Split Image

December 21, 2009
Bestseller Parker's enjoyable ninth novel featuring Paradise, Mass., police chief Jesse Stone (after Night and Day
), focuses on Stone's deepening connection with PI Sunny Randall, the star of her own series (Spare Change
, etc.). Both Jesse and Sunny are still recovering from failed relationships, and Parker does a nice job of integrating their separate therapy sessions (in Sunny's case, with Susan Silverman, the significant other of Parker's best-known detective, Spenser) with two criminal investigations. The parents of 18-year-old Cheryl DeMarco ask Sunny for help in getting Cheryl out of a religious cult, while Stone probes the gunshot murder of Petrov Ognowski, a mob soldier whose boss, Reggie Galen, is the next-door neighbor of another gangster. Neither case is particularly compelling on its own, but they effectively serve as plot devices for the main characters to understand more about themselves and each other.

James Naughton is a frequent narrator of Parker's Jesse Stone novels, and his vocal characterization of Stone is excellent. The Paradise, Massachusetts, police chief is involved in two criminal investigations: one with PI Sunny Randall, involving a religious cult, and the other the murder of mob enforcer Petrov Ognowski. Naughton delivers the banter between Jesse and Sunny in a warm, jovial manner that adds a homey element to their friendly relationship. Parker's novels focus on character, and Naughton creates unique and likable voices for all the supporting characters, including Stone's subordinates Molly Crane and Suitcase Simpson. Naughton maintains the leisurely persona of Stone yet instills tension and drive into the story. S.C.A. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine