Robert B. Parker's Stone's Throw
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-09-08 21:22:28
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Mike Lupica
- ISBN：B08R1BDKFC
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Diane Saul
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Trouble in Paradise。 Jesses Stones good friend and mayor Neil has been shot。 An attempt was made to make it look like a suicide， but Jesse isn’t convinced。 He is getting pressure to close the case fast because there is a big land deal at stake。 Two buyers are after the property to build casinos。 It is personal for Jesse after Neil is murdered and innocents are pulled into the conspiracy and threatened。 This was a typical Spencer novel， snappy dialogue with a good mystery。 I didn’t see the ending Trouble in Paradise。 Jesses Stones good friend and mayor Neil has been shot。 An attempt was made to make it look like a suicide， but Jesse isn’t convinced。 He is getting pressure to close the case fast because there is a big land deal at stake。 Two buyers are after the property to build casinos。 It is personal for Jesse after Neil is murdered and innocents are pulled into the conspiracy and threatened。 This was a typical Spencer novel， snappy dialogue with a good mystery。 I didn’t see the ending coming。 Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy。 。。。more
PottWab Regional Library
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SM
Sue F
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A nice continuation of the Jesse Stone series…I’m often not a fan of continuations of popular series after the original author passes away。 But whoever is in control of the estate of Robert B Parker has done a pretty good job， IMO， of selecting authors to continue his Spenser， Jesse Stone， and Sunny Randall series。 This may be because （per Wikipedia） they seem to have chosen authors who had previously been close to Parker as friends and/or collaborators。 Mike Lupica fits that mold， and his secon A nice continuation of the Jesse Stone series…I’m often not a fan of continuations of popular series after the original author passes away。 But whoever is in control of the estate of Robert B Parker has done a pretty good job， IMO， of selecting authors to continue his Spenser， Jesse Stone， and Sunny Randall series。 This may be because （per Wikipedia） they seem to have chosen authors who had previously been close to Parker as friends and/or collaborators。 Mike Lupica fits that mold， and his second Jesse Stone continuation title， Stone’s Throw， is a fun romp that feels right at home in the series。 Lupica， who is primarily a sports journalist， but also has previously written a handful of mysteries， is a natural fit for the Jesse Stone series， given Jesse’s cut-too-short-by-injury baseball past。 And in fact， Stone’s Throw opens as Jesse muses about baseball （and other things） with Sunny Randall， who then makes a quick exit west to Los Angeles， as she and Jesse take a “time-out”。 But Jesse has plenty to keep him busy in Paradise， where the last prime parcel of oceanfront land in town， The Throw， is about to be sold to a developer。 As might be expected， the community is bitterly divided between preserving the site and keeping Paradise’s ambiance， versus benefitting from the jobs and money that development might bring。 It doesn’t help that neither the Paradise scion selling the land， nor the two developers bidding on it， seem to have particularly clean hands。 Meanwhile， Jesse’s friend and Paradise mayor， Neil O’Hara， isn’t a fan of development， and neither are a group of locals who call themselves Save Our Beach （SOB）。 So when Jesse finds O’Hara dead in a shallow grave on The Throw， he suspects it isn’t the suicide that it seems to be。 And his suspicions get raised even more when a couple of the SOB members go missing too。 What follows is a typical Parker mystery as Jesse， Molly and Suit investigate， pulling in favors from various more or less savory characters， trying a bit of modern forensics， doing some old-fashioned leg work， using the research skills of Jesse’s recently found son， and， of course， ending up in a gun battle or two。 There’s a bit of extra tension created when Wilson Cromartie （Crow） shows up back in Paradise， with decidedly ambiguous motives， and a few other old favorites make appearances too。 Throughout， Mike Lupica does a great job of replicating Parker’s terse， wise-cracking， short-chapter style， while still having it feel authentic。 If I have any issue with Stone’s Throw， it’s an issue that I’ve had since Parker himself was writing the series。 And my problem is that at times I have to suspend disbelief a bit as it relates to some of the bad-guys-who-have-become-semi-good-guys， such as Vinnie Morris， and， in this book especially， Crow。 But this is a long-time feature （or bug） of Parker’s books， and if I were all that bothered by it， I would have quit reading them a long time ago – which I haven’t。 All-in-all， I very much enjoyed Stone’s Throw， and think that other fans of the Jesse Stone books will like it a lot as well。 And finally， my thanks to G。P。 Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for the advance review copy。 。。。more
Kathleen Gray
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The development of real estate is so often at the root of community unrest and that's the case in Paradise， Mass when two casino moguls want to turn a vacant space into， well， a casino。 Jesse Stone， the intrepid Chief of Police， finds his friend Neil， the mayor， dead in a shallow grave， gun beside him。 The new Mayor wants it declared a suicide but something doesn't sit well with Jesse。 And he's unsettled when two young people who have headed up the Save Our Beach moment disappear。 And when Crow， The development of real estate is so often at the root of community unrest and that's the case in Paradise， Mass when two casino moguls want to turn a vacant space into， well， a casino。 Jesse Stone， the intrepid Chief of Police， finds his friend Neil， the mayor， dead in a shallow grave， gun beside him。 The new Mayor wants it declared a suicide but something doesn't sit well with Jesse。 And he's unsettled when two young people who have headed up the Save Our Beach moment disappear。 And when Crow， a， well criminal with a history with both Jesse and his Deputy Molly turns up。 No spoilers from me but this is a very well plotted entry in the long running series。 Lupica has captured Parker's voice （and added his own touches）。 And， I asked myself， has he captured Tom Selleck's voice or is only natural that because Selleck has played Stone so well that I hear him in Stone。 No matter。 I'm a huge fan of this series， which always keeps me guessing and smiling。 Lupica has done a terrific job。 Don't worry if you haven't read the series or seen the movies- this will be fine as a standalone。 Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC。 I thoroughly enjoyed this and highly recommend。 。。。more
Doreen
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8/31/2021 3。5 stars， so 4 for series fans。 Full review tk at CriminalElement。com。 8/31/2021 3。5 stars， so 4 for series fans。 Full review tk at CriminalElement。com。 。。。more
Hobart
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This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader。---WHAT'S STONE'S THROW ABOUT？ The mayor of Paradise is found dead at the site of a contentious land deal—it's one of the most sought-after properties in Paradise， and the City is preparing to weigh in and deciding which of two buyers get to put a casino on it—while several citizens are trying to block the sale at all。 The mayor is clearly sympathetic to the anti-sale voices， but it doesn't look like he's going to be able to do anything to sto This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader。---WHAT'S STONE'S THROW ABOUT？ The mayor of Paradise is found dead at the site of a contentious land deal—it's one of the most sought-after properties in Paradise， and the City is preparing to weigh in and deciding which of two buyers get to put a casino on it—while several citizens are trying to block the sale at all。 The mayor is clearly sympathetic to the anti-sale voices， but it doesn't look like he's going to be able to do anything to stop it going forward。And then he apparently commits suicide on that piece of real estate。 Jesse's not so sure about the suicide part， however， it doesn't make sense to him for several reasons—his friendship with the mayor is just one of them （the fact that the left-handed man seemingly used his right hand to shoot himself would be another）。Jesse just has to decide who has the most motive to kill him—one of the buyers？ The seller？ The anti-sale group？Then the leader of the conservation movement goes missing， and his girlfriend is worried。 Then it turns out that Wilson Cromartie—Crow—is working for one of the casino builders。 He and the Paradise Police Department have a very shaky history—his criminal past （all beyond the statute of limitations） makes Jesse dis-inclined to trust him， no matter how much assistance he rendered in finding a missing girl later。 Is Crow on the side of angels this time， or could he be behind the mayor's death？In a case that clearly calls for someone to "follow the money" there's so much of it flying around that it'd be easy to get lost trying that， there are no easy answers for Jesse and the rest of the PPD。MOLLYFrom the beginning of the series， Molly Crane has been one of the highlights of the books and of the Paradise Police Department。 She's loyal， competent， and has a big heart。 She's stood by Jesse when things were at their worst for him—covering for him as much as she could。 She's almost too perfect—except for the one time she slept with Crow。 That's pretty much the only time she's done something wrong。And since then—at least once per book*—Jesse has brought that transgression up。 Every author—Parker， Brandman**， Coleman， and now Lupica—has had Jesse throw this in her face regularly。 It's always bothered me that it's so constant， so frequent—the woman beats herself up for it， she's been so good to Jesse， and this is how he treats her？* As far as I remember， I could be wrong about that， I doubt there's been more than 2 books without it。** I honestly remember so little about the Brandman novels， I only assume he followed suit。And now， Crow is back—and he and Molly interact a bit， both with others around and one-on-one。 Without getting into anything， I hope that this allows Molly to get past this act of infidelity—and that Jesse stops bringing it up。 Really， there's an opportunity for closure here， and I hope Lupica takes it。TALKIN' BASEBALL I always liked that Parker wrote Jesse as someone who became a cop not because he had the drive to see justice done， to serve and protect， etc。—but because he had to re-evaluate his life after his baseball career-ending injury and then came to the career in law enforcement。Parker treated this well， in a "road not taken" kind of way。 Coleman did a good job with it—although Blind Spot was more about being part of a team， more than the sport。 But Lupica？ Lupica really knows how to write about this part of Jesse's life。 He has Jesse think about this a lot in the first chapter and I put in my notes， "this is the best passage in Lupica's Parker books。" And then it comes up later in the book， too。 I don't know if it's all the sports books in Lupica's past， just a better insight into the mindset of the baseball player， or what—but this book has the best usage of Jesse's former career that this twenty-book series has had。SO， WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT STONE'S THROW？ I wasn't crazy about this at the beginning—it was always good， but I didn't get sucked in right away。 I also wasn't crazy about the way that Crow was being used—it reminded me of the way that Parker took some of the danger away from Vinnie Morris， Bobby Horse， and Chollo after their initial appearances。 But it started to grow on me the further I got into it—and by the last half， I was invested as I could've hoped to be。And even if I wasn't—just being back in Paradise with Jesse， Suit， and Molly is good enough。Lupica's got the voices down， he understands Paradise， he gets the cast of characters right and this book feels like he's been writing Stone novels for more years than he has—I had to remind myself that this is only his second time with this series。 I'd have easily believed this is the fifth。Whether you're new to Jesse Stone， or you've been reading them since the beginning， this is a novel that will entertain you and leave you looking forward to the next one。Disclaimer: I received this eARC from PENGUIN GROUP Putnam via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this。 。。。more
Abibliofob
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Robert B。 Parker was a fantastic creator of characters。 Since his passing there has been several authors taking over the series， all of them great。 Mike Lupica is one of them， he actually made this series about Jesse Stone in the town of Paradise better。 Stone's Throw is about a couple of developers trying to get a land deal done so they can build a casino。 But then the mayor is found dead under strange conditions and some youths disappear。 I love the way Lupica uses most of Parkers characters a Robert B。 Parker was a fantastic creator of characters。 Since his passing there has been several authors taking over the series， all of them great。 Mike Lupica is one of them， he actually made this series about Jesse Stone in the town of Paradise better。 Stone's Throw is about a couple of developers trying to get a land deal done so they can build a casino。 But then the mayor is found dead under strange conditions and some youths disappear。 I love the way Lupica uses most of Parkers characters and makes them interact with each other。 I actually think that more authors should do this。 I also think that Tom Selleck should make more Jesse Stone movies。 I just love this series。 I must than @this_is_edelweiss @putnambooks @penguinrandomhouse for giving me this advance copy and @mlupicabooks for writing it。 #GPPutnamsSons #PenguinPublishingGroup and #Edelweiss 。。。more
Crimefictioncritic
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Another installment in a standout series guaranteed to please Parker fans and other mystery & detective enthusiasts alike。There is an old-fashioned land war going on in Paradise， Massachusetts。 Two shady rich businessmen， one a mobbed-up Las Vegas guy and the other a disreputable Boston developer are vying to buy a valuable， choice piece of Paradise beachfront property， nicknamed Throw Beach， with the intent of developing it and building a hotel and casino there。 The townspeople are divided。 Som Another installment in a standout series guaranteed to please Parker fans and other mystery & detective enthusiasts alike。There is an old-fashioned land war going on in Paradise， Massachusetts。 Two shady rich businessmen， one a mobbed-up Las Vegas guy and the other a disreputable Boston developer are vying to buy a valuable， choice piece of Paradise beachfront property， nicknamed Throw Beach， with the intent of developing it and building a hotel and casino there。 The townspeople are divided。 Some view the proposed development and the promised jobs as just what Paradise needs to bring the town’s COVID-19 damaged economy back to prosperity。 Others， particularly a local environmentalist group called Save Our Beach， rabidly opposes the development。 When they register their opposition by vandalizing the property with a series of shallow graves and headstones， the property owner， Thomas Lawton， demands that Jesse Stone， the Paradise police chief， stop the shenanigans of the “tree huggers” by throwing them in jail。 Unfortunately， when Stone visits the property to view the newest grave， he finds a body inside it—the body of a friend， the town’s mayor， Neil O’Hara， with a bullet wound to his right temple and a pistol near his right hand。 The only problems with the apparent suicide is that Stone knows O’Hara was left-handed and the angle of the shot is all wrong。 Aware that the mayor was one of the few city government officials who opposed the land sale and impending development， Stone smells a rat， maybe two。 He feels sure someone murdered his friend or had him killed and staged it as a suicide to erase O’Hara as an obstacle to the planned land sale。 Jesse mobilizes his small police department to prove it and to bring the killer to justice。It wasn’t until after I read Robert B。 Parker’s Stone’s Throw by Mike Lupica that I learned the book isn’t his first Jesse Stone novel。 Instead， it is the second book by Lupica since Parker’s estate commissioned him to continue the popular series。 I discovered the first Jesse Stone novel penned by Lupica， Robert B。 Parker’s Fool’s Paradise （G。P。 Putnam）， was published September 8， 2020。 How could I have missed that！ Nevertheless， I eagerly anticipated my first look at Lupica’s writing in the series as soon as I saw the ARC for Stone’s Throw listed on Net Galley。Previously， Parker’s estate had already chosen Lupica， a veteran sportswriter and established sports novelist （and long-time friend of Parker）， to continue Parker’s Sunny Randall series。 Lupica has since written three Sunny Randall novels。 Having read and enjoyed them all， I felt confident Mike Lupica was a good choice to continue the Jesse Stone series。 He did not disappoint。While it’s clear Lupica has his own appealing writing style， he admirably retains many of the late， great Robert B。 Parker’s stylistic touches—wisecracking characters， humorous banter， short sentences， and short chapters。 He also faithfully renders the Jesse Stone series characters。Having been a Robert B。 Parker fan for decades since reading my first Parker book， The Godwulf Manuscript， I consider myself something of a Parker expert。 I have read and reread every one of his novels， including those written by other authors commissioned to continue the Parker legacy of top-notch crime fiction since his untimely death。 While Parker’s Spenser series， featuring the wisecracking Boston P。I。， is my all-time favorite， Jesse Stone runs a close second。 Not only have I read all nine of the original Stone novels Parker wrote， but I’ve also watched all nine of the Jesse Stone made for television movies starring Tom Selleck。 Perhaps because of the films and how perfectly Tom Selleck matches my mental image of the Jesse Stone character， my judgment of how well another author faithfully captures the character is whether reading Stone’s dialogue in a novel produces Selleck’s image in my mind。 Lupica passes this test with flying colors。 I think he does equally well in capturing the essence of Molly Crane， Luther “Suitcase” Simpson， Jesse’s therapist， Dr。 Dix， and the other recurring series characters。Those who have read the Lupica penned Sunny Randall novels know that Stone and Randall are romantically entwined and that there is a significant overlap between the series。 In my opinion， this is yet another reason why Mike Lupica， besides his excellent writing skills， is the natural choice to continue both series。As Ace Atkins has done with the Spenser series， Lupica has captured the essence of Parker’s characters and stylistic prose。 Reading Stone’s Throw left me feeling I was visiting familiar old friends， which is what I was hoping to experience。 Jesse remains the flawed hero， battling his alcohol addiction and failed romantic relationships， but also the amiable former LAPD homicide detective who took the job as chief of police in Paradise to make a new life start。 Just like Robert B。 Parker’s books， I devoured this novel in one sitting。 It’s sure to be a hit with Parker fans and anyone who enjoys a solid mystery & detective novel。I’m looking forward already to reading Lupica’s next installment in the series。 In the meanwhile， I’m grabbing a copy of the book I missed， Fool’s Paradise。I received an advanced reader copy of the book from the publisher for this review， representing my honest and unbiased opinions。 。。。more
Greg
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My thanks to NetGalley， the publisher， and the author for letting me read and review an advanced copy of this book。Paradise is not living up to its name， again， when the dead body of the mayor （an apparent suicide） is found in a shallow grave on a property that is up for sale。 Two competing bidders for the property， both having ties to criminal families， are immediately suspected， as well as the seller。 When the new mayor orders Jesse Stone， the police chief， to close the case， it just encourage My thanks to NetGalley， the publisher， and the author for letting me read and review an advanced copy of this book。Paradise is not living up to its name， again， when the dead body of the mayor （an apparent suicide） is found in a shallow grave on a property that is up for sale。 Two competing bidders for the property， both having ties to criminal families， are immediately suspected， as well as the seller。 When the new mayor orders Jesse Stone， the police chief， to close the case， it just encourages Jesse to dig deeper。 When people in the group opposing the land sale go missing， the tie to the mayor’s death becomes more apparent。 I like the Jesse Stone stories， where Jesse， Molly， and Suit end up in dangerous situations， but always seem to solve the difficult cases。 The colorful side-characters add to the drama and are an interesting mix。 。。。more
Monnie
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There's big trouble in Paradise - Paradise， Massachusetts， that is - when Police Chief Jesse Stone learns that his good friend and boss， town Mayor Neil O'Hara， turns up dead。 At first blush， it appears to be a suicide; but closer inspection raises Jesse's suspicion that somebody did him wrong。At the heart of the matter is that the land on which the body was found is for sale to the highest bidder - and two hotshot （and filthy rich） potential buyers are in winner-takes-all contention， determined There's big trouble in Paradise - Paradise， Massachusetts， that is - when Police Chief Jesse Stone learns that his good friend and boss， town Mayor Neil O'Hara， turns up dead。 At first blush， it appears to be a suicide; but closer inspection raises Jesse's suspicion that somebody did him wrong。At the heart of the matter is that the land on which the body was found is for sale to the highest bidder - and two hotshot （and filthy rich） potential buyers are in winner-takes-all contention， determined to build a casino on the property。 Complicating matters is that Jesse's right-hand policewoman， Molly Crane， thinks she saw an old "friend" near the crime scene - and she's not happy about it。Then， a young woman - a member of the so-called tree-hugger protesters who want to quash the sale - reports her boyfriend missing。 That sends Jesse out to contact some of his gangster acquaintances in the hope that they can provide some clues about the two powerful men who would， in all likelihood， do just about anything to make sure his bid is accepted by the town council at an upcoming meeting。The investigation brings Jesse into contact with some gangster-like characters who will be familiar to readers not only of the Jesse Stone series， but of Spenser and Sunny Randall。 One of my faves， Jesse's trusty officer Suitcase Simpson， doesn't show up here quite as much as I'd like - he's a pretty cool guy - but the somewhat slippery （but surprisingly likable） Wilson Cromartie， or "Crow，" gets plenty of page space。The details of the investigation are neatly tied up by the end， complete with a sort of surprise that I must say didn't please me much。 Very entertaining， as expected - and another one down （the 20th in the series） in fine fettle。 Good job！ 。。。more
Natalie
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