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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
1,147 global ratings
5 star
64%
4 star
27%
3 star
6%
2 star
1%
1 star
2%
Stranger in Paradise (Jesse Stone Novels)

Stranger in Paradise (Jesse Stone Novels)

byRobert B. Parker
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Top positive review

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Ken T
4.0 out of 5 starsA Slight Departure From The Norm In This Series
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2016
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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6 people found this helpful

Top critical review

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Chasjs
2.0 out of 5 starsJesse Stone loses his way.
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2017
Really did not care for the book. It is a fast read mostly because there are not subplots and the main plot is just laid out for you. I read it in less than 3 hours.

The thing that bothered me the most was the lack of any moral code on the part of the main character. I have read previous Jesse Stone books and despite his flaws you would expect him to do the right things. In this book, he teams up with a psychopath who in a previous book was involved in a crime spree which resulted in two of his officers being murdered - I don't think many police officers would overlook that. He totally ignores a 14 year-old girls direct involvement in the cold-blooded murder of her mother. This does not reflect someone who does the right thing.

And the ongoing relationship with his ex-wife is beyond tiresome, both need to get on with their lives.
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5 people found this helpful

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From the United States

Ken T
4.0 out of 5 stars A Slight Departure From The Norm In This Series
Reviewed in the United States 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.
6 people found this helpful
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Robert R. Werner
5.0 out of 5 stars CROW TO THE RESCUE
Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2021
Verified Purchase
The last time Jesse Stone saw Wilson Cromartie a/k/a Crow he was making off via speedboat with the loot from the Stiles Island robbery in Paradise. Now he's back in town to do another job. Their dialogue throughout the book makes Strangers in Paradise a most worthy read just by itself. Crow's new task is now intertwined with Stone's investigation of a mobster's missing daughter. Parker's sharp writing and attention to detail makes this reader want to read it again. Just like Raymond Chandler. A great book. Don't miss it.
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Peter Milewski
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Character Added to the Cast
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2022
Verified Purchase
The Apache Indian, Wilson Cromartie makes a return appearance in a Jesse Stone as the mysterious, cold-blooded, hitman. His conflict with his client who hires him to kill his ex wife and kidnap his daughter provides the plot line for the book. More Robert Parker cotton candy for the brain. Riveting, great characters, interest plot developments and the classic Jesse Stone ending, which getting to is most of the fun.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars NEVER TO MISS A READ OF ROBERT B PARKER'S JESSE STONE
Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2016
Verified Purchase
Since Jesse Stone, has taken the job of police chief in Paradise, Massachusetts. His life has become interesting to the reader especially when Crow, an Apache hitman, turns up looking for a young girl and her mother. Crow likes women and Molly also likes Crow.
After talking with Jesse, Crow heads his way and Jesse on his but with the advice he would be watching closely. Jesse also has on his plate the fact that he and Jen are sort of trying to make a go of it. The story behind each scenario keeps the reading not wanting to put the book down. in my case, I have seen the short TV series of Robert B Parker's books with Tom Sellick as Jesse and he does a wonderful interpretation thus making it easy to visualise him as I read.
Great stories and I just love reading them all.
3 people found this helpful
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Mel Odom
4.0 out of 5 stars Solid And Entertaining Crime Fiction From A Master
Reviewed in the United States 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.
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Karol Love
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Book To Read
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2015
Verified Purchase
This book is very good! I have become a Robert B Parker fan. I saw the made for TV movie version before I read the books. I was very surprised to see how much liberty the producer of the movie production took such liberties of changing most of the book to fit what they thought it should have been. Well guess what the book was better than the Tom Selleck version. Jesse Stone has his demons with an ex-wife and booze. However, beyond those issues he is a good cop and 98% of the time gets his bad guy. The reader knows up front he most likely will come out the winner; it's trying to figure out how he will do it. I have yet been able to out smart the author. That what makes it a good read!
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Oddlydecide1
4.0 out of 5 stars Who doesn’t love a good bad guy
Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2021
Verified Purchase
A troubled teenager, a different side of Molly, a shootout, and a bad guy hero. This book features the return of Crow, one of my favorite characters. I’m reading the series, it’s easy to get into and fairly entertaining. This one was a page turner and my favorite so far. Very enjoyable.
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J. P. Weimer
4.0 out of 5 stars Typical Robert Parker fare
Reviewed in the United States 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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Cheryl ann Preno
5.0 out of 5 stars Jesse stone
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2021
Verified Purchase
In a few words, Jesse Stone is what every cop should be
Iike.... Enough said. Especially Philly police officers. Definitely
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Stephen Morris
4.0 out of 5 stars Crow lives
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2021
Verified Purchase
Love that guy Crow as fearl and cunning as a character can be.
Jesse Stone lives on the front lines without fear as well.
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