Trouble in Paradise

By: Robert B. Parker

Narrated by: Richard Masur

Robert B. Parker and his legendary Spenser series have long been considered the ne plus ultra of detective fiction. But the critics' praise for Jesse Stone's debut in Night Passage proved there was room for addition to the Parker literary canon. "A novel as fresh as it is bold...Parker's sentences flow with as much wit, grace and assurance as ever, and Stone is a complex and consistently interesting new protagonist. His speedy return will be welcome." (Newsday)

Stiles Island is a wealthy and exclusive enclave separated by a bridge from the Massachusetts coast town of Paradise. James Macklin sees Stiles Island as the ultimate investment opportunity: all he needs to do is invade the island, blow the bridge, and loot the island. To realize his investment, Macklin, along with his devoted girlfriend, Faye, assembles a crew of fellow ex-cons--all experts in their fields--including Wilson Cromartie, a fearsome Apache. James Macklin is a bad man--a very bad man. And Wilson Cromartie, known as Crow, is even worse.

As Macklin plans his crime, Paradise Police Chief Jesse Stone has his hands full. He faces romantic entanglements in triplicate: his ex-wife, Jenn, is in the Paradise jail for assault, he's begun a new relationship with a Stiles Island realtor named Marcy Campbell, and he's still sorting out his feelings for attorney Abby Taylor. When Macklin's attack on Stiles Island is set in motion, both Marcy and Abby are put in jeopardy. As the casualties mount, it's up to Jesse to keep both women from harm.©1998 Robert P. Parker; (P)1998 Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, A Division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

Praise for Trouble in Paradise

“Tough and tight...[Parker] once again shows how to do it well, and with style.”—Publishers Weekly

“Tough-guy dialogue...sharp social commentary...Fresh...interesting.”—Boston Globe

“Parker has injected Trouble in Paradise with yet another blast of the page-turning energy he’s famous for.”—New York Post

“The dialogue is great, the characters realistic, and the story top-notch.”—Kansas City Star

“[Parker] has another winner in Jesse Stone. The characters, good and bad, are well developed.”—USA Today

“Parker does an excellent job of building tension and weaving several subplots into an explosive finale.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer

Real life, modern day drama at its best!

I'm a big fan of Robert B. Parker and I'm not alone.

The man is a brilliant writer, and an expert in the field of police investigation. This background gives him the depth necessary to create rich, realistic characters, clear situations and incredibly complex storylines that never rely on the standard tropes used by other suspense writers to move the stories along.

Parker gives us all hope that at least a few of the men and women we rely on to protect us from the bad guys are competent, complex, and relatable. It makes me wish it was non-fiction.

a very worthy read.

I enjoyed the Patterson subtle humor and nicely placed pauses. Jesse Stone is a believable character. Some of the crude language distracted me a bit. At times - for certain characters - it's fine, but coming from fairly pleasant and fluent characters, it seemed inappropriate and outside what most people would actually say. Just my opinion.

if you've watched Tom Selleck as Stone, he was a natural.

KW

Good Story

Having watched the Jesse Stone series, I was familiar with the story and appreciated the additions in the Audible version. However, I was disappointed that the story was so brief.

Good story but bad audio

Would you consider the audio edition of Trouble in Paradise to be better than the print version?

I have no basis for comparison since I haven't read the print edition.

What did you like best about this story?

The story was interesting and had a lot of good characterizations, especially of Jesse Stone.

What didn’t you like about Richard Masur’s performance?

The performance was dull, soporific, and unexciting. The performances of Jesse Stone novels by Robert Forster are MUCH more interesting and appropriate to the subject matter.

In addition, the technical audio recording was terrible. The bass was turned all the way up and there was hardly any treble. Sounded like he was talking through a pillow. I played this on my iPhone through three different systems, and the audio was easily intelligible only on a high-end stereo with the equalizer shifted all the way into the treble.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I was infuriated by how hard it was to hear the audio clearly.

Any additional comments?

No. Good book but weak performance, made worse by really bad technical audio quality.

Great story, much different than the movie

Very enjoyable, found it very different from the film, not worse just different. Good story and kept me interested till the end