Filled with tawdry sexual shenanigans, bestseller Parker's fifth Jesse Stone novel (after 2003's Stone Cold
) finds the former L.A. cop, now the police chief of Paradise, Mass., tentatively reunited with his ex-wife, Jenn, and approaching a year since his last drink. The murder of a woman aboard a sailboat leads Stone into a world of wealth and depravity centered on a couple of yacht owners from Florida and their crowd. Drugs, pornography, rape and underage sex provide a degrading framework for the murder investigation. Stone gets a valuable assist from Kelly Cruz, a Fort Lauderdale cop, as he traces the backgrounds of victims and suspects. The laconic Stone with his uncertain relationship with Jenn, his struggle with alcohol and his visits to a therapist presents a striking contrast to Parker's primary hero, Spenser. But much of the dialogue is interchangeable: witty, flirtatious, droll and sexually charged. The outcome manages to be both surprising and depressing. Stone is a work in progress whose following is likely to increase as he continues to grow. Author tour. (Feb.)
Details
Reviewed on: 11/21/2005
Genre: Fiction
Analog Audio Cassette - 978-0-7393-2456-1
Compact Disc - 5 pages - 978-0-7393-2457-8
Downloadable Audio - 1 pages - 978-1-4159-5073-9
Hardcover - 325 pages - 978-0-7862-7370-6
Mass Market Paperbound - 320 pages - 978-0-425-21442-8
Open Ebook - 978-0-7865-7713-2
Open Ebook - 320 pages - 978-1-101-20573-0
Paperback - 978-1-84243-182-5
Paperback - 323 pages - 978-1-59413-194-3
Peanut Press/Palm Reader - 978-0-7865-7714-9
