Night Passage

Rating:
Summary: Jesse Stone is no Spenser !!
Review: ...I enjoyed 'Night Passage' it was a modern day western with a very likeable hero.

Rating:
Summary: Parker brings in a new lawman to clean up Paradise
Review: As you read Robert B. Parker's "Night Passage" you are always thinking in the back of your mind how this book and its hero Jesse Stone are different from his Spenser novels. "Night Passage" is written in third person rather than first person, although there were a few Spenser novels (most notably "Crimson Joy") that had third person sections reflecting the ramblings and doings of the villain. Consequently we get ahead of the hero in terms of knowing what is going on with the bad guys. In terms of the hero, Jesse Stone is the new Chief of Police rather than a detective, talks very little rather than always having a clever quip, is carrying a torch for the wife he recently divorced instead of having a fulfilling relationship with the love of his life, tends to buy store wrapped food rather than cook his own, drinks too much scotch instead of having a taste for imported beer, and does not know who in town or even on his own police force he can trust instead of having a small circle of trustworthy friends. However, the basic elements that make Spenser such an enduring character are present in Parker's new hero as well. Stone takes his job seriously, knows how to pick up on what's happening in town, and is just as concerned with helping people as he is in following the letter of the law. Also, "Night Passage" is set in the Massachusetts of the Spenser novels, as evidenced by the fact that four familiar supporting characters pop up in the course of the book. So, certainly, Parker is still on familiar ground. But do not think that this novel is going to be as quick a read as his Spenser novels.

The plot finds Stone leaving L.A., having lost his job as a homicide detective after he turned to the bottle in the wake of his divorce. Stone has been hired to be the Chief of Police in the town of Paradise and it quickly becomes clear to us that he was hired not in spite of being drunk but because of it. The powers that be want a lush in that key position. But Stone wants to get his life in order and the police officers and citizens of Paradise eventually learn there is more to their new Chief than meets the eye. "Night Passage," despite its time and place, is a good old-fashioned western. There is a new "sheriff" in town to bring law and order to the good folks of Paradise. In that regard the ultimate showdown is a bit over the top, but very must in the vein of the classic western. It will be interesting to see how Parker plays out this hand in future novels in this series.

Rating:
Summary: Parker brings in a new lawman to clean up Paradise
Review: As you read Robert B. Parker's "Night Passage" you are always thinking in the back of your mind how this book and its hero Jesse Stone are different from his Spenser novels. "Night Passage" is written in third person rather than first person, although there were a few Spenser novels (most notably "Crimson Joy") that had third person sections reflecting the ramblings and doings of the villain. Consequently we get ahead of the hero in terms of knowing what is going on with the bad guys. In terms of the hero, Jesse Stone is the new Chief of Police rather than a detective, talks very little rather than always having a clever quip, is carrying a torch for the wife he recently divorced instead of having a fulfilling relationship with the love of his life, tends to buy store wrapped food rather than cook his own, drinks too much scotch instead of having a taste for imported beer, and does not know who in town or even on his own police force he can trust instead of having a small circle of trustworthy friends. However, the basic elements that make Spenser such an enduring character are present in Parker's new hero as well. Stone takes his job seriously, knows how to pick up on what's happening in town, and is just as concerned with helping people as he is in following the letter of the law. Also, "Night Passage" is set in the Massachusetts of the Spenser novels, as evidenced by the fact that four familiar supporting characters pop up in the course of the book. So, certainly, Parker is still on familiar ground. But do not think that this novel is going to be as quick a read as his Spenser novels.

The plot finds Stone leaving L.A., having lost his job as a homicide detective after he turned to the bottle in the wake of his divorce. Stone has been hired to be the Chief of Police in the town of Paradise and it quickly becomes clear to us that he was hired not in spite of being drunk but because of it. The powers that be want a lush in that key position. But Stone wants to get his life in order and the police officers and citizens of Paradise eventually learn there is more to their new Chief than meets the eye. "Night Passage," despite its time and place, is a good old-fashioned western. There is a new "sheriff" in town to bring law and order to the good folks of Paradise. In that regard the ultimate showdown is a bit over the top, but very must in the vein of the classic western. It will be interesting to see how Parker plays out this hand in future novels in this series.

Rating:
Summary: He wrote this one for the money
Review: I write this only because I like Parker so much and, if you're reading this, you do too. I read this book in about three nights-- twice the time I suspect it took Parker to write it. I'm surprised by all the glowing reviews, since Parker obviously only wrote this one for the money. Yes, there's a new character and a new setting, but beyond that not much. Jesse Stone is a one-dimensional hero with problems that he doesn't really confront or overcome--they just sort of go away (his alcoholism, for example: midway through the book he just kinda forgets to keep drinking or something). His plot offers up inept bad guys (a pathetic wannabe militia who--in the days of Waco, OK City, and the Freemans-- aren't much more menacing than the local Elk's Lodge), and Jesse actually doesn't do much detecting. Mostly he just sort of hangs around places and people confess to him. The dialogue between Jesse and vitually everyone else seems to consist solely of one-sentence phrases that read like they've been written by Ernest Hemingway--if he'd suffered from Attention Defecit Disorder. If you want a quick, easy, shallow read this is it. If you're looking for a smart, compelling page-turner with real characters battling real demons (internal and external) skip this one and read anything by James Lee Burke.

Rating:
Summary: Say hi to Jesse Stone. You'll be glad you did! :D
Review: I've just recently been fortunate enough to stumble across Robert B. Parker's work, and I must say I'm truly sorry it's taken so long!

I have yet to read any of the Spencer books (I seem to be going in reverse order somehow), and even though this is the first Jesse Stone book, it's the second one I've read. I made the comment after reading Trouble In Paradise that even though it was second in the series, the reader didn't feel lost in Paradise, as it were. That feeling still stands, but I have to admit the background of exactly how Jesse found Paradise does put the second book in a somewhat better perspective. Even though, as another reviewer mentioned, the ending sort of seemed rushed, as if time was up and the pencils had to be put down, in retrospect, it really does set the stage for the next Jesse Stone book.

I can't put my hands on it, but for some reason I felt this book was not written quite as well as the other Parker books I've read, yet it was still very interesting, compelling, and filled with in depth characterizations of the many personalities in Paradise even though while reading it, sometimes it didn't seem that way. OK, breathe, Michael ;)

One of the things I enjoyed about the book were the very short chapters; of course, it didn't stop me from reading the book in a couple of days, since it IS very fast reading, but it's nice to know that if you're reading this at bedtime you can get to a natural break without going 30 pages to finish a chapter.

I'm very much looking forward to reading many more books by Mr. Parker. I hope this review helps you come to the same decision!

Rating:
Summary: A Good Introduction
Review: It does look like this is a good time for Robert B. Parker to come up with a new character, and judging from this first book, Jesse Stone could be a winner. He's certainly different from Spenser. While he shows some wit, he's of a darker and brooding nature, having messed up his professional and personal lives by hitting the bottle too heavily. In fact, he even goes to a job interview after drinking and surprisingly gets hired as police chief in Paradise, Mass. He figures that he was hired in spite of his condition when the truth is he was hired because of his drinking...he appeared to be far easier managed than he turned out to be.

Obviously, Parker intends to have the two series interrelate to a degree. Vinnie Morris and Gino Fish appear in the story, although interestingly, they never interrelate with Stone. Somehow, I suspect that might change in future novels.

All in all, this is a promising beginning for a new Parker hero.

Rating:
Summary: Just a Spark in the "Night"
Review: It is usually not a good sign when a series author decides to branch out to a new series; it usually means that the author himself has become bored with his creation and wishes to stretch his writing muscles a bit with something new. At best, this gives the faithful reader a new reason to enjoy his favorite author. At worst, the previous creation becomes a sort of exercise in frustration as the writer focuses his attention on his new baby.

In Robert B. Parker's case, we get the latter. Parker had already registered his continued contempt for his first creation, Spenser, by allowing the stories to get maudlin and sloppy, the margins to get wider and wider, and by publishing two installments of new Philip Marlowe adventures, as well as creating a new series starring a female private eye named Sunny Randall. To add insult to injury, here are we are now with "Night Passage", a fourth series concerning an L.A. cop named Jesse Stone transplanted to Paradise, Massachusetts, a bucolic little town on the Atlantic Ocean.

Jesse, plagued by drink and a wishy-washy ex-wife, sets out to remake himself as Chief of Policein a town where no one knows his name. But things get confusing when the department cat is murdered, followed by the killing of the previous chief of police and finally, a young, unwed mother. Jesse is, underneath it all, a good cop, so he is able to pull himself together, solve the crimes and have casual sex with a couple of ladies, thereby working on his abandonment issues.

Parker seems intent on making Stone as different from Spenser as possible, but the differences are superficial. Where Spenser is a hulking ex-boxer, Stone is slight. Spenser enjoys a beer or a glass of fine champagne once in a while but is, ultimately, in control, but Stone is a drunk just barely keeping his head above water. Where Spenser's relationship is stable to the point of saccharine sweetness, Stone's is wobbly. Spenser has Hawk. Stone has . . . Suitcase Simpson,. a gangly redheaded police officer. But none of this matters. The writer is still Parker, the soul is still Spenser.

Nearly half the novel is taken with Jesse's drive across country and settling in to Paradise. By the time Parker gets around to leveling the plot, we almost wish he hadn't; it is ridiculously unlikely and unworthy of a writer of Parker's heart and intelligence.

What makes this novel a good read are the spare, Hemingwayesque prose, the likeable secondary characters, the hints of what is to come. It's an okay start and, I'm not giving anything away, the second book in the series is a grand-slam homerun of a book. You don't need to read this book to enjoy the second (I didn't, until after), but it may set your mind at ease.

Rating:
Summary: Nice try, but the jury is still out.
Review: Night Passage is the first in a series starring Jesse Stone. Jesse is a Los Angeles homicide detective that was fired for drinking on the job. He has just received a divorce from a starlet and has been offered a job in Massachusetts as Police Chief. He isn't quite sure why they hired him, because he was drunk when he was interviewed, but he didn't really care. Mr. Parker writes dialogue in most of the book, but he does do that well. There is a lot going on in the book that may or may not be related and it is the story of taking the clues and putting the pieces together. This is not a whodunit. It is more about how they are caught. I am going to read the rest of this series, because I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Rating:
Summary: A great idea but a few flaws
Review: Night Passage is the first in Robert B Parker's "Jesse Stone" series, set in the mythical town of Paradise, up near Lynne, Massachusetts. Jesse conveniently runs into just about every major character from the Spenser for Hire series during his adventures over the years.

In essence, Parker is getting back to his roots. At this point in time Spenser is getting far too old to keep detecting, a point that many, many readers have made with a grin. Stone is picking up the mantle, and returning to the hard liquor, hard edged attitude that Spenser had back when he was a pup.

You start with Jesse Stone, aged 34, born in Tucson Arizona, staring at the Santa Monica ocean and pondering how he quit the LAPD. Divorced, 6', 175 pounds, he was a point guard in high school and almost went professional in baseball, but for a career-ending injury. Oh yes, he was in the marines, too.

So he drives his Explorer cross country to the tiny town of Paradise, Massachusetts. The drive takes quite a bit of book to tell. When he gets there, to be their new police chief, he finds a mess. White Supremacists, money laundering, lots of sex. And all through it, you get soap opera scenes of Jesse and his ex-wife Jenn who can't quite live together but can't quite leave each other either.

The writing is classic Spenser style, although in 3rd person. You get both the good and the bad in that sense. I enjoy the wit and the quick paced action, but I really don't like the soap-opera long drawn out scenes where you have to hear for the 800th time how a couple loves each other but has issues with living together.

Also, a number of the actions of the characters make little sense, and seem like they were thrown in for plot reasons. The ending is very rushed and forced. I really like the idea of a new character to keep this universe going, but I hope that by trying to write three series at once, Parker isn't spreading himself a little thin.

Rating:
Summary: Not Spenser, but still Parker -- and still every bit as good
Review: OK, I admit it. I wouldn't buy this book for a while after it came out. How could Robert B. Parker do this to me, when I've loved Spenser all these years? Don't fix it if it ain't broke, Bob, I thought. Inevitably, though, I got to the point where I had nothing to read. So I bought "Night Passage". Then I let it sit around for a few days. I didn't want to read it. I was prepared to be bored, disappointed, and lonesome for Spenser and Susan Shapiro. Finally, I picked it up...and stayed up until 4:00 in the morning to finish it. This book is every bit as good as the Spenser books, and quite different from them in scene and general tone. Jesse Stone, newly divorced and dealing with it badly, is forced to resign from the LAPD for drinking on the job. He takes a new job as chief of police in a small Massachusetts town called Paradise, only to discover that the town has hired him because they want a police chief who won't police certain things. The intricate plot is very believable, as are Jesse and the other major characters. Anyone who knows small towns will also recognize the accuracy of Parker's picture of small-town politics. The best part? The characters. I found myself wanting to call up Jesse Stone and talk to him for a while -- and almost believing that I could. It's terrific Parker. Write more, Bob, and I'm sorry I doubted you.