Night Passage (Jesse Stone Novels)
by Robert B. Parker
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Book Summary Information
Author: Robert B. ParkerEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-07-01
ISBN: 0425183963
Number of pages: 416
Publisher: Berkley
Book Reviews of Night Passage (Jesse Stone Novels)
Book Review: From Sea to Shining Sea With Stately Grace and a few Black Label "hic"s
Summary: 5 Stars
Possibly as Parker intended, at first I felt sad to be reading a character without Spenser's philosophy of life and inner strength, though the read baited curiosity in all the right ways and places. The plot took off and continued with a smooth, deep, almost silent style. I enjoyed the easy way Parker showed Jesse's slips into memories of Jennifer (using a simple technique of ...) as he drove across the USA on Route 66, LA to Paradise, Massachusetts.
Jesse Stone seemed like a young Spenser maneuvering through a few less bright choices than Spenser might have made, showing how Stone's choices dimmed his path. Thankfully, Stone wasn't totally stoned, hadn't abandoned his heart. He seemed to be living on a precipice of dynamically balanced shadow and light. I liked his quiet, stately strength and self-acceptance.
His relationships in his new setting as Police Chief developed in easy, slow ways, and sometimes I saw kaleidoscopes of past books I've reviewed in the Spenser series, shifting bold bits of color chips into NIGHT PASSAGE, this pilot for the Jesse Stone series. I attempted to place Tom Selleck into the story as Jesse, which was easy to do, even though I haven't seen any of the movies (no TV connection on the mesa in rural Colorado where we've been living temporarily for 3 years).
I enjoyed the way Jesse worked into solid relationships with men working for him, establishing respect with an easy flow. Reminding me of SCHOOL DAYS (# 33 Spenser, copyright 2005, which might have been an out-slip from this part of NIGHT PASSAGE), the exchange between Jesse and the teen girl, Michelle Merchant, was especially telling of his mind-set, and skills of connecting with the most stubborn of stuck.
It was interesting to wonder if some scenes had Parker itching to step in Spenser to tell Jesse how to deal with various issues, especially his booze and relationships with Jenn and new women in his life. I enjoyed the inclusion of Spenser characters, Dr. St. Clare, Vinnie Morris, and Gino Fish.
About 3/4 into the novel, when I stepped into chapter 56 with the dance at The Yacht Club, a nag which had been percolating surfaced fully. I had been conscious of it for several chapters, and when I reached The Yacht Club dance I realized how I might determine if the nag had truth in it. Even though this novel was as good as any in the Spenser series, I had begun to sense that the style difference from that series was so dramatic, and felt so youthful, beyond the fact that Jesse Stone is a younger, quieter character than Spenser... I had begun to sense that NIGHT PASSAGE may have been written close to 1970, five years prior to the Spenser pilot, THE GODWULF MANUSCRIPT:
One of Parker's signatures has been to incorporate a variety of "cultural icons" which were running concurrent with his early-draft writing phases, including how people dressed (for success or lack of it), talked, and thought: When did we began recommending to get shrunk, when did feminism take a surge, etc. The most tasty and telling cultural icons in Parker's writing, though, are those describing what people are eating, how his characters nurture themselves, what they think about what's culinarily good or bad (when did coffee get a bad name; when did orange-bottomed-decaff-pots begin joining back-bottomed "regulars" in restaurants).
All of the above icons were present, though not yet accounted for, in NIGHT PASSAGE. Most of them, from my memories, were at their heated, primed stages in the late 60's early 70's. But, what topped off my identification of that time period was the banquet table at The Yacht Club dance: When did crock pots become popular? When did we begin serving "Nuts and Bolts" at parties, that concoction of mixed cereals which we made from scratch, baking it after spraying with oil, sprinkling on salt and Kraft grated Parmesan cheese? When did we use Campbell's soup for many of our sauces or flavorings for casserole's and such?
Think about this as you read the detailed description of that banquet table, because there's much more than noted above.
On the other hand (in the other pot), possibly NIGHT PASSAGE was merely set in the time period indicated, yet was written near the copyright date of 1997?
Either way, this is an excellent novel and a perfect start of a new series. I look forward to noting cultural cons and icons spicing the pages of subsequent novels in this series. Mostly, I look forward to savoring each (the stories and their icons).
Are we what we eat, how we talk, dress, and think? If so, Robert B. Parker has captured us gloriously in the act of all of it, through my favorite series (now two) of novels in classic literature. No, I didn't say private eye genre. Parker uses that genre beautifully, but his books are true classics within the annals of cultural conversations. His novels have subtly stepped beyond any literary fence.
Sacred Are The Signs of Our Times (maybe cows, too)?
Linda Shelnutt
Summary of Night Passage (Jesse Stone Novels)
The author of two dozen Spenser novels as well as numerous other works of fiction, Robert B. Parker is no stranger to either critical or popular acclaim. With his hallmark sharp wit and taut action, Parker has created in the Spenser series the standard against which all contemporary detective novels are measured, and a character considered the paragon of private eyes. In Night Passage, Parker sets the bar even higher, with the introduction of Jesse Stone, a hero cut from different cloth.After a busted marriage kicks his drinking problem into overdrive and the LAPD unceremoniously dumps him, the thirty-five-year-old Stone's future looks bleak. So he's shocked when a small Massachusetts town called Paradise recruits him as police chief. He can't help wondering if this job is a genuine chance to start over, the kind of offer he can't refuse.
Once on board, Jesse doesn't have to look for trouble in Paradise: it comes to him. For what is on the surface a quiet New England community quickly proves to be a crucible of political and moral corruption--replete with triple homicide, tight Boston mob ties, flamboyantly errant spouses, maddened militiamen and a psychopath-about-town who has fixed his violent sights on the new lawman. Against all this, Jesse stands utterly alone, with no one to trust; even he and the woman he's seeing are like ships that pass in the night. He finds he must test his mettle and powers of command to emerge a local hero--or the deadest of dupes.
As the flagship volume in a new series featuring a complex and engaging sleuth, Night Passage is cause for celebration.
Fans often feel uneasy when the creator of a popular character ventures into new turf, and sometimes their trepidation is justified. But readers of Robert B. Parker's immensely popular Spenser series can breathe a sigh of relief: while Night Passage doesn't feature Spenser, his usual gang of associates, or a Boston setting, it's vintage Parker--fast, witty, suspenseful, and engaging. Told in short, crisp chapters, it's the story of Jesse Stone, a 34-year-old ex-cop who just lost his L.A. policeman's job and his marriage due to a drinking problem. The book opens as Stone leaves California for his new job as chief of police in the picturesque town of Paradise, Massachusetts.
But Paradise isn't as placid as it seems--in fact, it's a festering mass of petty corruption, right-wing militia, sexual scandal, and bad guys who favor strong-arm tactics. Night Passage boasts a delicious, classic setup: the lone lawman, new in town, must make his stand to clean the place up. Stone has been picked for the job because the town fathers figured he'd be weak and malleable; as he gradually pulls himself together, it turns out they have a surprise in store. Stone's qualities may remind you of Spenser's--he's taciturn, fearless, good-looking, and compassionate--and in the end the plot's pleasing complexities get resolved a bit simply. But Robert B. Parker is in fine form in Night Passage, with his smart-aleck wit under control and his prose at its economical best. Spenser fans and Parker neophytes alike will find plenty to enjoy here. And the setting is, after all, not far from Boston--dare we hope for a Spenser-Stone meeting in future books?
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