David Schwinghammer's Blog - Posts Tagged "jesse-stone"
Robert B. Parker's The Hangman's Sonnet
As many of you know, Robert B. Parker is no long among us. Since his passing, Michael Brandman (never read him) and Reed Farrel Coleman have continued the Jesse Stone series.
The hardest part to capture is Jesse Stone's dialogue, which is most evident when he's having a discussion with his deputy, Suit, who is almost as laconic. Reed Farrel Coleman, an experienced mystery writers captures Jesse's style rather well, although he sometimes over does it. Coleman has written the last four episodes.
In this one, Jesse is on an alcoholic binge due the murder of his fiancee'. But he tries to keep it together because Suit is getting married, and he's the best man. Meanwhile, an old woman is murdered. Jesse finds out who the culprits are through his connections with the Boston underworld. In short order, one of them turns up dead.
So . . . who hired these ex-cons to do the job? They weren't looking for money and the old woman's jewelry is still there, except for one valuable ring one of them takes without the other's knowledge. The other guy finds the key to a safety deposit box without telling his partner.
Meanwhile Jesse wards off the ambitious mayor and her assistant who know about his drinking and want him gone. He finds a connection to the missing album, THE HANGMAN'S SONNET, which was recorded by a Bob Dylan clone, Terry Hester, who was supposed to be as good or better than Dylan. Jesse finds out the old woman rented out rooms, and he has his deputy search her house for some kind of registration book. As a result he gets a lead as to who might have stolen the album. The culprit is also taunting the police and Jesse. He sends a poem written by Hester to Roscoe Niles, who used to be the Dick Clark of New England disk jockeys, who has been going to seed lately. Jesse quickly posits the man behind the murders is trying to stir up the press so that the bids are higher for the missing album if he indeed has it. The plot clues us in on how the old woman was connected to the missing album.
Okay, so is this enjoyable enough to contend with Robert B. Parker?This might seem trivial but, there is no dog. Jesse usually talks to his dog when he's muddling through his latest challenge. Ozzie Smith takes the dog's place in this episode (Jesse has a picture on one of his walls of Ozzie doing his acrobatics). For you non-baseball fans, Ozzie Smith may have been the greatest defensive shortstop to ever play the game, the same position Jesse played until he hurt his arm. You probably won't be able to guess who was behind this mess, but the number of possible candidates will keep you turning the pages.
The hardest part to capture is Jesse Stone's dialogue, which is most evident when he's having a discussion with his deputy, Suit, who is almost as laconic. Reed Farrel Coleman, an experienced mystery writers captures Jesse's style rather well, although he sometimes over does it. Coleman has written the last four episodes.
In this one, Jesse is on an alcoholic binge due the murder of his fiancee'. But he tries to keep it together because Suit is getting married, and he's the best man. Meanwhile, an old woman is murdered. Jesse finds out who the culprits are through his connections with the Boston underworld. In short order, one of them turns up dead.
So . . . who hired these ex-cons to do the job? They weren't looking for money and the old woman's jewelry is still there, except for one valuable ring one of them takes without the other's knowledge. The other guy finds the key to a safety deposit box without telling his partner.
Meanwhile Jesse wards off the ambitious mayor and her assistant who know about his drinking and want him gone. He finds a connection to the missing album, THE HANGMAN'S SONNET, which was recorded by a Bob Dylan clone, Terry Hester, who was supposed to be as good or better than Dylan. Jesse finds out the old woman rented out rooms, and he has his deputy search her house for some kind of registration book. As a result he gets a lead as to who might have stolen the album. The culprit is also taunting the police and Jesse. He sends a poem written by Hester to Roscoe Niles, who used to be the Dick Clark of New England disk jockeys, who has been going to seed lately. Jesse quickly posits the man behind the murders is trying to stir up the press so that the bids are higher for the missing album if he indeed has it. The plot clues us in on how the old woman was connected to the missing album.
Okay, so is this enjoyable enough to contend with Robert B. Parker?This might seem trivial but, there is no dog. Jesse usually talks to his dog when he's muddling through his latest challenge. Ozzie Smith takes the dog's place in this episode (Jesse has a picture on one of his walls of Ozzie doing his acrobatics). For you non-baseball fans, Ozzie Smith may have been the greatest defensive shortstop to ever play the game, the same position Jesse played until he hurt his arm. You probably won't be able to guess who was behind this mess, but the number of possible candidates will keep you turning the pages.
