Jesse Stone Tries to Save the Girl, Himself, and Jenn with Crow's Help

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	• Stranger in Paradise (Jesse Stone Novels) Robert B. Parker Putnam Adult, 2008 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 52 reviews view larger image
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Entertaining, but obsessed

The popular Jesse Stone series continues in "A Stranger in Paradise", courtesy of Robert B Parker.

Paradise, Massachusetts is Jesse Stone's territory. Even with the arrival of Wilson "Crow" Cromartie, the relative calm of Pardise is only momentarily disturbed. Coinciding with Crow, a school for Latino students opens up amid much controversy. Will the Latino gangs come next? What kind of story can Jennifer Stone find in the Latino school discussion? What about property values? And then there's the matter of the murdered woman found on the lawn of the school.

Ah yes, the murder. Amber Franciso, daughter or Louis Francisco is caught in the middle. Her father wants her back, and her mother murdered. Crow, an experienced hit man and visitor to Paradise a decade back (during a violent robbery), is hired to find and return the girl. As dedicated to doing his clients wishes, Crow still has a fatal flaw. He will not harm women. Amber doesn't want to go back and runs away to her boyfriends' (Esteban Carty) gang house.
Crow, during his search and rescue of Amber, kills the enforcer and takes Amber to Jesse. From this point the cat and mouse game with Louis Francisco, Jesse Stone, and Wilson switches from Florida to Paradise. Crow dons his hit man guise, and Jesse (and his ex-wife Jenn) play parent supervisor to Amber. On the Latino school front, the real motive behind the opposition surprises even Jesse. Can a hit man do the right thing for the right reasons?

"Stranger in Paradise" is a good novel, packed with the charm that makes the series popular. Easy to read and follow, Parker writes clean prose. You can almost see Selleck delivering his lines! The only disturbing element to the novel is the infatuation with sex. Molly commits adultery with Crow. Amber is `active'. Stone seems obsessed. Suit is a constant dabbler. When this is made into a film, I hope the constant allusions are minimized, or eliminated.

May Jesse Stone return...soon.

Tim Lasiuta

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A sexy sheriff, tough but with a soft heart.

Jesse is not perfect, not by a long shot, but he is the first one to tell you that. He has a major flaw and that is his exwife. Those who know him trust him implicitly even the bad guys.

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"It's like being the police chief in Peyton Place"

I enjoy all of Robert B. Parker's continuing series, but every now and then Mr. Parker gives us a strange, weirdly plotted entry in those series, and those tales usually don't pull me in as viscerally as the author's works usually do. Interestingly, "Stranger in Paradise" is a strange, weirdly plotted installment in the "Jesse Stone" series that's still visceral and involving.

Sexual politics are never far from the mix in a typical Robert B. Parker thriller, but here the sexual politics are particularly hot and heavy. Everyone seems to be sleeping with everyone else this time out, and in odd or unpredictable ways (ironically, however, Jesse himself is pretty much on the sidelines in that area this time, unless one counts his ruminations on his relationship with ex-wife Jenn). In any event, the sexual issues and occurrences throughout the book are dramatic and interesting, not JUST odd, which helps make "Stranger in Paradise" a fairly strong entry in the series.

I also enjoyed Jesse's relationship with Wilson "Crow" Cromartie, a (usually) cold-hearted criminal who comes to Paradise on a mission to locate a missing girl, and soon gets involved in a potential gang war. Crow might be shaping up to be Jesse Stone's "Hawk", as the two tough-guy characters are soon working together in an uneasy but well-oiled alliance to confront the gang issue and (in an often-seen Parker story element) salvage the life of a young girl in trouble.

"Stranger in Paradise" has a good thriller plot, and some interesting developments in the lives of Jesse Stone and supporting cast members Suitcase Simpson and Molly Crane. Certainly, the weird sensual vibe throughout the book is compelling. That's Jesse's quote in the title line, by the way, made as he shakes his head in amazement at the goings-on around him.

If you've enjoyed this series so far, there's certainly no reason to stop now.

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A thoroughly enjoyable place-holder

Jesse Stone returns in Stranger In Paradise, another solid entry in yet another solid series for Grandmaster Parker.

Dovetailing events from previous Stone adventures, primarily Trouble In Paradise, the noisiest of all the Stone novels, this is an exciting, character-rich excursion that series fans will enjoy, and a good "jumping-on" point for people new to the series.

As things commence, one of the principle players in the island takeover from that book, Wilson "Crow" Cromartie, strolls into Jesse's office to lay some groundwork for his temporary presence in Paradise. Seems he's been hired to locate some people, and wants to make sure he can work in relative openness. After determining that the statute of limitations have passed for all but the most heinous of potential charges (for which he has no evidence), Jesse gives him a most-wary pass to operate in the area.

Parker continues to have loads of fun with the characters here, most notably Molly Crane, who has been clearly made the female anchor of the series, as opposed to Jenn Stone, Jesse's hot-but-troubled ex-wife/current playpal. Molly's ability to keep Jesse level has become a major highlight of this series.

While we watch Crow do what he does, Parker develops a side-plot involving some of the snootier residents attempting to block establishment of a pilot school for disadvantaged kids in what once was a mansion on their hill. It's racism disguised as concern for property values, and Jesse properly skewers their intentions by riding on the bus with the kids. Parker's ease with dialogue, and awareness Jesse's power creates some great scenes with Jesse and the kids.

One of Parker's topics here is the honor of men, no matter their duties. There's a point at which Crow is ordered to kill one of the targets of his search, an order he will not follow because, well, he likes women. Pretty good reason, really.

Along the way, we learn a LOT more about Suitcase Simpson (heh), Jesse's favorite foil. We also have more sessions with Dex, Jesse's shrink. And YES, Parker is developing character archetypes for each of his three series. Some of them are the same characters, performing different roles in different series (see: Susan Silverman), but those familiar with all three will find them. It's actually a good thing. Many will no doubt sniff that Parker's just being lazy, but the functions these characters perform obviously interest him, and are valuable to the evolution of the series, so give him some slack, ok?

The back half of the book primarily describes, in typically exciting Parker style, the efforts of Crow and Jesse to protect these women and neutralize a particularly nasty gang from a neighboring township.

The other joy of Stranger In Paradise is the journey of the title character, Amber Francisco. Introduced as a discarded goth-punk, Parker creates a path for the re-discovery of her humanity, via her exposure to Crow, Jesse, and, believe it or not, Jenn. It's both effective and affecting, not cloying or trite, which is a tricky line for a writer to walk.

The action-infused conclusion ties both Amber's journey and the afore-mentioned plot together with the violence and pathos we've come to expect from Parker, and as always, it's very satisfying.

Yep, very solid.

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Jesse Stone Tries to Save the Girl, Himself, and Jenn with Crow's Help

I would have graded this book as a four except that Mr. Parker aggressively advocates women seeking out a little sexual novelty for fun as a major theme. Usually, Mr. Parker tries to draw a contrast between the angels and the devils. The line he draws seems to be coming closer to the devils than the angels in this story.

As the book opens, Wilson "Crow" Cromartie, the "Apache" hit man, comes to see Jesse Stone to be sure that Jesse realizes that Crow is in the clear on past crimes in Paradise due to the running of the statute of limitations on his multi-million dollar heist. Crow is looking for a woman and her daughter for a Miami hood.

Aside from this annoyance, Jesse is mostly facing local citizens who seem unusually upset by some underprivileged kids taking classes in town. The local white-shoe types draw in the media, and Jenn is assigned to cover the story (undoubtedly hoping for special favors from Jesse).

In his rare free time, Jesse is making progress in understanding why Jenn loves him but cannot live with him.

The story turns from joking to deadly when Crow is asked to kill the girl's mother after finding both of them. Crow is a hit man who only kills men. Crow becomes a vigilante trying to keep mother and daughter safe . . . while keeping his own heart pumping.

The strands of these story elements interweave in typical Robert Parker fashion. But the book isn't quite the usual Parker morality play. Instead, it's more about how depraved everyone is (or could be) with the right incentive. There's plenty of fun, but the backdrop of evil and temptations pursued spoil the aftertaste of the fun.

Crow is one of Parker's more interesting "out-of-town" characters. His unique attitudes and perspectives liven up this story or it would be two-star book. Because of the name similarities (birds of a feather), some will compare Crow to Hawk. If that kind of comparison interests you, my take is that Crow is simply Hawk when Spencer isn't around.

The plot resolutions are more fun than much of the story development that shows you can indeed have trouble in paradise.

If you intend to keep up with the Jesse Stone series, you'll have to read this one even if it won't be your favorite.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, page 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

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