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  • Stranger in Paradise (A Jesse Stone Novel)
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4.4 out of 5 stars
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Stranger in Paradise (A Jesse Stone Novel)

Stranger in Paradise (A Jesse Stone Novel)

byRobert B. Parker
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Top positive review

All positive reviews›
Mel Odom
4.0 out of 5 starsSolid And Entertaining Crime Fiction From A Master
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on March 28, 2008
I've been a fan of Robert B. Parker's novels since 1978, which might be part of the problem with his latest offering STRANGER IN PARADISE. I love the author's writing style, his usual commentary on society and the individual, and his one-liners. All of those are present in the latest book, but in some ways too many of the same plots are revisited in this one.

This is the seventh Jesse Stone novel. Stone is a former Los Angeles policeman turned drunk turned small town Paradise, Massachusetts police chief. He's also struggling through working out a relationship with his ex-wife Jennifer, which has been one of the on-going subplots of the series. That particular subplot has gotten a little irritating at times because it doesn't seem to be going anywhere but constantly looms over every book.

The book had a lot of potential. Wilson Cromartie, a villain from an earlier book, puts in an appearance to tell Jesse he's going to be around town for a while. Ten years ago, Crow - the name he's called throughout the book - was part of an armed robbery gang. At the end of that, Crow chose not to harm the women hostages the gang had but managed to escape with ten million dollars.

This time around, Crow is in town working on a case, looking for the daughter of a big-time Mafia guy in Florida. I really enjoyed the way Crow and Jesse got a feel for each other and acknowledged how dangerous the other could be. When it comes to pared-down prose and tough guys, nobody delivers the goods the way Parker does.

As it turns out, Amber Francisco is a fourteen-year old mess being raised by her white trash mother. I didn't quite see how the mother went from living the high lifestyle in Florida to living a life barely getting by in Paradise, but I went with it. In addition to living the poor lifestyle, Amber has also hooked up with a young, violent Latino gang in the area.

Parker plays fast and loose with the plotting. Several things are going on throughout the novel. The past encounter with Crow threads throughout, but I'm not quite sure I'm willing to buy everything Parker promotes this time. One of the things that most jarred me was the attraction to Crow by one of the former hostages from that armed robbery ten years ago. Parker sets Crow up to be this sexual fantasy figure for that woman and they have a "one-time deal" encounter.

Not only that, but Crow's sexual magnetism wins over the one character in this series that I thought would never stray outside her marriage. Parker has explored the nature of sex and attraction throughout this series, and I've gone along with it. But, to me, this encounter really cheapened what I thought was a fantastically solid character. This decision really bothered me, which is a good thing on one level because it shows how realistically the author has created his characters.

But the sexual theme seems to hit a high note in STRANGER IN PARADISE. Especially the topic of cheating and how people didn't have to feel guilty about it. That jarred. Usually Parker ties his explorations of the subject to the plot, but this time I don't think that existing criteria was met.

Furthermore, when Crow makes the decision to save Amber and free her from her father rather than kidnap her and take her back home as he's been hired to do, the book started resonating themes from earlier Parker books. In EARLY AUTUMN, Parker's iconic private eye hero Spenser chooses to rescue a young boy from parents that only use him as a pawn in their on-going battle. In CEREMONY, Spenser rescues young April Kyle from parents that don't care about her by moving her from street hooker to high class call girl. The story with Amber smacks of both those books but doesn't dig into the plot as deeply as either of those did.

Truthfully, Crow echoed Parker's earlier creation of Spenser's friend, Hawk. Both of those characters have the same animal magnetism, skewed senses of honor, and no remorse over killing people or doing what they want to do in spite of the law.

STRANGER IN PARADISE is a fun romp. I sat down and read it straight through. I always save Parker books till a day on the weekend so I can read them without interruption. In that respect, the book was fantastic as always. I love the repartee and the familiar characters. But with all the build-up regarding Amber Francisco, I don't know whether to expect her return in future novels in the Jesse Stone series, or never hear from her again. And I don't honestly know which I'd prefer.

Parker is my favorite author, though, and I look forward to subsequent books in this series as well as others. He's still delivering straight-forward tales of crime, detective, and tough guys. It's a combination I just can't stay away from.
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18 people found this helpful

Top critical review

All critical reviews›
Daniel P. Smith
VINE VOICE
2.0 out of 5 starsA mess. Couldn't suspend disbelief. Parker just mailing it in on this one.
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on September 11, 2022
The plot involves a complicated trap for not just one, but two different groups of Bad Guys, with Crow as the victim in a seemingly indefensible location at the midpoint of a causeway. The trap is so complicated I can't even understand it, let alone believe it. Parker acknowledges that the plan is unlikely, to say the least, and covers it up with lot of rhetoric--Crow is enthusiastic about it because as a warrior he only feels alive when his life is in danger or something like that.

The character Amber, a cynical and disillusioned 14-year-old girl somewhat reminiscent of Paul DeGiacomin in "Early Autumn," is engaging. Honestly, I was hoping/expecting a reprise of "Early Autumn." She is briefly taken under the wings of Stone and Moll. The whole plot revolves around securing her enough money for financial independence in the hope that she can recover from the life she's had. The novel has a Happy Ending in which all the bad guys, including her parents, are disposed of and she is financially secure and under adult supervision--which, the characters acknowledge, may not be enough for her to turn her life around.

I can no longer keep track of the degrees of Good and Bad in Parker's characters. The clear "hero" of this novel is "Crow" or Cromartie. Jesse Stone, like Spenser, is a Good Guy with central flaws, who breaks laws but only for good. Cromartie, like Hawk, is a Bad Guy but worse than Hawk, but with a weird core of integrity. Parker's novels are too full of Bad Guys whose word is good. Cromartie is mostly Bad, but with weird core of integrity having to do with following some kind of warrior's code. It seems to involve not killing women--at least unnecessarily. Perhaps because of that, he is irresistibly attractive to women in general, and Molly in particular.

One of the cringier parts of the book is Molly's one-night stand with Crow. The key to understanding the plot is that it is just a normal male wish: one-time sex, no commitment, all fun, and what the spouse doesn't know hurt the spouse--except that he reverses the sexes and assigns Molly the traditional male attitude. Here's Crow's offer:

'โ€œYou and me, once, no strings,โ€ Crow said. Molly met his gaze. They were silent for a moment. Then Molly said, โ€œWhy?โ€ โ€œWe both want to,โ€ Crow said. โ€œYouโ€™re so sure of me?โ€ Molly said. โ€œYes.โ€ โ€œHow can you know?โ€ Crow grinned at her. โ€œItโ€™s an Apache thing,โ€ he said. โ€œAnd my husband?โ€ โ€œYouโ€™ll continue to love him, and the kids,โ€ Crow said.'

Sure she will. What could possibly go wrong?
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From the United States

Mel Odom
4.0 out of 5 stars Solid And Entertaining Crime Fiction From A Master
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on March 28, 2008
Verified Purchase
I've been a fan of Robert B. Parker's novels since 1978, which might be part of the problem with his latest offering STRANGER IN PARADISE. I love the author's writing style, his usual commentary on society and the individual, and his one-liners. All of those are present in the latest book, but in some ways too many of the same plots are revisited in this one.

This is the seventh Jesse Stone novel. Stone is a former Los Angeles policeman turned drunk turned small town Paradise, Massachusetts police chief. He's also struggling through working out a relationship with his ex-wife Jennifer, which has been one of the on-going subplots of the series. That particular subplot has gotten a little irritating at times because it doesn't seem to be going anywhere but constantly looms over every book.

The book had a lot of potential. Wilson Cromartie, a villain from an earlier book, puts in an appearance to tell Jesse he's going to be around town for a while. Ten years ago, Crow - the name he's called throughout the book - was part of an armed robbery gang. At the end of that, Crow chose not to harm the women hostages the gang had but managed to escape with ten million dollars.

This time around, Crow is in town working on a case, looking for the daughter of a big-time Mafia guy in Florida. I really enjoyed the way Crow and Jesse got a feel for each other and acknowledged how dangerous the other could be. When it comes to pared-down prose and tough guys, nobody delivers the goods the way Parker does.

As it turns out, Amber Francisco is a fourteen-year old mess being raised by her white trash mother. I didn't quite see how the mother went from living the high lifestyle in Florida to living a life barely getting by in Paradise, but I went with it. In addition to living the poor lifestyle, Amber has also hooked up with a young, violent Latino gang in the area.

Parker plays fast and loose with the plotting. Several things are going on throughout the novel. The past encounter with Crow threads throughout, but I'm not quite sure I'm willing to buy everything Parker promotes this time. One of the things that most jarred me was the attraction to Crow by one of the former hostages from that armed robbery ten years ago. Parker sets Crow up to be this sexual fantasy figure for that woman and they have a "one-time deal" encounter.

Not only that, but Crow's sexual magnetism wins over the one character in this series that I thought would never stray outside her marriage. Parker has explored the nature of sex and attraction throughout this series, and I've gone along with it. But, to me, this encounter really cheapened what I thought was a fantastically solid character. This decision really bothered me, which is a good thing on one level because it shows how realistically the author has created his characters.

But the sexual theme seems to hit a high note in STRANGER IN PARADISE. Especially the topic of cheating and how people didn't have to feel guilty about it. That jarred. Usually Parker ties his explorations of the subject to the plot, but this time I don't think that existing criteria was met.

Furthermore, when Crow makes the decision to save Amber and free her from her father rather than kidnap her and take her back home as he's been hired to do, the book started resonating themes from earlier Parker books. In EARLY AUTUMN, Parker's iconic private eye hero Spenser chooses to rescue a young boy from parents that only use him as a pawn in their on-going battle. In CEREMONY, Spenser rescues young April Kyle from parents that don't care about her by moving her from street hooker to high class call girl. The story with Amber smacks of both those books but doesn't dig into the plot as deeply as either of those did.

Truthfully, Crow echoed Parker's earlier creation of Spenser's friend, Hawk. Both of those characters have the same animal magnetism, skewed senses of honor, and no remorse over killing people or doing what they want to do in spite of the law.

STRANGER IN PARADISE is a fun romp. I sat down and read it straight through. I always save Parker books till a day on the weekend so I can read them without interruption. In that respect, the book was fantastic as always. I love the repartee and the familiar characters. But with all the build-up regarding Amber Francisco, I don't know whether to expect her return in future novels in the Jesse Stone series, or never hear from her again. And I don't honestly know which I'd prefer.

Parker is my favorite author, though, and I look forward to subsequent books in this series as well as others. He's still delivering straight-forward tales of crime, detective, and tough guys. It's a combination I just can't stay away from.
18 people found this helpful
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Amy S.
5.0 out of 5 stars Crow ๐Ÿ–ค๐Ÿ–ค๐Ÿ–ค
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on April 29, 2023
Verified Purchase
If for no other reason having Crow back in town makes this book one of my favorites in the Jesse Stone series - so far anyway!
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Crow is so cool!
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on April 1, 2023
Verified Purchase
Jesse Stone is so real, you can see him in the dialog. Crow is a really good guy who comes off as a bad guy. He is the hero of the book. I'm glad to see Jesse and Jenn together again too. The action is good too.
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Mary Beth Garber
5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on January 30, 2023
Verified Purchase
Icy, sizzling repartee. Killer comebacks. Haute Parker dialogue and descriptions. You will spend the whole book with your brain saying โ€œWait for itโ€ฆwait for itโ€ฆโ€ and smiling at the delivery.
Justโ€ฆdelicious reading.
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charles
4.0 out of 5 stars This is Parker at top of his game.
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on October 11, 2022
Verified Purchase
Stone is true to his character, RBP adds a it more !murder and mayhem than most of his book. Seems he's still alive when you read one of his.
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Ken T
4.0 out of 5 stars A Slight Departure From The Norm In This Series
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on July 15, 2016
Verified Purchase
In this, Book 7, the reader may find a bit of a departure.

The "stranger" is someone who walks the fence regarding the law. He's somewhat a modern day vigilante with Apache Indian roots. He has no qualms introducing himself to Jesse wherein they both form bit of an uneasy bond. A bond born of respect.
The stranger, Crow, is hired to carry out a hit. Contrary to his Apache heritage he doesn't believe in killing women. Thereby lies his quandary, leading to his alliance with Stone.
The book is a fast read. Stone is surrounded by his usual cast of characters which are very well developed and mostly likeable.
The character I find I never liked is Jesse's ex-wife, Jenn. Whenever I get to chapters involving her or the psychiatrist he uses named Dix, I find I merely skim the chapters. If you don't skip over, the books bog down. Jenn's issues are the same now as they were back then. Each book, her character merely presents more of the same. Here we are in Book 7 and we have the same melodrama involving Jenn.

Here, the ever-stable Molly, even throws us an unexpected curve. The ending comes upon the reader quickly. But, is none the less good
Mr. Parker's Jesse Stone series has always been entertaining. Honestly, I don't think I would have liked them as much had I not seen the movies with Tom Selleck in the lead as Stone. He was perfect for the part and can easily be imagined in book form.
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Brad
4.0 out of 5 stars Another Jesse Stone that you can't put down
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on June 3, 2022
Verified Purchase
Like the rest, this Jesse Stone is an easy read that brings you back to a time that people lived by common sense and humanity. I missed Jesse's dog and his melancholy ways.
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Richard B. Schwartz
VINE VOICE
5.0 out of 5 stars Vintage Jesse
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on February 10, 2008
Verified Purchase
While I still enjoy all of Parker's novels I am particularly fond of the Jesse Stones, in part because of the excellent films with Tom Selleck playing Jesse. I now hear his voice as I read the precise, minimalist dialogue. I wonder if Parker hears Selleck's voice and sees his face as he writes the novels.

Stranger in Paradise is vintage Jesse. There are multiple plot lines here, but all are transparent and easy to follow, despite the human complexities that serve as their backdrop. The narrative is like Jesse himself--a straightforward, straight talking individual with a psyche rent with pain and blocked aspiration. Parker lets us have a look at the scar tissue on Jesse's soul, but doesn't get too carried away with it. The balance between action and reflection is perfect.

Jesse is seeing a shrink these days; Molly and Suit are committing adultery and Jenn is on the scene, big time. Jenn is not intrusive; I far prefer her to Susan Silverman. And with Cromartie back, Jesse has his own Hawk. So the ensemble cast works very nicely; the plot lines come together perfectly; the sexual tension adds some spice and we have a violent buddy for Jesse to partner with against the bad guys (who receive their due).

Each of Parker's novels tends to have a signature line, one that is sweet and simple and endlessly memorable. Stranger in Paradise is no exception. The line: "There is no quiet quite like the one that follows gunfire."

Enjoy.
6 people found this helpful
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J. P. Weimer
4.0 out of 5 stars Typical Robert Parker fare
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on March 18, 2008
Verified Purchase
I started reading Parker's Jesse Stone novels a couple of years ago, and find myself drawn to them. The only other Parker novels I've read were "Appaloosa" and "Double Play".

For me, Parker is a peculiar novelist---he writes in clipped, staccato sentences; he's not heavy into character development; and, his plots are not particularly intricate. However, I find myself attracted to the Jesse Stone series. I like Police Chief Jesse's laconic, self-deprecating style. Molly Crane, one of his assistants, is a funny, wise-cracking woman who, as you find out in "Stranger in Paradise" has feelings/sentiments not befitting a married mother of four children. Jesse's other assistant, "Suitcase" Simpson seems to be an amiable dunce. Then, in this novel, the enigmatic Wilson "Crow" Cromartie, purportedly an Apache Indian hit man, reappears in Jesse's town of Paradise, Massachusetts, for reasons not readily apparent.

Frankly, Parker's novels are mind candy, but addictive, and this novel is no exception. What I find irritating in the Jesse Stone novels is the angst that Jesse suffers in his relationship with his ex-wife, Jenn. The relationship seems contrived, and I simply wish that Jesse would dump Jenn once and for all and move on with his life. Anyway, "Stranger in Paradise" is a fast and entertaining read.
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Marvin J. Wolf
5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing is as it seems
Reviewed in the United States ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ on September 5, 2022
Verified Purchase
The author's genius for crisp, exciting dialog is a close rival to his ability to pull off unexpected surprise conclusions. Few if anyone does this to greater effect.
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