Sea Change (Jesse Stone Novels)

Great. Robert B. Parker was true to his reputation as an author. Couldn't put the book down. Having seen a couple of the movies about Jessie Stone, I could picture Tom Selleck making all these moves and hear him saying the dialogue. I hope there will be more to follow.

Jesse Stone, the former LAPD robbery homicide detective, now the chief of police for Paradise Massachusetts finds himself in the middle of a case that involves a sad and sordid tale of incest and a sex ring in the midst of a murder investigation during a yachting competition in his town. It all begins when the body of a young woman is found floating in the bay near Paradise. Jesse, and his officers, Suitcase Simpson, and Molly Crane and the other inhabitants of Paradise deal with the murder as well as other events that take place in the small town. In the midst of learning about the sad life story of the victim, Jesse must still deal with the demons of his drinking problem (although by this time he has tried to go sober)and his ambiguous feelings for his ex-wife Jenn, whom has proven to be rather untrustworthy.

"Sea Change" is in fact the first Jesse Stone novel that I read, and I have to admit that I am hooked into this series by Parker. I hope that we see more of Jesse and how he deals with life in Paradise.

I love reading the Spencer novels, as well as the Jesse Stone novels by Robert B. Parker. One thing that I found interesting is that, the longer Robert Urich starred as Spencer in the TV series, the more the character Spenser seemed to sound like Robert Urich playing Spenser. Now I see the same thing happening with Jesse Stone. Tom Sellick has played Stone in a couple of Parker's earlier Stone screen adaptations, and it may be my imagination, but it sure seems like Stone is sounding more and more like Sellick. That isn't a bad thing. The two go well together. Like Morgan Freeman as Alex Cross in the James Patterson books. When I read their dialogue, I almost hear that actor's voice...

The story is typical Parker. A great read, and one that I ended up doing in one sitting, just because I didn't want to stop reading.

This was my first Parker novel, my dad was reading it and when he finished it I picked it up. I am glad I did as I have a new favorite author! The hero is Jess Stone a former Los Angeles cop who is now police chief in a small Massachusetts town. The chief has some problems, a recovering alcoholic who has lost his wife Jenn. But then a badly decomposed floater washes up on the beach. The dinning crabs make identification of the body difficult, but the cops soon figure out the body is that of Florence Horvath a wealthy divorcee from Fort Lauderdale. Florence's yacht the Lady Jane is docked at the local marina. Stone is plunged into the lives of the rich jets set crowd to attempt to learn what happened to Ms. Horvath?

Stone makes for a great anti-hero. The mystery plot is balanced by Stones personal struggles, that gives the story a realistic edge. The writing is crisp and the dialog snappy yet believable. I also liked the fact that all of the action and plot devices seemed reasonable and probable, something lacking in much of this genre. Though over 300 pages it is a quick read. I now look forward to going back and reading Parker's other novels.

Five INTRIGUING Stars!! Jesse Stone, former LA cop is now chief of police in Paradise, Massachusettes. On the wagon, in analysis, and trying to get his woman back, he's carrying more baggage than a police chief should. Then a murdered "floater" plunges him, a man in therapy, into the seedy underbelly of the rich, to analyze the case and find the killer. And he gets alot of help along the way from internal and external sources, one big surprising source in particular.

The redoubtable Robert B. Parker gives us tons of detailed police procedure and forensic investigation, which is just the kickoff, then he takes Jesse down the lurid rabbit-hole to a surprising climax in a wide ranging investigation. Snappy dialogue and intriguing, disturbing characters and situations abound. In some places it was like I wanted to cover my eyes and peek through the parted fingers: we shouldn't look but can't look away. Do people really live like that? Caution: there are two disturbing scenes conjured up by Mr Parker. An amazing read by one of our most talented mystery writers. Five Big Stars!!!

(Note: Eminently readable book with short three to five page chapters that are sparely written, but chock full of information on the page and between the lines. A fascinating, engrossing approach to writing.)