Rating: 
Summary: Not Spenser, but not bad, either.
Review: I've recently finished reading the complete corpus of Robert Parker mysteries and novels, both Spenser and non-Spenser, and I was happy to find an autographed copy of Night Passage at a local Borders. There is much in common here with Parker's other work, of course, since it is, after all, penned by the same author. What Parker achieves in this new novel is something of a middle ground between his Spenser series and his stand-alone novels such as All Our Yesterdays. It is somewhat refreshing to hear Parker employ the third person point of view in his narrative. This enables us to see a mystery unfold from various perspectives, not just the detective's. Furthermore, the initial section of the book chronicling Jesse Stone's cross-country trek from L.A. to Paradise is a fine introduction to the character; it achieves almost an Odyssey in reverse. While Stone is no Odysseus (or Spenser, for that matter), he is his own person, and Parker is to be commended for his efforts to break new ground and explore new themes. Granted, this is difficult to do after a career encompassing several decades, but Jesse Stone is an admirable character which should open up a new universe of plotlines to explore. In some sense, Jesse Stone is playing Picard or Janeway to Spenser's Kirk. Let the adventures continue.
Rating:
Summary: Parker Unveils a New Hero !
Review: IN one of his boldest moves of late, Robert Parker introduces us to a new and highly likeable character in Chief Jesse Stone. Fresh from a dead-end job and a serious drinking problem in Los Angeles, Jesse Stone comes to a quaint little town known as Paradise to take over the responsibilities of police chief. Little does he realize what mayhem lurks just below the surface of this seemingly innocent little harbour town. In a plot full of strange characters and even stranger plot twists, Parker unravels another classic suspense mystery novel. If you like Spenser... you'll LOVE Stone!! Just like he handles the "seedy element" in Paradise, Jesse Stone will catch up to you one way or another by the end of the book. I highly recommend it to all Spenser fans that want to welcome Parker's newest hero with open arms ( and minds!).
Rating:
Summary: A Good Introduction
Review: It does look like this is a good time for Robert B. Parker to come up with a new character, and judging from this first book, Jesse Stone could be a winner. He's certainly different from Spenser. While he shows some wit, he's of a darker and brooding nature, having messed up his professional and personal lives by hitting the bottle too heavily. In fact, he even goes to a job interview after drinking and surprisingly gets hired as police chief in Paradise, Mass. He figures that he was hired in spite of his condition when the truth is he was hired because of his drinking...he appeared to be far easier managed than he turned out to be. Obviously, Parker intends to have the two series interrelate to a degree. Vinnie Morris and Gino Fish appear in the story, although interestingly, they never interrelate with Stone. Somehow, I suspect that might change in future novels. All in all, this is a promising beginning for a new Parker hero.
Rating:
Summary: Just a Spark in the "Night"
Review: It is usually not a good sign when a series author decides to branch out to a new series; it usually means that the author himself has become bored with his creation and wishes to stretch his writing muscles a bit with something new. At best, this gives the faithful reader a new reason to enjoy his favorite author. At worst, the previous creation becomes a sort of exercise in frustration as the writer focuses his attention on his new baby. In Robert B. Parker's case, we get the latter. Parker had already registered his continued contempt for his first creation, Spenser, by allowing the stories to get maudlin and sloppy, the margins to get wider and wider, and by publishing two installments of new Philip Marlowe adventures, as well as creating a new series starring a female private eye named Sunny Randall. To add insult to injury, here are we are now with "Night Passage", a fourth series concerning an L.A. cop named Jesse Stone transplanted to Paradise, Massachusetts, a bucolic little town on the Atlantic Ocean. Jesse, plagued by drink and a wishy-washy ex-wife, sets out to remake himself as Chief of Policein a town where no one knows his name. But things get confusing when the department cat is murdered, followed by the killing of the previous chief of police and finally, a young, unwed mother. Jesse is, underneath it all, a good cop, so he is able to pull himself together, solve the crimes and have casual sex with a couple of ladies, thereby working on his abandonment issues. Parker seems intent on making Stone as different from Spenser as possible, but the differences are superficial. Where Spenser is a hulking ex-boxer, Stone is slight. Spenser enjoys a beer or a glass of fine champagne once in a while but is, ultimately, in control, but Stone is a drunk just barely keeping his head above water. Where Spenser's relationship is stable to the point of saccharine sweetness, Stone's is wobbly. Spenser has Hawk. Stone has . . . Suitcase Simpson,. a gangly redheaded police officer. But none of this matters. The writer is still Parker, the soul is still Spenser. Nearly half the novel is taken with Jesse's drive across country and settling in to Paradise. By the time Parker gets around to leveling the plot, we almost wish he hadn't; it is ridiculously unlikely and unworthy of a writer of Parker's heart and intelligence. What makes this novel a good read are the spare, Hemingwayesque prose, the likeable secondary characters, the hints of what is to come. It's an okay start and, I'm not giving anything away, the second book in the series is a grand-slam homerun of a book. You don't need to read this book to enjoy the second (I didn't, until after), but it may set your mind at ease.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but still....
Review: It's time for Parker to test different water before losing his elasticity in Spenser. This once is not bad but still seemed to be published in bit haste. The author started this book based upon a not-so-convincible premise: Jesse Stone, a veteran cop fired by LAPD due to alcoholic problem and lousy service record. Guy like him nowadays (with FAX, Email, on-line communication, and etc.) would be very difficult to be hired again elsewhere even being a small town deputy and less possible to successfully relocated to any town to become a CHIEF OF POLICE(this title seems to be bigger than Sheriff?), unless Jesse forged his resume, or what? Based on this wrong-foot start, Mr. Folman, the unlikely scapegoat in OJ Simpson murder case, should have already found himself pretty easy to find a Police Commissioner capacity in another Paradise long before he fall prey to alcoholic problem? Well, I don't know.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm waiting to peel back more of Jesse's layers. Great read!
Review: Jesse is a new character for Parker whose layers are slowly revealed. At the end of the book, you realize that you have only just become acquainted with Jesse and the other inhabitants of Paradise. The character development is subtle but strong. You finish the book wondering when Jesse will be back. The possibilities for Jesse appear to be unlimited; he has a past in LA, a future in Paradise and an ex-wife who is sure to mess with both. A great read.
Rating:
Summary: Parker is picking up where he left off with Spenser.
Review: Jesse Sone, Chief of Police, divorced, drinking problem. A very real world character Parker has invented. Some qualities of this character can be attributed to our super sleuth Spenser if he had stayed with the police department. But there are more qualities that cannot be attributed to Spenser. Jesse is climbing up a hill to get his life back in some order after his divorce.This jesse Stone is a very complex character that I would like to see at the top of that hill once he reaches it. Spenser was missing something in the past few novels from Parker, but it looks like Parker has found what was missing in his new character Jesse Stone. Welcome back Mr. Parker (applause).
Rating: 
Summary: A New Series, a New Character, the Same High Quality
Review: Jesse Stone is a cop on his way down. Paradise, Massachusetts is a town that isn't quite the idyll it appears on the surface. Robert B Parker is beginning a new series that bids fair to bring back that snap and magic that i found in the mid-period Spenser books which has, sadly, been somewhat less in evidence in the later ones. Stone is an LA homicide detective who has hit a bad patch when he realises that his wife is cheating on him, which leads to their divorce which results in his determined attempts to crawl into a bottle of scotch. Which, in turn, leads first to his long-time partner's reluctant refusal to continue working with him and thence to his captain's offer: resign or be fired. Paradise, Massachusetts is one of those neat little Colonial towns full of yuppies and Old Money types, and they just happen to need a Chief of Police... and Jesse is Just What They Want, even if he WAS rather more than half-drunk during his employment interview. In many ways, this story is an "inverted" mystery story, since Parker all along the way keeps us informed as to what the Bad Guys are up to, alternately with showing us Jesse's growing conviction that Something Bad Is Going On. Jesse is not the wise-cracking near-thug that Spenser is; he is good cop (once he discovers that he doesn't HAVE to get plowed every night and remembers how to be one) with a dry understated sense of humour, and an appreciation of the legal, political and practical aspects of his position. Faced with a thuggish body-builder who laughs in his face while telling him that the restraining order his (the body-builder's) ex-wife has against him is unenforceable, Jesse nods, agrees, and then tells the thug to stay away froem her anyway... following up by proving with sudden and effective violence that even if the Court's restraining order is unenforceable, HIS isn't... The final confrontation is a bit unbelievable, but, then again, i found most of the mechanics of the actual plot a bit strained and creaky (which explains the 3-star rating given how much i enjoyed the book on first reading) -- but the plot isn't really important, in the last analysis; what IS important is Jesse's beginnings on a journey that will being him back to being a complete man and a complete cop, and THAT doesn't creak at all. Experienced Parker readers, be warned: Jesse Stone, like Spenser with Susan Silverman, carries a lot of emotional baggage and hang-ups regarding his ex-wife (which she reciprocates. On the other hand, though his emotional states are (or appear), much more intense than Spenser's, he mostly doesn't wax quite so lugubrious and elaborately on about it, though this may be mostly because he is presented third-person rather than as first-person narrator. These minor caveats aside, this book (and, even more, the sequel, "Trouble in Paradise") is highly recommended, especially for whose reading diet lacks a little something tough to chew on lately. Recommended whole-heartedly.
Rating:
Summary: Wasn't Nearly As Good As I Expected
Review: Jesse Stone is a rather lame Spencer! Somthing was definitely missing here in Parker's lastest. Somhow I can't believe Parker's heart was in this one
Rating:
Summary: At last. someone new and interesting comes along!
Review: Jesse Stone is not a perfect person. What a relief to read about a character who isn't Pierce Brosnan beautiful and who has his own personal issues to deal with. This book is truly entertaining and wonderful to relax with after a long day at work. I will definitely look for more books in this series.
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