The author did a beautiful job in continuing the saga of Jesse Stone , demons and all. This was not my favorite of the Jesse Stone books but it was much more than adequate. Good development of the subject matter, and of the characters themselves. I did think that the story became too procedural at times. I especially did like the crossover with Sunny Randall,and will look forward to the relationship continuing in his next book.

Mike Lupica did it again!!! Great job with the latest Jesse Stone. Loved the crossover with Sunny Randall. Fast-paced, well-written .... Once I started, I had to finish!!

Thank you #netgalley and #penguingroupputnam for the eARC.

A tantalizing mix of suspense and murder, written in a glued-to-your-chair/bed/lounge manner that guarantees late nights -- or very early mornings. Empathetic characters and enough diabolical plot twists to fill a nightmare, this book comes from me with very high recommendation. You'll only regret the potential loss of sleep!

*This book was provided to me as an ARC, and at no charge from the author or publisher, in return for my honest review."

When an unknown man is found murdered in Paradise, Jesse Stone will have his hands full finding out who he was--and what he was seeking. I loved this addition to the Jesse Stone series. I have really enjoyed watching this character evolve over the years and this is him at his dysfunctional finest. Well plotted, great dialog and a believable mystery really made this an outstanding addition to the long running series. Robert B. Parker would be proud. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

Robert B. Parker's Fool's Paradise
by Mike Lupica
PENGUIN GROUP Putnam
G.P. Putnam's Sons
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 08 Sep 2020 | Archive Date 08 Sep 2020

Another good addition to the Jesse Stone series. Love the mysteries and suspense in this book.
Thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the ARC. I will recommend it to our patrons.
5 star

In Robert B. Parker's Fool's Paradise (G.P. Putnam 2020), #19 in the Jesse Stone series originally begun by Robert Parker and now continued by his estate, the murder of a recovering alcoholic in Paradise sets Chief Jesse Stone on a long path of tangled clues. It starts out complicated when Jesse realizes he knows the man and gets moreso when the case takes an unexpected turn.

For a police drama, this one has lots of attitude. Jesse talks often about how he got where he is, as the chief law enforcement in this small town, as do many of the other characters, sharing their introspection on life. At times, to me, these diversions overshadowed the police work and approached becoming a distraction to why I selected a police drama novel. Other readers might come away feeling more connected to the characters.

Whichever side you fall on, you'll definitely agree that Lupica tells this story with a sense of humor and a light touch that keeps events from becoming too serious. Here are some of my favorite lines:

“I think of myself as a work in progress” 

"...having a hangover was like having a second job."


"... he’d rather be caught wearing women’s clothing than catch another floater."

"Molly Crane had always said he was the alonest man she’d ever known."

Overall, a worthwhile read if you want your police chiefs to be human and not too busy to be friendly and personable. A note. If you watched the TV show with Jesse Stone, this series is much better.

Another good addition to the Jesse Stone series. This one was a bit on the slow side to start, it focused on Jesses sobriety and personal relationships. Once it got going there was plenty of intrigue and quite a few dead bodies. There is more than one mystery in this book. I look forward to the next book in this series. It’s like reconnecting with a good friend you haven’t seen in awhile. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

I've read - and thoroughly enjoyed - this author's updates of the late Robert B. Parker's Sunny Randall series. But if he's penned any other in the Jesse Stone series, I missed reading them. That said, I'll make sure it won't happen again. While none of Parker's characters will ever surpass Spenser in my book, Jesse comes in at a close second (admittedly, the casting of hunky Tom Selleck in the TV movies moved him up a notch or two).

Honestly, warming up to this one took some time; much of the first half, at least, seemed more focused on the affirmation - or reaffirmation - of Jesse's relatively newfound sobriety and crazy mixed-up love life than action-filled plot. But then, it took off - and kept going at top speed right to the end.

As this one begins, residents of Paradise, Massachusetts, are celebrating the reopening of the town's historic movie theater; fundraising efforts to rebuild were spearheaded by wealthy Lily Cain, one of Jesse's friends. But the reverie is interrupted by a call from Luther "Suitcase" Simpson, one of Jesse's detectives. A dead man, he reports, has been found near the lake. Further complicating matters is that there's no immediate way to identify the body, but Jesse recognizes him from a recent AA meeting both attended. That, too, is somewhat of a dead end, since AA protocol mandates never revealing last names. After more digging, the only clue is that the man apparently stopped at the Cain family compound not long before he was killed.

Things start to get even more complicated as the welfare and lives of Jesse, Suitcase and Deputy Molly Crane are threatened. Those incidents may be tied to the murdered man, or maybe not; suspicions start pointing to an old rape case that involved young perpetrators who may be looking for revenge. Early on in the investigation, Jesse's on-again, off-again lady friend and investigator Sunny Randall pops into town - taking advantage of a break from the ex-husband she still loves when the spirit moves her to help the Paradise police team get to the bottom of things (and, using her female wiles, help Jesse stay on the wagon).

All in all, another one well done. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-publication copy.

Robert B. Parker's Fool's Paradise by Mike Lupica continues the Jesse Stone saga. As usual, Jesse is determined to solve the crimes in his town however he can. These two unrelated crimes keep Jesse and his staff on high alert.

Mike Lupica has been writing RBP's Sunny Randall Series and doing a fantastic job keeping true to Sunny's character. Now, he's taking a spin with Jesse Stone - and Sunny is along for a ride. For Jesse and Sunny fans, this is a great read... both characters are tethered to the past, but each (in their own way) is trying to move forward. Jesse ends up with two cases -- Sunny and Molly (self-dubbed Thelma and Louise - although it's unclear who is who) are just a joy to read. Their dialog is real. Absolutely loved the book and the two cases the stories revolved around. I can't wait to see what's next for Sunny and Jesse too!

RBP was always one of my favorites, and Lupica has picked up the mantle in this Jesse Stone novel. The protagonist continues to fight his own demons while navigating through a new murder case. As the body count rises, so does the tension in this excellent novel.

I can’t help it, I’m a huge Parker fan, even though there’s not really a Parker. All of his remarkable series have been carried on by other very capable authors. Mike Lupica, a real idol to those of us in the NYC area has done a bang up job on the Jesse Stone series. He has continued the story of the Paradise chief with the original, full cast of characters flawlessly.

This time it is the murder of a man who Jesse had run into at an AA meeting. Jesse was doggedly determined to unravel this seemingly random killing. As he was working on this case, other bodies began turning up in Paradise. For readers like me, the book engaged me in unraveling these two cases.

I am really grateful to Netgalley for having the opportunity to lose myself in this exciting, well-written novel about one of my favorite cops.