4.5 stars, actually.When I finished Colorblind," the previous book in this series, I wasn't sure how much I liked the "new" police chief of small-town Paradise. After all, Jesse Stone had sold his spacious coastal home and moved into a condo, discovered a grown son he never knew he had, given up booze and (gasp!) answered questions with more than two words. Not that I want anyone to bang around alone in a dusty old mansion or be a drunk, mind you, but those less-than-perfect aspects did make for...

It's hard not to like Chief Jesse Stone and his crew in Paradise MA. This one is about curtailing the use of narcotics in his town's high school. Thank you to Reed Farrel Coleman fr continuing the series.

I have been reading Robert B. Parker’s Jesse Stone series since its beginning. Jesse is the Chief of Police in the small town of Paradise, outside of Boston. Jesse’s background includes a once promising baseball prospect until suffering a career ending injury. He became a dedicated police officer in the Los Angeles Police department who developed a drinking problem that cost him his job. Jesse’s role as Police Chief in Paradise has been his second chance at making life work, which has been full

In 2010 Robert B Parker died and left behind some exceptional literary characters who in the hands of contunuation writers managed to live on. With Jesse Stone first there was Michael Brandman & now Reed Farrel Coleman, I have to admit I have not read any of their own work or creations.While I have read all of Parkers Jesse Stone novels I seem to have a gap in reading the continuation series as I suddenly got to meet Jesse Stone's son, there was lack in my knowledge of the world of Paradise.The

Addicted (to Jesse Stone stories)Pretty good plot, but lacking the character nuance and witty repartee Robert Parker heroes are known for. Violence is no fitting substitute for irony.

Not quite the same quality of writing as Robert B. Parker, but Coleman does well with the materials provided to him. Jesse is quite a bit older and has a son! And he's quit drinking too, which plays a role in the story. The opioid problem--which is the theme of this book--has not gotten any better, sadly.

#18 in the Jesse Stone series. This 2019 series entry by author Reed Farrel Coleman is #6 that he has written since the death of the series originator Robert B. Parker. Coleman's take on the series maintains the original series characters and setting, but the novels have taken a nourish flavor and Stone's alcohol addiction plays a central role. The series does continue to be very readable and the personal growth of the continuing characters add to its entertainment value.Heather Mackey is an eli...

Love that Reed Farrel Coleman has been given the privilege of continuing the Jesse Stone character. This was one of the best of this series. It has many twists and turns that were not revealed until the end. Keep writing!

We really enjoy the Jesse Stone novels (as we do the nine made-for-TV movies), whether it be the nine Parker originals, the three Michael Brandon extensions, or now this sixth addition to the set by Reed Coleman. We don’t bother to carp about proximity to the Parker novels – they’re all fun.The subject matter of “Pill”, though, is a bit depressing, as the plot starts with the drug overdose death of a popular teenager. What unfolds is an insidious opioid and other drug-running scheme that eventua...

If you have been paying any attention at all you know about the Opioid crisis and the fact that the war on drugs has been a colossal and expensive failure. Author Reed Farrel Coleman uses that common knowledge as the background for The Bitterest Pill: A Jessie Stone Novel. The opioid crisis has made it to the coastal region of Paradise, Massachusetts. When the legal drugs run out, those desperate have to turn to heroin to get their fix. That can have tragic and disastrous consequences. Local stu...

I prefer that Jesse Stone keeps drinking. I’m into his character and for me he’s an alcoholic and I’m just not sure he’s the same clean and sober. Same with the whole kid thing (just isn’t working for me but maybe in time). I still like him but I usually read one of these in a weekend and it took me a month. I will still buy, still read, still enjoy but I’m just saying that certain elements of who I see this character is at his core has been altered and it might take more adjusting before I tota...

Tough to read at first. The dialogue is not nearly as snappy as Parker’s. I do feel the descriptions of an addict’s desperation we’re done well

I

Even Michael Connelly couldn't make opioid abuse interesting (in Two Kinds of Truth) so I don't know why we would expect this fellow to. The Little Free Library served up this awkwardly titled volume; I'd never read anything by Robert B. Parker or his ventriloquist "Reed Farrel Coleman."Clearly I was missing a lot of backstory. A police chief protagonist, "Jesse Stone," with marriages, exes, a dead fiancée. An adult son - "Cole Slayton" - Jesse never knew he had who now lives with him and relaxe...

The fact that I am still reading, and enjoying, this series - now on book 18 - is testament enough to how I think Reed Farrel Coleman is doing picking up and running with it. In this, his latest outing, Paradise Police Chief Jesse Stone, ably assisted by Molly and Suit, has his work cut out for him with an epidemic of drugs. Specifically opiods which have been drifting into the town from nearby Boston. Things come to a head with the death of a popular high-school cheerleader but his investigatio...

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.--- Well, it's pretty clear that Don Winslow has left his mark on Reed Farrel Coleman—there's a quotation from Winslow on the so-called War on Drugs as the epigraph to this novel. Jesse cites it and alludes to it later in the novel. It's a good line—catchy and insightful (and, not that it matters, I agree 100% with it)—don't misunderstand me, but I'm used to Robert B. Parker characters citing Shakespeare, (Edmund) Spenser, Shelley, and songs f...

No. No. and No. This is not the Jesse Stone that I've come to love. I have 2 more books sitting here - I may try them - not too sure. Robert B. Parker was a gem for sure - and oh soooo missed!

Reed Farrel Coleman’s take on Paradise, Massachusetts police chief Jesse Stone continues to be an intriguing and extremely worthwhile experience. Jesse, for better or worse, was constantly in the shadow of Spenser, Robert B. Parker’s longer-running and better-known creation. Coleman’s hand has been on the steering wheel of Jesse’s cruiser for several years now, gently taking the stories into his own lane while respecting Parker’s vision and characters. The result is an evolution that has made Je...

While I enjoyed this entry, the end of the book just falls flat. It's like the author had a page limit and had to rush to tie up all of the story lines. The first two-thirds of the book were very good. Jesse Stone is getting to be like Ken Bruen's Taylor character. It's not safe to be close to him.

Boston is edging ever closer to making Paradise a suburb and that means big city sins are coming too. There's an increase in gang activity, vandalism and drugs. A beautiful high school junior, a cheerleader, dies from a heroin overdose. Readers find out quickly that a fellow student sold the heroin to her. The drug dealers up the chain are not happy with the attention. Chief of Police Jesse Stone will find out who is behind this atrocity in his town and shut it down.Even though Jesse has stopped...