Robert Parker’s Jesse Stone returns in ‘Killing the Blues’

Here’s the situation. I’ve read each of the novels in the Jesse Stone series one time. I’ve seen all of the Jesse Stone TV movies at least five to six times. “Innocents Lost” only three times so far, but I’m getting the urge to watch it again.

Anyway,  I love the books, and I love the movies, but I do have a difficult time separating one from the other. In other words, I get them mixed up with each other, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
 
The author of the novels, Robert B. Parker, who was famous for his excellent Spenser series, died in January of 2010. That’s almost two years ago. Fortunately for readers, Parker wrote two to three books a year, so there were still a few to be published in both the Spenser and Jesse Stone series when he passed away.

The last book, “Sixkill,” came out this past May. Thankfully, the publisher, in conjunction with the Parker estate, are continuing both series with new authors. Mystery writer Ace Atkins will be writing the new Spenser novels, and Michael Brandman, who is well known as one of the producers and co-writers of the Jesse Stone TV movies, will be continuing the Jesse Stone novels.

Though I’m now down to reading a novel every one to two weeks, I actually read “Killing the Blues” in only two days, which is a record for me. I couldn’t put the book down. For me, it was like watching a new Jesse Stone movie on television, but without all the camera angles. The book certainly fulfilled my expectations, which is all any reader can ask for.

In “Killing the Blues,” Jesse Stone has to deal with a series of car thefts that quickly escalate into a murder; a released convict who has revenge on his mind for our local police chief; a new girlfriend who happens to be Selectman Carter Hansen’s niece and who’s planning a summer rock concert in Paradise; a stray cat looking for a home; a young girl who takes a principal hostage and opens up a larger can of worms in regards to bullying and sexual abuse by teachers; and a new rental house on a rocky bluff with a footbridge leading over to it (the same house we see in the television movies).

Car theft in Paradise is a new experience for the locals, especially since the thieves are stealing Honda Accords and not the luxury automobiles most of the rich are driving. Several thefts occur in less than a week, but everything escalates when a victim is murdered while trying to prevent his car from being stolen. Jesse takes it personally and vows to avenge the widow by going after the man at the top of the car-theft ring. To do this, however, he will need the help of criminal Gino Fish.

While working for the LAPD years before, Jesse arrested a man named Rollo Nurse and beat him senseless due to his inner rage at his wife, Jenn. Rollo went to prison, but not with every cell in his brain intact due to the pistol whipping. Once he’s paroled, Rollo decides it’s time that Jesse Stone paid for what he did to him. Rollo hops on a bus and reaches Paradise a few days later. Then, he begins a deadly campaign designed to get Jesse’s undivided attention.

While Jesse is investigating the sudden rash of car thefts and the unexplained killing of dogs in the community, a young female student takes the principal of her junior high school hostage. Jesse talks to the girl, which reveals more physical, emotional and sexual abuse hidden beneath the surface of the educational system. Jesse’s personal life might be in shambles, but as a police officer, he knows exactly what has to be done to correct a given situation.

Brandman does an excellent job of bringing to life Robert Parker’s characters in a fun-filled, suspenseful novel. In some ways, I feel that Brandman knows Jesse Stone almost as well as Parker did and effortlessly captures the inner essence of this wounded individual who tries to do the right thing whenever possible. Now, in reading the novel, it may seem as if you were watching a new Jesse Stone movie. That didn’t bother me in the least. I had all the actors in mind who play the regular characters in the show and saw them vividly in each scene of the book. For me, it’s like visiting family for a few days, and it’s always a good experience.

I enjoyed the fact that the author attempted to update the novels with what’s going on in the series, though there some major differences. Unlike the show, Jesse has never left his position as police chief of Paradise in the books. Also, he’s lived in a rented condo until this novel, when his desire to be more isolated spurs him to rent a house on a rocky bluff.

Now, this is also where some confusion comes in on my part in getting the shows and books mixed up. Reggie, the dog, doesn’t exist in this novel. Instead, a stray cat starts hanging around Jesse’s new home and soon chooses the police chief as her new owner. Capt. Healy of the state police lives next door to Jesse here and makes friends with the cat much faster than our hero does. Healy calls himself the Cat Whisperer. Hasty Hathaway is back in this book. Though he owns the used car lot, he has now been elected back to the town board. This is a clear jump from the TV movie “Innocents Lost.” Last, but not least, Jesse and Carter Hansen seem to get along a little better here than in the television series, which leads in to the Paradise police chief striking up a relationship with the selectman’s niece, Alexis Richardson.

It’s possible that not every fan will enjoy this new Jesse Stone novel as much as I did. I guess it will depend on how much you either like or don’t like the television movies. All in all, I think this is a fabulous continuation of the series, and I’m certain Robert Parker would be pleased to know that his characters have a new champion and are doing well.  

Wayne C. Rogers is the author of the horror novellas “The Encounter” and “The Tunnels,” both of which can be purchased at Amazon’s Kindle Store for 99 cents each.