(2003)(audio) Pretty good mystery about serial killers in small town in Massachusetts. My first exposure to Jesse Stone Very good reading by Robert Forester

Synopsis: 'Jesse Stone has a problem no officer of the law likes to face: Dead bodies keep appearing, but clues do not. A man takes his dog out for a run on the beach, only to be discovered hours later - with two holes in his chest, A woman drives her Volvo to the store to do some grocery shopping, and is then found dead, her body crumpled behind her loaded shopping cart. A commuter takes a short cut home from the train, and never makes it back to his house.
Hunting down a serial killer is difficult and dangerous in any town, but in a town like Paradise, where the selectmen and the media add untold pressures, Jesse feels considerable heat. Already walking an emotional tightrope, he stumbles; he's spending too much time with the bottle and with his ex-wife - neither of which helps him, or the case. And the harder these outside forces push against him, the more Jesse retreats into himself, convinced - despite all the odds - that it's up to him alone to stop the killing.' From the book jacket.

Review: Really don't like the bad guys and I'm really happy when they get theirs. Review: Good characters, good dialogue, good setting. The story is interesting but I keep hoping that his ex-wife disappears sometime soon. ( )

First edition as new

I think I mostly love this series because the narrator (Robert Forester) is so compelling. He could read a dictionary and I would be enthralled. Stone Cold is the fourth novel in the Jesse Stone series. Personally, I have only read the third one and the fourth one but these really do act as standalone novels so I don't feel like I am missing out on anything. Jesse Stone tackles his most challenging case yet - tracking down a pair of serial killers that love to kill together. As the murders keep rising in Paradise - the pressure mounts on Jesse. Can he find them? Can he stay sober? Compelling, but not surprising - the characters are more important than the plot. I am even more intrigued to check out the movie adaptations now. ( )

Robert B. Parker hit on the perfect character for his writing in his Spencer. Jesse Stone in one of Parker's other series isn't quite up to Spencer though some say they like him better. Another murder mystery with the murderers, this time a serial killing couple, who are very bad and the cops who get them in the end. Jesse Stone's ex-wife Jenn who he can't let go of and who won't go away doesn't seem to ad anything much to the story.
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