Robert B. Parker's Killing the Blues: A Jesse Stone Novel (Jesse Stone Mystery Series Book 10)

As a devoted fan of the late Robert B Parker's Boston detective novels - Spenser, Randall and Stone - I viewed the prospect of the continuance of the Jesse Stone books with a different author with misgivings. But, hey, give Mr Michael Brandman a chance, after all he has a connection through the Tom Selleck tv movies, which I thoroughly enjoyed.The opening section disappointed, but about 50 pages in he got more into the sort of dialogue RBP would have used. The story/stories are OK, a little predictable maybe, and I did feel he was writing with one eye on the possibility of a screen adaptation. The side characters, especially Molly seemed more Viola Davis, as in the tv movies, than the Irish American RBP created in the books, and the others, Suitcase, Perkins et al, drifted in and out a bit. A new love interest is introduced - Jenn was deeply irritating in my view - and maybe something will be made of this if there are more from Brandman. But the US Amazon reviewers have given a thumbs down - at the time of writing, 20% love it, 27% loathe it with the rest nearer the loathing end of the scale. So who knows.For myself, I enjoyed the book. It's an easy read, but it's not Parker, it never could be - the Master is no longer with us. I'm given his successor the benefit of the doubt - for the time being. But, please Mr Brandman, RBP was a devoted dog person, Spenser was a dog person, so was Sunny and Jesse, so get rid of the cat!.

So having read all the Spensers, including the Ace Atkins ones, and all the Sunny Randalls, including Mike Lupica’s, we turn to monosyllabic chief of police Jesse Stone, and as usual Parker doesn’t disappoint. But this is the first ‘non-Parker’ Jesse Stone novel, written by Michael Brandman, who wrote most of the Tom Selleck movie scripts. Maybe that’s it. It reads like a movie script. ‘Jesse left.’ ‘Molly drove away.’ Clunky writing in the extreme, and something of Jesse’s charm has been lost as well. The plot is ok - nothing wrong with that - but at one point I actually decided to give up on it. I didn’t, because I love Parker and his characters. But this is definitely sub-standard Parker. Be interesting to see what the other authors have made of him. Brandman is not the man to replicate Parker’s sparse but elegant prose, the mark of a man who works hard to make it look easy. Hmm.

Well it's not Mr Parker but it is still an enjoyable read. Jesse is confronted first by car thieves at the start of the summer season and then by a former inmate he incarcerated years ago. He also finds time to sort out bullying at the local High School and start a new relationship. I think it is fair to say the plot is busier than the previous novels and that Mr Brandman is not as pithy a writer as Mr Parker so it depends on what you like but I found it enjoyable

I imagine it's hard to write a novel, harder still to follow on well in the shoes of a quality author with an established and popular character such as Jesse Stone. I feel this story did a good job of capturing much of the essence of the original stories. There are 3 simple but effective parallel plots which play out unpredictably but nonetheless in an authentic way. Good story. Good stuff. Perhaps a little brief, perhaps just right.

I wondered how the new writer would get on but all was fine. Will continue to read how the series developd

Downloaded this book as well as others in the series. I've enjoyed the Jesse Stone books after watching Tom Selleck in the role. Frustrated that two books that are part way through the series don't appear to be on Kindle so I've now read the remainder out of sequence. I don't understand the logic of leaving two books out of a series if you put them into the Kindle books format then it should include the full set!

I love the Jesse Stone novels and the author has managed to capture the Robert Parker style superbly. The meat of the story is captured in the dialogue. No wasted time on long unnecessary descriptive passages. Three storylines all delivered with wry humour and excellent characterisations and a hugely likeable hero.

This is quite a short story but that’s not a problem because it is written by Michael Brandman in the authentic style of the Robert B Parker. Sharp, witty and with the sympathetic characters we all love. I was sorry it ended so quickly.