Once on board, Jesse doesn't have to look for trouble in Paradise: it comes to him. He can't help wondering if this job is a genuine chance to start over, the kind of offer he can't refuse.

So he's shocked when a small Massachusetts town called Paradise recruits him as police chief. In Night Passage, Parker sets the bar even higher, with the introduction of Jesse Stone, a hero cut from different cloth.Īfter 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. With his hallmark sharp wit and taut action, Parker has created in the Spenser series the standard against which all contemporary detective novels are measured, and a character considered the paragon of private eyes. Parker is no stranger to either critical or popular acclaim. The author of two dozen Spenser novels as well as numerous other works of fiction, Robert B. And the setting is, after all, not far from Boston-dare we hope for a Spenser-Stone meeting in future books? From the Inside Flap: Spenser fans and Parker neophytes alike will find plenty to enjoy here. Parker is in fine form in Night Passage, with his smart-aleck wit under control and his prose at its economical best. Stone's qualities may remind you of Spenser's-he's taciturn, fearless, good-looking, and compassionate-and in the end the plot's pleasing complexities get resolved a bit simply. Stone has been picked for the job because the town fathers figured he'd be weak and malleable as he gradually pulls himself together, it turns out they have a surprise in store. Night Passage boasts a delicious, classic setup: the lone lawman, new in town, must make his stand to clean the place up. The book opens as Stone leaves California for his new job as chief of police in the picturesque town of Paradise, Massachusetts.īut Paradise isn't as placid as it seems-in fact, it's a festering mass of petty corruption, right-wing militia, sexual scandal, and bad guys who favor strong-arm tactics.

policeman's job and his marriage due to a drinking problem. Told in short, crisp chapters, it's the story of Jesse Stone, a 34-year-old ex-cop who just lost his L.A. Parker's immensely popular Spenser series can breathe a sigh of relief: while Night Passage doesn't feature Spenser, his usual gang of associates, or a Boston setting, it's vintage Parker-fast, witty, suspenseful, and engaging. Fans often feel uneasy when the creator of a popular character ventures into new turf, and sometimes their trepidation is justified.

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