Stranger in Paradise

Parker's STRANGER IN PARADISE is his latest mystery to focus on Jesse Stone, the recovering-alcoholic cop who lives on Cape Cod. A visiting hit man, town concerns over busing, and the usual small-town intrigue all play out in an amiable fashion. As always, Parker's sparse prose and dialogue are best when spoken, and James Naughton delivers the staccato one-liners with ease. His voice is deep and raspy, and while he doesn't differentiate too much between characters, his rhythmic cadence allows the story to flow naturally and fits Parker's narrative voice well. Naughton is businesslike, never straying into caricature. He gives the reading an Everyman quality that keeps the listener firmly in the moment. A.Z.W. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

March 31, 2008
Even if Parker's series about smalltown Massachusetts police chief Jesse Stone doesn't rank as most fans' favorite dish in the bestselling author's deli, listeners should enjoy James Naughton's clean and crisp way of bringing fictional characters to life. His performance alone is worth the price of admission. He makes Stone's wisecracks understandable and pungent. By lowering his voice just a bit and giving it some rougher edges, Naughton plays ex-con/hit man Wilson “Crow” Cromartie. A mobster has hired Crow to kill his wife and kidnap his daughter, but Crow has other ideas and needs Stone to stay out of his way. Will Stone step aside or will he join up with his former foe to save the women? There's no prize for guessing correctly, but the exciting story provides a fun way to pass a few idle hours. Simultaneous release with the Putnam hardcover (Reviews, Dec. 3, 2007).

December 3, 2007
Jesse Stone trades quips with his deputies, Suitcase Simpson and Molly Crane; struggles with his relationship with his ex-wife, Jenn; and grapples with a criminal's return in bestseller Parker's sizzling seventh novel to feature the Paradise, Mass., police chief (after 2007's High Profile
). Ex-con Wilson “Crow” Cromartie, who claims to be Apache and who eluded the police after a shootout 10 years earlier in Trouble in Paradise
(1998), wants Stone not to interfere in his search for someone in Massachusetts. A Florida mob bigwig, Louis Francisco, has hired Crow to kill his ex-wife and kidnap his 14-year-old daughter, Amber, but Crow has a policy of not harming women. In the end, Stone does more than leave Crow alone; he decides to make sure Amber, who's involved with a Latino gang, gets a chance, however slim, to overcome the odds stacked against her. Stone and Crow make an appealing odd couple as they first warily size each other up then become grudging allies in the pursuit of justice.