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

Robert B. Parker
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Book Description

3 Mar 2011 Jesse Stone Mystery 9

A body has been found in the trunk of a Cadillac. Jesse's investigation takes him to the neighboring homes of two 'retired' gangsters. But it isn't the mobsters who fascinate Jesse - it's their wives: two completely identical twin sisters, who not even their husbands can tell apart.

And when one of the mobsters is found with a bullet in his skull, Jesse is forced to start digging into the twins' past...


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Split Image: A Jesse Stone Mystery (Jesse Stone Mystery 9) + Night and Day: A Jesse Stone Mystery + Stranger in Paradise
Price For All Three: £17.97

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Product details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Quercus (3 Mar 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1849160759
  • ISBN-13: 978-1849160759
  • Product Dimensions: 13.2 x 19.7 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 65,006 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

'If Spenser is the invincible knight, the timeless hero of American detective fiction, then Jesse Stone is the flawed hero of the moment, a man whose deficiencies define his humanity' New York Times Book Review.

From the Inside Flap

A body has been found in the trunk of a Cadillac. Paradise police chief Jesse Stone's investigation takes him to the neighbouring homes of two 'retired' gangsters. But it isn't the mobsters who fascinate Jesse - it's their wives: two completely identical twin sisters, who not even their husbands can tell apart. Given Jesse's own relationship troubles, the twins' marriages seem almost disturbingly perfect. But when one of their husbands is found with a bullet in his skull, Jesse is forced to start digging into their past... Meanwhile Sunny Randall is in town investigating a religious commune known as the Renewal. The locals think they are a dangerous cult, but based on little evidence other than their suspicion of outsiders. Sunny links up with Jesse to protect the sect's freedom of religious expression - in the face of a predictable backlash from the residents.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
3.8 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 30 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Completion 12 Mar 2010
By Diacha TOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover
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.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Conflicts and Resolutions 14 Mar 2010
By Donald Mitchell HALL OF FAME TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover
"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.
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Was this review helpful to you?
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Conflicts and Resolutions 14 Mar 2010
By Donald Mitchell HALL OF FAME TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover
"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.
Comment | 
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK
Sorry to say that Robert B. Parker's last personal entry in the Jesse Stone series is a bit repetitive and disappointing. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Red Rock Bookworm
5.0 out of 5 stars Sleuthing of a high standard..
I first got into Jesse Stone novels by watching the Tom Selleck film versions. I enjoyed the films enormously and am finding the same with the novels.
Published 3 months ago by P. King
3.0 out of 5 stars cop mystery
This is a bit dour,but fascinating as it unfolds. Don't read if you are a suicidal alcoholic, but otherwise a good read.
Published 7 months ago by Dr. M. Dalby
1.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't believe it was the same author
Split Image was a shock - in a bad way.

Having read and enjoyed 3 previous Robert B. Parker paperback novels and having just bought a Kindle I downloaded this one. Read more
Published 10 months ago by PWP
5.0 out of 5 stars Phew!
Loved it, loved it, loved it. There, I hope I've made myself clear.

I've not read any of this author's books before but boy, am I glad I've discovered him now! Read more
Published 12 months ago by Kindle Junkie
5.0 out of 5 stars Very satisfying conclusion
This is the best of recent Parker and forms a very satisfying "wrapping up" of the problems of both Jesse Stone and Sunny Randell - you finish the book hoping and (probably)... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mr. J. Hewett
3.0 out of 5 stars Bittersweet Send Off for Two Great Characters
With Robert B Parker no longer being with us `Split Image' looks likely to be the last novel featuring Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall, the laidback chief of police and the tenacious... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Sam
5.0 out of 5 stars Not his best but still five star
When I reviewed Rough Westher here in October 2009 I regretted that the dialogue, typically smart and amusing though it was, no longer distinguished the characters: the good lines... Read more
Published 19 months ago by G. M. Sinstadt
1.0 out of 5 stars Anoyed me from page 1
I have to start with the disclaimer that my review is not based on the whole book and so may not reflect a fair review of the overall storyline. Read more
Published 19 months ago by JustBCoz
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