Split Image: A Jesse Stone Mystery (Jesse Stone Mystery 9) [Paperback]

Sadly, Robert B parker died at the age of 77 just before the release of "Split Image." Fans may be partially consoled by the knowledge that there are at least one and possibly two Spensers and a Virgil Cole novel still in the publication pipeline, but this is surely the final chapter in the Jesse Stone series.

Stone is the Chief of the 12-officer police force of Paradise, Massachusetts. He arrived at this post following the failure of his two prior careers: his hopes in pro baseball were torpedoed by a shoulder injury; his position in the LAPD Robbery Homicide Division was washed away by alcohol following the collapse of his marriage. He is still haunted by his ex-wife and he occasionally still succumbs to drink. Mainly, though, he is a very good chief. He combines confident authority with human wisdom and a detective's sixth sense.

In "Split Image," Stone faces two cases. The first involves two Boston mob bosses who have "retired" to Paradise. They are married to identical twins and live in identical houses. One of the mobsters and one of the other's bodyguards are murdered and it appears that the sisters have something to do with it. In the second case, Stone helps Boston P.I., Sunny Randall - herself one of Parker's series heroes- investigate the leaving of home of the teenage daughter of a self-important Boston family who appears to have joined a cult. Neither plot is especially strong - stock items lifted out of Parker's repertory trunk - but by now we read Parker more for the dialogue and interplay of characters than for suspense.

"Split Image" includes a virtually valedictory round-up of Parker's characters: all the usual folks from Paradise, plus Sunny Randall, Spike, Rita Fiore, Captain Healey and Susan Silverman from the other series. We are missing Spenser, of course, but Dr Dix sounds rather like him, possibly he is the old dog in disguise.

For most of Parker's career, a large part of the dialogue circles around defining "The Detective" and his code. In this book, there is a greater focus on defining the "happy person," or the "complete person." Both Stone and Sunny achieve breakthroughs in their analysis is this book, and their relationship has become much more serious. Completion at last.

I started reading Robert B Parker when my high school English master handed me a copy of "The Godwulf Manuscript " and said, "Read this. It doesn't matter that it is a crime novel, it is good writing." Parker and Spenser in particular have been part of my life ever since. "Split Image " is far from Parker's best work but, under the circumstances, I think that fellow devotees will understand why I gave it five stars.

P.S. If you have not seen the made for TV movies of Jesse Stone starring Tom Selleck, order the DVDs now. Parker remarked that Selleck, alone of all the actors playing his creations, gets the character just right.

"He also split the rock, and the waters gushed out." -- Isaiah 48:21

I held off starting this book until I had absorbed and become accustomed to the news of Robert B. Parker's passing. Rather than anticipating that there would be dozens more Parker novels coming soon, I realized that the time had come to more carefully examine and consider the last few novels in the editorial pipeline.

Split Image was a pleasant surprise for me in several dimensions. Although the cover refers to this as a Jesse Stone novel, there's quite a lot of Sunny Randall in the book, too, as she pursues a private investigation in Paradise, that well-known home and haunt for mobbed-up crooks and moral-appearing bad guys. Their interactions are rich in this series, and Split Image is one of the best books for bringing out the foundations for the mutual attractions and hurdles.

In addition, Mr. Parker has handled a sexually tinged story with much more deftness than he usually did in the past. Sometimes his novels seem to be more like exercises in voyeurism concerning the vulgar than they are stories about human sexuality in all of its dimensions.

To me the best police procedural and crime novels start with an unusual premise . . . and then play out in unexpected ways. Here the premise is one that I would never have come up with in a million years: Two mobsters who don't care that much for one another marry twins and live next door to one another in (where else?) Paradise.

In many police procedurals, you know exactly what to expect from the beginning. Mr. Parker rewards us with a plot that has more surprises to keep things interesting than we have any right to expect. I liked that.

In some of Mr. Parker's novels from recent years, the psychological element is so large in the book that you might feel like you are in a therapy session yourself rather than reading about crime, criminals, and the idealists (Don Quixote's in disguise) Mr. Parker likes to set after those who need punishment. In Split Image, that element adds to the story and doesn't weigh too heavily.

How would I characterize this story? Everything works together in a nice balance. If I hadn't read the book, I would have been skeptical that there was still a novel to be written about Jesse Stone that would be this satisfying.

Bravo, Mr. Parker! I'm sorry you aren't here to read this praise. I'm going to miss your amazing dialogue and your ability to craft unusual stories such as this one that leave me hungry for more.

"He also split the rock, and the waters gushed out." -- Isaiah 48:21

I held off starting this book until I had absorbed and become accustomed to the news of Robert B. Parker's passing. Rather than anticipating that there would be dozens more Parker novels coming soon, I realized that the time had come to more carefully examine and consider the last few novels in the editorial pipeline.

Split Image was a pleasant surprise for me in several dimensions. Although the cover refers to this as a Jesse Stone novel, there's quite a lot of Sunny Randall in the book, too, as she pursues a private investigation in Paradise, that well-known home and haunt for mobbed-up crooks and moral-appearing bad guys. Their interactions are rich in this series, and Split Image is one of the best books for bringing out the foundations for the mutual attractions and hurdles.

In addition, Mr. Parker has handled a sexually tinged story with much more deftness than he usually did in the past. Sometimes his novels seem to be more like exercises in voyeurism concerning the vulgar than they are stories about human sexuality in all of its dimensions.

To me the best police procedural and crime novels start with an unusual premise . . . and then play out in unexpected ways. Here the premise is one that I would never have come up with in a million years: Two mobsters who don't care that much for one another marry twins and live next door to one another in (where else?) Paradise.

In many police procedurals, you know exactly what to expect from the beginning. Mr. Parker rewards us with a plot that has more surprises to keep things interesting than we have any right to expect. I liked that.

In some of Mr. Parker's novels from recent years, the psychological element is so large in the book that you might feel like you are in a therapy session yourself rather than reading about crime, criminals, and the idealists (Don Quixote's in disguise) Mr. Parker likes to set after those who need punishment. In Split Image, that element adds to the story and doesn't weigh too heavily.

How would I characterize this story? Everything works together in a nice balance. If I hadn't read the book, I would have been skeptical that there was still a novel to be written about Jesse Stone that would be this satisfying.

Bravo, Mr. Parker! I'm sorry you aren't here to read this praise. I'm going to miss your amazing dialogue and your ability to craft unusual stories such as this one that leave me hungry for more.