First in series about Jesse Stone as a chief of police in Paradise, MA.

(1997)The first Jesse Stone novel. Very good. Finds Jesse leaving California for a new job in Paradise, MA. He quickly becomes involved in cases involving a crooked Town Selectman who hired him and also is killing off people in the town to cover up his clandestine activities in a radical militia group. Movie based on this was just on CBS, but it didn't follow the book very well, the movie was very good. Tom Selleck plays Stone and is a lot older than Parker's character, it is not hard however to imagine Selleck as Stone as I read this.

Synopsis: 'After a busted marriage kicks his drinking problem into overdrive and the LAPD unceremoniously dumps him, the thirty-five-year-old Stone's future looks bleak. So he's shocked when a small Massachusetts town called Paradise recruits him as police chief. He can't help wondering if this job is a genuine chance to start over, the king of offer he can't refuse.
Once on board, Jesse doesn't have to look for trouble in Paradise; it comes to him. For what is on the surface a quiet New England community quickly proves to be a crucible of political and moral corruption - replete with triple homicide, tight Boston mob ties, flamboyantly errant spouses, maddened militiamen, and a psychopath-abut-town lawman. Against all this, Jesse stands utterly alone, with no one to trust, even he and the woman he's seeing are like shops that pass in the night. He finds he must test his mettle and powers of command to emerge a local hero - or the deadest of dupes.' From book jacket.

Review: Although the main character is interesting, parts of the book (particularly about his failed marriage) really drag. ( )

After a busted marriage kicks his drinking problems into overdrive and the LAPD unceremoniously dump him, 35-year-old Jesse Stone's future looks bleak. He is shocked, however, when a small Massachusetts town called Paradise hires him as their police chief. Once on board he doesn't have to look for trouble in Paradise - it comes to him. For what is on the surface a quiet New England community quickly proves to be a crucible of political and moral corruption - replete with triple homicide, tight Boston mob ties, flamboyantly errant spouses, maddened militiamen and a psychopath-about-town who has fixed his violent sights on the new lawman. He finds he must test his mettle and powers of command to emerge a local hero - or the deadest of dupes. [return][return]Enjoyable caper, not too heavy in the "he said, she did" fine detail, this covers over 6 months of Jesse Stone starting his new job, and investigation small town issues and corruption in a place that thought he would be a drunk and a pushover

This was the first Jesse Stone novel, and my first reading of this excellent character. I was already familiar with the character from watching Tom Selleck playing him in the nine Jesse Stone movies, all of which I really enjoyed. I figured it was time to go to the original source. I’m certainly glad I did. This novel was a great page turner that I breezed through and liked even better than the film version. The only difference in Jesse from the book to the screen is that Jesse is much younger in the book. Other than that, Selleck’s portrayal of the character is perfect. Jesse Stone reminds me of Dave Robicheaux, that great character created by James Lee Burke.
Parker’s writing is so smooth, and his dialogue is fantastic. His characters are fully developed, interacting in a rich atmosphere that Parker creates beautifully with minimum prose. Reading this was a delight. I’ll certainly be reading the rest in the series.
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