Robert B. Parker's Killing the Blues

Michael Brandman successfully takes over the Robert B. Parker Jesse Stone police procedurals

Paradise, Massachusetts is gearing up for the summer tourist season with the Board of Selectmen hiring events planner Alexis Richardson to put the town on the map as a happening place. Chief of Police Jesse Stone is attracted to her and they have an affair though neither wants to get to serious. He has no time to move their relationship to the next level as he has two different criminals converging on the town.

A crime wave begins with two Hondas stolen. The higher-ups think that someone is setting up a chop shop. When a third car is stolen, the owner fights thief, but is killed enabling the felon to escape. Jesse finds and holds the thief incommunicado under he tells him who is boss is. On a personal note, Rollo Nurse is released from a California penitentiary and is coming east to kill Jesse who used excessive force that caused permanent damage to the career criminal. Rollo starts killing dogs before he turns to arson and ends up finally killing a cop. Jesse has other issues and crimes to deal with including an indifferent principal, a sexual predator teacher and a student who held the principal hostage. Jesse works all these problems while expecting a not too social visit from Rollo.

Michael Brandman successfully takes over the Robert B. Parker Jesse Stone police procedurals with a strong entry that captures the essence of the small town sheriff. The story line is filled with action as the caseload is overwhelming but Jesse keeps working all of them while he and fans await the confrontation. The author captures the magic of Mr. Parker's writing style ensuring readers will want to read this special police procedural series until it ends.

Harriet Klausner

6 out of 9 people found this review helpful.

Low expectations don't always result in avoiding disappointment

I certainly did not expect Brandman's novel to come close to capturing Parker's style or witty dialogue, but I did expect--perhaps naively--more than a disguised screenplay for a made-for-tv movie. Why the Parker family allowed a screenwriter rather than a seasoned novelist to take over this series defies logic, particularly since Parked himself did such a brilliant job of taking over Chandler's "Poodle Springs". Likely due to his background as a screenwriter, Brandman clearly eschews developing characters through dialogue--a skill of which Parker was an indisbutable master and relies on a more visual presentation of a weak story. About the only thing that Brandman's Stone has in common with Parker's Stone is the name. A preposterous plot (in which Jesse has no problem inexplicably resorting to felony kidnapping and setting up a bad guy to be murdered by another bad guy, but yet feels the need to enforce a noise ordinance at the expense of the town's economy and his new squeeze's interests}. Here, Stone is reduced to a sniveling PETA type--a stray cat gives meaning to his life (no kidding). If you expect anything remotely like a Parker novel avoid this book. I wasted the better part of my day slogging through this painfully poor imitation. If you a looking for another installment in Brandman's post-Parker made-for-tv Jesse Stone movies, wait for the film. It can't be as bad as the book. Let's just hope that Ace Atkins fares better with the Spenser series.

5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

Excellent

Absolutely Fantastic. Great read. Was very happy to read about Jesse again.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Forget it this is not Parker's Jesse Stone

You would think that if someone was going to assume a charcter from a deceased auther he would have read the previous 9 books or at least watched some of he TV movies.
He starts with Jesse still living in a condo - wrong.
His Jesse is using words that Parker's Spenser might use but not Jesse.
He better adapt soon or it may one book and out.

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

A flashback?

Too many inconsistancies-Jess living in a condo and just moving into this island house, no dog but a stray cat, less angst and more self control. The dialogue is off and it's clear that Brandman never read (or ignored) Jesse Stone's story line up to now.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Awful!

The biggest problem with this book is it was written by a screenwriter, NOT Robert B. Parker, and that's how it reads. Like a screenplay. Almost no narrative or descriptions. Almost entirely dialogue. I feel like I was taken advantage of and wasted my money on this book. Shame on the publishers for trying to make a buck off of Parker's name.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

No disappointment here!

I've read everything Parker has ever written and for the first 30 or so pages I was painfully aware that this wasn't Parker. However, it was an easy groove to get into. This Jesse isn't the Jesse from either the books or curiously the movies. He seems less troubled, more sure of himself, less of a victim. In short he seems a little like Spenser, which is something I do not mind.

Clearly not Parker, but equally clearly a very good read with a similar easy to consume style. I will absolutely read anything else he does. I enjoyed when Parker wrote Chandler and I will similarly enjoy when Brandman does Parker.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Loved it. Good job!

Happy to catch up with Jesse Stone again. So sorry RBP is gone. Hope someone is looking into Spenser.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

not up to par to Parker's standard

This is an ok read but this is a real poor attempt at the Stone character. Where Parker made his characters feel like flesh & blood this author makes them mearly cardboard cutouts. Dialogue is bad to say the least. Easy to read as there is no substannce. I hope they do a better job with Spenser and I would hope they would find someone else to do the next Stone, If there is a next one.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

I was so happy to find that Brandman has continued the Jesse Sto

I was so happy to find that Brandman has continued the Jesse Stone series. He reproduces Parker's style so well. We surely miss Robert B. Parker, but it is great to know that the characters he created in this series live on. I am looking forward to the next in the series, and have pre-ordered for the release later this year. If you love the Jesse Stone series, this book will not disappoint you.

Parker fan

The dialogue in this book is wrong. Stone was a man of very few words. He never lived in a condo or owned a cat. It is news to me that Captain Healy lives in Paradise instead of Boston? I am glad to see the character to live on, but it will take some getting used to.

Not Bad

Clearly Robert B. Parker is sorely missed. Michael Brandman¿s KILLING THE BLUES ¿passes¿ as the maestro¿s work. Though Parker and Brandman collaborated on the A & E TV Movie scripts, glaring storyline mistakes will jar true Parker fans. Jesse Stone is now the character as portrayed in said films. Hasty is out of prison and back on Paradise¿s Selectman Committee. Really? Stone has moved from his condo to the house made popular in the Stone movie trilogy. Molly is there only for her quick banter, and Sunny is gone. Granted, I¿ve just read the first book in the original series, but I found the dialogue inane in this outing. Stone didn¿t ring true as he did in NIGHT PASSAGE. The plot was good ¿ so A for effort, D+ for execution. Summer is approaching in Paradise, MA. A string of car thefts has Chief Stone determined to break up the car ring, but not before a body is discovered. Jesse has another problem: Rollo Nurse is out of prison and headed towards Paradise with revenge on his mind. Numerous pet deaths also keep the police department busy. Then there is a hostage situation at the junior high school. For good measure, Brandman throws in a new romance for our hapless hero. Fans of the Stone movies will enjoy KILLING THE BLUES. Fans of Robert B. Parker may not though, if they approach Brandman¿s books as a continuation of Selleck¿s movie Jesse Stone character.

Surprised ~~~

I was pleasantly surprised how well this book turned out. I wasn't sure how Michael Brandman was going to do taking over the writing of Robert Parker so I decided not to spend any $$ on it and just took it out in my hometown library. It was fast reading, good story lines and also made me laugh. I will be looking forward to more Jesse Stone Novels!

A good first attempt to takeover for Robert Parker

I thought Michael Brandman did a pretty good job with taking over the reins of Jesse Stone from the deceased Robert Parker. There are a couple of inconsistencies in Jesse's life that you can quickly overcome. The wit and humor is present and the story provides good continuity in the life of Jesse Stone. I really enjoyed the book.

Good read and looking forward to more.

Nice to see that Michael Brandman keeps the flow the same as Parker.

It blows.

Recommend

Enjoyed this book and can only regret the death of Mr. Parker. I enjoy the TV movie series based on the Jesse Stone character, but don't particularly care for the changes in characters and characterizations.

Classic Parker

Everything I expected from a RBP book.

Only 175 pages???

I enjoyed the book... but $12.99 for less than 175 pages of story. Robert B. you should be ashamed. If I had noticed the page count, I would be $13 to the good.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Jesse Stone Continues

I agree that Michael Brandman has taken over for Robert B. Parker. I was not disappointed in this book and eagerly await for more to come.
Perhaps Mr. Brandman can also take over the "Sunny Randall series" as Sunny and Jesse have a history.