I'm a huge Parker fan and Reed Farrel Coleman does an excellent job of continuing his legacy. Loved it.

This is another fine entry in the continuation of Robert B. Parker's Jesse Stone series. After the last two books in the series, it was pretty clear that changes were going to come in Jesse Stone's life - his drinking was spiraling out of control and something had to happen. In this book, he's back from rehab and serious about not drinking - with the realization that previously when he wasn't drinking, it was just a temporary thing, but that now he intended to actually quit. Of course, going to AA meetings actually results in some help solving the case!

This was an interesting plot - he's tackling white supremist, neo Nazi terrorists, who have decided that Paradise is a good place to work on starting a race war. There's a former Underground Railroad site in Paradise, so a good setup for a terrorist act with extra symbolic value.

There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle - both on the part of the bad guys, and in terms of Jesse's figuring out what's going on. If I had wanted to detach and be analytical, I suppose I could have picked it to pieces - but I had no interest in that. It all made sense in context, and it flowed right along - everything that one of the Robert B. Parker's series books should be - lots of action, interesting characters. It's not really a "mystery" - we know who the bad guys are - but it's how the whole thing will be put together by Jesse in time to at least mitigate the death and destruction.

And, while this is an action book, not a character study, I'm enjoying it more because there is definitely growth in Jesse's character and some interesting things to come. I'm looking forward to #18 in the series!

This is the first Jesse Stone book, after he has spent some time in rehab. It will be interesting to see how he deals with being sober. Reed Farrel Coleman, has been able to pick up the pieces and continue the story of Jesse Stone in a way Robert B. Parker would be proud.

Thanks Net Galley for the advance copy. Jesse Stone is back from rehab and better than ever! The only thing I wasn't sure about is the revelation at the end of the book that Jesse has a son from his years in LA but I am anxious to see how this side line develops in the next book. I always look forward to returning to Paradise Massachusetts !!

Jesse comes back to Paradise after a much-needed stay in rehab, he’s tired of fighting his battle with the bottle alone. When he goes back into the office he’s met with some disturbing news. There have been some racial incidents going on in Paradise, one that includes his officer Alicia Davis.

While Jesse is trying to come to terms with his sobriety and keep things under control in Paradise, he’s faced with a full on race war. This thing has its tentacles stretched from upstate New York back down to Boston. Jesse realizes that there are too many coincidences in these crimes, he goes up against the State police on this one.

This is another action-packed novel in this series.
I think Mr. Coleman has done a great job with this series, I’m so glad that he’s kept it going.

Disclosure: I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. The opinion expressed above are my own.

Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons on September 11, 2018

The Robert B. Parker factory produced Colorblind (excuse me, Robert B. Parker’s Colorblind). The seventeenth Jesse Stone novel was assembled by Reed Farrel Coleman, who took over the factory job from Michael Brandman. Parker managed to write nine Jesse Stone books before he died and the factory took over. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with factory novels (I like the Spenser novels that Ace Atkins writes), but wouldn’t it be nice to see Coleman’s name in a font that is as large as Parker’s?

The victim of the first murder in Paradise after Stone became Chief of Police was a woman. The word “slut” was written on her body. Now, in a town near Paradise, another murder has followed that pattern, except that the victim is black. Early chapters that focus on a white supremacist neo-Nazi create the impression that the latest murder, at least, is racially motivated.

An outbreak of attacks on interracial couples also has Stone worried about trouble in Paradise, as well as flyers from the “Saviors of Society” that bash liberals, gays, nonwhites, feminists, atheists, and people who want to regulate guns. A character called the Colonel, the leader of the Saviors, tries to make America great again by causing trouble for Stone and his African-American officer, Alisha Davis, who is accused of shooting an unarmed suspect. The resolution of the Davis plot line is beyond implausible.

I appreciate the sentiment underlying the novel’s depiction of right-wing lunatics, but Coleman is so heavy-handed in that portrayal that it didn’t quite ring true. As villains go, the Colonel is completely over the top.

Jesse’s battle with alcoholism and his reliance on AA to resist using alcohol as a stress reliever is a fairly common device to add interest to characters in cop novels. Unfortunately, Jesse’s rather ordinary demons are not enough to make him compelling. Jesse was edgy in his original conception; now he's just dull. The frequent references to his ability to stay strong and avoid the bottle come across as a substitute for deeper character development, as is the portrayal of Jesse as a stalwart, incorruptible, by-the-book cop (unless he’s beating someone up because he decides they deserve it).

There’s a difference between being admirable and interesting, and Jesse is too boring to be interesting. The attempt to humanize him by changing his personal life at the novel’s end feels forced. The supporting characters are more like shadows than people; Coleman makes no serious effort to give them depth.

The story moves quickly, thanks to Coleman’s dialog-heavy writing style. The plot lacks surprises and the heroic ending is a bit silly. I have no strong feelings, positive or negative, about Colorblind. I’m recommending it primarily to fans of the series, but there are so many thrillers that are better than this one, I can’t recommend it to readers who are looking for something special, or even something that’s above average.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Not only has Reed Farrel Coleman comfortably filled Robert B. Parker's shoes when it comes to the Jesse Stone series, but he's made the characters his own. Suit got married, Molly Crane filled in for Jesse while he was off drying out and Jesse is sober. Yes, sober!

It's not quite Robert B. Parker, but it's still an enjoyable read. Thanks to the publishers and to NetGalley!
#RobertB.Parker'sColorblind #NetGalley

I enjoyed one of Reed Farrel Coleman's earlier Jesse Stone books, so I thought this one would be a similarly enjoyable experience. It wasn't. Some of what I've read about this book indicates that Coleman may be taking Jesse into new emotional territory now that his ex-wife (whose presence has been influential in nearly all of the earlier books) is out of the picture and now that he is coming back from rehabbing for his nearly life-long alcoholism.

Whatever the reason, as I read the first quarter of this book (that's all I read) I felt that this Jesse was in fact someone I didn't know. He simply was not the Jesse I've come to know and love. His actions are different. His way of thinking has changed. Part of this is the way the author chooses to write about him. I noted numerous instances where Jesse is described as thinking about his philosophy. For instance, near the end of Chapter 3, Jesse is described thus: "...Jesse believed a good kick in the ass and little understanding often worked better than time inside." It is my impression from reading Parker's books that Jesse would never come out and say (or think) this. He would show us what he believed in his actions, but never in simple description. Reading this takes me out of the story and makes me wonder who this Jesse guy is and what happened to the real Jesse Stone.

I was uncomfortable with this new Jesse. I didn't like the sensationally graphic opening scene where we had to watch step-by-carefully-described-step as the victim is brutally raped. I haven't gone back to be sure of my impression, but I feel that Jesse's earlier books did not include this sort of thing. We usually come upon victims after the crime has already occurred off-stage. (I could be wrong, but I still didn't like having to read that opening scene.)

The last straw was when the story went to the headquarters of a neo-Nazi group, which is the source of the violence and trouble. I HATE reading about such thoroughly disgusting people. I believe that Parker's Jesse Stone books avoided the popular best-seller/thriller formula, which tries to shock us to the max with disgusting people doing awful things. It feels to me as if Coleman is trying to take Jesse into that arena, perhaps to increase sales to the best-seller crowd while abandoning the real soul of Parker's style and subject matter. If so, he'll do it without my participation.

So, I had no choice but to give up on the book after reading about a quarter of the way into it. This is just not for me.

I will include this review here, but won't be posting it out in the general Internet world. I don't feel that publishers will take kindly to giving me free books to have me tear them down in public.

Robert B Parkers name on any book insures a great read. Whether Spencer or Jesse Stone, you know it's going to be good. Colorblind continues this tradition. Jesse has been through so much to come back from rehab to Paradise where it seems trouble has been waiting for him. I've read all of the Jesse Stone books. Reed Coleman does an excellent job of continuing Robert B Parker's legacy of great stories and rich, well portrayed characters. I'm sure we'll see this one turned into a movie soon.

I think by now Reed Farrel Coleman has established himself as worthy to carry on the Jesse Stone stories; for me anyway. I am more than happy with the direction he is taking both Stone and Paradise.
After the shenanigans of what happened in the previous books, the culmination of which left Jesse having to take a good long look at his life, he has now just completed a stint in rehab and has returned to duty. It's not long before he is right in the thick of things once again with the discovery of the body of a young African-American woman; brutally raped and murdered with something written on her in lipstick that reminds Jesse of a previous case. Then an inter-racial couple are targeted by vandalism and things start to add up to Jesse, especially when a white supremacist group called Saviors of Society rear their heads up in Paradise. And then, if that wasn't enough, one of his officers is involved in the killing of a suspect in the vandalism. She claims he shot first but there's no gun to be found. Alisha, the officer in question, is Paradise's first female African-American cop, the hiring of which was controversial to say the least. But Jesse believes her and, on looking closer into the case, spots strange coincidences and patterns that leads him, and a few trusted others, to go out on a limb to prove her innocence. But in doing so, they uncover something much much worse.
The plotting of this book was so very well done that by the end of the book I was completely in awe of the author. From the subtle setting up of certain things, some happening chronologically before the book even starts and being on face value not connected, to the way that certain other things play out, again taken at face value; unconnected. But then all coming together at the end... Wow!
Racism is also not an easy thing to portray well in fiction. But here, again, the author does extremely well in giving us a hard hitting, at times horrible, story, starring some really nasty piece of work characters, but remaining balanced. Shocking at times to say the very least but balanced nevertheless. When you also throw in Religion to go hand in hand, well, you got yourself a whole hornets nest of issues. Paradise PD is a close knit team though and that camaraderie shines through in this book. Their grit and determination is there in spades and you just know that it'll take a bigger and better man to drag them down. It's not long before Jesse has it all worked out, there's just the proving to get past, oh and the rubbing people up the wrong way, as is Jesse's wont!
Meanwhile, through all this, Jesse is trying to stay sober. Whether he manages this... well, you'll just have to read to find out, but he does his best. He goes to his meetings, he finds allies to help him in his endeavours. With the other thing that happens in this book, and my lips are well and truly sealed on this one, I am really quite excited by this new path that the author has started Jesse on now and I really can't wait to see what's next for him.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Another wonderful Jesse Stone novel.

This time Jesse has the dreaded SS in his town, another horrid racist organization. Tying the problems, the deaths, and the unspoken all together, becomes quite a challenge. For that matter, handling his own problems is quite a challenge for Jesse.

I’ve seen lots of different opinions about these books that Reed Farrel Coleman has completed and/or written to carry on the Jesse Stone that Robert Parker created. I don’t have an opinion about whether they read exactly as if Robert Parker wrote them. I know this. Reed Farrel Coleman is an excellent writer and has had his own successes long before writing Jesse Stone books. He should think it an honor to be able to finish Robert Parker’s creation. I’m a very untrusting soul without meeting someone in person but from what I’ve read about him I somehow think he is aware of that honor. Aside from all of the arguments, literary comments, and on and on…these are great books, good plots, good characters, characters that can make you feel what they feel. I’m not sure there is anything more to ask for than that he write more Jesse Stone books.

Reed Farrel Coleman has some great series of his own. I’m going to find out if he has attained the same excellent level of writing as he did in this book. Somehow, I bet he did.

***This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are definitely my own.

I have always loved Robert B. Parker's books, and the latest installment in the Jesse Stone series by Reed Farrel Coleman did not disappoint. The layers of what make Jesse "tick" are peeled away a little more in this book, and the readers see a different side of Chief Stone .... a more compassionate and human side of him. Some new characters are also introduced in the book, and the author does a good job of bringing them all together in a story that keeps you wanting more in the series.

Fans of the late Robert B Parker’s Jesse Stone series could be disappointed with this latest installment by Reed Farrel Coleman.  The story itself is a solid mystery and the writing is strong and interesting.

However, in my opinion the author missed the mark when it came to remaining true to the essence of the Jesse Stone books.  Jesse is a cynical and flawed law enforcement veteran.  Throughout the series he battles his dependence on alcohol, and his regrets and questions about his divorce. In the meantime, he tries to right wrongs in Paradise.  Along the way he meets and works with a variety of characters – on both sides of the law. 

These components, plus the sharp dialog are important ingredients and are much of the reason I find the Jesse Stone books so appealing.

Coleman seemly creates a new Jesse, who has suddenly recovered his equilibrium.  Jesse has lost much of his edge as well as the sharp dialog that makes Jesse Stone such an appealing character.  Finally, while the story is an interesting mystery, the finale of the book seems flat and obvious, which sacrifices the depth of the mystery.

Readers who haven’t experienced the Parker version of Jesse Stone will no doubt give Colorblind a better review than I have. Meanwhile, I miss Parker’s old Jesse Stone.   

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

Robert B. Parker's Colorblind is the 17th book Robert Parker’s Jesse Stone series and is written by Reed Farrel Coleman. The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. The storyline is well thought out and there is excellent character development. I like the direction Mr. Coleman is taking with the series Jesse as a character. It was refreshing to read a Jessie Stone novel that doesn’t focus on Jesse’s odd relationship and obsession with his ex-wife, Jenn.

After the death of his fiancée, Diana Evans, by his nemeses, Mr. Peppers, Jesse Stone, the Police Chief of Paradise, Massachusetts, took a leave of absence and is doing everything he can to give sobriety an honest attempt, including a stint in rehab and attending AA meetings. In his absence, Officer Molly Crane took over the role of Police Chief. Upon his return, Molly filled him in about a young man with an attitude, Cole Slayton, who was spending the night in lock up for the second time and a racially fueled confrontation at a local bar involving skinhead bikers and Paradise’s newest officer, Alisha Davis. Mayor Connie Walker had backed his decision to hire Alisha, an African-American, but the Board of Selectmen weren’t happy with his choice. Jesse takes Cole under his wing, helps him find a job and a place to stay, but he has a secret that will change Jesse's life forever. When Felicity Wileford, an African-American doctoral student, is the victim of a vicious beating and rape, a Swan Harbor police officer noticed similarities to an old Paradise case involving the death of Tammy Portugal, told his chief, and Jesse is called to the scene. After a cross is burned on the lawn in front of Ron and Liza Patel’s home, Jessie believes a group of white supremacists is targeting interracial couples. When a visibly distressed Molly comes into the station on her day about a racist flyer her husband found on his car, Jesse isn’t surprised to learn The Saviors of Society, a white supremacy group, had written, printed, and distributed it. Alisha is accused of killing the suspect in the cross-burning incident. The victim is identified as John W. Vandercamp, the youngest son of the Saviors leader, Leon Oskar Vandercamp, a/k/a “the Colonel.” No weapon is found on or near the victim, but Alisha is adamant that he shot at her first. Prominent religious leaders arrange a prayer meeting and Jesse fears a full-scale confrontation is inevitable unless he garners all his investigative skills and solves the hate crimes and those responsible are apprehended.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader. If you like this, stop by, you might find something else you like.
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This is Coleman's fifth Jesse Stone novel, the seventeenth in the series overall and Coleman has really put his stamp on the character here. He's made the series his own already, adding depth and shades of color to characters that've been around for years, don't get me wrong. But everything he's done could be changed, dropped, or ignored in the next -- like an old Star Trek or Columbo episode. But following up from the closing pages of The Hangman's Sonnet, in Colorblind he's enacted permanent change on Jesse -- yeah, things might not go smoothly from this point -- he may stumble. But things won't be the same -- cannot be the same without some sort of Star Wars Expanded Universe level retcon. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

First we need to start with the crime part of the novel -- it's ostensibly what people are buying this for, and the novel's focus. I can absolutely see this happening in Real Life ™ -- a white supremacist group from New York is attacking mixed race couples (and by "mixed," I obviously mean one white person and one person from another race -- they wouldn't care if an Asian man and a Hispanic woman were together) and spreading propaganda in Paradise, of all places. There's a reason Paradise was chosen -- several, actually, and it actually makes sense in context -- it's not just a convenient way to get it into a Jesse Stone novel. Only one of the crimes involved is technically something that Jesse is supposed to be investigating.

Once one of his officers becomes embroiled in this series of crimes -- and the possible target of an elaborate frame job -- Jesse stops really caring about things like jurisdictions, and will stop at nothing to find the truth. If there's a connection between the different crimes, he'll find it. The question he has no answer to is: for what end? Why are these people in Paradise? What do they have to gain from framing his officer?

Yes, certain elements of this story stretch credulity a bit -- but in context it absolutely works. And while I say something stretches credulity, I can't help but wonder if it really does. The actions of this particular supremacist group might not be that much different from the dreams of too many. Also, the race-based crimes, the murders, the vandalism -- everything that Paradise or Massachusetts can prosecute people for -- are not the biggest evil perpetrated by the members of that group. There's a deeper darkness working here, something that people with radically different views can also perpetrate -- Coleman could've gone the easy route and made it all about "Them," but he points at something that everyone can and should recoil from.

While Jesse works to prevent things from getting out of hand in Paradise, he is struggling to prevent himself from doing what he's so often done before -- retreat to the bottle. He has several reasons to, several excuses to -- and decades of experience telling him to do so. Fresh (Very, very fresh) off a stint at rehab, Jesse starts attending AA meetings (in Boston, nothing local that could cause problems for himself or anyone else in the meeting). I absolutely loved this part of the book -- I think Coleman's treatment of Jesse's drinking (and his various attempts to limit/stop it) has been so much better, realistic and helpful than anything that came before. Colorblind takes that another step up, and sets the character on a path that he needs to be on. Jesse's not a rock, but he's working on becoming one when it comes to this addiction. I don't know (don't want to know) where Coleman is going with this -- but I love it. Character growth/development, an actual healthy approach, and Coleman's own stamp on the series. Even if Jesse relapses in the future, he's actually been sober (not just taken a break from drinking) -- I love it (have I mentioned that?). It may have been a little too on-the-nose to have Jesse's new AA friend be named Bill, but, it made me smile.

As for the regulars -- we've got some good use of Healy (retirement can't stop him!); Lundquist is settling in nicely to this world (very glad about that, I've liked him since his intro back that other Parker series, whatever it was called); Molly was outstanding (it's hard to mis-write Molly, but it's very nice when it's done correctly); and Suit is still the guy you want riding shotgun when things get harry (ignoring the fact that someone else was actually carrying the shotgun when it came to it -- it's a metaphor, folks!). Surprisingly enough, given the B-Story, Dix doesn't make an appearance -- but Jesse can't stop thinking about him, so he's here, he's just "offscreen." That was a nice touch (and hopefully not too much of a spoiler), it'd have been very easy to have almost as much Dix in this book as Jesse. Coleman has not only got the original cast of characters done well, he's introduced a few of his own regulars and has merged them into this world well (e.g., Mayor Walker, Monty Bernstein). And it's not just characters he's blending, this book is full (not overstuffed) of call-backs to the oldest Stone novels as well as Coleman's -- this universe is alive and well and whole.

As far as the writing -- it's Reed Farrel Coleman, I really don't need to say anything else. I will say a little bit, though, he balances the various stories and tones of these stories well -- the book feels like a natural outgrowth of every book that came before, however minor the stylistic choices and depth have changed over the last few years. Parker could have written this. I don't think (especially in the latter years) he would have, but he could have. Yet, it's undeniably a Coleman book. It's impressive the way that Coleman can do this (see almost everyone that's tried a Bond novel [honestly haven't tried one in years, maybe someone has], or Robert Goldsborough to see that not everyone is capable of it). There is one moment, I thought, that Coleman faltered a bit and got into some pretty heavy editorializing -- if this was a first person book, it would have worked; or if he had been obviously channeling one of the characters, I wouldn't have said anything; but when your omniscient third-person narrator gets that opinionated, it's not good.

A solid crime story that resonates near the too-close-for-comfort zone given the cultural events (which probably is how some people felt with 1970's Parker), some great character development -- and plenty of fodder for Coleman's next (I ignored one storyline above because I don't think I can talk about it without ruining it). This is a must for Jesse Stone fans and a decent entry point for new readers, too -- it'll get you to go back and read at least a few older books (I'm more than willing to help a new reader with an "Essential Jesse Stone" reading list -- just let me know). Give this one a look folks, it deserves it.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Putnam Books via NetGalley in exchange for this post -- thanks to both for this.

If I'm honest, although I very much enjoyed the other books by this author, who took over the series after the death of Robert B. Parker, they never quite measured up to the originals. This one, in which Jesse returns to his job after a couple of months in rehab, doesn't read like "classic" Jesse either. Rather, it does something that seems perfect to me after all these years: brings major changes to Jesse's life including a persona that seems a bit different (not the least of which is that he sometimes speaks in full sentences). It's also a great story that held my interest throughout; so if I'm right that this book signals the beginning of a new Jesse, I'm all for it.

Jesse also has left his former home and moved to a condo, removed the bottle of booze from the bottom drawer of his desk at work, hired a newbie cop named Alisha and started going to AA meetings (the latter albeit reluctantly). Talk about a fresh start! Soon, he lands in the middle of a new case as well - the vicious beating and rape of a black woman. The M.O. reminds Jesse of a similar murder years earlier, and suspicions are that there's a connection to the Saviors of Society, who may be attacking interracial couples. Just what the normally peaceful town of Paradise needs.

And then, the almost unthinkable happens: Alisha is accused of murdering an unarmed man - the son of the Saviors leader, no less. Despite the damning evidence against her, Jesse smells a rat and isn't willing to believe she's guilty as charged. Proving that, however, won't be easy; he'll need to garner all his notable investigative skills - and some help from friends - if he's to get to the bottom of what really happened before the Saviors take their demand for "justice" into their own hands.

As all this is happening, Jesse continues to have mixed feelings about sobriety and meets a young man named Cole who, let's say, isn't fond of authority. Feeling some kind of connection, Jesse tries his best to help Cole (or at least keep him out of serious trouble). But will the kid be worth the effort? Maybe, maybe not; I'll never tell!

I will, however, be looking forward to the next chapter in Jesse's new life. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance review copy of this one.

What an enthralling continuation of Robert B. Parker's Jesse Stone series!

Jesse made it through rehab, and has resumed his police chief duties in Paradise plus begun nightly AA meetings. It's always a treat watching Jesse figure out whodunit, then figure out how to prove it. In his latest case, Jesse investigates several hate crimes (perhaps just the tip of the hate-crime-iceberg) to determine the puppet-master and minions responsible. It's quite the page turner, with a thrilling climax.

I can't wait to read the next book!

In this latest Jesse Stone book by Reed Coleman, he takes Robert B. Parker's lovable but damaged character Jesse Stone, the police chief of Paradise, Mass. and gives him a new challenge. Stone has just come back to work after being in alcohol rehab for two months and finds his town in the center of some hate crimes. One of Jesse's officers, an African American woman, Alisha Davis, is set up to look as if she gunned down and unarmed man. Jesse must wade through all of the evidence to find out what is happening in his town, while trying to keep away from alcohol. The story rings of things that are currently happening in our world today and Coleman does a great job incorporating the characters that we love from Paradise to current events. I love Jesse Stone books and Reed Coleman has certainly done the lovable Robert B. Parker's character justice and more.

I have read a few of Robert Parker's Jess Stone novels and I have got to say I haven't been disappointed yet. Jesse is newly out of rehab and boy did a storm just blow into his little town of Paradise! Hold on tight because there's alot going on behind the scenes and Jesse is just the man to figure it out! Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers for allowing me to read this ARC book and give my own personal opinion.

Fresh out of rehab, Jesse Stone is pushed into a case that is representative of one of his first. As he works through his demons and tries to handle his sobriety, a young man, Cole Slayton, comes into town, and Jesse isn't quite sure what to make of him. Reed Farrel Coleman has written a solid Jesse Stone novel -- and leaves the reader hanging on the last few pages... I can't wait to see where he takes Jesse next. A great weekend read!