Top positive review
4.0 out of 5 starsA wonderful continuation of the "Jesse Stone" series!
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 20, 2006
As with Robert Urich playing the role of Spenser in the television series from the mid-to-late eighties, I now see Tom Selleck as our flawed hero, Jesse Stone, and Viola Davis as Molly Crane and Mimi Rogers as the beautiful and sexy Rita Fiore. And, for some strange reason this has made the "Jesse Stone" series even more fun for me to read. I have a face to put on all the recurring characters and this makes me look forward to each "Jesse Stone" novel when it comes out, enjoying a brief reunion with new and trusted friends. Though some of the books are better than others, in my opinion there are no bad "Jesse Stone" novels. I've loved all five books, and I avidly look forward to the newest one, Sea Change, being turned into a TV movie with Mr. Selleck reprising the role of Paradise, Massachusetts police chief, Jesse Stone.
In Sea Change, Jesse Stone has to solve the murder of an attractive, middle-aged woman who was found floating in the harbor of Paradise. The victim, Florence Horvath, turns out to be an out-of-towner from Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Jesse will have to turn to Detective Kelly Cruz of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department for help on this one. While both of them work the case from their respective ends of the country, Jesse discovers that the victim may have come to Paradise for its annual Race Week with boaters arriving from all over the eastern seaboard to participate in and to watch the big racing event. This leads to the discovery of an amateur sex ring amongst some of the boaters, involving female teenagers from Paradise. As Jesse investigates the murder case, he must also deal with his battle to remain sober and with his ex-wife, Jenny, being back in his life once again and what that means to him emotionally. Before the book ends and the case is solved, Jesse's going to learn a lot about himself, his love for Jenny, and how people can treat others as inanimate objects for their own sexual gratification. It's not easy being a flawed hero, but Jesse does the best he can one day at a time.
Like the other novels by Robert Parker, Sea Change is a quick read. I picked it up and was finished in just a few hours. I consider that a compliment to Mr. Parker's craftsmanship as a writer. I have a number of novels on my shelf that I had to put down after only thirty pages because of outright boredom with the story line. I've never had that problem with anything Mr. Parker has written. His books are always pure fun to read with realistic dialogue that brings a true smile to one's face, characters that eventually become close friends to the reader, and a sense of style that few other writers are able to emulate. Sea Change is no different. It takes the character of Jesse Stone one step further in his life with a clearer understanding of what it means to be a human being and how to insure that justice for those who've been harmed by others is finally achieved. A very, very good read!
