A fairly poorly done first effort by Bradman to take the reins of Parker's character. The story starts out by essentially kiboshing a variety of good quality plot lines (i.e. Sunny Randal, Jesse's drinking progress) that don't fit the authors own interests and goes downhill from there. Several characters seem to appear for little reason (and sometimes even against all sane reason) other than to be a call back to previous books and others remain completely one dimensional and boring. Perhaps the most glaring issue comes when Jesse, for no reason, decides to begin working outside the law in what, to me, seems like nothing more than a poorly thought out movie style fantasy that completely does not fit the character. While I was glad to see the series continue, I was saddened by how drastically the quality dropped. I never expected Bradman to be a perfect mimic, but this isn't even good.

I was expecting to be disappointed,but
I wasn't. Whether, he is just doing it
to make money or he wants to truly
keep the character alive, it's okay with me.

My wife and I both enjoyed this novel.
I don't know if Michael Brandman will be as good as Robert b. PARKER, but he is still an enjoyable read.

I started reading the Jesse Stone books by Robert B. Parker after seeing a few of the Jesse Stone TV movies. Tom Selleck played the role of Jesse Stone. Robert Parker died after the 9th book in the series. This one, the 10th was written by Michael Brandman, who also was involved with the Jesse Stone movies. While the writing style is similar, there is something missing from the way Parker wrote. Can't be more definite than that.... I'll probably read the 11th in the series to see if Brandman gets any better.

I agree with all of the negative comments. What a denigration of the talent of Robert B. Parker. Brandman created caricatures, not characters.

I HATE THAT YOU KEEP CHANGING THIS SITE. IT IS
VERY ANNOYING. DO YOU WANT TO ANNOY YOUR PATRONS OR DO YOU WANT TO MAKE IT SIMPLE AND EASY TO USE. IT IS TO COMPLICATED TO ACCESS WHAT YOU WANT TO DO. KEEP IT SIMPLE AS IT WAS.

A poor attempt to copy late authors dialog; almost an insult to Parker. Add a nothing plot and you've got a one to stay away from.

I made the mistake of checking this book out thinking that Robert Parker had written it before his death, since the name Robert B. Parker is in the largest font on the cover. I read the first two pages and wondered how parker could have entirely lost his ability to write shortly before his death. A closer inspection let me know that Michael Brandon was the "new" Parker. Brandon may be a fine writer of screen plays or made for TV movies but he in now way captures Parker's ability to describe characters or write dialogue for a detective novel. I hope the people in control of Parker's estate and legacy do not make the mistake of letting Brandon use Parker's franchise and characters again. Let Brandon create characters of his own and not try to piggyback on Parker's name as a writer of detective fiction.

This is a fun read. I was a little surprised to find it a better written book than Parker's last effort. I wonder if Brandsman will continure the series.