Night and Day

I simply love the Jesse Stone series. I have now read them all. Only disappointment, this wasn't in DVD format; I purchase book on CD. Wish Mr. Parker would make all his Jesse Stone series into movies; I have all five that are in DVD format. Keep writing the Jesse Stone series, Mr. Parker.

After the rather awful Stranger In Paradise (Jesse Stone) I was afraid the whole series was going to just fizzle. I was pleasantly surprised with "Night and Day". It is a return to higher standard of reading to which I had grown accustomed. The plot moves along nicely, the witty banter is plentiful. The case is distressing but not super-hero level. I will not go into all of the plot details. Those are outlined by others on the page. All in all, this is a pleasant and quick read. Everything I look for in a Parker novel - detecting, banter, psychobabble and a bit of romance (in a macho sort of way, of course).

Chief of Police Jesse Stone has his hands full in this book. High School principal Betsy Ingersoll is inspecting her female students' underwear. Stone would like to see the principal in court, but her husband is a big shot attorney. (Probably won't happen) A young teenage girl is upset because her parents are members of a "swingers" club. The poor kid is upset, and can Jesse do something about it? But she doesn't want her parents to know she had this discussion with Jesse, and, of course, sex is not illegal in Paradise. Next, Jesse is dealing with a peeping tom. The unsuspecting housewives are held at gunpoint and ordered to take off their clothes while he takes digital pictures. He looks, and takes the pictures , but doesn't touch. Of course, Jesse is still struggling with the bottle. And then there is is ex wife Jenn. She is off to New York City with her producer. Will she be back? And will Jesse welcome her with open arm or is she finally gone for good? Sunny also makes a brief appearance. Stay tuned.

Sex plays a prominent role in the various themes running though this latest Jesse Stone novel. Jesse, the Chief of Police of Paradise, Massachusetts, is confronted with three situations, not to mention his own personal mystery concerning his feelings for his ex-wife. He has to analyze and solve each of them in his own way. First of all, there is the matter of the school principal who gathers all the girls in the locker room to inspect their underclothing, leading to a parental uproar. The principal is married to the managing partner of Boston's largest law firm, with political connections, so Jesse is hamstrung in his efforts to take any action against her. Then there is the wife-swapping swingers club, an activity that breaks no laws. However, the child of one of the couples informs Jesse of the effect on her and her brother, asking him to help her in some way. Then there is the voyeur who calls himself the Night Hawk (no relation to Hawk of the Spenser series, thankfully) Soon, peeping in people's windows isn't a sufficient thrill and he begins invading homes and forcing women to undress so he can photograph them. The peeping began at night but the escalation starts in the day, giving rise to the title of the book. Written in Parker's terse style of short sentences and chapters, with the usual smart-witted language, the book is a joy to read. And each solution to a problem is ingeniously worthy of a shrewd Chief, no less a very talented author. Jesse comes up with an original and fitting plan for each of his problems. As usual, the sparkling dialogue of the master keeps the reader engaged and amused. Highly recommended.

Robert B. Parker's Jesse Stone series has consistently built upon the world he created within the books. New readers are encouraged, especially with this new book, to begin reading with the first one in this series. The characters change and grow, not just Jesse, but Suit, Molly, and the others that live in Paradise, Massachusetts. Stone, and Parker, have settled into the role of small town police chief in what now feels like a natural fit. The police procedural parts are good, steeped in observation and patience, two of a police officer's greatest assets. Forensics doesn't play a major role in these books. One of the best things I have enjoyed about this series, and I've come to truly appreciate, is the fact that most of the cases seems to revolve around sex and gender. And yes, those are two very separate things. Parker keeps them separate as well. Sex is a physical act, and gender is a physical and emotional state of being. The Jesse Stone novels have become more and more an examination of how people deal with each other on a sexual level as well as emotional expectations. Of course, that has been the main crux of Jesse's personal problems. He has an ex wife that he loves, Jenn, but can't get over her even though she cheats on him again and again. In this book, Jesse Stone deals with a peeping Tom that breaks into people's homes while the wife is alone. He forces the women strip, then takes pictures of them. Stone begins wondering why men are wired to relish a woman's nudity while women don't maintain the same interests. His questions and his views are informative and engaging without being professorial. I hadn't thought about this male trait that much myself. After having spent 50 years as a male, I just accepted it. Upon reading the book, I found myself talking to my wife and friends, male as well as female, about this predilection of the male of the species. In addition to delivering thought provoking material, Parker also delivers a fast paced tale of investigation and deduction. As usual, the dialogue is crisp and dead on. No one writes dialogue as pared down to the bone as Parker. This is excellent in the prose form, but I have noticed that it's somewhat detrimental when listening to the stories on audio book. I really recommend reading these books and enjoying them as audio books on a second go around. The opening pages of the book are rather shocking. I know our generation has become overly protective of our children, but I couldn't imagine my daughter going through a panty check while in high school. I would've had someone's head. I don't recall the story like this in the news lately, but I wouldn't be surprised to find that I had missed one. Parker handles all of this well, but it's just enough to make you think deeply about both sides of the issues. As he mentions of the book, schools are being expected to raise children more and more as parents duck those responsibilities. My wife is a fourth grade sc