Rating: 
Summary: Very shallow compared to Spenser
Review: Truthfully, I was disappointed. I have read and re-read all the Spenser books and have hailed Parker for being so "even" in his rendition, but here he sinks to the level of the common thriller writer. The plot in itself is great, and there appear some interesting characters - alas, Mr. Jesse Stone, the main man, is not one of them. If you are looking for a way to pass a dull evening this book will surely suffice, as will ever so many others, but it is not something that will rest on your nightstand with you taking a peek at a sentence or a passage just before you drift of to sleep.
Rating:
Summary: A typical Robert Parker book
Review: When reading any of Robert Parker's novels it's difficult not to compare his protagonist with Spenser, Parker's most famous character. However, Jesse Stone, police chief of Paradise, Mass. is not Spenser. He is Spenser-like in that he's self assured, competent, and has a dry sense of humor. The story revolves around an attempted heist of all the valuables on ritzy Stiles Island. Career criminal James Macklin assembles a crew of specialists who plan to isolate the island from the nearby mainland and at their leisure pluck all of the residents clean of anything valuable. Of course, they don't realize they'll have to deal with Jesse Stone. I didn't like the book as much as I like the Spenser novels. This is probably not fair to Parker because when this book is compared to other authors in writing in the same genre it is very good indeed. The sharp Parker dialogue is there along with the rapidly moving pace of the whole novel. A real Chief of Police wouldn't be able to get away with some of the things that Jesse Stone does, but hey, this IS fiction after all. All-in-all a good book for mystery lovers.
Rating:
Summary: Be a man - dump the ex
Review: Yeah, he's tough. Sure. Why doesn't he get some self-respect and dump his slut ex-wife? This guy gets more action than Bill Clinton, yet he keeps setting himself up for a fall with Jenn. Otherwise both the Jesse Stone books were fun reads-largely due to Parker's skill as a writer.
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