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Split Image (Jesse Stone #9)

3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 · rating details · 3,041 ratings · 288 reviews

Family ties prove deadly in the brilliant new Jesse Stone novel from New York Times-bestselling author Robert B. Parker.

The body in the trunk was just the beginning.

Turns out the stiff was a foot soldier for local tough guy Reggie Galen, now enjoying a comfortable "retirement" with his beautiful wife, Rebecca, in the nicest part of Paradise. Living next door are Knock...more

Hardcover, 277 pages

Published February 23rd 2010 by Putnam Adult

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Jun 24, 2012 Gavin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pulp-detective-spy

This book is all about sex, sex, and more sex. But I can't fault Parker for this; it was bound to happen. The universe Parker created with Spensor started overflowing, Sunny Randall and Jesse Stone were created. For a time, I thought these new characters were only going to be a way for Parker to recycle some ideas, expand upon others that were not fully fleshed. Boy was I wrong. Sunny and Jesse were created so Parker had a new outlet for his already established Spensorverse. It's like this: Sunn...more This book is all about sex, sex, and more sex. But I can't fault Parker for this; it was bound to happen. The universe Parker created with Spensor started overflowing, Sunny Randall and Jesse Stone were created. For a time, I thought these new characters were only going to be a way for Parker to recycle some ideas, expand upon others that were not fully fleshed. Boy was I wrong. Sunny and Jesse were created so Parker had a new outlet for his already established Spensorverse. It's like this: Sunny sees a shrink by the name of Susan; Susan so happens to be Spesnor's gal. Jesse fits in with the Sunny Randall stories, eventually getting his own--chicken and the egg, really. But Parker really seems to be enjoying himself in this one. Characters cross, previous tidbits from other stories peek from behind the plot...it's really an Easter egg hunt.

So, sex.

Since this all takes place in Paradise--Jesse Stone's territory--the setting of the novel almost begs to be about sex. Paradise is an idyllic town with beautiful beaches, money, and to some lesser extant, prestige. But it is also the home of some notorious mobsters. But Parker refuses to give the same old cliche mobster tale; instead, this tale is about twins who marry mobsters and then have a grand time switching sexual partners (there's a reason they're called the Bang Bang Twins, afterall). This is all good and fun until the twins are blackmailed. They don't think this is a such a good idea. Petey, the guy who is trying to do the blackmailing, ends up dead and inside the trunk of a car. Uh oh...

Then, as a side note, so as to not have Sunny in this story as merely a sex toy, she uncovers a prostitution ring within a religious organization known as the Bond of the Renewal. This is a pretty weak storyline, but it adds to the sexual tension of the story. Plus, it is always fun to see Sunny's side-kick, Spike...

Finally, there is the element of sex within Sunny and Jesse's relationship. They both have sordid pasts. They both know about these pasts. They both are seeing psychiatrists about these pasts. They both like bonking each other. Need I say more?...

Basically, these three storylines create a tapestry of sex that is fun and entertaining. If there is one fault to this addition of the Spensorverse this would be it: Why the gushy ending? Sunny and Jesse love each other? Really? REALLY!?

RECOMMENDED (less)

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Mar 03, 2013 Sandie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-books, contemporary-lit, thrillers-and-mystery

Sorry to say that Robert B. Parker's last personal entry in the Jesse Stone series is a bit repetitive and disappointing. This time it is Boston PI and part-time Jesse lady love Sunny Randall who is involved with assisting a misguided young woman (this is usually Jesse's forte) who's egocentric and status conscious parents have procured her services in extricating their daughter from what they consider to be a cult. Jesse, in the meantime is investigating two murders involving a couple of assert...more Sorry to say that Robert B. Parker's last personal entry in the Jesse Stone series is a bit repetitive and disappointing. This time it is Boston PI and part-time Jesse lady love Sunny Randall who is involved with assisting a misguided young woman (this is usually Jesse's forte) who's egocentric and status conscious parents have procured her services in extricating their daughter from what they consider to be a cult. Jesse, in the meantime is investigating two murders involving a couple of assertedly retired mob bosses and their stunning identical twin spouses (dubbed the Bang-Bang twins in their high school days). Parker's exploration into the inner workings of the warped minds of these two as well as his examination of the problems confronting both Jesse and Sunny as they attempt to overcome their self inflicted roadblocks to dealing with feelings for their respective ex's does allow a smattering of food for thought.

I listened to the audio version of this book and while the two plot lines were relatively simple and never did converge, it was mildly entertaining. I was annoyed, however, by the repetitious dialog particularly when it involved conversations between two or more characters. Every line was Jesse said, Molly said, Sunny said, Suit said, etc. well you get the idea. (Imagine hearing dialog like "Nice day", Jesse said. "Yes it is", Molly said, "Looks a little cloudy to me", Suit said, "Glad I brought my umbrella", Sunny said.) The foregoing may be a slight exaggeration but it gives you some small inkling of the annoying alliterative exchanges. Perhaps this is not as noticeable on the page but with the spoken word it truly grates on the ear.

Now that Parker is gone it will be interesting to see what Michael Brandman (the writer selected to continue this series) does with the Jesse Stone character. I certainly hope he does away with Jesse's ex Jenn. Jesse has already set a world record in carrying the torch and it's about time he got on with his personal life. (less)

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Jun 23, 2012 Ellen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Thank you Robert.B.Parker, June 23, 2012

By Ellen Rappaport (Florida)

This review is from: Split Image (Jesse Stone) (Mass Market Paperback)
After all the wonderful reviews this book received, and rightfully so, mine will be short.

I welcome all the Jesse Stone books by R.B.P. as well as his books on CD. I listened to "Split Image" on CD performed/narrated by James Naughton. Mr. Naughton did a magnificent job narrating and I especially appreciated the fact that he used almost a whisper voice when...more

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Apr 25, 2012 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: library-loan, fiction

I'm sure this isn't Robert B Parker at his best, but it was still plenty of fun. Semi-retired mobsters are married to identical twins who take their genetic status to extremes. I rather liked that it was no 'thriller' with no peril for the main characters occurring the statutory 3/4 or so into the book. A surprise in itself! (Sorry for that little spoiler...)

The novel shows the complex nature of relationships between the police and criminals, the level of mutual regard which can exist - and the...more

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Mar 23, 2012 Lyndon J Nobles rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book was as dry as the martini on the cover, but also equally as pleasurable. Once again, we are following Chief Stone as he unravels another mystery in paradise and finds parallels between the suspects behavior and his own. I am a strong fan of Robert Parker's work. This may not be his strongest story, but it still has more kick than most other authors' works.

(slight spoilers after this point)

The story sometimes seems a little too fast and easy at times. Sunny Randall's entire story arc se...more

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Oct 27, 2011 Gerald Sinstadt rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime

When I reviewed Rough Weather two years ago I regretted that the dialogue, typically smart and amusing though it was, no longer distinguished the characters: the good lines were distributed evenly. Sadly, Split Image takes that failing a stage further. We are in Jesse Stone, Sunny Randall territory but the dialogue - well, take this example:

'"I need to get it organised in my own head," Jesse said. "Is sexual intercourse acceptable in the meantime?"

'"It is," Sunny said.

'"Oh, good," Jesse said."

'S...more

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Nov 10, 2010 Neil Mudde rated it 4 of 5 stars

Loved it, I try to be eclectic when it comes to reading, however when I want to escape it is often with the help of a mystery, Robert B. Parker does this so well, an interesting story about persons who have been in marriages that are simply not working out for whatever reason, meet another person, one who is the chief of police, who is trying to figure out if he has a drinking problem the other is a Social type worker, not sure what these are called in the US, but obviously they care a great dea...more

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Jul 31, 2010 Hobart rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010-reads

I have just spent 2 hours in the presence of some good friends, and am covered in the glow of a good time.

I was apprehensive and ambivalent about picking up one of the last books that Parker finished before his death, but that vanished by the end of a chapter or two--and given the wafer-thin nature of his chapters, that means it didn't take long at all. And other than the occasional transient thought, it really didn't come up as I read. But now I'm done, and all I can think about his how this wa...more I have just spent 2 hours in the presence of some good friends, and am covered in the glow of a good time.

I was apprehensive and ambivalent about picking up one of the last books that Parker finished before his death, but that vanished by the end of a chapter or two--and given the wafer-thin nature of his chapters, that means it didn't take long at all. And other than the occasional transient thought, it really didn't come up as I read. But now I'm done, and all I can think about his how this was the end of the road. And that's really too bad.

Many people will say they can tell in Rex Stout's final novel that Stout pretty much wrote a conclusion to his series--not an airtight conclusion, he could've easily continued, but it served well as a conclusion to his long-running series. The same could be said for Split Image, although Night and Day could've functioned that way as well (but not as neatly, and the book wasn't nearly as good, so I'm glad it didn't have to). There is a real sense of Parker saying goodbye to the characters -- although a lot of that is likely projection and isogesis on my part.

For awhile there, as the quality of Parker's other series/works vacillated, the Jesse Stone novels could be counted on for a certain level of quality--but lately, they've been just up and down as the rest. Thankfully, thankfully, Split Image comes out on the up side. Sure, there's the now typical wandering around in the middle portion, but there's enough various plot elements at play that it doesn't detract as much.

A typical Parker novel will have 2 plotlines, one having to do with a case and another having to do with some personal conflict with the protagonist--and with Jesse Stone novels, that's typically Jesse dealing with his ex-wife and excessive drinking. But a few years back, Parker merged his female PI series into the Stone books, and this is the pinnacle of that merge giving us 4 basic plots--the crime Jesse's dealing with, the case Sunny's working, Jesse dealing with Jen and alcohol, and Sunny dealing with her relationship with her ex. That's enough balls in the air at one time that even if the novel's basically at a standstill, you don't notice.

And thankfully, each plotline actually works pretty well. Jesse's investigating a double murder involving some gangsters, Sunny's dealing with a girl who may have been kidnapped/brainwashed by a possible cult (shades of an old Spenser case as is typical of a Sunny story), Jesse's gaining insight (with the help of Sunny/his therapist) into what he expects from a relationship with a woman and how Jen just wouldn't fit that, and Sunny's gaining insight (with the help of Jesse/her shrink) into her relationship needs with men.

Throw in appearances from Spenser regulars, enough name-dropping to tie Jesse's gangsters into the larger Parker-verse, the lines any Parker novel has to have ('We'd be fools not to,' 'Enough with the love talk,' etc.), the glorification of having pet dogs (yet another Parker philosophy that's dead-on), and an actual satisfying conclusion to the investigations and you have yourself a great Parker novel.

Not the book to start reading Stone with (that's Night Passage), but for people who know the characters it's a darn satisfying read.

I should admit I was pretty embarrassed at how long it took me to get the title. In my defense, tho' I really didn't think about it until I saw it out of the corner of my eye printed on top of p. 195 and had an "Well Duhhhh" moment.(less)

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Jul 14, 2010 LaurieH118 rated it 2 of 5 stars

Reading this after Dr. Parker's passing makes it difficult to review. It's hard to separate the book from the poignancy of the event. Robert Parker was a prolific craftsman, a writer who entertained me for so long and I hold many of his characters close to my heart.

But unfortunately Split Image is not a very good book.

Most of my issues come from the addition of Sunny Randall to a Jesse Stone story. While I like both characters, and have hopes that they can make one another happy, in this book he...more

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Jun 05, 2010 Barbara Mitchell rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm a long-time Robert B. Parker fan. In fact, one of the first mystery writers I read was Parker and from then on I was a confirmed mystery novel addict. I'm hoarding the unread Parker novels I received in a gift box recently to savor slowly through the summer.

Split Image is a Jesse Stone novel but in it he joins forces once again with Sunny Randall, Boston P.I. with whom he shares ex-spouse issues. They actually make progress settling those issues in this novel, and high time I think. Jesse's...more

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Apr 14, 2010 T. Edmund rated it 2 of 5 stars

What to say about Split Image?

Fans enjoy the author’s sparse prose, however I felt like I was reading a radio show. One glance at the pages of this book will reveal that most the word-count is dialogue, and I mean dialogue of the ‘witty banter’ kind that most how-to books will tell you to avoid like the plague.

The story appears to be a sticky ball of three typical plot pieces: Chauvinist cults, Russian mobsters and hot blond black widow twins. There’s no skilful blending just random thrown tog...more

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Mar 02, 2010 Jay Connor rated it 3 of 5 stars

Still a little sad at the death of Robert B. Parker, so, as a form of tribute to him, I thought I would try a little experiment with his new (and final) Jesse Stone novel -- "Split Image." Building off the comment I made in my review of his recent Spenser outing, "The Professional," and as a play with the "Split Image" title, I thought I would read "Split Image" and his 2008, "Stranger in Paradise" simultaneously.

I wanted to test the precision of the plotting and the consistency of character. F...more

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Jul 24, 2012 Christopher Everest rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime

This (as far as I know) was the last Jesse Stone book RBP finished. It hits all the buttons; The banter with Molly and Suit, the constant battle as Jesse begins to sort out his drinking and examines his motivations for essentially, every decision he makes, the dangers to Paradise that continue to arise. The detective novel as classic literature. Mark my words RBP will be studied ! In this book Jesse's initial jealous admiration of the marriages of two mobsters to two identical twin sisters chang...more

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Dec 11, 2010 Renee rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really do enjoy the Jesse Stone series, and it is not because I picture Tom Selleck as Jesse...oh, alright, it is partially for that reason. After all, it is watching the occasional TV dramatization that first got me interested in Jesse Stone. I had read some of the Spenser books and also tried a few on audio book when I happened upon the Jesse Stone titles on my local library website.

I think that Parker's books lend themselves particularly well to the audio format due to the spare prose and...more

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May 19, 2011 Randy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Paradise police chief Jesse Stone has two murders on his hands.

Two hoodlums live side-by-side and are married to identical twins. The first murder was a man who worked for one of the hoods and the second was the second hood.

In his investigation, Jesse learns some weird stuff about the sisters. Forty now, back in high school they were known as the Bang Bang Twins. They dressed alike, wore their hair alike, and were prone to switch men without telling anyone until after. Now at forty, they still d...more

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Mar 09, 2010 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: People who like good writing style. crisp dialogue and justice.

Recommended to Richard by: I have tried to read all Mr. Parker's work.

Mr. Parker has another keeper in this story about Jesse Stone, the Paradise Police force and Sunny Randall. Plus a bunch of lowlifes who need to be jailed, and a few who apparently need to die. This, like all his books, is a quick read with lots of white space and terse dialogue. It also includes two of his more zany characters, the twins known as "The Bang Bang sisters".

It is a great pity this author of almost 70 novels including the completion of 2 Philip Marlow books, 3 Non-Fiction books and...more

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Jul 06, 2010 Dyana rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have enjoyed the Jesse Stone made for TV movies so I was eager to read this book in the series. It is a very fast paced fun book to read with witty, snappy dialogue and no deep thinking involved. A good book for hot lazy summer days! This book combines two of Robert B. Parker's series characters - Boston P.I. Sunny Randall and Paradise Chief-of- Police, Jesse Stone. (Tom Selleck does such a good job of portraying Jesse in the movies that that is who I see and hear when reading the books.) Sunn...more

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Jul 01, 2011 Brad Hodges rated it 2 of 5 stars

I've read many books by Robert B. Parker. They're like snack food--not particularly nutritious, but hard to put down. In fact, on more than one occasion I've read them straight through in their entirety. I remember once leaving work from New York City to take a train out to my friend's house in Jersey. I started the book as I waited on the subway platform, and finished it as the New Jersey Transit train was pulling into my destination.

I haven't read a Parker novel in quite a while, and I think i...more I've read many books by Robert B. Parker. They're like snack food--not particularly nutritious, but hard to put down. In fact, on more than one occasion I've read them straight through in their entirety. I remember once leaving work from New York City to take a train out to my friend's house in Jersey. I started the book as I waited on the subway platform, and finished it as the New Jersey Transit train was pulling into my destination.

I haven't read a Parker novel in quite a while, and I think it's because while Parker is an incredibly prolific writer, he also seems to have gotten lazy (Parker died last year, so this is all in present tense). Maybe I was put off by his admitting in an interview that he never rewrites his material, which I don't think any other writer could claim. I don't doubt that he doesn't rewrite, because his books got to be very simple and without depth.

All of the Parker books I'd read were about Spenser, his Boston private eye. He had other series characters, and Split Image, which was his penultimate novel, featured two of them: Jesse Stone, the police chief of a small, coastal Massachusetts town, and Sunny Randall, a female private detective. I was new to both of these characters, but they are both sharply drawn, and have a casual sexual relationship as they get over their exes.

In fact, this book is more about character than plot. There really isn't much of a mystery here. There's a crime--two of them--as a gangster's henchmen is found murdered in the trunk of his car. Stone investigates, and finds that two gangsters, former rivals, live next to each other and are married to identical twin sisters. Stone digs deeper and finds out that these sisters have a reputation of swapping sexual partners (they are known as the "Bang Bang Sisters") without the partners knowing that they're not sleeping with the sister they think they're with.

A subplot involving Randall has her working for a couple trying to get their daughter out of a religious commune. This is one of those common private eye plots that has the detective acting like a white knight, doing what is right rather than what is in the best interests of her client. It's kind of a throwaway; Parker may have thought about it for an entire novel but realized it was too thin and shoved it into this book.

Split Image isn't much of a whodunit, and it's not high on suspense. Neither protagonist is ever in any danger--no shots are fired, and only a couple of punches are thrown (neither by the two heroes). Instead, it focuses on their weaknesses. Stone has a drinking problem, and Randall has daddy issues. Both of them are depicted in their respective analysts offices, having convenient epiphanies (Randall's shrink is Susan Silverman, Spenser's long-time lady love).

Parker is known for his terse, spare writing, making Hemingway seem chatty in comparison. He may have written the shortest sex scene ever, between Stone and Randall: "They made love." But while adjectives may slow him down, it at times becomes comical how he writes as if typing with one finger and on a deadline. The dialogue is equally spare, with most of the characters speaking sarcastically, to the point of glibness.

Parker's characters will live on, as other writers have been hired by his estate to carry them on. I hope they use a few more adjectives and adverbs, and maybe actually create a mystery to ponder.(less)

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Jun 21, 2010 Barbara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Robert Parker,author of more than 60 books, died in January 2010, at the age of 77.He had been married to his wife, Joan, for 53 years and dedicated most of his works to her. He was most noted for his "Spenser" series, but he also penned westerns and young adult novels.

"Split Image", a Jesse Stone mystery, which includes Sunny Randall, another of Parker's characters was one of his last books. Stone was frequently too somber and whiny in other stories, but he seems to have adjusted to life in in...more

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Sep 21, 2012 Frances Levy rated it 4 of 5 stars

It's not only possible, it's likely that you'll adore both Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall in their respective series by Robert B. Parker. Both are decent, honest, likable, and flawed. No pat characters, no pat answers, plenty of LOL wisecracks.

Both the Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall books have a formula, besides murders to be solved. Both Jesse and Sunny are unable to make clean breaks with their ex-spouses and harbor hopes of somehow working things out. Both reluctantly visit a shrink and make so...more It's not only possible, it's likely that you'll adore both Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall in their respective series by Robert B. Parker. Both are decent, honest, likable, and flawed. No pat characters, no pat answers, plenty of LOL wisecracks.

Both the Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall books have a formula, besides murders to be solved. Both Jesse and Sunny are unable to make clean breaks with their ex-spouses and harbor hopes of somehow working things out. Both reluctantly visit a shrink and make some progress. Sunny is probably over the top where her dog is concerned. With Jesse, it's the booze. Both of them "save" at least one teenage girl per book. Sunny has best friend and helpful muscle, Spike; and Jesse has smart and supportive cop Molly Crane. Both Jesse and Sunny have pretty healthy attitudes about sex, human nature, and the true meaning of justice.

In this way, both series are reminiscent of Renaissance Commedia del'Arte: in every story you encounter the same mix of character types and variations of the same plot. (When I taught high school English - way back during the Renaissance - I always gave a couple of weekends of homework assignments to watching the cheesy TV series, "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea." It was the fastest way to teach the kids how Commedia del'Arte worked: in every week's episode, an alien of some type threatened the Nautilus, something terrible happened to the captain or the admiral, and seaman Kowalski fell against the electrical board, setting off fireworks of sparks, as the ship fought for its life. Even knowing this,it was fun to watch. Kind of the same thing with Parker's Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall stories. (Fear not, there's a point to all this.)

What a delight it was to listen to Split Image on CD. For the first time, not only do Jesse and Sunny work out their respective cases together and have a real relationship, but both of them have significant psychological breakthroughs, so the conclusion of the story is not just dramatically satisfying but emotionally thrilling. Reading Split Image when it was published in 2010 must have been tantalizing to fans of both the Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall series. (Hey, today - in September 2012 - even I found myself hoping for the next book!)

And then Parker went and died.(less)

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Mar 09, 2012 Kathy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Jesse - the first book without jenn (at least not via person or phone) and only one night of drinking to the point of passing out. He and Sandy Randall are connected, both thinking about the other, both supportive of one another... Sandy's exhusband just had a baby, she must give up any remote hope that they would get back together... through therapy (with Susan) she realizes that she was afraid of being her mother & sister, subservient to a man - and that a man too perfect she could love bu...more Jesse - the first book without jenn (at least not via person or phone) and only one night of drinking to the point of passing out. He and Sandy Randall are connected, both thinking about the other, both supportive of one another... Sandy's exhusband just had a baby, she must give up any remote hope that they would get back together... through therapy (with Susan) she realizes that she was afraid of being her mother & sister, subservient to a man - and that a man too perfect she could love but would not feel safe - perhaps Jesse was imperfect enough. Jesse gets a bit of therapy and understanding after seeing twins married to two thugs who seemed to be subservient to them, and realized that his expectations of Jenn was never a possibility.

the cases... Sandy has parents who want her to bring their daughter home. Her daughter is part of the Bond fellowship in Paradise, a commune but not quite cult. She talks with her, offers to help her leave, goes to the parents and tells them she is okay, and the parents dismiss her. A few weeks later the 'prophet' tells Jesse that the girl is missing, they investigate, and by good detectiving by Sandy find the center she is being held at... she calls the director pretending to be with child services and asking that they produce her at 9am the following day, they wait outside, and sure enough a drugged girl is taken out to the van where Sunny & ______ rescue her, take her home, medical care, and for the drug to wear off. she goes back to the bond, after Sunny & ________ blackmail them into providing for her contiues support... but the she comes to Sandy because the prophet forced her on pain of being dismissed to have sex with investors, and after doing it once, she leaves for Sandy... Sandy & Jesse get the other woment to admit to the same... and the bond breaks up..

and the twins (BoomBoom twins - because they were easy, and they would pretend to be the other with the one they were having sex with) married two gangsters... one body guard is found dead, and then one husband (the uglier, baser one) is found dead. The boomboom twins like have sex with men together, husband found out, had him killed. With the help of the body'guard's Russian bride, who tapes her laisons with one of the suspects, and gets his confession for killing the two gangsters... and (less)

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Aug 31, 2011 Andrea Larson rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book is a tale of the Bangston twins, both married to leaders of organized crime, living next door to each other in matching mansions, and nicknamed the Bang Bang Twins, for their promiscuity. When murder is involved, however, Jesse Stone, chief of police for Paradise, MA, is called in to find out who killed the bodyguard and one of the twins' husbands.

A substory to this one is when Sunny Randall comes to town to find an 18 year old daughter of some very weathly clients. The daughter has, a...more

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Nov 20, 2010 bookczuk rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audio, bookcrossing, favorite-author, good-but-made-me-sad, thank-you-charleston-county-library

I love Robert B Parker books. I know that some folks hate his "he said. She said" style of conversation, but I like it. I like the mysteries and the ongoing development of the characters. The reason this book made me sad, was because I realized I'm coming in the homestretch of RBP books because of his death last year. But at least I now feel that Sunny and Jesse aren't left out in limbo as I did with the last book I'd read. They each have found some solid footing to plant their lives on and it a...more

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Mar 19, 2010 Donna in Southern Maryland rated it 4 of 5 stars

I love this series, and I always see and hear Tom Selleck as I read them. If this is to be our last visit to Paradise, I can be happy with the discoveries that Jesse and Sunny have finally gained through visits to their respective therapists.

Two interesting cases are told. Sunny comes to town to find an 18 year old girl her parents think has been taken in by some kind of religious cult. As always, Spike is around for the rescue.

Jesse is involved in investigating a couple of murders of supposed...more

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Apr 26, 2013 Jerry rated it 3 of 5 stars

One of the most prolific mystery writers of our times, Parker is probably best known for his some 40-book “Spenser” series; but this one features an entrée from his 11-book Jesse Stone set. Perhaps the title – “Split Image” – is reflective of the fact that Sunny Randall, a Boston-based private eye with her own Parker series (six books) is featured along with Paradise Mass. Police Chief Stone – so they spend much of this story informally helping each other with their two active cases; and for tha...more

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Nov 09, 2012 Mei rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 22, 2013 Villager rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I listened to this audio-CD on a recent road trip from Cincinnati to Chicago. I like Jesse Stone, however, I didn't realize that this was the 9th book in the series ... I've missed a few. I also didn't know the story of Sonny Randall, but, I take it that there are prior stories that have included her as well.

This story had a unique story that includes identical twins. For any American male ... the idea of a threesome with identical twins is compelling ... and as such, it was nice to see that ima...more

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Jul 01, 2010 Glee rated it 2 of 5 stars

I've enjoyed the Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall series, but this one was even lighter than usual, and while familiar and nicely uncomplicated, not very satisfying. If I had to guess, I would guess that maybe Parker hadn't finished the book when he passed away this year. It had an even more abrupt and unresolved ending than any of his other books. Sometimes (always?) he leaves personal relationships between characters unresolved at the end of a book, but this one just seemed to stop.

I'd still reco...more

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Jun 29, 2010 Roger rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm a big Jesse Stone fan, even before Tom Selleck played him in the TV movies. He's a perfect fit for the character. But this book is so spare, you wonder how Parker justified not doing any backstory for the characters. If I hadn't read most of the Stone books before this one, I would have been completely lost. Nonetheless, it's a nice quick novel to read. Love the budding romance with Sunny Randall. But since there's little background about Jesse or Sunny's former relationships, the uninformed...more

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Aug 05, 2012 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: detective, mystery-adventure, robert-b-parker, jesse-stone

I discovered Jesse Stone through the movies with Tom Selleck and discovered that the books are good fun too. My one big complaint would be how large a part Stone's ex wife Jenn plays in the books where the movies give her a fairly smallish part. In both mediums she is a large part of Jesse's psychological make-up.

SPLIT IMAGE is a Jesse Stone novel but he joins forces once again with Sunny Randall, Boston P.I. with whom he shares ex-spouse issues. They both seem to fancy eachother a lot but the l...more

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About Robert B. Parker

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database named Robert B. Parker.
Robert Brown Parker was an American crime writer. His most famous works were the novels about the private detective Spenser. ABC television network developed the television series Spenser: For Hire based on the character in the late 1980s; a series of TV movies based on the character were also produced....more

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avg rating	preview: Split Image Goodreads rating: 3.87 (3041 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6658779-split-image?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348480871l/6658779.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6658779-split-image?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Split Image by Robert B. Parker[/url]

Split Image (Jesse Stone #9)

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