Robert B Parker was a great author with several series that each had an active fan club of thousands of readers. Not only were his Jesse Stone books repeat best sellers, they spawned a well loved series of movies too. Mike Lupica does an excellent job of carrying on Parker's legacy series. Set in the Massachusetts' coastal town of Paradise, the stories feature characters that find their town anything but paradise. Jesse Stone is the often maligned sheriff who manages to solve crimes despite the interference of the town council and businessmen. These books are some of my favorites. I read them often and recommend them to my family, friends and FB circle.

The town of Paradise is once again the home to death. This time, it has come for the mayor. Though at first glance suicide appears to be the cause, Chief of Police Jesse Stone suspects otherwise. After all, the body appeared in a shallow grave on disputed land.

With the city council debating the direction of the town and two powerful, but questionable, men fighting to develop prime real estate, the mayor’s objections could have been enough to push someone to murder.

Robert B. Parker’s Stone’s Throw by Mike Lupica delivers the kind of story Jesse Stone fans have come to know and expect. Old friends (or foes, depending on your perspective) return and new villains appear as another mystery unravels. Lupica delivers Parker’s classic writing style and succinct, clipped dialogue. Readers looking for a new or different Jesse Stone story will be disappointed. Though I suspect fans mostly come expecting and wanting that familiar feel we’ve experienced since book one.

During the investigation, Jesse Stone’s path crosses with his long-time frenemy, Wilson “Crow” Cromartie. I always enjoy watching their tug-and-pull relationship, though it does come at the expense of my least favorite thread — the one with Molly. Returning readers will know what I mean, new ones will find out when they pick up this book.

As always, I enjoyed the paradoxical clash between the seemingly idyllic setting that in reality hides a rotten core. The slower pace and old-school villains also make for a fun and entertaining read.

Though it is number twenty in the series, the repackaged style of these stories means it is not necessary to read them all to follow. I myself had walked away for a few years and when I came back it felt like I jumped right back without missing a beat.

Stone's Throw is Mike Lupica's second Robert B Parker Jesse Stone novel. Not quite the same witty pace as Mr. Parker but a decent addition to the series. Thank you NetGalley.

Robert B. Parker's Stone's Throw
by Mike Lupica
Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. Not my favorite in the series, but I did buy it for our library.
3stars

ROBERT B. PARKER’S “STONE’S THROW” is the 20th book in the “Jesse Stone” series of books originated by the late Robert B. Parker, and the 2nd book in the series written by author Mike Lupica.

Jesse is back again as police chief in the town of Paradise, but unfortunately finds him investigating the murder of the town’s mayor who is a friend of Jesse and has been going through a difficult situation since parting with his wife (who happens to be a former flame of Jesse) that makes his apparent suicide seem plausible until Jesse learns more about a land dispute that may have played a factor in the death of the mayor, and the disappearance of a young man who has faced off against the players in the proposed land deal and who might have information that could threaten the deal that promises to bring highly needed finances for the community which has had an influence on a favorable response from the locals.

Can Jesse learn the truth of both the death of his friend and the disappearance of the young man after learning about possible ties connecting both to the proposed land deal?

Good addition to the other novels in this series, and author Lupica does a fine job utilizing characters from previous books to be part of the story in this one, and it should be of interest to fans of the books in this series.

4 stars.

Readers can't go wrong with a mystery involving Jesse Stone and Robert B. Parker's Stone's Throw by Mike Lupica is no exception. It's fast paced and includes some of Jesse's former friends and colleagues.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

While I was a huge fan of Robert B. Parker, I am also really enjoying the continuation books in his various series, particularly this one. I think Mike Lupica is getting a good handle on the Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall books, and they're getting better and better.

In Stone's Throw, Jesse is investigating corruption in Paradise, revolving around the sale of a large parcel of property, apparently for the purpose of building a major casino enterprise. It appears that "the fix is in" - the sale is going to be approved by the town council and the only question is which of the two shady and probably criminal developers will get the deal. The investigation is precipitated by the apparent suicide of the mayor, one of the few town officials who opposed the deal. Jesse doesn't buy the purported suicide, so continues to investigate, contrary to the wishes of the new mayor. His position is substantiated when there's another murder, this one clearly a murder.

Once again, we have the familiar cast of character. Molly Crane has a big role in this one, and it's a pleasure to see her more involved. Once again, Jesse gets help from the gangsters in Boston who have been carried forward from the Spenser books, the state police who have been associated with him before, and Rita Fiore gets involved as well. I have enjoyed the mingling of characters from the different series - probably plausible, since they all take place in Boston and not too far away (at least Paradise seems close enough to Boston to drive there for dinner, and Spike now owns a restaurant/bar in Paradise).

The mystery is interesting, the solution is creative, and the characters are well developed. I have one quibble with the book. I appreciate the fact that Jesse's alcoholism is important to him, and that it preys on his mind and all times. But, please, do we have to hear about it constantly? Unless it is actually pertinent to the plot, it would seem sufficient to only refer to it a few times per book!

Overall, a very good read. I enjoyed it, and will be looking forward to more of Lupica's continuation novels.

In this next installment of the Jesse Stone series, Chief Stone is investigating the murder of the mayor of Paradise. With solid police work and perseverance, Jesse and his deputies plow through the evidence to discover the truth behind the murder.

This is the second book Mike Lupica has penned since the death of the original author of the series, Robert B Parker. With this most recent book it is apparent that Mr Lupica is beginning to feel more comfortable with the characters. More and more he is adopting the original author’s style and cadence, which has made this series so popular with readers. The mystery itself is good, the characters are well-developed, and the dialogue crisp.

All in all, Stone’s Throw is a quick and enjoyable read. I’m so glad to see this series continuing.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

Love Jesse Stone……was so great to catch up with him and his gang of friends. Especially the return of Crow.
The storyline keeps you engaged and intrigued.
Didn’t see that ending coming at all!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.

Definitely better than Lupica's debut entry writing a Jesse Stone novel, Fool's Paradise, but in my mind the bar was set rather low. And the language has been toned down more in keeping with Parker's original style for the series. A somewhat by the numbers story finds Chief Stone investigating yet another murder in Paradise, the mayor. The story is an easy read but seems to get bogged down about midway through and just spins it wheels for a while in the investigation before gaining traction for the final quarter. Here's hoping Lupica continues to improve in the next installment.

A nice continuation of the Jesse Stone series…

I’m often not a fan of continuations of popular series after the original author passes away. But whoever is in control of the estate of Robert B Parker has done a pretty good job, IMO, of selecting authors to continue his Spenser, Jesse Stone, and Sunny Randall series. This may be because (per Wikipedia) they seem to have chosen authors who had previously been close to Parker as friends and/or collaborators. Mike Lupica fits that mold, and his second Jesse Stone continuation title, Stone’s Throw, is a fun romp that feels right at home in the series.

Lupica, who is primarily a sports journalist, but also has previously written a handful of mysteries, is a natural fit for the Jesse Stone series, given Jesse’s cut-too-short-by-injury baseball past. And in fact, Stone’s Throw opens as Jesse muses about baseball (and other things) with Sunny Randall, who then makes a quick exit west to Los Angeles, as she and Jesse take a “time-out”. But Jesse has plenty to keep him busy in Paradise, where the last prime parcel of oceanfront land in town, The Throw, is about to be sold to a developer. As might be expected, the community is bitterly divided between preserving the site and keeping Paradise’s ambiance, versus benefitting from the jobs and money that development might bring. It doesn’t help that neither the Paradise scion selling the land, nor the two developers bidding on it, seem to have particularly clean hands. Meanwhile, Jesse’s friend and Paradise mayor, Neil O’Hara, isn’t a fan of development, and neither are a group of locals who call themselves Save Our Beach (SOB). So when Jesse finds O’Hara dead in a shallow grave on The Throw, he suspects it isn’t the suicide that it seems to be. And his suspicions get raised even more when a couple of the SOB members go missing too.

What follows is a typical Parker mystery as Jesse, Molly and Suit investigate, pulling in favors from various more or less savory characters, trying a bit of modern forensics, doing some old-fashioned leg work, using the research skills of Jesse’s recently found son, and, of course, ending up in a gun battle or two. There’s a bit of extra tension created when Wilson Cromartie (Crow) shows up back in Paradise, with decidedly ambiguous motives, and a few other old favorites make appearances too. Throughout, Mike Lupica does a great job of replicating Parker’s terse, wise-cracking, short-chapter style, while still having it feel authentic.

If I have any issue with Stone’s Throw, it’s an issue that I’ve had since Parker himself was writing the series. And my problem is that at times I have to suspend disbelief a bit as it relates to some of the bad-guys-who-have-become-semi-good-guys, such as Vinnie Morris, and, in this book especially, Crow. But this is a long-time feature (or bug) of Parker’s books, and if I were all that bothered by it, I would have quit reading them a long time ago – which I haven’t. All-in-all, I very much enjoyed Stone’s Throw, and think that other fans of the Jesse Stone books will like it a lot as well. And finally, my thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for the advance review copy.

Sometimes Chief Of Police Jesse Stone just has to wonder whether trouble is a given in his hometown of Paradise, Massachusetts. Local landowner Thomas Lawton III wants to sell a prime piece of beachfront real estate, known as The Throw, that two developers are none-too-politely salivating over. Billy Singer is a Vegas impresario looking for a piece of East Coast action. Ed Barrone is a Boston businessman responsible for building two of the first non-tribal casinos in Massachusetts. Neither has a reputation for clean dealings, but each is promising a big payday for the town of Paradise if either should win the tender to develop The Throw.

The main obstacle to their plans is the efforts of a local group of environmentalists called Save Our Beach. The young activists have made a habit of digging shallow graves throughout The Throw and adding headstones proclaiming RIP Paradise. While Lawton is livid at the transgressions, in reality the protestors are doing little more than making a public relations stink: the town council will, in all likelihood, approve the sale and accept a bid from either Singer or Barrone. Jesse is still tasked with the thankless job of listening to rich, connected Lawton complain about the vandalism, so he’s not thrilled to find yet another shallow grave on one of his nightly beachside walks. His displeasure turns to outright horror when he realizes that not only is this grave occupied, but that the dead body belongs to his boss, Mayor Neil O’Hara.

Soon, Jesse is caught in the middle of a turf war, as Singer and Barrone, usually through the actions of their hired goons, make his life increasingly miserable. It’s not just the two real estate guys who are throwing obstacles in his path, however. Even Acting Mayor Gary Armistead is getting in on the action, insisting that Neil’s death was a suicide, no matter what Jesse discovers. Short-handed and not exactly flush with funding to begin with, Jesse has to do the best he can with what he’s got, even when trying to stake out a house that might be a target for criminals searching for an elusive MacGuffin:

QUOTE
Maybe, Jesse thought, he should put a car out front, all day every day in the short run, on the chance they might come back. Whoever they were. Whatever they were looking for. But knew he didn't have the manpower for that. So he went back to the Explorer now and got the motion sensor out of the glove compartment and came back and set it in the front room. Cost him twenty bucks on Amazon. He'd been waiting to use it. <i>CSI Paradise</i>, he thought.
END QUOTE

It’s partly this need to use all available resources that allows him to come to a detente with known criminal Wilson “Crow” Cromartie, who’s suddenly appeared back in town. Crow is in Paradise for his own purposes, that may or may not have to do with the lingering sexual tension between himself and Deputy Chief Of Police Molly Crane. When Molly is injured in the course of performing her duties, Jesse tasks Crow with keeping an eye on her house, a request that displeases Molly even if she understands that it’s for the best. Mostly, Molly hates that Jesse and Crow seem to be bonding because of her:

QUOTE
She was calling him from home.

"Crow out front?" Jesse said

"You know he is."

"You could invite him in for breakfast," Jesse said.

"You're aware you keep sending me mixed messages on that guy," she said.

"Keeps the spark in the relationship."

Molly said, "Yours with me or yours with him?"
END QUOTE

With uneasy alliances and ruthless criminals skulking through Paradise, Jesse has his hands full trying to bring his former boss’ murderer to justice. His efforts provide reliable entertainment in this twentieth book of the long-running series, as several supporting characters in the Robert B. Parker Universe come to the forefront of Jesse’s life while others fade into the background over the course of a tumultuous few weeks. Crow is a welcome addition here, not quite a vigilante, but still determined to have Jesse and Molly’s backs as they search for the truth.

Mike Lupica does an excellent job of continuing Jesse’s story in a manner that’s both faithful to Mr Parker’s style while also keeping abreast of current affairs and mores. The references to Covid-19 are timely, if depressingly accurate, while the sharp, often self-deprecating humor leavens an otherwise serious novel of shady dealings and outright murder. Mr Lupica is a terrific standard bearer for this extended series, and I’m eager to read more.

WHAT'S STONE'S THROW ABOUT?
The mayor of Paradise is found dead at the site of a contentious land deal—it's one of the most sought-after properties in Paradise, and the City is preparing to weigh in and deciding which of two buyers get to put a casino on it—while several citizens are trying to block the sale at all. The mayor is clearly sympathetic to the anti-sale voices, but it doesn't look like he's going to be able to do anything to stop it going forward.

And then he apparently commits suicide on that piece of real estate. Jesse's not so sure about the suicide part, however, it doesn't make sense to him for several reasons—his friendship with the mayor is just one of them (the fact that the left-handed man seemingly used his right hand to shoot himself would be another).

Jesse just has to decide who has the most motive to kill him—one of the buyers? The seller? The anti-sale group?

Then the leader of the conservation movement goes missing, and his girlfriend is worried. Then it turns out that Wilson Cromartie—Crow—is working for one of the casino builders. He and the Paradise Police Department have a very shaky history—his criminal past (all beyond the statute of limitations) makes Jesse dis-inclined to trust him, no matter how much assistance he rendered in finding a missing girl later. Is Crow on the side of angels this time, or could he be behind the mayor's death?

In a case that clearly calls for someone to "follow the money" there's so much of it flying around that it'd be easy to get lost trying that, there are no easy answers for Jesse and the rest of the PPD.

MOLLY
From the beginning of the series, Molly Crane has been one of the highlights of the books and of the Paradise Police Department. She's loyal, competent, and has a big heart. She's stood by Jesse when things were at their worst for him—covering for him as much as she could. She's almost too perfect—except for the one time she slept with Crow. That's pretty much the only time she's done something wrong.

And since then—at least once per book*—Jesse has brought that transgression up. Every author—Parker, Brandman**, Coleman, and now Lupica—has had Jesse throw this in her face regularly. It's always bothered me that it's so constant, so frequent—the woman beats herself up for it, she's been so good to Jesse, and this is how he treats her?

* As far as I remember, I could be wrong about that, I doubt there's been more than 2 books without it.

** I honestly remember so little about the Brandman novels, I only assume he followed suit.

And now, Crow is back—and he and Molly interact a bit, both with others around and one-on-one. Without getting into anything, I hope that this allows Molly to get past this act of infidelity—and that Jesse stops bringing it up. Really, there's an opportunity for closure here, and I hope Lupica takes it.

TALKIN' BASEBALL
I always liked that Parker wrote Jesse as someone who became a cop not because he had the drive to see justice done, to serve and protect, etc.—but because he had to re-evaluate his life after his baseball career-ending injury and then came to the career in law enforcement.

Parker treated this well, in a "road not taken" kind of way. Coleman did a good job with it—although Blind Spot was more about being part of a team, more than the sport. But Lupica? Lupica really knows how to write about this part of Jesse's life. He has Jesse think about this a lot in the first chapter and I put in my notes, "this is the best passage in Lupica's Parker books." And then it comes up later in the book, too. I don't know if it's all the sports books in Lupica's past, just a better insight into the mindset of the baseball player, or what—but this book has the best usage of Jesse's former career that this twenty-book series has had.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT STONE'S THROW?
I wasn't crazy about this at the beginning—it was always good, but I didn't get sucked in right away. I also wasn't crazy about the way that Crow was being used—it reminded me of the way that Parker took some of the danger away from Vinnie Morris, Bobby Horse, and Chollo after their initial appearances. But it started to grow on me the further I got into it—and by the last half, I was invested as I could've hoped to be.

And even if I wasn't—just being back in Paradise with Jesse, Suit, and Molly is good enough.

Lupica's got the voices down, he understands Paradise, he gets the cast of characters right and this book feels like he's been writing Stone novels for more years than he has—I had to remind myself that this is only his second time with this series. I'd have easily believed this is the fifth.

Whether you're new to Jesse Stone, or you've been reading them since the beginning, this is a novel that will entertain you and leave you looking forward to the next one.

Another installment in a standout series guaranteed to please Parker fans and other mystery & detective enthusiasts alike.

There is an old-fashioned land war going on in Paradise, Massachusetts. Two shady rich businessmen, one a mobbed-up Las Vegas guy and the other a disreputable Boston developer are vying to buy a valuable, choice piece of Paradise beachfront property, nicknamed Throw Beach, with the intent of developing it and building a hotel and casino there. The townspeople are divided. Some view the proposed development and the promised jobs as just what Paradise needs to bring the town’s COVID-19 damaged economy back to prosperity. Others, particularly a local environmentalist group called Save Our Beach, rabidly opposes the development. When they register their opposition by vandalizing the property with a series of shallow graves and headstones, the property owner, Thomas Lawton, demands that Jesse Stone, the Paradise police chief, stop the shenanigans of the “tree huggers” by throwing them in jail. Unfortunately, when Stone visits the property to view the newest grave, he finds a body inside it—the body of a friend, the town’s mayor, Neil O’Hara, with a bullet wound to his right temple and a pistol near his right hand. The only problems with the apparent suicide is that Stone knows O’Hara was left-handed and the angle of the shot is all wrong. Aware that the mayor was one of the few city government officials who opposed the land sale and impending development, Stone smells a rat, maybe two. He feels sure someone murdered his friend or had him killed and staged it as a suicide to erase O’Hara as an obstacle to the planned land sale. Jesse mobilizes his small police department to prove it and to bring the killer to justice.

It wasn’t until after I read Robert B. Parker’s Stone’s Throw by Mike Lupica that I learned the book isn’t his first Jesse Stone novel. Instead, it is the second book by Lupica since Parker’s estate commissioned him to continue the popular series. I discovered the first Jesse Stone novel penned by Lupica, Robert B. Parker’s Fool’s Paradise (G.P. Putnam), was published September 8, 2020. How could I have missed that! Nevertheless, I eagerly anticipated my first look at Lupica’s writing in the series as soon as I saw the ARC for Stone’s Throw listed on Net Galley.

Previously, Parker’s estate had already chosen Lupica, a veteran sportswriter and established sports novelist (and long-time friend of Parker), to continue Parker’s Sunny Randall series. Lupica has since written three Sunny Randall novels. Having read and enjoyed them all, I felt confident Mike Lupica was a good choice to continue the Jesse Stone series. He did not disappoint.

While it’s clear Lupica has his own appealing writing style, he admirably retains many of the late, great Robert B. Parker’s stylistic touches—wisecracking characters, humorous banter, short sentences, and short chapters. He also faithfully renders the Jesse Stone series characters.

Having been a Robert B. Parker fan for decades since reading my first Parker book, The Godwulf Manuscript, I consider myself something of a Parker expert. I have read and reread every one of his novels, including those written by other authors commissioned to continue the Parker legacy of top-notch crime fiction since his untimely death. While Parker’s Spenser series, featuring the wisecracking Boston P.I., is my all-time favorite, Jesse Stone runs a close second. Not only have I read all nine of the original Stone novels Parker wrote, but I’ve also watched all nine of the Jesse Stone made for television movies starring Tom Selleck. Perhaps because of the films and how perfectly Tom Selleck matches my mental image of the Jesse Stone character, my judgment of how well another author faithfully captures the character is whether reading Stone’s dialogue in a novel produces Selleck’s image in my mind. Lupica passes this test with flying colors. I think he does equally well in capturing the essence of Molly Crane, Luther “Suitcase” Simpson, Jesse’s therapist, Dr. Dix, and the other recurring series characters.

Those who have read the Lupica penned Sunny Randall novels know that Stone and Randall are romantically entwined and that there is a significant overlap between the series. In my opinion, this is yet another reason why Mike Lupica, besides his excellent writing skills, is the natural choice to continue both series.

As Ace Atkins has done with the Spenser series, Lupica has captured the essence of Parker’s characters and stylistic prose. Reading Stone’s Throw left me feeling I was visiting familiar old friends, which is what I was hoping to experience. Jesse remains the flawed hero, battling his alcohol addiction and failed romantic relationships, but also the amiable former LAPD homicide detective who took the job as chief of police in Paradise to make a new life start. Just like Robert B. Parker’s books, I devoured this novel in one sitting. It’s sure to be a hit with Parker fans and anyone who enjoys a solid mystery & detective novel.

I’m looking forward already to reading Lupica’s next installment in the series. In the meanwhile, I’m grabbing a copy of the book I missed, Fool’s Paradise.

I received an advanced reader copy of the book from the publisher for this review, representing my honest and unbiased opinions.

This was definitely one of the best of the Jesse Stone books I've read. Lupica has managed to fit right into the Parker style of writing, making the mystery interesting as well as enjoyable. A quick read - I'm ready for another.

Trouble in Paradise. Jesses Stones good friend and mayor Neil has been shot. An attempt was made to make it look like a suicide, but Jesse isn’t convinced. He is getting pressure to close the case fast because there is a big land deal at stake. Two buyers are after the property to build casinos. It is personal for Jesse after Neil is murdered, innocents are pulled into the conspiracy and threatened. This was a typical Spencer novel, snappy dialogue with a good mystery. I didn’t see the ending coming. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

This novel was fairly good. Jesse is involved in stopping a land grab in Paradise. He is not sure if his old nemesis Crow is there to help or complicate matters. In this installment, Mike Lupica, does a decent job of replicating the voice of Robert Parker.

My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for letting me read and review an advanced copy of this book.

Paradise is not living up to its name, again, when the dead body of the mayor (an apparent suicide) is found in a shallow grave on a property that is up for sale. Two competing bidders for the property, both having ties to criminal families, are immediately suspected, as well as the seller. When the new mayor orders Jesse Stone, the police chief, to close the case, it just encourages Jesse to dig deeper. When people in the group opposing the land sale go missing, the tie to the mayor’s death becomes more apparent.

I like the Jesse Stone stories, where Jesse, Molly, and Suit end up in dangerous situations, but always seem to solve the difficult cases. The colorful side-characters add to the drama and are an interesting mix.

Another good addition to the Jesse Stone series by Mike Lupica..While I don’t always agree with the direction the series is taking they’re always a fast, good read.

There's big trouble in Paradise - Paradise, Massachusetts, that is - when Police Chief Jesse Stone learns that his good friend and boss, town Mayor Neil O'Hara, turns up dead. At first blush, it appears to be a suicide; but closer inspection raises Jesse's suspicion that somebody did him wrong.

At the heart of the matter is that the land on which the body was found is for sale to the highest bidder - and two hotshot (and filthy rich) potential buyers are in winner-takes-all contention, determined to build a casino on the property. Complicating matters is that Jesse's right-hand policewoman, Molly Crane, thinks she saw an old "friend" near the crime scene - and she's not happy about it.

Then, a young woman - a member of the so-called tree-hugger protesters who want to quash the sale - reports her boyfriend missing. That sends Jesse out to contact some of his gangster acquaintances in the hope that they can provide some clues about the two powerful men who would, in all likelihood, do just about anything to make sure his bid is accepted by the town council at an upcoming meeting.

The investigation brings Jesse into contact with some gangster-like characters who will be familiar to readers not only of the Jesse Stone series, but of Spenser and Sunny Randall. One of my faves, Jesse's trusty officer Suitcase Simpson, doesn't show up here quite as much as I'd like - he's a pretty cool guy - but the somewhat slippery (but surprisingly likable) Wilson Cromartie, or "Crow," gets plenty of page space.

The details of the investigation are neatly tied up by the end, complete with a sort of surprise that I must say didn't please me much. Very entertaining, as expected - and another one down (the 20th in the series) in fine fettle. Good job!