Rating: 
Summary: A pretty good effort
Review: Parker's books are always easy and enjoyable to read and this one is no different. I won't get into the story or plot (why ruin it for you). I will say that this book is not a classic novel, but I enjoyed reading it and would give it to a friend
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent!
Review: Robert Parker is my favorite author, and "Night Passage" is the best of many excellent books. An imperfect hero, with his struggle with alcohol and his failed marriage, Jesse Stone heads east from LA to Paradise Mass, to begin his life again as the chief of police in a small town.
The need to be a cop, a good cop, is what will save Jesse as he tries to work out the conflicts of his past and deal with crime and politics in Paradise.
Parker is an insightful author; he lets you see without forcing it, takes you along for the story without pushing. I hope he writes at least 30 more novels.
Rating:
Summary: A solid, more down-to-Earth tale from the Spenser author.
Review: Robert Parker's non-Spenser books over the years have been uneven, if interesting, and I wondered what to expect from this book launching a new hero into his own series. Frankly, I was a bit cynical. I needn't have worried. Jesse Stone is Spenser-esque, but he is not Spenser. He is rooted more in a reality we're all familiar with, a reality in which people (even heros) can have emotional problems and doubts, a reality in which a good man is not necessarily the absolute best at everything he sets out to do. Jesse is thus a refreshing change, after watching Spenser become an unbeatable Ubermensch over the years. Parker may be out to do a series that avoids the mistakes he has made with Spenser over the years, hindsight of course being 20/20. If that's the case, he's off to an excellent start. All in all, if you're a fan of Spenser, you should enjoy this book. If the next book in the series were out already, I'd already be reading it. ------->> Tim Byrd
Rating:
Summary: Parker does not disappoint his Spenser fans
Review: The new characters introduced in this book will have most Spenser fans looking forward to the next installment. The focal character,Jesse Stone, is a real person to the reader and makes you want to know how he's doing even when he's not on the page. I do wish Parker's women would grow some hair on their chests and not depend on shrinks to straighten them out. The menfolk deal with their problems in a manly fashion all by themselves. Therapy for the Parker male frequently involves the application of a fist or foot to some other person. Much more entertaining then getting in touch with one's inner child. This quibble aside this book is a worthy departure with stylish dialog and interesting developments. The ending is a little rushed but the reader will be reluctant to see the end of Jesse and will want to read more about him . The author that can make a reader care about his characters is a success. Robert Parker has done it. END
Rating:
Summary: A winning new character for Parker, enjoyable read
Review: The switch to third person in this novel gives Parker room to expand as a writer, and Jesse is a complex, interesting, all-male hero with terrific appeal. Only problem is similar to the latest Spenser novels; the villains are awfully damned dumb. I'm eager to read more of Jesse, but against more interesting villains.
Rating: 
Summary: Ho hum
Review: This is the first book I've read by this author and I won't bother with another one. It certainly doesn't have the depth of a Cornwell or Patterson. Only 322 pages long with plenty of white space between the lines,etc. means you could read this entire book in a couple of hours. It wasn't particularly bad, it just wasn't good.
Rating:
Summary: Good mystery
Review: This is the first Robert Parker book that I've read. I never read any of his "Spencer" novels-I really wasn't too crazy about the TV series, so I figured I wouldn't like the books, either. This book was very easy to read-I love the short chapters!! The story line was pretty good, but I hope there aren't small towns that hire "drunk" former LAPD cops to be Chief of Police. I'm looking forward to the next "Jesse Stone" story, wondering if he and Jenn will make it, or if she'll get the acting bug again and split for Hollywood.
Rating: 
Summary: Tasteless --- MSG is absolutely needed!!!!!!!!!
Review: Used about 50 pages to describe the lonely journey of Jesse Stone from Santa Monica Pier to that seemingly isolated but prosperous town in the far north-east--still the backyard of Parker's territory at Spenser's angle, only the name and the job of the hero is different--to become a sheriff(Chief of Police might be too big deal), and used unnecessary and extreme force, LA style, to kick the craps out of a money laundry man and ex-wife beater, JO JO, and worked exactly like any other uniformed rookies, running around to deal with the big deal dark forces, Hasty, the banker and other employers of the vaguely township; always flashed back to the love scenes with his ex-wife, either on the way to get the new job, or dialed AT&T long distance at the rented apt. later to reiterate his hurt feelings to J...whoever & whatever in so many whole chapters. Just like every first sentence of the graphically changed words of every chapter, so disturbingly and yet so loosely put by using thick papers to jumbonize a simply
Rating:
Summary: A quieter, subtler hero for Parker's fans to enjoy
Review: Well, for everyone who is used to wisecracking Spenser, Parker's new character--Jesse Stone--will be a surprise, but also perhaps a welcome change, a hero who is likely more like the rest of us than he is like Spenser. Quieter, more apt to bring humor to a situation with a single word or expression, Jesse seems more like someone most of us might know, someone with a whole multitude of problems, challenges and weaknesses with which he must contend. Like Spenser, Jesse is strongly and sometimes-heartbreakingly attached to one woman, but Jesse differs in the level of pain he endures, and the ways in which he deals with that pain. Spenser manages to always find a certain amount of humor even in the worst of situations, but Jesse sometimes wallows, and sometimes sinks. The plot of this novel is sometimes a little too contrived for my taste, but at least it did not degenerate into some monstrous plot masterminded by a Nazi-like militia. Rather, all that is given in this book is a glimpse into people who seem fairly real, fairly ordinary, and definitely people we can understand. Although I miss Spenser's wicked and literate humor, I find I like Jesse's quieter and subtler nature. I hope to read more about him in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Parker shows that he can create another complex character.
Review: What a wonderful book. Robert Parker has taken many of the complexities of Spenser and transposed them onto a younger, different character. The book read very well and very fast. As an added bonus, old friends Vinnie Morris, Gino the money man and Healy the state cop are present for this tale. The book was difficult to put down and thoroughly engaging.
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