Customer Reviews

Night Passage

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

i am still waiting to receive my book i have the second one in the series but not the first been waiting for more thena month...

Night Passage is the first in a series starring Jesse Stone. Jesse is a Los Angeles homicide detective that was fired for drinking on the job. He has just received a divorce from a starlet and has been offered a job in Massachusetts as Police Chief. He isn't quite sure why they hired him, because he was drunk when he was interviewed, but he didn't really care. Mr. Parker writes dialogue in most of the book, but he does do that well. There is a lot going on in the book that may or may not be related and it is the story of taking the clues and putting the pieces together. This is not a whodunit. It is more about how they are caught. I am going to read the rest of this series, because I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

It is usually not a good sign when a series author decides to branch out to a new series; it usually means that the author himself has become bored with his creation and wishes to stretch his writing muscles a bit with something new. At best, this gives the faithful reader a new reason to enjoy his favorite author. At worst, the previous creation becomes a sort of exercise in frustration as the writer focuses his attention on his new baby.

In Robert B. Parker's case, we get the latter. Parker had already registered his continued contempt for his first creation, Spenser, by allowing the stories to get maudlin and sloppy, the margins to get wider and wider, and by publishing two installments of new Philip Marlowe adventures, as well as creating a new series starring a female private eye named Sunny Randall. To add insult to injury, here are we are now with "Night Passage", a fourth series concerning an L.A. cop named Jesse Stone transplanted to Paradise, Massachusetts, a bucolic little town on the Atlantic Ocean.

Jesse, plagued by drink and a wishy-washy ex-wife, sets out to remake himself as Chief of Policein a town where no one knows his name. But things get confusing when the department cat is murdered, followed by the killing of the previous chief of police and finally, a young, unwed mother. Jesse is, underneath it all, a good cop, so he is able to pull himself together, solve the crimes and have casual sex with a couple of ladies, thereby working on his abandonment issues.

Parker seems intent on making Stone as different from Spenser as possible, but the differences are superficial. Where Spenser is a hulking ex-boxer, Stone is slight. Spenser enjoys a beer or a glass of fine champagne once in a while but is, ultimately, in control, but Stone is a drunk just barely keeping his head above water. Where Spenser's relationship is stable to the point of saccharine sweetness, Stone's is wobbly. Spenser has Hawk. Stone has . . . Suitcase Simpson,. a gangly redheaded police officer. But none of this matters. The writer is still Parker, the soul is still Spenser.

Nearly half the novel is taken with Jesse's drive across country and settling in to Paradise. By the time Parker gets around to leveling the plot, we almost wish he hadn't; it is ridiculously unlikely and unworthy of a writer of Parker's heart and intelligence.

What makes this novel a good read are the spare, Hemingwayesque prose, the likeable secondary characters, the hints of what is to come. It's an okay start and, I'm not giving anything away, the second book in the series is a grand-slam homerun of a book. You don't need to read this book to enjoy the second (I didn't, until after), but it may set your mind at ease.

I've just recently been fortunate enough to stumble across Robert B. Parker's work, and I must say I'm truly sorry it's taken so long!

I have yet to read any of the Spencer books (I seem to be going in reverse order somehow), and even though this is the first Jesse Stone book, it's the second one I've read. I made the comment after reading Trouble In Paradise that even though it was second in the series, the reader didn't feel lost in Paradise, as it were. That feeling still stands, but I have to admit the background of exactly how Jesse found Paradise does put the second book in a somewhat better perspective. Even though, as another reviewer mentioned, the ending sort of seemed rushed, as if time was up and the pencils had to be put down, in retrospect, it really does set the stage for the next Jesse Stone book.

I can't put my hands on it, but for some reason I felt this book was not written quite as well as the other Parker books I've read, yet it was still very interesting, compelling, and filled with in depth characterizations of the many personalities in Paradise even though while reading it, sometimes it didn't seem that way. OK, breathe, Michael ;)

One of the things I enjoyed about the book were the very short chapters; of course, it didn't stop me from reading the book in a couple of days, since it IS very fast reading, but it's nice to know that if you're reading this at bedtime you can get to a natural break without going 30 pages to finish a chapter.

I'm very much looking forward to reading many more books by Mr. Parker. I hope this review helps you come to the same decision!

After doing Spenser for so long it is time Parker tried something different even if it is in his own back yard. But he hasn't managed yet to break entirely free. In spite of everything he still has to borrow a character or two from the Spenser novels. Boo. Even so, Parker has taken the tentative first step towards creating an entirely new series. This book may not be Parker's best but it is still a good read. Try it, you may get hooked.

Robert Parker is my favorite author, and "Night Passage" is the best of many excellent books. An imperfect hero, with his struggle with alcohol and his failed marriage, Jesse Stone heads east from LA to Paradise Mass, to begin his life again as the chief of police in a small town.
The need to be a cop, a good cop, is what will save Jesse as he tries to work out the conflicts of his past and deal with crime and politics in Paradise.
Parker is an insightful author; he lets you see without forcing it, takes you along for the story without pushing. I hope he writes at least 30 more novels.

I love Spenser (even 'Spenser for Hire'). His strength, indomitability, intelligence, wit and integrity are in short supply in this world, and a well written story (and Parker CAN write) that showcases these character traits makes me feel warm and fuzzy all over.

Stone is smart and competent, and his heart is in the right place. But he's entirely without humor, alone (no Hawk for backup and witty repartee), and spends all of his non-working time feeling sorry for himself because of his recent divorce. And there's no worthy protagonist! Only a couple of spineless, loony bozos. (Vinnie Morris, a frequent and interesting Spenser opponent is here in a very minor role, but as I recall he and Stone never meet.)

There is one constant in this comparison of the two. Stone's ex-wife is also sans any worthwhile qualities (Stone loves her primarily because she's 'quirky'). Susan, Spenser's main squeeze is similarly unendowed, but redeemed herself somewhat in later books. So, as is the wont of such heroes, both Stone and Spenser are true-blue to their self-absorbed partners.

Overall, the story is just OK. Stone's character is just OK. Parker's narrative talents as usual are terrific. But what is missing is our hero's frequent manipulation of the characters and the system to provide an unexpected ending that matches his unusual sense of justice and unity. These conclusions may not at first satisfy the reader, but after some thought can be appreciated nonetheless.

For those who would rate Parker's talents having read only 'Night Passage', don't! Read Spenser. Some of my favorites (in no particular order): 'Early Autumn', 'Small Vices', 'Ceremony', 'Paper Doll', 'Valediction', 'Looking for Rachel Wallace', 'Pastime'.

...I enjoyed 'Night Passage' it was a modern day western with a very likeable hero.

I too am an avid fan of Robert Parker and Spenser, and was sure a book without Spenser would be a disappointment - How wrong I was!! Mr. Parker does it again and gives us a page-turner that you won't want to put down. Can't wait for his next one!

Who does Robert B. Parker think he's fooling? Jesse Stone, along with the 'new' female detective Sunny, and Philip Marlowe too as Parker writes him, are just re-workings of Spenser. Same personal problems, same cohorts, same basic plots. Admittedly Spenser is more worthy of repetition than some other characters, but come on! It's as if he only knows how to write one or two characters and one or two stories. I guess as long as he can sell them, he'll keep re-working the same stories. I won't buy them though.