Trouble in Paradise (Jesse Stone)

Jesse's domestic troubles are gradually overshadowed, however, when ex-con Jimmy Macklin arrives in town. Macklin plans to pull "the mother of all stickups" on the ritzy Stiles Island in Paradise Harbor. He has figured out that the Stiles Island bridge, with its underpinning of utility cables and pipes, is a veritable lifeline to the mainland, and he's gathered a rogues' gallery of professional crooks and killers to help him take the bridge and make the island into a thieves' paradise. The one problem: Macklin never figured that Paradise, Massachusetts, would have a police chief as tough and resourceful as Jesse Stone.

As usual, Parker's stark and facile prose perfectly complements the masculine sufferings of his hero, and the action of the novel unfolds with an effortlessness that intimates a craftsman at work. With Parker's Spenser safely canonized as a detective fiction legend, Jesse Stone's unfolding world offers a welcome new addition to Parker's ouevre. --Patrick O'Kelley

Product Description
Robert B. Parker and his legendary Spenser series have long been considered the ne plus ultra of detective fiction. But the critics' praise for Jesse Stone's debut in Night Passage proved there was room for an addition to the Parker literary canon. "A novel as fresh as it is boldParker's sentences flow with as much wit, grace, and assurance as ever, and Stone is a complex and consistently interesting new protagonist. His speedy return will be welcome" (Newsday). Stiles Island is a wealthy and exclusive enclave separated by a bridge from the Massachusetts coast town of Paradise. James Macklin sees Stiles Island as the ultimate investment opportunity: all he needs to do is invade the island, blow up the bridge, and loot the island. To realize his investment, Macklin, along with his devoted girlfriend, Faye, assembles a crew of fellow ex-cons --all experts in their fields--including Wilson Cromartie, a fearsome Apache. James Macklin is a bad man--a very bad man. And Wilson Cromartie, known as Crow, is even worse. As Macklin plans his crime, Paradise Police Chief Jesse Stone has his hands full. He faces romantic entanglements in triplicate: his ex-wife, Jenn, is in the Paradise jail for assault; he's begun a new relationship with a Stiles Island realtor named Marcy Campbell; and he's still sorting out his feelings for attorney Abby Taylor. When Macklin's attack on Stiles Island is set in motion, both Marcy and Abby are put in jeopardy. As the casualties mount, it's up to Jesse to keep both women from harm. Filled with "light, shade, texture, and complexity" (The Boston Globe), Trouble in Paradise is the work of a master.

Mr. Parker - I like your style.


Great book   June 4, 2009
Lily (Sacramento, CA USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

After reading all the John Sandford books - and reading other lesser authors - I finally landed on Robert B. Parker. I've watched the "Jesse Stone" mini-series and enjoyed them so thought I'd try his books. I've read all the Jesse Stone and loved them. The banter between characters keeps the books moving along very quickly, although his interaction with his ex-wife makes you yearn for a bus to smack her. None the less, they are great books and well worth the read.


Parker's best book to date   October 15, 1999
Stephen Marek (Skokie, IL United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I've read every book that Robert Parker has written and I think this is his best to date: a fast-moving plot that won't let you stop reading, further development of his most interesting character(Chief Stone)since Hawk, as well as a wonderful villain and well developed secondary characters, and great dialogue. Best of all, no annoying Susan Silverman and that damn wonder dog!


A strong second showing for Jesse Stone   August 16, 2007
K. Sozaeva (Athens, GA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Jesse Stone is a great character and this book is a strong second showing for him. "Trouble in Paradise" begins with Jesse on one of his midnight insomniac rambles. When a homosexual couple has their house burned down, he discovers that some teenaged trouble-makers had a hand in it. Determined to set things right, he uses some less-than-honest tactics to get them to confess. While it seems to set one of the boys on the right track, a pair of brothers from a rich family have their parents threaten first to sue for wrongful arrest and when that doesn't work, their mother tries to have Jesse removed from his position.

Also, a career crook named Macklin and his girlfriend have come to town and are planning the heist to end all heists - they plan to clean out Stiles Island, a rich community connected to Paradise by a bridge over the harbor. Never one to plan small, Macklin decides to isolate the island and rob all the homes, businesses and the bank. Can Jesse find out what is happening in time to stop it?

Well-plotted, intricate and engaging, this book is what a police procedural/thriller is all about. Don't miss it!