Robert B. Parker's Killing the Blues by Michael Brandman

Paradise, Massachusetts, is preparing for the summer tourist season when a string of car thefts disturbs what is usually a quiet time in town. In a sudden escalation of violence, the thefts become murder, and chief of police Jesse Stone finds himself facing one of the toughest cases of his career. Pressure from the town politicians only increases when another crime wave puts residents on edge. Jesse confronts a personal dilemma as well: a burgeoning relationship with a young PR executive, whose plans to turn Paradise into a summertime concert destination may have her running afoul of the law.

When a mysterious figure from Jesse's past arrives in town, memories of his last troubled days as a cop in L.A. threaten his ability to keep order in Paradise-especially when it appears that the stranger is out for revenge.

Film and TV producer Michael Brandman, who collaborated on several of the Jesse Stone TV movies, is continuing the series begun by Robert B. Parker.  And doing so seamlessly.   The most important part of any Parker novel is the dialogue.  I would love to live in a world where everyone is as sharp and witty as his characters.  Brandman nailed the short, snappy sentences and minimalist style.  

Although plot usually takes a back seat to relationships in a Jesse Stone story, this story may have been a little more sparse than usual.  A mobster car-theft ring is foiled with a couple visits to the right people, high-school bullies and a child-molesting teacher are easily ended, even an argument with the new woman in Jesse's life (a relationship that took all of fifteen minutes to develop) is settled simply.  Even the climactic confrontation between Jesse and the bad-guy is lack-luster and over practically before it begins.

Mr. Brandman kept me turning the pages with his fun, relaxed Parker style, but left me feeling a bit underwhelmed.  I would recommend this to established Parker fans, but definitely not as a starting point in the series.  I look forward to Mr. Brandman's next effort.

Blue-Eyed Devil by Robert B. Parker

Blue-Eyed Devil continues the saga of gun-slinging saddle pals Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch as they trade wisecracks and hot lead with back-shooting owlhoots and murderous Apaches in the town of Appaloosa. Cole and Hitch used to be the law in town, but now Appaloosa has a corrupt, ambitious, and deadly police chief named Amos Callico backed up by 12 rifle-toting cops of dubious background, and though Callico sees Cole and Hitch as impediments to his plans for extortion and high political office, his threats don't worry the boys much. Meanwhile, Cole kills the son of a prominent rancher in a fair fight, renegade Apaches plan an attack on the town, and a mysterious dandy arrives in town with a sinister agenda. Fortunately, Cole and Hitch are smart and resourceful, and there's trickery, gunplay, and throat-cutting until only a few folks are left standing. (Publishers Weekly)

Blue-Eyed Devil is the fourth installment of the Cole and Hitch western series.  If you haven't read the first three, this one can be a bit hard to follow as there are lots of references to previous events, so I recommend reading them in order. 

This was an easy-reading, fast-paced story that I enjoyed, but can't say I loved.  If you've read any of my previous reviews of Robert Parker books, you know I'm a huge fan of his style, but I'm afraid it just doesn't work for me this time.  The biggest problem was that the minimalist dialog and descriptions that I usually love left this story feeling superficial.  There wasn't any insight or emotion to make me feel a connection to any of the characters or get too concerned about what happened to them.  Unlike the Spenser series that started with more in-depth character development and progressed to the current bare-bones style, Cole and Hitch jump directly into the action without giving the reader any exposure to their motives.

For fans of pure action-oriented westerns, this series will be a success.  For me it was a pleasant diversion, but nothing to write home about.

Good News for Parker Fans

According to Book Page, fans of Robert B. Parker will have three more opportunities to enjoy his work.  Along with recently released "Split Image", a Jesse Stone novel, Parker's western heroes, Hitch and Cole, will appear in May in "Blue-Eyed Devil".  In October we will be treated to one more date with Spenser in "Painted Lady" and finally, a holiday book to be released in November.  I'm so glad Mr. Parker was such a prolific writer and left us these few final treats.

Split Image by Robert B. Parker

Ever notice that some books have titles with absolutely no meaning?  You get done reading, probably without ever giving the title a thought, and then close the book, look at the cover and wonder "What does that title have to do with story?"  Not the case with Robert B. Parker's aptly named Split Image - It's two... two... two books in one!

Two murders in the little town of Paradise, MA, lead Police Chief Jesse Stone to a set of identical twins with matching mobster husbands and a fetish for tag-team sports.  A missing teen leads P.I. Sunny Randall to Paradise and a religious commune that may not be what it seems.  A double mystery, a pair of investigators and duplicate suspects = one good book.

But wait...there's more!  It's a crime novel AND a romance novel.  The developing relationship between Jesse and Sunny is actually half the story.  As I have mentioned at least twice before (here and here), I admire Parker's knack for writing characters and relationships that are not one- (or even two-) dimensional.  Both Jesse and Sunny make progress in dealing with their "ex" issues, Jesse gets a better grip on his drinking, and their relationship matures, but this is not a sit-com where everything is wrapped up neatly in thirty minutes.  Unfortunately, with the passing of Mr. Parker, we will probably each have to write our own ending. 

I give this book two thumbs up!

Potshot by Robert B. Parker

Here's a handy book-reading tip:  Don't read multiple books by one author at the same time - tends to cause great confusion, especially in readers of a certain age.  I have been listening to the audio of Potshot by Robert B. Parker in my car, while reading Promised Land by the same author.  To further befuddle myself, I now moved on to read Mr. Parker's latest, Split Image, which - although part of a different series - is very similar in style.  And just in case there was any note of sanity left, I listened to Rex Stout's The Doorbell Rang on my mp3 so now four detective stories are jumping around in my head like pinballs and writing reviews is a challenge.

Potshot is number 29 in the Spenser series, published in 2001.  The story revolves around the small town of Potshot, Arizona  - where (according to the book jacket) a band of modern-day mountain men, led by a charismatic individual known as The Preacher, have taken over the town and even the local police are powerless to defend the residents.  In classic Spenser style, he saves the town, solves the murder, and gets the girl. 

But the best part of this story, for me, was the audio narration by actor Joe Mantegna.  Spenser is aided in his heroics by a posse of "ethnically diverse but politically incorrect henchmen (one gay shooter, one Latino, one black, one Native American)".*  Mr. Mantegna creates voices for each of these characters that are individual and recognizable, and that brought out the sometimes subtle humor of Mr. Parker's writing.  I don't think it would have been nearly as funny in my head.

As always, Spenser gets a top rating from me, but in the future I'll take him in smaller doses.

*quote from Amazon.com review

Promised Land by Robert B. Parker

When I came to work at the library in 2005, I had never read a Robert B. Parker novel. (I know, amazing that they hired me, isn't it?)  But the constant exposure to the latest bestsellers has broadened my reading selections considerably.  I have read everything he has written - in all four series - since 2005.  With the recent news of Mr. Parker's death, I mourned the loss of such a talent, and especially of my favorite gumshoe, Spenser.   

By the luck of the draw, I needed to pick a book from the library's Mystery Section, Shelf 30 in order to complete the Take-A-Chance Challenge.  Be still my heart! - an entire shelf of Robert Parker novels.  I opted to look for the oldest one and learn how Spenser began.  That turned out to be Promised Land, published in 1976 and No. 5 in the series.  What a hoot!  On page one I discovered this gem: "He had on a pale green leisure suit and a yellow shirt with long pointed collar, open at the neck and spilling onto the lapels of the suit,"  and I knew this story was going to be a "blast from the past".  1976 was the year of our first date - the prom, to which Dave wore a powder blue leisure suit and a shirt with a long pointed collar.  Sorry folks.  I searched for a picture of us to show you what fashion icons we were, but no luck.  However, for those of you too young to remember 1970's apparel, his suit (not to mention his hair) looked something like this:

 
Between giggles at the dated clothing styles and slang, I learned a lot about Spenser.  Sometimes when an author writes a series around a character, it feels like nothing more than a convenience for the author - no need to create new characters, background or surroundings - and there is no growth.  However, Spenser and his crew have evolved.   It's not necessarily a real-time aging - Spenser and Susan were approximately age forty in 1976 (based on references to "middle age" and that Spenser and Hawk had boxed together twenty years earlier) and they appear to have aged no more than 10-15 years in the thirty-four years since then - but it is a discernable development of their relationships, experience and maturity.

Mr. Parker's writing has become more sparse over the years - and he wasn't overly-wordy to begin with - which is one of the things I love about his books.  He manages to convey feelings, attitudes and situations with a minimum of extraneous details, yet even jumping into the series somewhere around book #33 as I did, I never felt cheated or lost.  As I sit here trying to explain this amazing ability, I realize that if I could grasp it I would be the one with 45 bestselling books, so you'll have to discover it and dissect it on your own.

This book marked the end of my reading for the Take-A-Chance Challenge here at the library (with 5 weeks to spare!) but it won't be the end of my journey with Spenser.  My plan is start at the beginning and make my way through the entire series.  I'll keep you posted.

The Professional by Robert B. Parker

Robert Parker's books are my kind of stories - fast plot, mostly dialog and minimalist descriptions. Maybe it's because Spenser and his crew are such familiar characters that I no longer need all the extras. Whatever the reason, it works and I never feel cheated by not knowing the details of someone's outfit, apartment or view. The plot is also minimalist. Rather than elaborate crimes with clues to be discovered, the story is more a day-in-the-life (or in this case, nearly-a-year-in-the life) of Spenser. It's a visit with old friends - Susan, Hawk, Pearl - and sort of a "catching up" on their lives. The main characters are all sure of themselves and content with who they are, which makes them fun to visit. No angst or drama, just the interaction of good friends. The story line was intriguing - enough mystery to keep me turning pages, minimal gore and/or violance (a big hang-up of mine, you may have noticed), and a satisfying conclusion. Parker's books are fun, familiar and diverting. - Tami