What do you think?
Rate this book
Jesse Stone #9
Split Image
Family ties prove deadly in this brilliant Jesse Stone novel from 'New York Times' bestselling author Robert B. Parker.
The body in the trunk was just the beginning.
Turns out the stiff was a foot soldier for local tough guy Reggie Galen, now enjoying a comfortable 'retirement' with his beautiful wife, Rebecca, in the nicest part of Paradise. Living next door are Knocko Moynihan and his wife, Robbie, who also happens to be Rebecca's identical twin. But what initially appears to be a low-level mob hit takes on new meaning when a high-ranking crime figure is found dead on Paradise Beach.
Stressed by the case, his failed relationship with his ex-wife, and his ongoing battle with the bottle, Jesse needs something to keep him from spinning out of control. When private investigator Sunny Randall comes into town on a case, she asks for Jesse's help. As their professional and personal relationships become intertwined, both Jesse and Sunny realize that they have much in common with both their victims and their suspects—and with each other.
The body in the trunk was just the beginning.
Turns out the stiff was a foot soldier for local tough guy Reggie Galen, now enjoying a comfortable 'retirement' with his beautiful wife, Rebecca, in the nicest part of Paradise. Living next door are Knocko Moynihan and his wife, Robbie, who also happens to be Rebecca's identical twin. But what initially appears to be a low-level mob hit takes on new meaning when a high-ranking crime figure is found dead on Paradise Beach.
Stressed by the case, his failed relationship with his ex-wife, and his ongoing battle with the bottle, Jesse needs something to keep him from spinning out of control. When private investigator Sunny Randall comes into town on a case, she asks for Jesse's help. As their professional and personal relationships become intertwined, both Jesse and Sunny realize that they have much in common with both their victims and their suspects—and with each other.
277 pages, Hardcover
First published February 23, 2010
2164 people are currently reading
2614 people want to read
About the author
Robert B. Parker
492 books2,312 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database named Robert B. Parker.
Robert Brown Parker was an American writer, primarily of fiction within the mystery/detective genre. His most famous works were the 40 novels written about the fictional private detective Spenser. ABC television network developed the television series Spenser: For Hire based on the character in the mid-1980s; a series of TV movies was also produced based on the character. His works incorporate encyclopedic knowledge of the Boston metropolitan area. The Spenser novels have been cited as reviving and changing the detective genre by critics and bestselling authors including Robert Crais, Harlan Coben, and Dennis Lehane.
Parker also wrote nine novels featuring the fictional character Jesse Stone, a Los Angeles police officer who moves to a small New England town; six novels with the fictional character Sunny Randall, a female private investigator; and four Westerns starring the duo Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch. The first was Appaloosa, made into a film starring Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen.
Robert Brown Parker was an American writer, primarily of fiction within the mystery/detective genre. His most famous works were the 40 novels written about the fictional private detective Spenser. ABC television network developed the television series Spenser: For Hire based on the character in the mid-1980s; a series of TV movies was also produced based on the character. His works incorporate encyclopedic knowledge of the Boston metropolitan area. The Spenser novels have been cited as reviving and changing the detective genre by critics and bestselling authors including Robert Crais, Harlan Coben, and Dennis Lehane.
Parker also wrote nine novels featuring the fictional character Jesse Stone, a Los Angeles police officer who moves to a small New England town; six novels with the fictional character Sunny Randall, a female private investigator; and four Westerns starring the duo Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch. The first was Appaloosa, made into a film starring Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 638 reviews
December 3, 2015
Jesse Stone meets beautiful twin sisters in this one, but instead of doubling his fun it’s twice the amount of murder he has to deal with.
The Paradise cops discover the body of a professional thug in the trunk of his car with a couple of bullets in his head. The investigation leads to a the dead guy’s employer, a Boston mobster with a unique living situation. He’s married to one of the gorgeous twins, and another gang leader is married to the other. The sisters like to be close so the two gangsters have neighboring houses in Paradise, and you gotta imagine that having two organized crime leaders living side by side has gotta wrecked the property values of the entire neighborhood. Jesse soon finds reasons to take a close look at the woman who have a long history of promiscuous behavior as well as using their identical appearance to play games with their sex partners.
As he’s trying to unravel this mess Jesse is also trying to determine the exact nature of his relationship with another character moonlighting from her own series, Sunny Randall, but the two of them have plenty of hang-ups with their ex-spouses to make this problematic. Sunny is also working a case in Paradise that involves trying to determine whether a young woman living in a religious commune has been brainwashed or is there of her own free will.
This is the last Jesse Stone book that Robert B. Parker wrote before his death, and since it also features the final appearance of Sunny Randall it’s his last word on two of his major characters. Fortunately, it ends on a relatively high note with both Jesse and Sunny finally beginning to move past their obsessive relationships with their exes that had consumed their earlier books, and it’s a relief that the two of them had finally started to break out of the doomed cycles the author had imposed on them for far too long.
They crime parts of the story aren’t anything special. As usual with a later RBP book everything is driven by motives related to sex and relationships, but it’s fairly entertaining. I especially liked a very cold blooded move that Jesse pulls at the end of this one.
It’s not a fantastic final story with Jesse and Sunny, but it could have been a lot worse.
The Paradise cops discover the body of a professional thug in the trunk of his car with a couple of bullets in his head. The investigation leads to a the dead guy’s employer, a Boston mobster with a unique living situation. He’s married to one of the gorgeous twins, and another gang leader is married to the other. The sisters like to be close so the two gangsters have neighboring houses in Paradise, and you gotta imagine that having two organized crime leaders living side by side has gotta wrecked the property values of the entire neighborhood. Jesse soon finds reasons to take a close look at the woman who have a long history of promiscuous behavior as well as using their identical appearance to play games with their sex partners.
As he’s trying to unravel this mess Jesse is also trying to determine the exact nature of his relationship with another character moonlighting from her own series, Sunny Randall, but the two of them have plenty of hang-ups with their ex-spouses to make this problematic. Sunny is also working a case in Paradise that involves trying to determine whether a young woman living in a religious commune has been brainwashed or is there of her own free will.
This is the last Jesse Stone book that Robert B. Parker wrote before his death, and since it also features the final appearance of Sunny Randall it’s his last word on two of his major characters. Fortunately, it ends on a relatively high note with both Jesse and Sunny finally beginning to move past their obsessive relationships with their exes that had consumed their earlier books, and it’s a relief that the two of them had finally started to break out of the doomed cycles the author had imposed on them for far too long.
They crime parts of the story aren’t anything special. As usual with a later RBP book everything is driven by motives related to sex and relationships, but it’s fairly entertaining. I especially liked a very cold blooded move that Jesse pulls at the end of this one.
It’s not a fantastic final story with Jesse and Sunny, but it could have been a lot worse.
December 1, 2023
In this 9th book in the Jesse Stone series, the Police Chief investigates a couple of deaths while he takes his relationship with a private detective to the next level. The book can be read as a standalone.
*****
Police Chief Jesse Stone of Paradise, Massachusetts and Boston private investigator Sunny Randall seem ready to advance their nascent romance.
Both Sunny and Jesse have recovered from painful failed relationships and Jesse has almost overcome his drinking problem, so the time may be right.
While the cop and PI are getting closer, however, there's still work to do. Jesse has to deal with a couple of brutal murders and Sunny is hired to rescue a teenager from a cult.
As the story opens, mid-level mob enforcer Petrov Ognowski has been shot dead.
Jesse Stone and his team, Suitcase Simpson and Molly Crane, investigate.
For his part, Jesse interviews two local mob bosses named Reggie Galen and Knocko Moynihan. Jesse is surprised to learn that the ruffians live next door to one another and are married to gorgeous identical twins, Rebecca and Roberta.....who appear to be loyal loving wives.
Both gangsters claim to be retired, and their households appear to be happy and tranquil, but things may not be as they seem. That becomes clear when another death occurs.
Jesse now has two murders to investigate, and as he proceeds, Petrov Ognowski's father and wife show up - to learn who killed their loved one and to get revenge.
As the story unfolds, some characters exhibit rather raunchy behavior which - at one point - threatens to compromise Jesse himself. 😮🙄🤨
Meanwhile, Sunny Randall has been hired by Mr. and Mrs. Markham, a wealthy, class-conscious couple who want their 18-year-old daughter Cheryl to be rescued from Paradise's 'Bond of Renewal' settlement.....which they think is a cult.
Sunny manages to speak to Cheryl, who claims she's happy, NOT in a cult, and NOT being coerced to stay.
Things take a dire turn, however, when Cheryl vanishes.
Eventually, dark secrets about the Bond of Renewal come to light, and Sunny enlists Jesse's help to set things right.
That's the gist of the plot, which is thin but engaging. In addition, fans who'd like to see Jesse get over his ex-wife Jenn - and get on with his life - will be pleased.
This book was published posthumously, after Robert B. Parker's death in 2010. The series has subsequently been continued by other writers.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....
May 6, 2022
The last “Jesse Stone” book written by Robert Parker before his death. Michael Brandman & Red Farrell Coleman, wrote the last eight.
Robert Parker web home page for the - Split Image Book
IMDb - Jesse Stone 8 movies in chronological order
YouTube - Night Passage (2006) the first movie & it’s trailer
Robert Parker web home page for the - Split Image Book
Robert Parker
IMDb - Jesse Stone 8 movies in chronological order
YouTube - Night Passage (2006) the first movie & it’s trailer
February 21, 2013
This is the ninth book in Robert B. Parker's series featuring Jesse Stone, the police chief in the small town of Paradise, Massachusetts. Also featured prominently is another of Parker's series protagonists, P.I. Sunny Randall. In previous books, Stone and Randall have gradually become involved with each other romantically, and this book seems to exist principally so that their relationship can continue to evolve. The two are both freshly out of relationships that ended badly; both are still at least a bit hung up on their exes, and both are in analysis, so at least they have something in common.
Two cases develop simultaneously, allowing Jesse and Sunny to interact. Sunny has been hired by a wealthy couple to retrieve their daughter from a religious cult in Paradise. The cult seems pretty mild, and so, although some townspeople are unhappy about its existence in their quaint little town, Jesse has had no reason to harass the cult members.
Meanwhile, a low-level mobster has been found in the back of his Escalade, parked in Paradise, with a bullet in his head. This leads Jesse to question two allegedly retired mobsters who are living next door to each other in virtually identical houses. They also have identical wives--twin sisters that apparently the husbands cannot even tell apart. Another dead mobster will soon join the first, and Jess has a very puzzling case on his hands. Save for the inspired actions of a grieving widow, it may never be solved.
Both Sunny's case and Jesse's investigation are fairly insubstantial affairs, but it seems that the main purpose of all of the cases in Parker's later books, the Spenser novels included, was simply to provide some action onto which Parker could hang a lot of witty dialogue. There's certainly no shortage of it here, and while this is a book that no one is likely to long remember, it certainly provides a very pleasant escape on a rainy afternoon.
Two cases develop simultaneously, allowing Jesse and Sunny to interact. Sunny has been hired by a wealthy couple to retrieve their daughter from a religious cult in Paradise. The cult seems pretty mild, and so, although some townspeople are unhappy about its existence in their quaint little town, Jesse has had no reason to harass the cult members.
Meanwhile, a low-level mobster has been found in the back of his Escalade, parked in Paradise, with a bullet in his head. This leads Jesse to question two allegedly retired mobsters who are living next door to each other in virtually identical houses. They also have identical wives--twin sisters that apparently the husbands cannot even tell apart. Another dead mobster will soon join the first, and Jess has a very puzzling case on his hands. Save for the inspired actions of a grieving widow, it may never be solved.
Both Sunny's case and Jesse's investigation are fairly insubstantial affairs, but it seems that the main purpose of all of the cases in Parker's later books, the Spenser novels included, was simply to provide some action onto which Parker could hang a lot of witty dialogue. There's certainly no shortage of it here, and while this is a book that no one is likely to long remember, it certainly provides a very pleasant escape on a rainy afternoon.
June 24, 2012
This book is all about sex, sex, and more sex. But I can't fault Parker for this; it was bound to happen. The universe Parker created with Spensor started overflowing, Sunny Randall and Jesse Stone were created. For a time, I thought these new characters were only going to be a way for Parker to recycle some ideas, expand upon others that were not fully fleshed. Boy was I wrong. Sunny and Jesse were created so Parker had a new outlet for his already established Spensorverse. It's like this: Sunny sees a shrink by the name of Susan; Susan so happens to be Spesnor's gal. Jesse fits in with the Sunny Randall stories, eventually getting his own--chicken and the egg, really. But Parker really seems to be enjoying himself in this one. Characters cross, previous tidbits from other stories peek from behind the plot...it's really an Easter egg hunt.
So, sex.
Since this all takes place in Paradise--Jesse Stone's territory--the setting of the novel almost begs to be about sex. Paradise is an idyllic town with beautiful beaches, money, and to some lesser extant, prestige. But it is also the home of some notorious mobsters. But Parker refuses to give the same old cliche mobster tale; instead, this tale is about twins who marry mobsters and then have a grand time switching sexual partners (there's a reason they're called the Bang Bang Twins, afterall). This is all good and fun until the twins are blackmailed. They don't think this is a such a good idea. Petey, the guy who is trying to do the blackmailing, ends up dead and inside the trunk of a car. Uh oh...
Then, as a side note, so as to not have Sunny in this story as merely a sex toy, she uncovers a prostitution ring within a religious organization known as the Bond of the Renewal. This is a pretty weak storyline, but it adds to the sexual tension of the story. Plus, it is always fun to see Sunny's side-kick, Spike...
Finally, there is the element of sex within Sunny and Jesse's relationship. They both have sordid pasts. They both know about these pasts. They both are seeing psychiatrists about these pasts. They both like bonking each other. Need I say more?...
Basically, these three storylines create a tapestry of sex that is fun and entertaining. If there is one fault to this addition of the Spensorverse this would be it: Why the gushy ending? Sunny and Jesse love each other? Really? REALLY!?
RECOMMENDED
So, sex.
Since this all takes place in Paradise--Jesse Stone's territory--the setting of the novel almost begs to be about sex. Paradise is an idyllic town with beautiful beaches, money, and to some lesser extant, prestige. But it is also the home of some notorious mobsters. But Parker refuses to give the same old cliche mobster tale; instead, this tale is about twins who marry mobsters and then have a grand time switching sexual partners (there's a reason they're called the Bang Bang Twins, afterall). This is all good and fun until the twins are blackmailed. They don't think this is a such a good idea. Petey, the guy who is trying to do the blackmailing, ends up dead and inside the trunk of a car. Uh oh...
Then, as a side note, so as to not have Sunny in this story as merely a sex toy, she uncovers a prostitution ring within a religious organization known as the Bond of the Renewal. This is a pretty weak storyline, but it adds to the sexual tension of the story. Plus, it is always fun to see Sunny's side-kick, Spike...
Finally, there is the element of sex within Sunny and Jesse's relationship. They both have sordid pasts. They both know about these pasts. They both are seeing psychiatrists about these pasts. They both like bonking each other. Need I say more?...
Basically, these three storylines create a tapestry of sex that is fun and entertaining. If there is one fault to this addition of the Spensorverse this would be it: Why the gushy ending? Sunny and Jesse love each other? Really? REALLY!?
RECOMMENDED
July 6, 2025
Parker's last Jesse Stone, and a good one, with he and Sunny finally getting together.
Female twins who like sharing everything, including men; mobsters; and a girl in a cult operating out of Paradise make for good, alternating story-lines.
The slow dance toward love by Jesse and Sunny adds a lot to this one, nearly enough to make it five stars. But...the insertion of the stomach-turning Susan Silverman as she "helps" guide Sunny through her romantic issues taints this one. Further, Dix helping Jesse have a ludicrous epiphany that Jenn is absolved of her behavior because it was brought on by Jesse's pathology, is the kind of psychobabble nonsense that Parker, to the detriment of both Spenser and Jesse in their respective series, loved. At least Jesse ends up with Sunny in this one, or at least there's the promise of such. Poor Spenser had to remain entangled with the shallow and pretentious Silverman throughout that series.
Split Image is the final one actually written by Parker, so as with Parker's final personally penned Spenser novel, the last one that matters.
Female twins who like sharing everything, including men; mobsters; and a girl in a cult operating out of Paradise make for good, alternating story-lines.
The slow dance toward love by Jesse and Sunny adds a lot to this one, nearly enough to make it five stars. But...the insertion of the stomach-turning Susan Silverman as she "helps" guide Sunny through her romantic issues taints this one. Further, Dix helping Jesse have a ludicrous epiphany that Jenn is absolved of her behavior because it was brought on by Jesse's pathology, is the kind of psychobabble nonsense that Parker, to the detriment of both Spenser and Jesse in their respective series, loved. At least Jesse ends up with Sunny in this one, or at least there's the promise of such. Poor Spenser had to remain entangled with the shallow and pretentious Silverman throughout that series.
Split Image is the final one actually written by Parker, so as with Parker's final personally penned Spenser novel, the last one that matters.
March 4, 2024
5 Stars. A tight little tale. One I've come to expect from Parker. Chief Jesse Stone of Paradise, Mass. is back at it with a murder or two, a sex crime or two (but some may not be criminal these days), and a personal issue or two. Giving it more thought, the novel may be just about sex. Let's take the murders. If you raise the cover on the matter, you will surely discern two lovely and sexy women of 40 or so, Rebecca and Roberta. Identical twins. Rebecca and Reggie Galen and Roberta and Knocko Moynihan live next door to each other. Both husbands may be connected to the mob. Regardless of their seemingly happy marriages, the women can't stop flirting, and sometimes more, with almost any nearby man. Is jealously the root of all evil in 'Split Image?' Next the sex crimes. P.I. Sunny Randall, who is becoming Jesse's much more suitable other, is looking for a runaway 18-year-old, Cheryl DeMarco. She may be staying with a small religious group called the Renewal. Not a crime, but her parents fear sexual coercion. Jesse and Sunny handle it perfectly. There you have some of the personal. The two of them are a great team and it's a great read. (Se2022/Mar2024)
February 6, 2013
If this was the late Robert B. Parker’s final novel, he did it with style and a very good story. He will be greatly missed. 10 of 10 stars
October 27, 2025
Older series. Town Police Chief Jesse Stone investigates a couple of related mob hits and a religious cult pimping young women. Short story pretty straight forward. Not a lot of twists.
December 20, 2016
This is book #9 in the Jesse Stone series. I have just really enjoyed this series a lot and I knew this one would be just as good. I look forward to the rest of the books in this series as well. I am saddened to learn of Parker's death in 2010, and this book was the last one written solely by him.
Synopsis
The body in the trunk was just the beginning.
Turns out the stiff was a foot soldier for local tough guy Reggie Galen, now enjoying a comfortable "retirement" with his beautiful wife, Rebecca, in the nicest part of Paradise. Living next door are Knocko Moynihan and his wife, Robbie, who also happens to be Rebecca's twin. But what initially appears to be a low-level mob hit takes on new meaning when a high-ranking crime figure is found dead on Paradise Beach.
Stressed by the case, his failed relationship with his ex-wife, and his ongoing battle with the bottle, Jesse needs something to keep him from spinning out of control. When private investigator Sunny Randall comes into town on a case, she asks for Jesse's help. As their professional and personal relationships become intertwined, both Jesse and Sunny realize that they have much in common with both their victims and their suspects-and with each other.
This plot was not one of my favorites because it was along the lines of 'mobbish', and those really are not my style of books, but Jesse Stone is Jesse Stone and that always makes the books very worthwhile to read. Even though I do not care for this type of story it still flowed very well due to the author's amazing skill when it comes to dialogue. No matter what type of plot I am reading, he always gets me to try and solve the mystery right down to the last bit of the story.
The characters are so well developed that I feel as though I know them all personally. Among my favorites for this series is of course Jesse Stone, but also Molly, Sunny and Suitcase. All very fun characters. I even enjoyed some of the outside characters that were brought into the story, characters like Nicholas Ognowski, one of our mobsters. The author made him very realistic, believable, and yes even likable.
I recommend this series to everyone who likes crime/mystery stories. Parker was a very talented writer. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.
Synopsis
The body in the trunk was just the beginning.
Turns out the stiff was a foot soldier for local tough guy Reggie Galen, now enjoying a comfortable "retirement" with his beautiful wife, Rebecca, in the nicest part of Paradise. Living next door are Knocko Moynihan and his wife, Robbie, who also happens to be Rebecca's twin. But what initially appears to be a low-level mob hit takes on new meaning when a high-ranking crime figure is found dead on Paradise Beach.
Stressed by the case, his failed relationship with his ex-wife, and his ongoing battle with the bottle, Jesse needs something to keep him from spinning out of control. When private investigator Sunny Randall comes into town on a case, she asks for Jesse's help. As their professional and personal relationships become intertwined, both Jesse and Sunny realize that they have much in common with both their victims and their suspects-and with each other.
This plot was not one of my favorites because it was along the lines of 'mobbish', and those really are not my style of books, but Jesse Stone is Jesse Stone and that always makes the books very worthwhile to read. Even though I do not care for this type of story it still flowed very well due to the author's amazing skill when it comes to dialogue. No matter what type of plot I am reading, he always gets me to try and solve the mystery right down to the last bit of the story.
The characters are so well developed that I feel as though I know them all personally. Among my favorites for this series is of course Jesse Stone, but also Molly, Sunny and Suitcase. All very fun characters. I even enjoyed some of the outside characters that were brought into the story, characters like Nicholas Ognowski, one of our mobsters. The author made him very realistic, believable, and yes even likable.
I recommend this series to everyone who likes crime/mystery stories. Parker was a very talented writer. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.
August 4, 2019
Чудесна кримка, идеална за лятно развлечение.
Обичам да чета историите на Робърт Паркър най вече заради чудесното му чувство за хумор.
Книгата е част от поредица, но спокойно може да се чете самостоятелно. Не знам колко и в какъв ред са издадени на български книгите от нея.
Обичам да чета историите на Робърт Паркър най вече заради чудесното му чувство за хумор.
Книгата е част от поредица, но спокойно може да се чете самостоятелно. Не знам колко и в какъв ред са издадени на български книгите от нея.
January 17, 2020
One of the most prolific mystery writers of our times, Parker is probably best known for his some 40-book “Spenser” series; but this one features an entrée from his 11-book Jesse Stone set. Perhaps the title – “Split Image” – is reflective of the fact that Sunny Randall, a Boston-based private eye with her own very enjoyable Parker series (six books) is featured along with Paradise Mass. Police Chief Stone – so they spend much of this story informally helping each other with their two active cases; and for that matter, passing some night times in an amorous fashion!
Stone’s case involves what looks like a professional hit of one Petrov Ognowski, an enforcer by trade – followed shortly by a similar murder of an Mafioso type named Knocko. Knocko and his neighbor, another supposed ex-thug, are coincidentally married to identical twin sisters, who apparently have taken great pleasure all their lives in being promiscuous and routinely fooling their menfolk about who’s who!
Meanwhile, Sunny’s case involves a girl in a cult, and whether she’s happy there and just should be left alone or what. Sunny and her gay friend Spike, himself an “enforcer” type, do a pretty good job unraveling this situation, with a little advice from Stone. Meanwhile they consult on his case, especially in outing what the twin sisters are up to.
So the story reads very rapidly, with really more amusement than suspense and intrigue. The lead characters are fun, and the sisters and the cult, as well as a few sessions with shrinks our leads are independently seeing, make for an entertaining tale without placing much demand on the reader to unravel events or keep track of enigmatic clues. All in all, we found the book to be a nice diversion from heavier crime-solving fare – and certainly might seek out another novel about Stone or Sunny when the mood strikes for something light-hearted but well-written.
Stone’s case involves what looks like a professional hit of one Petrov Ognowski, an enforcer by trade – followed shortly by a similar murder of an Mafioso type named Knocko. Knocko and his neighbor, another supposed ex-thug, are coincidentally married to identical twin sisters, who apparently have taken great pleasure all their lives in being promiscuous and routinely fooling their menfolk about who’s who!
Meanwhile, Sunny’s case involves a girl in a cult, and whether she’s happy there and just should be left alone or what. Sunny and her gay friend Spike, himself an “enforcer” type, do a pretty good job unraveling this situation, with a little advice from Stone. Meanwhile they consult on his case, especially in outing what the twin sisters are up to.
So the story reads very rapidly, with really more amusement than suspense and intrigue. The lead characters are fun, and the sisters and the cult, as well as a few sessions with shrinks our leads are independently seeing, make for an entertaining tale without placing much demand on the reader to unravel events or keep track of enigmatic clues. All in all, we found the book to be a nice diversion from heavier crime-solving fare – and certainly might seek out another novel about Stone or Sunny when the mood strikes for something light-hearted but well-written.
July 15, 2010
Reading this after Dr. Parker's passing makes it difficult to review. It's hard to separate the book from the poignancy of the event. Robert Parker was a prolific craftsman, a writer who entertained me for so long and I hold many of his characters close to my heart.
But unfortunately Split Image is not a very good book.
Most of my issues come from the addition of Sunny Randall to a Jesse Stone story. While I like both characters, and have hopes that they can make one another happy, in this book her presence is an annoying distraction.
First of all, her relationship with Susan Silverman made me uncomfortable. What's with the girl-crush? Even after the shrink explains to Sunny why she's so fixated on Silverman's clothes and make up and manner, it's not abated. One wonders why Parker devoted so much space to Sunny's adolescent adoration, and whether somehow Spenser was going to be introduced to some future Sunny story which, unfortunately, we'll never get to see.
I also can't believe that in 21st century Mass., especially among young people like the girl Sunny and Spike try to help, that Spike's homosexuality is even an issue, much less the fascinating curiosity it's presented as here.
And last, there's a scene in this book, where Jesse meets with the women of the religious cult and asks them what's up, that feels like a virtual lift from an earlier story about a Paradise swingers' club.
If you're a fan of either series, you'll want to read this book. Otherwise, I don't think there's much to recommend it.
But unfortunately Split Image is not a very good book.
Most of my issues come from the addition of Sunny Randall to a Jesse Stone story. While I like both characters, and have hopes that they can make one another happy, in this book her presence is an annoying distraction.
First of all, her relationship with Susan Silverman made me uncomfortable. What's with the girl-crush? Even after the shrink explains to Sunny why she's so fixated on Silverman's clothes and make up and manner, it's not abated. One wonders why Parker devoted so much space to Sunny's adolescent adoration, and whether somehow Spenser was going to be introduced to some future Sunny story which, unfortunately, we'll never get to see.
I also can't believe that in 21st century Mass., especially among young people like the girl Sunny and Spike try to help, that Spike's homosexuality is even an issue, much less the fascinating curiosity it's presented as here.
And last, there's a scene in this book, where Jesse meets with the women of the religious cult and asks them what's up, that feels like a virtual lift from an earlier story about a Paradise swingers' club.
If you're a fan of either series, you'll want to read this book. Otherwise, I don't think there's much to recommend it.
October 6, 2021
I've been listening to several of the newer Jesse Stone novels written by Michael Brandman following the demise of Robert Parker, originator of the series. I like them. Brandman has captured the spirit of Stone, but a major difference is stylistic. Parker had a clipped staccato style that some people found annoying. I didn't, disliking his Spenser character, instead.
This is one of Parker's early Jesse Stone (#9) books that weaves in a parallel investigation with another of his characters, Sunny Randall. That plot line involves a quasi-spiritual organization that pimped out girls it had supposedly helped off the street. The other is Jesse's investigation into the death of a gangster involving nymphomaniac twins.
As with all the Jesse Stone series it's solid entertainment, well-read by James Naughton. Stone is a good character. Parker has more difficulty fleshing out female roles and the psycho-babble from Silverman and Dicks (everyone has a therapist) is the least interesting. One is always hesitant to ascribe action of a novel's character to the author, but if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say Parker had a drinking problem, saw a shrink, and had difficulty relating to women.
This is one of Parker's early Jesse Stone (#9) books that weaves in a parallel investigation with another of his characters, Sunny Randall. That plot line involves a quasi-spiritual organization that pimped out girls it had supposedly helped off the street. The other is Jesse's investigation into the death of a gangster involving nymphomaniac twins.
As with all the Jesse Stone series it's solid entertainment, well-read by James Naughton. Stone is a good character. Parker has more difficulty fleshing out female roles and the psycho-babble from Silverman and Dicks (everyone has a therapist) is the least interesting. One is always hesitant to ascribe action of a novel's character to the author, but if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say Parker had a drinking problem, saw a shrink, and had difficulty relating to women.
July 2, 2021
This appears to be written for the faithful fans of Robert Parker's Jesse Stone and Sunny Randal series with a dash of Spenser tossed in. If you do not know their respective back stories already, too bad. Unlike some serial writers like J. A. Jance, Parker does not pad his books with lengthy summaries of the previous books in the series. In any event, the "plot" only serves as a vehicle for the characters' witty banter and bedroom heroics.
March 26, 2017
Should not be in print!
I cannot read this kind of rubbish. Does Robert Parker not know any synonyms for the word, 'said'? I will never buy another of his affronts to the English language.
I cannot read this kind of rubbish. Does Robert Parker not know any synonyms for the word, 'said'? I will never buy another of his affronts to the English language.
May 18, 2018
There's just something special about a writer like Robert Parker, and many of our great current writers will tell you he inspired them.
This book concludes the Jesse Stone series, or at least, the part that Parker wrote. I won't be reading the six (I think it's six) additional novels written by someone else. Just doesn't seem right, in my opinion. I understand the desire to continue something amazing, but sometimes you just have to leave greatness alone.
The end of the series didn't seal up everything in the series. Parker had a heart attack and died after this one, so we will never know what he truly intended, but I sure as hell enjoyed getting to know these characters through the nine Stone books. Not quite as amazing as the Spenser books, but only by a hair. A fraction of a hair.
I'm a fan of the show Longmire, and for some reason, I always imagined Longmire for Jesse Stone. That whole Tom Selleck thing never sat well with me. He was a great Magnum PI, but let's leave it at that.
I've rambled a lot and not said much about this particular book. Here goes: it's great. Loved it as much as the others in the series. Some subplots were moving in a direction that I hoped they would. Of course, the subplots are so prevalent that maybe they are the real plot.
If you liked the other 8 books, well, you don't need me telling you to get this one.
Take care, world!
This book concludes the Jesse Stone series, or at least, the part that Parker wrote. I won't be reading the six (I think it's six) additional novels written by someone else. Just doesn't seem right, in my opinion. I understand the desire to continue something amazing, but sometimes you just have to leave greatness alone.
The end of the series didn't seal up everything in the series. Parker had a heart attack and died after this one, so we will never know what he truly intended, but I sure as hell enjoyed getting to know these characters through the nine Stone books. Not quite as amazing as the Spenser books, but only by a hair. A fraction of a hair.
I'm a fan of the show Longmire, and for some reason, I always imagined Longmire for Jesse Stone. That whole Tom Selleck thing never sat well with me. He was a great Magnum PI, but let's leave it at that.
I've rambled a lot and not said much about this particular book. Here goes: it's great. Loved it as much as the others in the series. Some subplots were moving in a direction that I hoped they would. Of course, the subplots are so prevalent that maybe they are the real plot.
If you liked the other 8 books, well, you don't need me telling you to get this one.
Take care, world!
July 17, 2014
Thank you Robert.B.Parker, June 23, 2012
By Ellen Rappaport (Florida)
This review is from: Split Image (Jesse Stone) (Mass Market Paperback)
After all the wonderful reviews this book received, and rightfully so, mine will be short.
I welcome all the Jesse Stone books by R.B.P. as well as his books on CD. I listened to "Split Image" on CD performed/narrated by James Naughton. Mr. Naughton did a magnificent job narrating and I especially appreciated the fact that he used almost a whisper voice when needing to repeat over and over the word SAID. That's the only irritation I've had in listening to Parker's books on CD. It's not as pronounced when reading as when hearing that word repeated again and again.
Now for Jesse Stone...and in this case PI Sunny Randall. What a fantastic job of bringing both these characters together in solving this murder! And this murder causes them both to leave no stone unturned. But what's under those stones? Soon we find that the obvious isn't the easy answer to this mystery. There's so much more in store for us as we are brought into a cult with a cult figurehead known as the patriarch. But how does all this fit into the scheme of things.
It was so great having Molly and Suitcase working with Jesse. The author just has a way of bringing me in and making me feel right at home...again.
Thank you Robert B. Parker for these wonderful characters and for loving your art. You will be sorely missed, but your wonderful books will remain forever.
Enjoy
By Ellen Rappaport (Florida)
This review is from: Split Image (Jesse Stone) (Mass Market Paperback)
After all the wonderful reviews this book received, and rightfully so, mine will be short.
I welcome all the Jesse Stone books by R.B.P. as well as his books on CD. I listened to "Split Image" on CD performed/narrated by James Naughton. Mr. Naughton did a magnificent job narrating and I especially appreciated the fact that he used almost a whisper voice when needing to repeat over and over the word SAID. That's the only irritation I've had in listening to Parker's books on CD. It's not as pronounced when reading as when hearing that word repeated again and again.
Now for Jesse Stone...and in this case PI Sunny Randall. What a fantastic job of bringing both these characters together in solving this murder! And this murder causes them both to leave no stone unturned. But what's under those stones? Soon we find that the obvious isn't the easy answer to this mystery. There's so much more in store for us as we are brought into a cult with a cult figurehead known as the patriarch. But how does all this fit into the scheme of things.
It was so great having Molly and Suitcase working with Jesse. The author just has a way of bringing me in and making me feel right at home...again.
Thank you Robert B. Parker for these wonderful characters and for loving your art. You will be sorely missed, but your wonderful books will remain forever.
Enjoy
April 15, 2010
What to say about Split Image?
Fans enjoy the author’s sparse prose, however I felt like I was reading a radio show. One glance at the pages of this book will reveal that most the word-count is dialogue, and I mean dialogue of the ‘witty banter’ kind that most how-to books will tell you to avoid like the plague.
The story appears to be a sticky ball of three typical plot pieces: Chauvinist cults, Russian mobsters and hot blond black widow twins. There’s no skilful blending just random thrown together in one big who-cares mystery. The Russians of course speak in stilted English, the twins try to seduce the main character and the chauvinist cult is well, a chauvinist cult.
There were a couple of genuinely funny bits of Split Image, but not enough to make it worth is, and not enough to cover all the other times the novel tries to be funny. Luckily not much time was taken up reading the under 300 page book so I’m not too bitter. Of course when the best thing you can say about a book is “I’m not too bitter about reading it” that doesn’t bode so well does it?
Fans enjoy the author’s sparse prose, however I felt like I was reading a radio show. One glance at the pages of this book will reveal that most the word-count is dialogue, and I mean dialogue of the ‘witty banter’ kind that most how-to books will tell you to avoid like the plague.
The story appears to be a sticky ball of three typical plot pieces: Chauvinist cults, Russian mobsters and hot blond black widow twins. There’s no skilful blending just random thrown together in one big who-cares mystery. The Russians of course speak in stilted English, the twins try to seduce the main character and the chauvinist cult is well, a chauvinist cult.
There were a couple of genuinely funny bits of Split Image, but not enough to make it worth is, and not enough to cover all the other times the novel tries to be funny. Luckily not much time was taken up reading the under 300 page book so I’m not too bitter. Of course when the best thing you can say about a book is “I’m not too bitter about reading it” that doesn’t bode so well does it?
September 12, 2016
Ex-wife Jenn is gone, Sunny is on-deck, and Police Chief Jesse Stone faces off with the salacious, beautiful twins who live next door to each other and both apparently married criminals. They may be at the root of all the evil doings. They certainly turn him to alcohol and send him running to his shrink.
This is the last in the series written by Robert B. Parker. Not continuing on with Parker books at this time; moving on to other mystery authors...
This is the last in the series written by Robert B. Parker. Not continuing on with Parker books at this time; moving on to other mystery authors...
December 28, 2016
This was the first novel released after Robert B. Parker’s death in 2010, the last Jesse Stone book he wrote and the ninth in the series. Although others have taken up the character and continued the serial, Parker’s shoes have been difficult to fill.
In the main plot, Jesse meets two mobsters who are friends and live in gated mansions that sit side by side on Paradise Neck. They are each married to one of two pretty, identical twin sisters who look so much alike, even their husbands have difficulty telling them apart. Stone tells them the police have found the body of Petrov Ognowski, one of their henchmen. He had a bullet in his head and had been stuffed into the trunk of an abandoned SUV.
The visit to the happily married hoodlums with their beautiful, affectionate and supportive wives leaves Jesse with some troubling questions. Why are these two gorgeous ladies so supportive of this pair of thugs? Memories of his failed marriage to Jenn send him into a tailspin. He has not been in touch with her for a long time, but still misses her. He only recently began to understand he was placing demands on her that she could not handle and he also realizes how his heavy drinking got into difficult territory when he and Jenn started having problems. Jesse has since moderated his alcohol intake and things have been going fairly well. But this visit has reminded him once again of his failure to create a happy marriage with Jenn, the only woman he has ever loved. The angst sends him into a hard night of drinking and he passes out, unable to work the next day.
Sunny Randall, a private investigator from Boston (and a cross over from Parker’s Spenser series), is Stone’s new girlfriend. Both are recovering from failed relationships and are still licking their wounds. Like Jesse, Sunny has had difficulty separating from her former spouse. She still cares for Richie like Jesse cares for Jenn. And both Sunny and Jesse have sought help to solve their problems through therapy.
Sunny is in town trying to find Cheryl DeMarco, an eighteen year old who left home to live in a cult-like religious community called The Bond of Renewal. Her parents believe Cheryl has been brainwashed and have hired Sunny to find her and bring her home, using force if necessary. But Sunny now knows enough about the parents that she wonders if Cheryl is better off where she is. When Jesse visits the cult, he sees nothing that alarms him or is illegal and Cheryl seems happy and in love. No one is preventing her from leaving if that is what she chooses to do.
The action picks up quickly following two events: a second mobster is found dead on a bench on Paradise Beach with a bullet in his head and Cheryl DeMarco goes missing from the cult.
While investigating the mob murders, Jesse discovers the wives of the gangsters share a tawdry past, known in high school as the “bang bang sisters”. He begins to wonder whether the two murders are a war over mob territory or some long harbored grievances over sex.
As Jesse and Sunny work their respective cases, they explore their past relationships, gain a better understanding of themselves and begin a budding romance.
This is a typical Parker Jesse Stone novel, driven by sharp, witty and often funny dialogue .The two cases are not complicated nor do they offer much new for readers of crime fiction. But these novels are not just about the crime. Parker is more interested in how people make their way through life and he uses the context of a crime or mystery to get the reader into the head of his characters, sharing their thoughts on questions of personal responsibility, individual control, courage, loyalty and marital fidelity.
The prose is lean and the pace although slow to start, quickly gains momentum. Parker also continues to add more depth to supporting characters Molly Crane and Luther “Suitcase” Simpson, as they add important elements to the storyline.
This book can be read as a “stand alone” novel but is a much more enjoyable read as part of the series.
In the main plot, Jesse meets two mobsters who are friends and live in gated mansions that sit side by side on Paradise Neck. They are each married to one of two pretty, identical twin sisters who look so much alike, even their husbands have difficulty telling them apart. Stone tells them the police have found the body of Petrov Ognowski, one of their henchmen. He had a bullet in his head and had been stuffed into the trunk of an abandoned SUV.
The visit to the happily married hoodlums with their beautiful, affectionate and supportive wives leaves Jesse with some troubling questions. Why are these two gorgeous ladies so supportive of this pair of thugs? Memories of his failed marriage to Jenn send him into a tailspin. He has not been in touch with her for a long time, but still misses her. He only recently began to understand he was placing demands on her that she could not handle and he also realizes how his heavy drinking got into difficult territory when he and Jenn started having problems. Jesse has since moderated his alcohol intake and things have been going fairly well. But this visit has reminded him once again of his failure to create a happy marriage with Jenn, the only woman he has ever loved. The angst sends him into a hard night of drinking and he passes out, unable to work the next day.
Sunny Randall, a private investigator from Boston (and a cross over from Parker’s Spenser series), is Stone’s new girlfriend. Both are recovering from failed relationships and are still licking their wounds. Like Jesse, Sunny has had difficulty separating from her former spouse. She still cares for Richie like Jesse cares for Jenn. And both Sunny and Jesse have sought help to solve their problems through therapy.
Sunny is in town trying to find Cheryl DeMarco, an eighteen year old who left home to live in a cult-like religious community called The Bond of Renewal. Her parents believe Cheryl has been brainwashed and have hired Sunny to find her and bring her home, using force if necessary. But Sunny now knows enough about the parents that she wonders if Cheryl is better off where she is. When Jesse visits the cult, he sees nothing that alarms him or is illegal and Cheryl seems happy and in love. No one is preventing her from leaving if that is what she chooses to do.
The action picks up quickly following two events: a second mobster is found dead on a bench on Paradise Beach with a bullet in his head and Cheryl DeMarco goes missing from the cult.
While investigating the mob murders, Jesse discovers the wives of the gangsters share a tawdry past, known in high school as the “bang bang sisters”. He begins to wonder whether the two murders are a war over mob territory or some long harbored grievances over sex.
As Jesse and Sunny work their respective cases, they explore their past relationships, gain a better understanding of themselves and begin a budding romance.
This is a typical Parker Jesse Stone novel, driven by sharp, witty and often funny dialogue .The two cases are not complicated nor do they offer much new for readers of crime fiction. But these novels are not just about the crime. Parker is more interested in how people make their way through life and he uses the context of a crime or mystery to get the reader into the head of his characters, sharing their thoughts on questions of personal responsibility, individual control, courage, loyalty and marital fidelity.
The prose is lean and the pace although slow to start, quickly gains momentum. Parker also continues to add more depth to supporting characters Molly Crane and Luther “Suitcase” Simpson, as they add important elements to the storyline.
This book can be read as a “stand alone” novel but is a much more enjoyable read as part of the series.
August 17, 2022
This is the last of the series written by Robert B. Parker. It's a fun series with quick, dialogue-heavy reads and Parker's strong knight errant primary characters that made me enjoy the Spenser series so much. Secondary characters continue to be thinly drawn stereotypes, but the series is so enjoyably fluffy it's not a big deal. I generally don't like to continue a series after an author passes, but may make an exception here. The psychiatric insight was interesting in this one, if a bit too nicely packaged and I'm kind of curious to see what another author does with Jesse Stone's continuing evolution.
March 28, 2011
I read the first several books of this series a few years ago. Those books were three or four stars. I came back to the series recently and the books of the series most readily available were the most recent. The characters had changed so much that I wondered if Parker was phoning in the stories, or if he now had a team that fleshed out a skeleton of a story for him. Having recently learned of his death, I'm thinking the latter is the most likely explanation, post mortem. Either way, these later Stone books do not do Parker justice.
September 11, 2011
Parker has little interest in the two plots in this novel, independent plots that do not significantly echo one another. His main interest getting two of his series characters into a relationship, so the plots serve that. The pop psychology babble is trite, and as a result, so is their relationship. This one is for completeists only.
January 14, 2021
Two for the Price of One
A Jesse Stone story AND a Sunny Randle story with Susan and Healy in supporting roles. It’s a pity the author figured out how to interconnect his heroes so late in his career. And his two heroes are matched with twin villains. If you like the boozy, shrinky, witty, sexy and violent world of Robert Parker, dive in.
A Jesse Stone story AND a Sunny Randle story with Susan and Healy in supporting roles. It’s a pity the author figured out how to interconnect his heroes so late in his career. And his two heroes are matched with twin villains. If you like the boozy, shrinky, witty, sexy and violent world of Robert Parker, dive in.
Read
August 11, 2022Review to come.
December 5, 2022
This book is very similar to watching a 1980s sitcom: predictable plot that is wrapped up within the 30 minutes of the show, jokey dialogue that isn't funny, stereotypes in the place of actual characters outside of the core cast. There is nothing absolutely wrong with this approach to genre novels, so long as your goal is to make bank and not a lasting body of work. Also, this is a late-stage novel in Parker's lengthy career. Why mess with success?
The rather pallid pair of crimes to be solved here are presented mainly as a sideshow to the developing romance between Sunny and Jesse. Like many series authors it seems that Parker wanted his last book to be a happy ending for his heroes. Honestly, these scenes of growing attachment were the highlights of the book and felt strangely human and authentic. What makes this odd is that the emotional pitch of those romance sections is almost exactly the same as every other interaction in this very dialogue heavy story. This include interrogations, physical confrontations, several visits to psychiatrists*, and office banter.
The central crime, the one that launches the first chapter, is very confusing and odd, involves a great deal of very unlikely sexual situations, and by novel's end we don't actually have a solution that makes much sense. The secondary investigation, the one led by Sunny, is a sadly predictable cult riff that really had no place to go but where it went. Had any of the characters watched TV in the 1980's they would have known what was going to happen with clockwork timing.
Recommended to anyone who doesn't want to pay attention to their reading and needs to kill a few hours.
* Also, how odd is it that there would be this much emphasis on psychiatry in a book written in 2010? I kept expecting Alvy Singer to show up to talk about Annie Hall.
The rather pallid pair of crimes to be solved here are presented mainly as a sideshow to the developing romance between Sunny and Jesse. Like many series authors it seems that Parker wanted his last book to be a happy ending for his heroes. Honestly, these scenes of growing attachment were the highlights of the book and felt strangely human and authentic. What makes this odd is that the emotional pitch of those romance sections is almost exactly the same as every other interaction in this very dialogue heavy story. This include interrogations, physical confrontations, several visits to psychiatrists*, and office banter.
The central crime, the one that launches the first chapter, is very confusing and odd, involves a great deal of very unlikely sexual situations, and by novel's end we don't actually have a solution that makes much sense. The secondary investigation, the one led by Sunny, is a sadly predictable cult riff that really had no place to go but where it went. Had any of the characters watched TV in the 1980's they would have known what was going to happen with clockwork timing.
Recommended to anyone who doesn't want to pay attention to their reading and needs to kill a few hours.
* Also, how odd is it that there would be this much emphasis on psychiatry in a book written in 2010? I kept expecting Alvy Singer to show up to talk about Annie Hall.
September 28, 2022
The story of Jesse Stone. My husband and I enjoyed this character on TV so much I thought it would be a good read. It follows the TV movie pretty closely as far as characters and the flavor. I don't remember the actual story line but it seemed like it could be one of the movies. I usually like the book better than the movie but not in this case. I liked the PG13 rating of the movie better because it had considerably less F words in it. I know books like this can be written with the same intensity and still leave out the offensive language. This time I would rather sit back and watch the movie!
March 11, 2018
Witty and Entertaining as Always
I love Parker’s character, Jesse Stone, and his police staff. Sometimes the plot line may be thin, as in this one; but I just don’t care. Jesse seeks justice in whatever form it has to take. His character is flawed, but he knows it and keeps trying to be the best man he can be. Wish more ‘real’ people were like that.
I love Parker’s character, Jesse Stone, and his police staff. Sometimes the plot line may be thin, as in this one; but I just don’t care. Jesse seeks justice in whatever form it has to take. His character is flawed, but he knows it and keeps trying to be the best man he can be. Wish more ‘real’ people were like that.
June 28, 2019
Definitely not the best Stone book by Parker but excellent nonetheless. I’m kind of bummed that this was Parker’s last book but I have most of the Spenser books and all of the Randall books yet to read. I’m not sure if I will continue with the Stone books written by others after Parker’s death. Going to miss Suit and Molly and all the rest of the characters around Jesse Stone.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 638 reviews