Stone Cold (Puffin Teenage Fiction)

Serial killer, rape victim and the loss of friends and some of the things that makes Jessie's life tough. Thru the twists and turns of the story, Jessie starts to unravel his personal life vs Cop. You get to see a part of him that you felt but couldn't read on the page lines but between them.

Another good read in the Jesse Stone series. Just as I was getting fed up with the drama between Jesse and ex-wife Jenn it appears that that part of the story line is about to change. In my view it is about time. Other than that small gripe Mr. Parker has spun an interesting and surprising plot for Jesse and his small town.

This was the most interesting of the Jesse Stone novels that I have read so far. I was a little disappointed in book 3, but now I'm very glad that I forged ahead. I loved the ending to this one and now I'm ready for the next one.

We continue to enjoy this rather light series of crime stories featuring Parker’s Jesse Stone character, Police Chief of Paradise Mass. In this quite typical entry, Jesse is heavily involved in a 4-person to-date sequence of serial killings over several months, apparently with random targets; including, near the end, the Chief himself! His determination and instincts serve him well as he closes in on the perps, who are identified to us early on. Jesse also deftly handles a three-boy rape of a high school girl, and applies a fair share of his own dispensation of justice in the process. Meanwhile, as with most of these tales, he continues to pine for ex-wife Jenn, which slows him down from any serious relationships with other women.

As said, another entertaining outing of a enjoyable character.

STONE COLD is another good Jesse Stone novel, and this one keeps Stone on his toes catching a pair of serial killers and a trio of high school rapists. He knows who all the bad actors are but has to use his wits and some clever negotiation with a defense attorney to bring them all to justice. There's a lot going on in this book. It looks like Jesse might have his drinking under control. I had high hopes that he would finally realize what a drag Jenn is on his life and move on from her, but it seems he's not quite ready. I like Parker's spare writing style and look forward to reading more in the Stone series.

Stone Cold (Jesse Stone)

HAVE ALL the books is this series -- kudos to Robert Parker on the development of this enigmatic character. A definite series to continue.

When his marriage to Jenn broke up, Jesse Stone left California and accepted a job as chief of police in Paradise, Massachusetts. Jenn followed soon after and although they see each other on occasion, they also date other people. Jesse tells every woman he's involved with that he's still in love with Jenn and until she tells him it's over, he won't commit to anyone else.
Usually Paradise is a quiet little town but now Jesse is working on two cases that are particularly ugly. Three young men rape a teenage girl in her school and they threaten to show pictures of her during the sexual assault if she reports it to the police. Jesse wants to find a way to charge the young men while keeping the girl's name out of it. The second case is even more horrifying. A husband and wife team picks out a victim at random, stalks him, and they both simultaneously kill him with identical weapons. Jesse, who knows he's their next target, sets up a trap using himself as bait but they evade it and ride off into the sunset.
Comparisons between Spenser and Jesse are inevitable. Spenser is self assured and confident of Susan's love while Jesse is vulnerable and has no idea if he and Jenn will ever get together. Spenser, as a PI, sometimes bends or breaks the rules while Jesse adheres to them. STONE CUTS' protagonist is more interesting because readers don't know what Robert B. Parker will do next with his character. Stark prose and plenty of action is what this novel is all about.
Harriet Klausner

Jesse Stone's detached and calculating methods tackle two difficult cases, with mixed results. A series of random thrill killings eventuall hits too close to home, demanding that Jesse turn his attention from an even more personal matter in which he becomes involved. Jesse spends the story trying to fit a lot of puzzle pieces together...and even his 'down time' involves trying to put the pieces of his personal life in order. This is classic Robert B. Parker(and also demonstrated why Tom Selleck was perfect for the part of Jesse Stone.

The Jesse Stone saga continues in a fourth book. This one follows Death in Paradise and is followed by Sea Change. Jesse seems to be coming to terms with his ex-wife Jenn, holding his own against his urge to drink, and achieving insights during his therapy sessions. He deepens his friendship with officers Suitcase Simpson and Molly Crane. They both respond to his good-natured banter and his mentoring in the fine art of fighting crime.

Jesse and his colleagues take on two cases. The first hits hard as it becomes clear that a pair of serial killers are at work in Paradise, shooting victims seemingly at random with their .22 caliber pistols. Jesse figures out who they are and begins trying to prove their guilt. These two are fascinating characters, capable, arrogant, and eerily charming. Before Jesse has gathered sufficient evidence, they begin to take a personal interest in him.

The second case emerges from the tearful disclosures of a high school girl who has been raped by three members of the football team. Jesse and his two closest officers persuade the girl to tell her story, help her deal with two very different parental reactions, and devise a way to arrest the three attackers without revealing that their victim has come forward. Jesse does what he can to help her heal and resume a normal life.

The two main plotlines are engaging and sufficiently unpredictable. It was good to see Jesse largely in control of his life as well as his work. If his ex would just leave him alone, he would be even better off. I am sure of it.

There's a pair of serial killers loose in Paradise, Massachusetts, and Chief of Police Jesse Stone is going to catch them. He's the only member of the little coastal town's police force who has the training and experience necessary to work such a case, because Jesse used to be an LAPD detective before his drinking got him fired. He's doing well in this new job, a continent away, and he's working on both his alcoholism (which he finally admits) and his relationship with ex-wife Jenn, who has also relocated to Massachusetts and who says she still loves him - but she can't commit to him again. At least, not yet. Meanwhile, an outraged mother brings in her battered teenaged daughter and demands that Jesse do something about the girl's having been raped. But the mother does not want a scandal, and the girl refuses to talk about it at all. So what can anyone do to help? Jesse intends to find out somehow.

Those are the three problems Jesse has to solve, in this fourth book in the series. As he starts working with an alcoholism counselor, the dedicated cop continues his affairs with women other than Jenn; and one of them becomes the serial killers' victim. He knows there are two...and he suspects that he's now the next victim on their list. Why? As he keeps reminding the officers who work for him, especially Molly Crane (the only woman on the force, who takes a powerful interest in the rape case being investigated simultaneously), serial killers are not sane people. So expecting them to make sense is a doomed effort. These two are, however, smart people who enjoy proving just how smart they are. Can Jesse use that to trap them? And just how smart is he being, when he decides to use himself as bait?

Like the earlier books, loads of fun and a quick, easy read. I especially enjoy Parker's dialog, and every now and then his hero does manage to surprise me.

--Reviewed by Nina M. Osier, author of 2005 science fiction EPPIE winner "Regs"

We continue to enjoy this rather light series of crime stories featuring Parker’s Jesse Stone character, Police Chief of Paradise Mass. In this quite typical entry, Jesse is heavily involved in a 4-person to-date sequence of serial killings over several months, apparently with random targets; including, near the end, the Chief himself! His determination and instincts serve him well as he closes in on the perps, who are identified to us early on. Jesse also deftly handles a three-boy rape of a high school girl, and applies a fair share of his own dispensation of justice in the process. Meanwhile, as with most of these tales, he continues to pine for ex-wife Jenn, which slows him down from any serious relationships with other women.

As said, another entertaining outing of a enjoyable character.

When a dead body turns up with two bullets, fired from different guns, police chief Jesse Stone knows he has a problem. When a second body has the same wounds, he knows he has a pair of serial killers on his beat. But knowing about serial killers and finding them are two different things. Especially when the killers seem to plan their strikes carefully and their escapes even more carefully. Jesse's small-town police department becomes even busier when a high school girl is gang-raped by three schoolmates. Jesse has no evidence and the rapists threaten to ruin the girl's life if she tells, but Jesse intends to bring whatever justice is possible.
Jesse's professional life is busy, but his social life is packed. He can't get over his ex-wife and she certainly won't let him. And every other woman he meets, with the possible exception of one of his fellow cops, is ready to fall directly into bed with him. Jesse is willing to do the bed thing, but he makes it clear that he's waiting to resolve things with the ex-wife--and the resolution he wants is a return to their marriage. Since their relationship seems completely sick (as confirmed by their psychologists), that isn't an especially desirable thing for the reader but it is what Jesse wants.
Robert B. Parker is an excellent writer. His characterization of Jesse Stone is strong and rings true. Jesse tries to live his life by a sharply defined set of rules--love is forever, justice is important, revenge is worth having, physical violence can solve problems or at least make things feel better, and talking too much is a big mistake. Jesse's treatment of the young rape victim is sympathetic and nicely handled.
Fans of Robert B. Parker won't be surprised by the difficult relationship Jesse maintains with his ex-wife--this is a recurring theme in Parker's fiction. Jesse knows he would be better off if he could just get over Jenn but he can't. From a reader's perspective, I certainly wish he would. The woman simply isn't good for him. Rules and ethics or not, I find Jesse less sympathetic and more pathetic because of his hopeless love affair. STONE COLD is a short novel with plenty of white space. I wish that more had been devoted to the mystery and less to Jesse's miserable love life--especially since all sorts of attractive, friendly, and relatively healthy women are lining up to spend time with him.

Stone Cold is clearly the best of the Jesse Stone series, and one of the finest Robert Parker books in many years. If I leave my emotional attachment to Spenser behind, Jesse Stone now surpasses Spenser as an interesting character. Mr. Parker's dialogue was never better than in this superb book.
The novel has several, nicely intertwined story lines. If you like all of the story lines, you'll think this is a great book. If you dislike any of them, you will grade Stone Cold down one star for each one that you don't care for.
If you are new to the series, I suggest that you start with Death in Paradise and work your way forward to this one.
I must admit that I love the constant allusions to Paradise Lost and other books about those who are out of touch with God's grace. In this novel, we have two villains who are very much like Milton's residents of the nether regions who have fallen from grace because of their fascination with themselves. There are also three young men who are like those whom Dante describes as being overcome by lust in the Inferno. Lastly, there are Jesse and his ex-wife Jenn who seem to be looking for something that they cannot even define, like the lost souls of those who have never known God's grace such as the barbarians in the Inferno.
The major plot line features a pair of serial killers who enjoy the feeling of power and superiority that their type of murder provides. In the process of gratifying themselves, they terrorize Paradise, and leave Jesse without two of his closest friends and colleagues. He also finds himself staring down their gun sights. The story is developed as a simple police procedural (without much progress for some time) which makes the book more complex and interesting.
The most touching plot line though is about a young woman who is raped and threatened by three insensitive bullies. Jesse tries to do the right thing, and discovers the limits of how much one person can do for another under dire circumstances.
The continuing plot line involves Jesse's troubled relationships with women, and shows him at his most confused. At the same time, his problems are better developed here than in earlier books by showing how he relates to different women in different ways and what he says to his psychiatrist about them. For those who don't enjoy psychiatry, it may get a little deep when Jenn and Jesse are sharing what their psychiatrists have had to say about their relationship.
Of primary interest for the future is that Jesse seems to start to come to grip with some of his failings, weaknesses and attitudes. He begins to show the potential to use his pain to learn and make progress.
I came away looking forward to the next book in the series.
Because the dialogue is so smooth and delicious, you'll find yourself finishing the book very rapidly. Stone Cold will hit you just like a perfect martini . . . great going down and warming afterward.

Robert Parker has created an enigma with his character Jesse Stone. Just when you are sure that you know what Jesse will choose to do next, you are surprised.
In this novel, a pair of serial murderers is running rampant in Jesse Stone's small town. The motive is unfathomable, but then, they ARE serial killers. While Jesse and his police force track the killers, not only the why, but the who will be next question hangs densely in the air.
While the investigation proceeds, Jesse becomes more or less involved with a couple of different women, when his ex-wife enters the picture.
In the center of this novel is the third line of the story involving a young girl who claims to have been raped by some of the jocks at her school. The way Jesse handles this investigation is a wonderful new facet to this character.
The mix of emotions is nearly volatile, and as another murder occurs, you begin to wonder how will Robert PArker bring the story together. I thought the serial killers were a little vague, as characters, but still the surprising twists and turns of this author never fail to capture the readers full attention.

STONE COLD, the fourth of Robert B. Parker's Jesse Stone novels, is not a mystery. We're introduced to the villains of the piece right on page one. We don't know their names and we don't know much about them, but we know what they're doing. They are a man and woman, passionate lovers whose idea of foreplay is to commit a carefully plotted murder. The victim is randomly selected by wind and whimsy, scouted and dispatched with two simultaneously administered gunshot wounds to the chest. Either shot could be the fatal one. That's part of the thrill for them.
Stone is the police chief of the village of Paradise, an affluent Boston suburb where murders of this type are simply not supposed to happen. They are a policeman's nightmare: unpredictable and apparently related only by the methodology of the acts and the perpetrators. Stone determines the identities of the murderers soon enough, but not because he is Supercop. It's a combination of dogged police work and luck, pure and simple. The murderers are Anthony and Brianna Lincoln, independently wealthy, confident and twisted. Knowing who the murderers are and proving it are two different things, however. Stone and the murderers play an engaging, if chilling, game of cat and mouse, with Stone having only two advantages. One is that his adversaries underestimate him. The other is that, unbeknownst to the Lincolns, Stone is aware that they have marked him as their next victim.
In the meantime, Stone grapples with another matter of no small import. A local high school girl has been gang-raped by three of her fellow students who have photographed the act and threaten to distribute the pictures if she tells anyone. Stone wants to help, and does. But he finds that all he can do is not quite enough. Stone, as with many alcoholics, labors under a Messiah complex, believing that he can ultimately resolve all of the evils in the world through force of will. He cannot, though he does make a difference. It is learning to live with the distance between what is and what would have been ideal that makes STONE COLD an arresting work. And then there is Stone's personal life. He is slowly coming to grips with his alcoholism while attempting to deal with his unresolved feelings and passions for his ex-wife.
Stone has heretofore been relegated to the position of being one of Parker's "other" creations, relative to Spenser, who has been with us now for well over a quarter-century and has crossed over from books into film. Parker has been slowly developing Stone, carefully hewing him into something other than Spenser with a badge. And he has largely succeeded. Stone is confident but lacks Spenser's self-assuredness, which in some ways makes him a bit more vulnerable and perhaps more endearing than Spenser. What is most remarkable, however, is Parker's ability to not only sustain the quality of his writing but also to continue to develop his characters.
STONE COLD and Parker's 2003 Spenser novel BACK STORY are among the best works of his career. Certainly they are among the top ten, if not the top five. That Parker at this late date can continue to keep older characters fresh and interesting while developing new and different ongoing projects successfully demonstrates that it may well be impossible to overestimate Parker's place in the hierarchy of detective fiction.
If you haven't been reading the Jesse Stone novels because of what they are not, STONE COLD is the perfect place to jump on. Parker, no matter where he turns his hand, is capable of producing work that is nothing less than an absolute delight. Highly recommended.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

One does not read Robert B. Parker for deep intellectual insights into the human condition, complex characters, or intricate plots. Parker serves his purpose in providing his readers with sheer escapist reading. Books containing just enough action to entertain and keeping the reader interested while not boring anyone with that messy character development stuff. This certainly is true of his latest effort involving his recently developed character Jesse Stone.
As the novel opens, Paradise Massachusetts Police Chief is called to the scene of a dead body on the beach. The man, dressed in warm-ups was shot twice in the chest at fairly close range and while his identity is quickly determined, nothing else is. Jesse and his small Department have no suspects, no motive and virtually no evidence other than the fact that he was shot with two different guns, both twenty-two caliber.
At almost the same time, a local teenager is brutally gang raped by several of her classmates. Afraid to come forward and with a Mother more concerned about her own public image than of her daughter's well being, the case seemingly goes nowhere. That is until Jesse begins to circumvent the parents in a bid to make sure that the three he suspects did it are arrested and punished.
Jesse begins to split his time and resources between both cases and it quickly becomes apparent that in the case of the murder, he has a pair of thrill killers working in his town. They are very skilled at what they do and their targets are completely at random with nothing linking them at all. At the same time, his efforts in the rape case begin to slowly pay off and he inches ever closer to making the parties responsible pay.
Despite the very misleading book jacket copy, Jesse is never out of control and if anything, is in better emotional shape than normal in this novel. While his battle against alcoholism goes on with little change, as does his personal situation with his ex-wife Jenn, these aren't new problems as they have been around in each preceding novel and addressed throughout. Nothing is new or different in these situations and in fact, is rather expected as they point to established weaknesses in the character as originally created.
However, there are two major problems with this book beyond the formulaic issues. First the gratuitous use of the f word as well as its accompanying descriptions of casual sex. Jesse in this novel beds several women all of whom have successful careers and know of his many times stated love for his ex wife and seemingly don't care. As one character so eloquently puts it, she is happy as long as Jesse and her can be "...f*** buddies." One is reminded of the studly actions of Stuart Wood's character Stone Barrington and one is not impressed.
The other major problem is the appallingly open ending for this novel. While the cases are resolved, other issues are suddenly raised in the last two pages and not addressed. While I can't go into detail without ruining this book for potential readers, it is extremely hard to determine whether or not this is the last of the Jesse Stone novels or if the author is just trying to shake things up for his readers. If it is the former, it should have been made clearer to the reader. If the latter, it is a cheap trick and his readers deserve better. In either case, it would have been nice if a little thought had been given to which implication was correct so that it could have been better clarified for the reader's sake.
Fans happy with the type of books Robert B. Parker churns out these days will be ecstatic with this one. The formula doesn't change and since it works so well, why change now?

STONE COLD is another good Jesse Stone novel, and this one keeps Stone on his toes catching a pair of serial killers and a trio of high school rapists. He knows who all the bad actors are but has to use his wits and some clever negotiation with a defense attorney to bring them all to justice. There's a lot going on in this book. It looks like Jesse might have his drinking under control. I had high hopes that he would finally realize what a drag Jenn is on his life and move on from her, but it seems he's not quite ready. I like Parker's spare writing style and look forward to reading more in the Stone series.

When his marriage to Jenn broke up, Jesse Stone left California and accepted a job as chief of police in Paradise, Massachusetts. Jenn followed soon after and although they see each other on occasion, they also date other people. Jesse tells every woman he's involved with that he's still in love with Jenn and until she tells him it's over, he won't commit to anyone else.
Usually Paradise is a quiet little town but now Jesse is working on two cases that are particularly ugly. Three young men rape a teenage girl in her school and they threaten to show pictures of her during the sexual assault if she reports it to the police. Jesse wants to find a way to charge the young men while keeping the girl's name out of it. The second case is even more horrifying. A husband and wife team picks out a victim at random, stalks him, and they both simultaneously kill him with identical weapons. Jesse, who knows he's their next target, sets up a trap using himself as bait but they evade it and ride off into the sunset.
Comparisons between Spenser and Jesse are inevitable. Spenser is self assured and confident of Susan's love while Jesse is vulnerable and has no idea if he and Jenn will ever get together. Spenser, as a PI, sometimes bends or breaks the rules while Jesse adheres to them. STONE CUTS' protagonist is more interesting because readers don't know what Robert B. Parker will do next with his character. Stark prose and plenty of action is what this novel is all about.
Harriet Klausner