About the Author

Robert B. Parker was the author of seventy books, including the legendary Spenser detective series, the novels featuring Police Chief Jesse Stone, and the acclaimed Virgil Cole–Everett Hitch westerns, as well as the Sunny Randall novels. Winner of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award and long considered the undisputed dean of American crime fiction, he died in January 2010.

Reviews

Praise for Death in Paradise

“Stone is a deceptively complex character, one whose problems are both interesting and completely believable…another strong effort in what is already an impressive series.”—Library Journal

“Beautifully wrought...[an] immensely satisfying tale. Rarely if ever has Parker’s fiction conveyed with solemn intensity the challenge of living a good life in a world of sin. The book’s ultimate pleasure lies in the words, suffused with a tough compassion won only through years of living, presented in prose whose impeccability speaks of decades of careful writing.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“What’s so cool about Death in Paradise is watching Jesse Stone’s relentless pursuit of the bad guy.” —St. Petersburg Times

“Hard-hitting...and brutally frank...Parker reinvents, revises and reincarnates the hardball, tough-guy, deadpan mysteries of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. Death in Paradise is a tough, clear-eyed, sardonic look at life and the raw deals it can dish out.”—The Providence Sunday Journal

“If you love Parker, you’ll love this book. Jesse Stone is clearly in the Parker style.”—Calgary Herald

“James Ellroy-style dialogue...Like Jesse Stone’s beer, Parker’s novels can be quaffed with relish.”—The Ottowa Citizen

“[Parker’s] gift for creating engaging characters and involving the reader in their fate makes this...well worth your attention.”—The San Diego Union-Tribune

Melancholy shadows this third, beautifully wrought Jesse Stone mystery; rarely if ever has Parker's fiction conveyed with such solemn intensity the challenge of living a good life in a world of sin. Jesse, erstwhile drunk and now sheriff of small-town Paradise, Mass., tackles two criminal and two personal mysteries here: the murder of a teenage girl found shot dead in a local lake, and the chronic beating of a local wife by her husband; the conundrum of Jesse's attraction to alcohol, and the mess of his love life, shaped by his dependence upon his estranged wife but encompassing a highly sexed affair with a school principal. The search for the identity and the killer of the girl brings Jesse, as such investigations traditionally do, into the realm of high society the prime suspect is a bestselling writer but also to the mean streets of Boston, where the sheriff parries with Gino Fish and Vinnie Morris (outlaws borrowed from the Spenser series). Dogged police work, a hot-to-trot wife, child prostitutes, the solace of baseball, hard-guy banter these and more classic elements inform and bolster this immensely satisfying tale. As usual with Parker these days, though, the book's ultimate pleasure lies in the words, suffused with a tough compassion won only through years of living, presented in prose whose impeccability speaks of decades of careful writing. (Oct.) Forecast: This is Parker's third outstanding novel of the year, after Potshot and Gunman's Rhapsody. To promote it, he plans a vigorous author tour. Expect high interest and sales. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

While his Spenser series may always define him as a writer, Parker again proves his range in this third entry of his Jesse Stone series. Stone, chief of police in the small New England town of Paradise, is relaxing after a softball game one evening when a murdered girl's body is found nearby. Jesse must first discover the identity of the dead girl and then determine why she was killed. As if searching for a killer isn't enough, Jesse must also balance his police work against personal relationships, especially his complicated relationship with his ex-wife. Stone is a deceptively complex character, one whose problems are both interesting and completely believable. Like his protagonist, Parker doesn't waste words, using them sparingly while still managing to create scenes so vivid that the reader feels like an intimate observer. Another strong effort in what is already an impressive series, this one is a lock for high circulation in public libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/01.] Craig Shufelt, Lane P.L., Fairfield, OH Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Praise for Death in Paradise

"Stone is a deceptively complex character, one whose problems are both interesting and completely believable...another strong effort in what is already an impressive series."-Library Journal

"Beautifully wrought...[an] immensely satisfying tale. Rarely if ever has Parker's fiction conveyed with solemn intensity the challenge of living a good life in a world of sin. The book's ultimate pleasure lies in the words, suffused with a tough compassion won only through years of living, presented in prose whose impeccability speaks of decades of careful writing."-Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"What's so cool about Death in Paradise is watching Jesse Stone's relentless pursuit of the bad guy." -St. Petersburg Times

"Hard-hitting...and brutally frank...Parker reinvents, revises and reincarnates the hardball, tough-guy, deadpan mysteries of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. Death in Paradise is a tough, clear-eyed, sardonic look at life and the raw deals it can dish out."-The Providence Sunday Journal

"If you love Parker, you'll love this book. Jesse Stone is clearly in the Parker style."-Calgary Herald

"James Ellroy-style dialogue...Like Jesse Stone's beer, Parker's novels can be quaffed with relish."-The Ottowa Citizen

"[Parker's] gift for creating engaging characters and involving the reader in their fate makes this...well worth your attention."-The San Diego Union-Tribune