Stone Cold (original 2003; edition 2004)

Jesse Stone thinks that a serial killer, or a pair of serial killers, is at work in Paradise, Massachusetts. With the bodies piling up, Jesse learns that each victim has been shot twice in the chest with a different gun. At first there is no connection between the victims and they appear to be chosen at random. But then a victim turns up who was clearly chosen to get Jesse’s attention. And Jesse may be in the sights next. In between crime scenes and visits to the Medical Examiner, Jesse begins to see a psychiatrist about his drinking and his other unhealthy obsession, his ex-wife.

[Stone Cold], the fourth installment in the Jesse Stone mystery series, is the weakest so far. Parker stretches the bounds of reason and believability with the idea of a serial killer, or a pair of serial killers, operating in a town with a population of about 2,000 people. And the bit with Jesse and his ex-wife is getting old. On the other hand, Parker seemed to sense that he was out of bounds because he offers a second crime and investigation that is patent small town business to offset the serial killer plot; and he changes the game between Jesse and Jen in the last few pages of the novel in a way that will send readers eagerly to the next book in the series. Parker also offsets the preposterous serial killer plot with some down-to-earth police work in solving it. There is license plate collection, firearms registry queries, deep background searches, and cross-referencing of all this and more to narrow the field of subjects. While the crime plot may be unbelievable, the cop work used to solve the crime is right on track.

Bottom Line: Even in the weakest installment of the series, Jesse Stone is one of the most interesting detectives in the genre; and Parker changes the game for him in a way that promises for interesting reading in the next installment.

3 ½ bones!!! ( )

Love this series. In this one, Parker has come up with some seriously sick characters but he keeps you on the edge of your seat. At the end, there is some movement on the Jenn front which gives me hope that I will be less irritated with the next book. ( )

I prefer the Spenser series but still an enjoyable read ( )

Again, another quick read from Parker. Plot was a bit of a reach, but not too much that it kept from being wrapped up quietly. Left me thinking we might see these bad guys down the road. The one good thing, well, maybe not a good thing if you think about it, was that Jesse finally makes a decision about his wife. ( )

Sheriff Jesse Stone wonders why people in his town of Paradise are getting killed and soon finds himself the next possibe victim. Thrillimg read from the author of the Spenser series. ( )