No Man is an Island
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Stiles Island in Paradise is an exclusive island for rich folks under the protection of Police Chief Jesse Stone. To him it's a place full of annoyingly opinionated power players that pretty much police themselves. However, to newly released criminal James Macklin, it may just be the mother load. Macklin begins to get a crew together to undertake a deadly plan. Can Stone get over his drink and love problems long enough to realise that something dangerous is about to go down?
`Trouble in Paradise' is a short book that takes its time getting started. The central crime is only started in the final section whilst the rest of the book concentrates on the build up. This is no bad thing as it is enjoyable reading about Jesse Stone's life as he has lots going on. I was not too impressed with him being yet another recovering alcoholism but Robert B Parker is one of the best writers in the hard-bitten crime genre. I enjoyed the book as a quick read, but there was too little here to be anything other than average. I liked the characters but did not feel that they were particularly believable, especially the bad guys penchant for murder. I think that someone of his ilk would have been strapped to the electric chair a long time ago. Overall a decent, fun and quick read that will not tax the brain cells.
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Parker is going nowhere!
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I tried this, with some misgivings, after 'Night Passage' which was very slight. This was no better. The character is too one dimensional; not even convincing as an alcoholic. This series looks like a rapidly diminishing avenue for Parker-especially when compared to the larger than life creations of Spenser and the even more wondrous Hawk. The only hangover from the Spensers series is an unlikeable female character, the hero's ex wife. She's as irritating as Susan Silverman.
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Spenser re-heated...
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In the first of this series, Night Passage, the characters seem a little familiar. In this follow-up, Trouble in Paradise, Parker blatantly steals from the Spenser series. The characters in this one are either actual Spenser characters, or the personas of characters with different names. C'mon - a gruff, Native American character of few words named Crow? Talk about a discount version of Hawk! I was so distracted by looking at all of the Spenser similatities that following the plot thin was almost secondary. It's as if Parker is daring his faithful fans to stop reading his work.
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Not Spenser and can't stand the wife
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This isn't Spenser tho' faint echoes of possible links through shared characters (Tony Marcus and 'a shrink in Cambridge' could this be Susan?)appear. The strange on-off nature of the main character's marital relationship is intrusive to the story and serves no purpose but to irritate. Otherwise the usual excellent dialogue and spare writing but I think Mr Parker should divert his time onto more Spenser
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The Adventures of Young Spenser
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This book is Parker-paced, with all of the stoicism we've come to love in spenser and hawk. Jesse Stone seems to be Spenser in his "Wonder Years", and the new villain, Crow, is a poor-man's Hawk. Bet we'll be seeing him again! But you know what? I like the book! Stone isn't as perfect as Spenser, and he actually makes mistakes, and dubious moral choices. His main squeeze also seems to be an intelligent, independant woman, not a neurotic, paralysis-by-analysis that Susan Silverman is. The plot is easy to figure, and the main villain somewhat simplistic. But the villain's girlfriend is another great character! richly drawn, and compelling (hope she shows up again too!). It's also great to hear from Frank Belson in the story, as it was to hear from State Cop Healy in the first Jesse Stone novel. The story is fun, without being preachy, and does have some tense moments. Jesse's sidekick, Suitcase, seems like a heckuva guy--hope he gets some real play soon. Definately buy this book, if you need a good book for a weekend. Get into this series from the beginning, so that 5-10 years from now, when Spenser is retired, Jesse Stone will seem like an old friend.
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