ROBERT B. PARKER'S FOOL'S PARADISE

4 stars out of 5

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 (G.P. Putnam's Sons, September 2020); 352 pp.