hampshire maybe why I connected before.
September 17, 2014
As a huge fan of the late Robert B. Parker's work - first and foremost, the Spenser series and to a somewhat lesser extent, those featuring Jesse Stone, I was really, really hoping this one would be as top-notch as possible given that Parker didn't write it. It's the 13th Stone installment and the first by Reed Farrel Coleman following several by Michael Brandman.
But while Brandman came close to capturing Parker's voice, Coleman falls more than a bit short. That said, if I could give it 3 1/2 stars, I would - I certainly didn't not enjoy it. The story line, in fact, wasn't bad at all; all my disappointment is focused on Jesse's dialogue - not quite as crisp and blunt as usual - and page after page of exposition that just seemed a tad excessive.
This one begins as Jesse, the chief of police in laid-back Paradise, Massachusetts, reluctantly heads for New York for a reunion of his former Triple-A baseball team. His once-promising career forever sidelined by a freak injury years ago, he has decidedly mixed feelings about digging up old memories - memories that include the beautiful Kayla, his former girlfriend who's now the wife of an old teammate.
Just as the get-together gets going, though, Jesse learns that a young woman has been found back in Paradise, and the son of a leading town resident may have been kidnapped. Of course, he heads back (more than a little relieved to escape the New York festivities) only to find there may be a connection between his old teammates and what's happened in his adopted home town.
A handful of characters from earlier books make an appearance here as well - coworkers "Suitcase" Simpson and Molly Crane, for instance - but they, too, just don't quite reach the personality standards of older books. And, there's a cliffhanger ending which, I suppose, is intended to motivate readers to buy the next installment - but it was a big turn-off for me. Every time an author tries that technique, I feel manipulated, and that's not a feeling I enjoy.
My conclusion? This is a decent book that's worth reading on its own, but the relationship to Parker or Brandman is slim to none. So if you're looking for writing that's true to either of them, save your money.
But while Brandman came close to capturing Parker's voice, Coleman falls more than a bit short. That said, if I could give it 3 1/2 stars, I would - I certainly didn't not enjoy it. The story line, in fact, wasn't bad at all; all my disappointment is focused on Jesse's dialogue - not quite as crisp and blunt as usual - and page after page of exposition that just seemed a tad excessive.
This one begins as Jesse, the chief of police in laid-back Paradise, Massachusetts, reluctantly heads for New York for a reunion of his former Triple-A baseball team. His once-promising career forever sidelined by a freak injury years ago, he has decidedly mixed feelings about digging up old memories - memories that include the beautiful Kayla, his former girlfriend who's now the wife of an old teammate.
Just as the get-together gets going, though, Jesse learns that a young woman has been found back in Paradise, and the son of a leading town resident may have been kidnapped. Of course, he heads back (more than a little relieved to escape the New York festivities) only to find there may be a connection between his old teammates and what's happened in his adopted home town.
A handful of characters from earlier books make an appearance here as well - coworkers "Suitcase" Simpson and Molly Crane, for instance - but they, too, just don't quite reach the personality standards of older books. And, there's a cliffhanger ending which, I suppose, is intended to motivate readers to buy the next installment - but it was a big turn-off for me. Every time an author tries that technique, I feel manipulated, and that's not a feeling I enjoy.
My conclusion? This is a decent book that's worth reading on its own, but the relationship to Parker or Brandman is slim to none. So if you're looking for writing that's true to either of them, save your money.
September 12, 2014
Decades ago, looking for more and more authors who wrote good detective novels, I discovered the disciple of Raymond Chandler, Robert B Parker. His stories were not the whodunits I love, but his style and characters caught me. I was a Spenser, Sunny Randall and Jesse Stone fan.
With Parker's passing, the estate has permitted authors to mimic Parker's minimalist hard-bitten style and keep the characters going. Some of these efforts have been more than passable. BLIND SPOT is not one of them.
It neither mimics the style nor keeps true to the characters' past development. Just familiar names with a few familiar moments in an otherwise drab novel.
How drab? There is a twist at the end specifically designed to bring me back for the next book. Though a little bit tantalized...
I think not.
With Parker's passing, the estate has permitted authors to mimic Parker's minimalist hard-bitten style and keep the characters going. Some of these efforts have been more than passable. BLIND SPOT is not one of them.
It neither mimics the style nor keeps true to the characters' past development. Just familiar names with a few familiar moments in an otherwise drab novel.
How drab? There is a twist at the end specifically designed to bring me back for the next book. Though a little bit tantalized...
I think not.
January 19, 2015
Loved this story until its ending which could and should have been more inspirational. 8 of 10 stars
April 23, 2020
I really enjoy the Jesse Stone series, and Reed Farrel Coleman has done a phenomenal job in continuing Robert Parker’s legacy!!
August 12, 2017
Reed Farrel Colemann is the second writer to take over the Jesse Stone Series since Robert B Parker’s death in 2010. Parker had published nine Jesse Stone books and Michael Brandman added another three, many not well received. In picking up the series, Coleman has chosen to keep Parker’s distinct short chapters and snappy dialogue but place his own distinctive stamp on the work by continuing to develop the characters. This is the first of his Jesse Stone books and I for one am pleased he has taken it on, breathing new life into a character and a series that has many fans.
This story reaches into Jesse’s past to pick up on a time that is often the focus of his ruminations. It is the time he played shortstop for the Albuquerque Dukes, the Dodgers Triple A Club. He had dreams of entering the big leagues until he was felled by a career ending injury. It happened during a double play, when a ball thrown by his teammate Vic Prado and a runner’s hard slide into second base resulted in a collision that took out Jesse’s shoulder and ended his dream. Vic went on to reach the big leagues and become an All Star, taking with him Jesse’s beautiful girlfriend Kayla who he married. Vic has done well for himself and is now a wealthy venture capitalist living the high-life. But he is also mixed up with childhood friends who are part of the seamy side of the financial world. Things are about to fall apart unless he moves quickly. Vic organized the reunion as a way to reconnect with Jesse and get his help enacting a plan to extricate himself from his troubles.
Jesse never felt close to Vic although they were roommates. He is not even keen to attend the reunion, although the all-expenses paid trip to New York promises superior accommodations and good food. But he has decided to go for old times sake, in hopes the reunion finally helps him close the door on this chapter of his life.
When he arrives in New York, he finds it is not just Vic who wants to get him away from the others to talk. Kayla has also approached him for some quiet time away from the ears of others. She has even introduced Jesse to her friend Dee Harrington, a beautiful woman who she knows will hold Jesse’s attention until she can get to him. Jesse is immediately attracted to Dee but things are just getting started when he is called back to home to investigate a murder.
As Jesse makes his way back to Paradise, he is mulling over some disturbing information he picked up at the reunion -- that his career destroying injury was not an accident but was intentional. The thought sends him spiraling into a series of “what ifs” that brings to the surface demons he has been fighting for years, demons that continually remind him how his dream of a baseball career crashed and burned.
Back in Paradise Jesse begins the investigation into the death of Martina Penworth, an eighteen year old student at Tufts who was found with two bullets in her body in the old Salter mansion. Her boyfriend Benjamin Salter, the youngest son of wealthy Harlan Salter IV, is the natural suspect and is missing, although his car is still parked outside. It is not long before Jesse and his team realize that Ben has been kidnapped.
Vic Prado has been running a successful Ponzi-like scheme for years and had attempted to take over one of Harlan Salter’s mutual funds. He had made Salter an offer, but Salter, furious at Prado’s bold, cocky and arrogant manner refused. Prado in turn applied pressure to get his way and further infuriated Slater, who enlisted lawyer Monty Bernstein to help him exact his revenge for Prado’s presumptuous ways. As Stone’s investigates the case, it becomes clear that Ben Salter’s kidnapping and the murder of the young girl are both connected to Vic Prado. The entire scenario provides Coleman with the opportunity to introduce a very scary hitman known as Mr. Peepers and to leave a clever hook that will lure readers to his next book.
Parker’s writing was notably spare, whereas Coleman’s takes more time to tell his story, includes more dialogue and fully fleshes out his characters in the process. Coleman writes more about Jesse’s drinking, the demon who threatens to take over his life. As a writer, Coleman is better able to describe the pull of alcohol and the rituals that Jesse and other alcoholics use before and while they drink, not just the brooding self- reflection and the lies they tell themselves.
Coleman also lets his story unfold from many voices, giving us a number of points of view. Including his characters in the telling of his story helps readers better understand their motivations and their behavior. It makes for a much more complex and nuanced story of a crime and the people who are part of it.
Coleman also shows us a side of Jesse we seldom see, the more brutal side of Jesse we know is there. Jesse is not an emotional man, he keeps that side of himself hidden from others, but it is there, especially when he sees behavior he deems absolutely unacceptable. In this case, Jesse exacts a brutal beating on a scumbag of a man who is abusing a woman has her living in fear.
Coleman’s plot is complex with more characters than we usually see in a Parker novel. But he does not overload it, skillfully maintaining the intensity and the tension until he brings the story to a chilling conclusion.
And in a humorous aside, I’d like to award Coleman additional points for losing the cat Mildred who never fit in with Jesse’s persona. Everyone knows he is not or ever could be, a “cat kind-of-guy”.
Thanks Mr. Coleman for a complex story and a great read. We’ve been waiting for you.
This story reaches into Jesse’s past to pick up on a time that is often the focus of his ruminations. It is the time he played shortstop for the Albuquerque Dukes, the Dodgers Triple A Club. He had dreams of entering the big leagues until he was felled by a career ending injury. It happened during a double play, when a ball thrown by his teammate Vic Prado and a runner’s hard slide into second base resulted in a collision that took out Jesse’s shoulder and ended his dream. Vic went on to reach the big leagues and become an All Star, taking with him Jesse’s beautiful girlfriend Kayla who he married. Vic has done well for himself and is now a wealthy venture capitalist living the high-life. But he is also mixed up with childhood friends who are part of the seamy side of the financial world. Things are about to fall apart unless he moves quickly. Vic organized the reunion as a way to reconnect with Jesse and get his help enacting a plan to extricate himself from his troubles.
Jesse never felt close to Vic although they were roommates. He is not even keen to attend the reunion, although the all-expenses paid trip to New York promises superior accommodations and good food. But he has decided to go for old times sake, in hopes the reunion finally helps him close the door on this chapter of his life.
When he arrives in New York, he finds it is not just Vic who wants to get him away from the others to talk. Kayla has also approached him for some quiet time away from the ears of others. She has even introduced Jesse to her friend Dee Harrington, a beautiful woman who she knows will hold Jesse’s attention until she can get to him. Jesse is immediately attracted to Dee but things are just getting started when he is called back to home to investigate a murder.
As Jesse makes his way back to Paradise, he is mulling over some disturbing information he picked up at the reunion -- that his career destroying injury was not an accident but was intentional. The thought sends him spiraling into a series of “what ifs” that brings to the surface demons he has been fighting for years, demons that continually remind him how his dream of a baseball career crashed and burned.
Back in Paradise Jesse begins the investigation into the death of Martina Penworth, an eighteen year old student at Tufts who was found with two bullets in her body in the old Salter mansion. Her boyfriend Benjamin Salter, the youngest son of wealthy Harlan Salter IV, is the natural suspect and is missing, although his car is still parked outside. It is not long before Jesse and his team realize that Ben has been kidnapped.
Vic Prado has been running a successful Ponzi-like scheme for years and had attempted to take over one of Harlan Salter’s mutual funds. He had made Salter an offer, but Salter, furious at Prado’s bold, cocky and arrogant manner refused. Prado in turn applied pressure to get his way and further infuriated Slater, who enlisted lawyer Monty Bernstein to help him exact his revenge for Prado’s presumptuous ways. As Stone’s investigates the case, it becomes clear that Ben Salter’s kidnapping and the murder of the young girl are both connected to Vic Prado. The entire scenario provides Coleman with the opportunity to introduce a very scary hitman known as Mr. Peepers and to leave a clever hook that will lure readers to his next book.
Parker’s writing was notably spare, whereas Coleman’s takes more time to tell his story, includes more dialogue and fully fleshes out his characters in the process. Coleman writes more about Jesse’s drinking, the demon who threatens to take over his life. As a writer, Coleman is better able to describe the pull of alcohol and the rituals that Jesse and other alcoholics use before and while they drink, not just the brooding self- reflection and the lies they tell themselves.
Coleman also lets his story unfold from many voices, giving us a number of points of view. Including his characters in the telling of his story helps readers better understand their motivations and their behavior. It makes for a much more complex and nuanced story of a crime and the people who are part of it.
Coleman also shows us a side of Jesse we seldom see, the more brutal side of Jesse we know is there. Jesse is not an emotional man, he keeps that side of himself hidden from others, but it is there, especially when he sees behavior he deems absolutely unacceptable. In this case, Jesse exacts a brutal beating on a scumbag of a man who is abusing a woman has her living in fear.
Coleman’s plot is complex with more characters than we usually see in a Parker novel. But he does not overload it, skillfully maintaining the intensity and the tension until he brings the story to a chilling conclusion.
And in a humorous aside, I’d like to award Coleman additional points for losing the cat Mildred who never fit in with Jesse’s persona. Everyone knows he is not or ever could be, a “cat kind-of-guy”.
Thanks Mr. Coleman for a complex story and a great read. We’ve been waiting for you.
June 26, 2025
love the jesse stone books!
December 30, 2015
Robert B. Parker’s BLIND SPOT (A Jesse Stone Novel) by Reed Farrel Coleman…..
You’ll recognize the characters from Paradise PD, but that’s all this has in common with a mystery written by Robert B. Parker.
BLIND SPOT follows Jesse Stone’s pre-police minor league baseball career and catastrophic injury for a bit. It sends reluctant Jesse to a team reunion and introduces a shady former teammate who married the onetime love of Jesse’s life.
The crimes span the gamut from a dodgy Bernie Madhoff-like scheme to kidnapping and murder to revenge and more kidnapping and torture and more murder.
The story line is complex, but not complicated. It was well constructed and is technically very good, but it is not representative of a Robert Parker book. The dialogue is much longer than Parker would ever write. The narrative paragraphs are long and filled with detail and background and occasionally a bit too wordy. The main character, Jesse Stone, famous for being a man of few words, no longer speaks with the voice Parker gave him.
A retired editor and nine times traditionally published author once told me that publishers and agents first read the opening page of your book and then thumb through the manuscript to see if there is a lot of “white” along the right hand margin—meaning, has the author written the story with short, snappy sentences, spare dialogue, and short paragraphs. This novel has long block-like paragraphs, nothing like the minimalist style of Robert Parker and is, at times, almost text book-like and philosophical.
The ending was a tired gimmick too often used on television series to create an almost soap opera effect and drag viewers back to see what happens next. Series novels don’t need trickery to entice readers.
If all you want is a story with a familiar cast, this works. The style is totally Reed Farrel Coleman using borrowed characters and venues. If you want a familiar Robert B. Parker-like Jesse Stone novel, this is not it.
You’ll recognize the characters from Paradise PD, but that’s all this has in common with a mystery written by Robert B. Parker.
BLIND SPOT follows Jesse Stone’s pre-police minor league baseball career and catastrophic injury for a bit. It sends reluctant Jesse to a team reunion and introduces a shady former teammate who married the onetime love of Jesse’s life.
The crimes span the gamut from a dodgy Bernie Madhoff-like scheme to kidnapping and murder to revenge and more kidnapping and torture and more murder.
The story line is complex, but not complicated. It was well constructed and is technically very good, but it is not representative of a Robert Parker book. The dialogue is much longer than Parker would ever write. The narrative paragraphs are long and filled with detail and background and occasionally a bit too wordy. The main character, Jesse Stone, famous for being a man of few words, no longer speaks with the voice Parker gave him.
A retired editor and nine times traditionally published author once told me that publishers and agents first read the opening page of your book and then thumb through the manuscript to see if there is a lot of “white” along the right hand margin—meaning, has the author written the story with short, snappy sentences, spare dialogue, and short paragraphs. This novel has long block-like paragraphs, nothing like the minimalist style of Robert Parker and is, at times, almost text book-like and philosophical.
The ending was a tired gimmick too often used on television series to create an almost soap opera effect and drag viewers back to see what happens next. Series novels don’t need trickery to entice readers.
If all you want is a story with a familiar cast, this works. The style is totally Reed Farrel Coleman using borrowed characters and venues. If you want a familiar Robert B. Parker-like Jesse Stone novel, this is not it.
February 9, 2015
We were surprised to discover yet another writer trying to emulate Parker’s beloved Jesse Stone character. The three Michael Brandman continuation novels made sense, as he was the screen writer for the eight made-for-TV films about Jesse. We found Brandman’s style and content quite true to Parker’s original. However, this new guy, Coleman, author of about ten crime novels of his own, mistreats the characters, characterizing Jesse as little better than a lovesick alcoholic. He abandons the style of what are typically charming, mostly light-hearted mysteries for a wordy and complicated plot more about the perps than the police crew at Paradise.
Briefly, the plot sees Jesse called back to Paradise (MA) from a reunion of his Triple-A baseball team in NYC. A woman has been murdered and a young man abducted; and soon all sorts of nefarious characters are introduced that bear on both crimes. In the end, a character that hardly had a mention plays a major role, ending in an unappreciated cliff-hanger of sorts.
We, and we’re sure most fans, are not at all impressed or pleased; and would hope Parker’s estate will call it quits with Coleman.
Briefly, the plot sees Jesse called back to Paradise (MA) from a reunion of his Triple-A baseball team in NYC. A woman has been murdered and a young man abducted; and soon all sorts of nefarious characters are introduced that bear on both crimes. In the end, a character that hardly had a mention plays a major role, ending in an unappreciated cliff-hanger of sorts.
We, and we’re sure most fans, are not at all impressed or pleased; and would hope Parker’s estate will call it quits with Coleman.
August 7, 2016
I listened to James Naughten excellent narration but even with a great reader, this book was like watching paint dry. Reed Ferrel Coleman simply doesn't hold a candle to Robert B Parker. I will skip future books in this series.
November 29, 2017
I kept wondering why I was not enjoying this and realized halfway in what was missing. Coleman misses the wry self deprecating humor that Parker gave his characters
September 4, 2018
Several years ago, a neighbor gave me a stack of books to read while recovering from an illness. I read and returned all of them except Blind Spot, which I came across this weekend. Turns out I read this too and remember not liking any more than the few authentic Parkers that I've read. Just not for me.
October 9, 2014
Paradise Police Chief Jesse Stone only went to the reunion in New York of his old triple-a team to get rid of the past. One play on the diamond ruined his shoulder, ended his prospects of ever playing for the Dodgers, and ended his relationship with the stunningly beautiful Kayla. It was an all-expenses paid trip by way of Vic Prado, former roommate, and the man who took his girl and who was part of the double-play that ended Jessie’s career. The past is not a friend that Jesse wants to visit, but the reunion is a way to deal with it.
Everyone involved, including Kayla, seems to want a private word and to be working some kind of agenda tied into memory lane. The only bright spot in the whole deal was the incredible Dee. Dee may be friends with Kayla and Vic, but Jesse won’t hold that against her as he likes her quite a lot. He would have definitely spent more time with her, and clearly that feeling was shared, but a murder and possible abduction back in Paradise means he has to cut the NYC weekend short and get back home to Paradise, Mass.
Martina Penworth is very much dead having been shot and killed in the old Salter family home on a bluff near the yacht club. Built in 1888 the Victorian style house is little used these days except for the occasional romantic interlude. The youngest of the family dynasty, Benjamin Salter IV brought Martina to the house for just such an event. Now she is dead, he is missing though his car sits in the driveway. Either he killed the young lady or he was abducted for ransom or something. Either way, Jesse needs to get back and take charge of a case that will grow more complex by the minute.
Robert B. Parker’s Blind Spot: A Jesse Stone Novel marks the takeover of the Jesse Stone franchise by talented author Reed Farrel Coleman. Known for his excellent Moe Prager series, Robert B. Parker’s Blind Spot bears his stamp of authority with multiple storylines, complex characters working multiple agendas, and his interpretation of how the Jesse Stone character is to be going forward. While it carries all the usual hallmarks of limited dialogue, short chapters, and returning characters, it also manages to work complexity and nuance into the well established Jesse Stone character as well as nearly everyone around him.
In short, this is quite possibly the best in the series in quite some time and does the series proud. Robert B. Parker’s Blind Spot: A Jesse Stone Novel by Reed Farrel Coleman breathes new life in a series that was languishing. It is well worth your time.
Robert B. Parker’s Blind Spot: A Jesse Stone Novel
Reed Farrel Coleman
http://www.reedcoleman.com
Thorndike Press
http://www.gale.cengage.com/thorndike
September 2014
ISBN# 978-1-4104-7139-0
LARGE PRINT HARDBACK (also available in hardback, audio, and e-book)
507 Pages
$35.99
Material supplied by the good people of the Plano, Texas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2014
Everyone involved, including Kayla, seems to want a private word and to be working some kind of agenda tied into memory lane. The only bright spot in the whole deal was the incredible Dee. Dee may be friends with Kayla and Vic, but Jesse won’t hold that against her as he likes her quite a lot. He would have definitely spent more time with her, and clearly that feeling was shared, but a murder and possible abduction back in Paradise means he has to cut the NYC weekend short and get back home to Paradise, Mass.
Martina Penworth is very much dead having been shot and killed in the old Salter family home on a bluff near the yacht club. Built in 1888 the Victorian style house is little used these days except for the occasional romantic interlude. The youngest of the family dynasty, Benjamin Salter IV brought Martina to the house for just such an event. Now she is dead, he is missing though his car sits in the driveway. Either he killed the young lady or he was abducted for ransom or something. Either way, Jesse needs to get back and take charge of a case that will grow more complex by the minute.
Robert B. Parker’s Blind Spot: A Jesse Stone Novel marks the takeover of the Jesse Stone franchise by talented author Reed Farrel Coleman. Known for his excellent Moe Prager series, Robert B. Parker’s Blind Spot bears his stamp of authority with multiple storylines, complex characters working multiple agendas, and his interpretation of how the Jesse Stone character is to be going forward. While it carries all the usual hallmarks of limited dialogue, short chapters, and returning characters, it also manages to work complexity and nuance into the well established Jesse Stone character as well as nearly everyone around him.
In short, this is quite possibly the best in the series in quite some time and does the series proud. Robert B. Parker’s Blind Spot: A Jesse Stone Novel by Reed Farrel Coleman breathes new life in a series that was languishing. It is well worth your time.
Robert B. Parker’s Blind Spot: A Jesse Stone Novel
Reed Farrel Coleman
http://www.reedcoleman.com
Thorndike Press
http://www.gale.cengage.com/thorndike
September 2014
ISBN# 978-1-4104-7139-0
LARGE PRINT HARDBACK (also available in hardback, audio, and e-book)
507 Pages
$35.99
Material supplied by the good people of the Plano, Texas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2014
December 28, 2015
A truly honest rating for this book would be 1½ stars – disappointing. I didn’t hate it, but it wasn’t good enough to qualify as okay.
I was let down by Michael Brandman’s earlier attempts to carry on Parker’s Jesse Stone series and hoped Reed Farrel Coleman would do a better job.
Sadly, he didn’t. While I didn’t expect a clone of Parker’s style, I did expect something at least close to it. Coleman gets it right some places but he doesn’t sustain it. Just when I thought he was getting into the grove, he tripped on it and fell flat on his face.
There is no ‘snap’ to the dialog, no crispness to the prose, and no tautness to the writing – all hallmarks of a Parker novel. Coleman’s more omniscient point of view distances the reader from Jesse (removing the ‘up close and personal’ tone of Parker’s work), he ‘head hops’ within scenes to give us other characters’ thoughts, and has too many scenes in too many other characters’ point of view – three things Parker would never do.
There actually is a good story in here. It’s just hidden by all the flab in a novel that’s too long and too slow, bogged down by too much introspection from the characters (much of it more like an aside than information we need to know). Parker could deliver a character’s feelings in one well-crafted descriptive sentence or revealing line of dialog. Coleman uses a page of exposition and to make sure we ‘get it,’ repeats it in several places.
I said above I was let down by Brandman’s handling of Stone. Compared to Coleman, Brandman nailed it.
Mr. Coleman, before you write more Jesse Stone novels, read the ones Parker himself wrote (and all his Spenser novels, while you’re at it) so you can get a handle on Parker’s style and voice.
Otherwise, I won’t be back for more Jesse Stone books.
I was let down by Michael Brandman’s earlier attempts to carry on Parker’s Jesse Stone series and hoped Reed Farrel Coleman would do a better job.
Sadly, he didn’t. While I didn’t expect a clone of Parker’s style, I did expect something at least close to it. Coleman gets it right some places but he doesn’t sustain it. Just when I thought he was getting into the grove, he tripped on it and fell flat on his face.
There is no ‘snap’ to the dialog, no crispness to the prose, and no tautness to the writing – all hallmarks of a Parker novel. Coleman’s more omniscient point of view distances the reader from Jesse (removing the ‘up close and personal’ tone of Parker’s work), he ‘head hops’ within scenes to give us other characters’ thoughts, and has too many scenes in too many other characters’ point of view – three things Parker would never do.
There actually is a good story in here. It’s just hidden by all the flab in a novel that’s too long and too slow, bogged down by too much introspection from the characters (much of it more like an aside than information we need to know). Parker could deliver a character’s feelings in one well-crafted descriptive sentence or revealing line of dialog. Coleman uses a page of exposition and to make sure we ‘get it,’ repeats it in several places.
I said above I was let down by Brandman’s handling of Stone. Compared to Coleman, Brandman nailed it.
Mr. Coleman, before you write more Jesse Stone novels, read the ones Parker himself wrote (and all his Spenser novels, while you’re at it) so you can get a handle on Parker’s style and voice.
Otherwise, I won’t be back for more Jesse Stone books.
March 2, 2015
Possibly the worst adaptation of a Robert B. Parker character that I have read.
The style of this book is so far from the Robert Parker, Jesse Stone, style that it hardly seems to have anything to do with keeping alive the Jesse Stone storyline or style.
Mr. Parker did not constantly delve off into the inner thoughts and actions of the players in his Jesse Stone novels, but kept the focus on Jesse himself as he traversed through the elements of solving his cases.
Where Mr. Coleman is agonizingly wordy, Robert Parker is concise and to the point and uses dialogue between Jesse and other characters as his main direction to guide the reader through the book.
And.... the plot and the endless changes and twists and confusion of this book really turned off any interest as to how it would end. And the ending itself is not how Parker would ever have left a Stone book....hanging
I can barely give this book two stars...
Jesse Stone, to me, is second only to Spencer in the Robert Parker caste of main characters and I totally missed Parker after plodding through this poor adaptation of one of his heroes
The style of this book is so far from the Robert Parker, Jesse Stone, style that it hardly seems to have anything to do with keeping alive the Jesse Stone storyline or style.
Mr. Parker did not constantly delve off into the inner thoughts and actions of the players in his Jesse Stone novels, but kept the focus on Jesse himself as he traversed through the elements of solving his cases.
Where Mr. Coleman is agonizingly wordy, Robert Parker is concise and to the point and uses dialogue between Jesse and other characters as his main direction to guide the reader through the book.
And.... the plot and the endless changes and twists and confusion of this book really turned off any interest as to how it would end. And the ending itself is not how Parker would ever have left a Stone book....hanging
I can barely give this book two stars...
Jesse Stone, to me, is second only to Spencer in the Robert Parker caste of main characters and I totally missed Parker after plodding through this poor adaptation of one of his heroes
March 21, 2015
Did you ever stay in a relationship too long and once you left you thought "wow, I really should have gotten out a lot earlier"? Well then that's pretty much my review of this book.
I loved Robert B. Parker's books and the Jesse Stone series was especially good so after Parker died and they continued the series I kept reading because I really really enjoyed the characters, their interactions, their growth.
But I'm done and ready to say goodbye to Jesse Stone.
The last couple books have been sub-par and this one was the worst. It should've taken me 2-3 hours to finish and it took me 2-3 weeks because I had to force myself to pick it up.
The story/mystery/crime was uninteresting. The characters were confusing and interchangeable. Jesse Stone did one thing after another that were totally out of character for him.
So I'm done reading this series. Maybe I'll go back and read the originals.
I loved Robert B. Parker's books and the Jesse Stone series was especially good so after Parker died and they continued the series I kept reading because I really really enjoyed the characters, their interactions, their growth.
But I'm done and ready to say goodbye to Jesse Stone.
The last couple books have been sub-par and this one was the worst. It should've taken me 2-3 hours to finish and it took me 2-3 weeks because I had to force myself to pick it up.
The story/mystery/crime was uninteresting. The characters were confusing and interchangeable. Jesse Stone did one thing after another that were totally out of character for him.
So I'm done reading this series. Maybe I'll go back and read the originals.
November 5, 2014
What a pleasant surprise to find Jesse Stone again! Coleman has picked up the reins from the late Robert B. Parker and brought the series back to life. Stone is the same tough, flawed, likeable guy that Parker created, with perhaps a little more intospection - but not so much that the story turns sappy.
I enjoyed the twists and turns of the story, although the switches in point of view were a little hard to follow at the start. Once into the third chapter, the minor confusion resolved and I was able to sit back and enjoy the multiple threads that Coleman wove very skillfully into the novel. And the ending! Well, all I can say is that the momentum built until I had to leave my own project and finish reading Blind Spot. Coleman tied up all the plotlines in this one and left me on edge for the next. Well done!
I enjoyed the twists and turns of the story, although the switches in point of view were a little hard to follow at the start. Once into the third chapter, the minor confusion resolved and I was able to sit back and enjoy the multiple threads that Coleman wove very skillfully into the novel. And the ending! Well, all I can say is that the momentum built until I had to leave my own project and finish reading Blind Spot. Coleman tied up all the plotlines in this one and left me on edge for the next. Well done!
August 3, 2014
Terrific pulp novel! While not a form of literature or a great source of wisdom, pulp novels just thrill me to no end. This one is no exception. I admit to receiving this as a Goodreads giveaway, but those of you who read my reviews know that if I don't like a book I will most certainly be brutal.
I have never read any of the books in this series before, but I knew right away this was the sort of thing I enjoy, hard boiled detectives, sexy ladies with secrets and wonderful, sharp-eyed women assistants, plus violence, sex and mystery. Oh, what is not to like? This book had them all in spades (get it? Sam Spade?...okay, I tried). Now I need to go back and get the previous novels....oh, this will be a good close to my summer of fun books!
I have never read any of the books in this series before, but I knew right away this was the sort of thing I enjoy, hard boiled detectives, sexy ladies with secrets and wonderful, sharp-eyed women assistants, plus violence, sex and mystery. Oh, what is not to like? This book had them all in spades (get it? Sam Spade?...okay, I tried). Now I need to go back and get the previous novels....oh, this will be a good close to my summer of fun books!
September 25, 2014
I was a huge Robert B. Parker fan and was saddened at his passing. Even though his estate allows certain others to write in his name, I don't think Coleman is really true to Parker's hard-bitten "move it along" style. Jesse Stone is a flawed hero brought to life by Parker and I loved him. I feel Coleman doesn't do him justice. I was a bit depressed reading this story, but not really annoyed until the last paragraph. It is disturbing that so many authors these days leave their endings open with the reader hanging and not satisfied. Parker never did it. Why has Coleman ended this story with a threat that leaves the reader aggravated and unsatisfied? It makes me angry and I probably won't read the next one, as I feel logical satisfying endings are pretty important for novels.
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