Why are we hooked on Robert B. Parker’s Jesse Stone character? The obvious: he’s taciturn, self-deprecating, achingly honest, wise, and witty—truly unforgettable. His backstory, his personal tragedies, and his struggles with alcohol (Can anyone make a glass of whiskey with jazz on the side more appealing than Parker?) keep us coming back.

Jesse has traded in “the first magic sip” of Johnny Walker Black Label for a “new nightly ritual,” meeting in the rooms “with fellow alcoholics who gave one another the strength they needed to stay sober.” Lastly, his down-to-earth guiding philosophy—as explained to the principal of Paradise High School—resonates with readers.

“I just try to do what’s right, Virginia, and leave the bigger questions to someone else. I’ve never been very good at figuring out the larger meaning of things, because I’m not sure there is one. I’ve dealt with too much pain and death to worry about it all now.”

Fictional Paradise, Massachusetts, is Everytown. It’s in Boston’s shadow, and the things that make it appealing to former Angeleno Stone (a smattering of ethnic restaurants, an increasingly diverse population) also attract undesirables, aka criminals. Police Chief Stone knows there is an inexorable connection between increased urbanity and crime. If there was ever a time in Paradise when neighbors left their doors unlocked, it’s long gone.

When Heather Mackey, an attractive, popular cheerleader, dies of a self-inflicted overdose, Stone knows her death is not a one-off. She most likely got the drugs from a classmate. Jesse unravels the events leading up to the cheerleader’s death, and from the outset, it’s an uncomfortable undertaking. In the 16th Jesse Stone story, The Hangman’s Sonnet, Stone explains his honed-in-LA process.

“When you want the guy at the top, you start at the bottom of the totem pole and work your way up” is what Jesse’s first detective partner had said to him. It was advice he heeded every time he’d built a case against someone up the food chain. And that was just what he meant to do now.

Who has secrets to hide? Who are the most vulnerable students? The ones who might be persuaded or coerced to peddle drugs to their classmates. When Jesse starts yanking the chain, it leads to an unignorable situation, as much as folks might like to simply bury the dead and move on. Addiction to opioids is an all-American epidemic.

Characters in Robert Parker land never disappear (unless they die). There’s always a need for a “connected” guy, especially someone as well connected as mobster Vinnie Morris. Morris is a Cassandra when it comes to crime and punishment in Paradise. When Stone makes the trek to Morris’s warehouse, they sit at the bar, club soda and lime for Jesse, a “double pour of expensive bourbon” for Vinnie.

“What can I do for you, Jesse?”



“Not so long ago, you warned me that Boston’s crime would creep into Paradise. You were right. It’s arrived.”



“I like being right, but you didn’t drive down here to pat me on the back for being an oracle.”



“Opioids and fentanyl-laced heroin,” Jesse said.



“That stuff’s all over the place. You know you got an opioid problem in this country when there’s a drug just for opioid constipation that a pharmaceutical company pays millions of bucks to advertise on TV.”

It’s personal when a 17-year-old ODs, and Jesse’s sure “the trail leads down here.” He wants Vinnie’s ear to the ground. Particularly, after Vinnie admits he was approached to “buy in.” Vinnie turned them down, but the offer alone is confirmation of the spread of opioid-fueled crime.

The Bitterest Pill details the inexorable connection between pain, pain relief, unscrupulous medical practitioners, and the bad guys who pull all the strings. Heather Mackey “had compressed vertebrae,” her doctor tells Stone. Dr. Nour shows Stone Heather’s MRI images and notes that “the general population all have injuries of some form or other,” although there’s a “range of symptoms with varying levels of distress.”

“Uh-huh. Fascinating, but what about Heather? Where did she land on the curve?”



“I’m afraid she wasn’t tolerating the pain very well with the Motrin. I prescribed Vicodin.”



“Is that usual, prescribing an opiate for teenagers?” Jesse asked, his tone calm and nonaccusatory.



“I prefer not to prescribe it for anyone, but my notes say she was in obvious distress and she was accompanied by her mother. See the notation here.”

Dr. Nour only prescribed a 15-day course of Vicodin, but unfortunately, she found a new supplier. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, in the affluent world of Heather’s parents (her father is a town selectman). Even though her mother knew Heather was stealing from her, she didn’t confront her. Nor did Heather’s friends. Unlike the crack epidemic, a “drug of the poor,” opiate addiction cuts across the class lines, hence the pressure to shut it down.

What disgusted Jesse most of all about these drug scourges was the complicity of the people at the top of the food chain. The same people who had lit the fire, the big pharma companies, their stockholders, doctors, drugstores, were now screaming for everyone else to put it out. He knew the fire would claim many more victims before it would come under control. It was always the way.

Jesse Stone is fatalistic without losing hope and respect for the people he serves. Yes, he’s facing “a fast-spreading wildfire” but it’s not in his DNA to walk away from a disaster. Chief Stone and his department bring the firewall. The Bitterest Pill is a timely, unforgettable story. Thanks to Reed Farrel Coleman for continuing to bring Jesse Stone to life.

It is always interesting, in my opinion, when an author passes away and the decision is made to allow another author to carry on in their place. In the case of the Jesse Stone series, this was a good choice.The storyline is timely and educational since the opioid crisis is a current threat the U. S. is trying to get a hold on. The plot of this story, drugs within the school, is a simple but believable one and shows how easy it is for drugs to infiltrate a school setting. The book kept me guessing throughout, trying to determine which teacher was guilty of acting as a drug dealer. The stories of how each student became hooked on opioids were very similar, but unfortunately, very true to real life and has also been portrayed in many television series. I found the characters to be both entertaining and informative, if not quite as believable as before. I was slightly disappointed in one aspect of the ending, but in an effort to not present any spoilers, I will keep that to myself, If you are a fan of Jesse Stone from the beginning, you will find that this is not the same Jesse as before, and you may be disappointed. However, I believe that, in the end, this was a good read. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

It's hard not to like Chief Jesse Stone and his crew in Paradise MA. This one is about curtailing the use of narcotics in his town's high school. Thank you to Reed Farrel Coleman for continuing the series.

THE BITTEREST PILL is Coleman’s best Jesse Stone novel. The story starts rather slowly but then becomes more interesting as the drugs and murder become more intertwined. I will definitely look forward to any more books in this series.

Robert B Parker developed many characters that are part of our collective memory, characters that are "good" guys but often struggle with the "good" part of that description. Reed Farrel Coleman has kept Jesse Stone as Parker first wrote him, a man with a troubled past that works every day to keep his town and it's many flawed citizens safe. When the bad guys say "There is trouble in Paradise", they mean Jesse Stone has set his sites on them. With it's close proximity to Boston, big city crime comes to visit Paradise too often.
This book has at it's heart the opioid crisis. Paradise High School, with it's mix of poor and rich teenagers is a perfect site for the drug trade to operate. The death of a 17yr old cheerleader from a heroin overdose leads Jesse to focus on how a young woman who seemed to have a solid future could become the poster child for opioid addiction. He finds many young athletes who started with pain medicine for an injury and quickly moved to addiction. Along the way, he will find that Paradise has been targeted by dealers and must work to track down the sources.
Any Jesse Stone story would not be complete without a romance for Jesse that ends with regret. Coleman again stays true to Parker's writing and the romance from beginning to end leaves us wondering why Jesse must always be so unlucky in love.
In total, if you did not know that the book was not written by Robert B Parker, you would be unable to tell. I've been reading Jesse Stone books for many years and will continue to do so as long as the quality of this book carries through to others.

Parker's Jesse Stone is in capable hands with Reed Farrel Coleman (whose own books are awesome). I have been a lifelong reader of Parker's and I don't think Coleman misses a beat when it comes to the characterization of Jesse Stone. The mystery was fine and the topic, the opiod crisis, is ripped from today's headlines. A good read with characters the reader cares about.

Robert B. Parker’s THE BITTEREST PILL: A Jesse Stone Novel
Reed Farrel Coleman
Putnam Books
ISBN 978-0-399-57497-9
Hardcover
Thriller

Reed Farrel Coleman’s take on Paradise, Massachusetts police chief Jesse Stone continues to be a intriguing and extremely worthwhile experience. Stone, for better or worse, was continuously in the shadow of the Spenser, Robert B, Parker’s longer-running and better-known creation. Coleman’s hand has been on the steering wheel of Stone’s cruiser for several years now, gently taking the stories into his own lane while respecting Parker’s vision and characters, whether primary or secondary. The result is an enlarging and evolution of the character and the canon which otherwise may or may not have happened but which certainly has made Stone and all within his circle more interesting.

THE BITTEREST PILL, which is the latest installment in the Stone series, is an excellent example of this. The job of a small town police chief is a tough one. There is no insulation, no phalnx of assistants to get between the job and an upset citizenry. So it is that when the opioid epidemic dramatically comes to Paradise the demand for a solution is swift and sure, The manifestation in this case is the sudden death by drug overdose of a very popular cheerleader at Paradise High School. The high school is a mix of the town’s have and have-nots, but the drug use that is inexorably flowing into Paradise from nearby Boston does not discriminate among the economic and social classes. Jesse is not above using his contacts and associates on both sides of the law to follow the trail of the epidemic through Paradise and back to its source, but even he is surprised to find that there are links among not only the students but also the faculty at Paradise High. He additionally receives opposition --- direct and otherwise --- from some pillars of the local community, who believe that they are protecting their children but who are actually further endangering them by their misguided actions. Jesse meanwhile is balancing the concerns of the community with some of his own issues, which include relishing his newfound sobriety while attempting to maintain it and wondering what secret his recently discovered adult son seems to be concealing from him. Jesse also enters into a new relationship with someone who is full of surprises but very slow in revealing them, and for good reason. There are several mysteries, great and small, in THE BITTEREST PILL, and Jesse continues to uncover them practically up to the last page of the book.

Coleman and Stone remain an excellent fit. Parker’s stories were always strongly driven by entertaining dialogue. While Coleman’s narrative style is a bit more balanced with plotting, he has, as did Parker, a fine ear for the back and forth of character discourse, thus sharpening the personalities of anyone who wanders into and out the scenes and vignettes which populate his books in general and THE BITTEREST PILL in particular. While Coleman’s plotting here is fairly straightforward, and blessedly so, there are enough twists and turns to keep the reader gently off-balance and greatly entertained. Regardless of whether you were reading the Stone series before Coleman took over the writing reins, you should be reading it now. Recommended.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
© Copyright 2019, The Book Report, Inc. All rights reserved.

In pleasing symmetry, there are now nine posthumous Paradise mysteries, to match the nine written by Parker and the nine television films. However, this is otherwise not a pleasing entry.

On the plus side, the author is letting Jesse Stone and Paradise evolve naturally, while retaining some of the core characteristics that make Robert Parker's series so popular. Jesse has quit drinking and acquired a son, Paradise is losing its old New England backbone and becoming a remote suburb of Boston.

The basic plot, drug overdose death of popular high school teenager leads to discovery of deeper corruption, is classic and handled well, although Parker would have introduced more complexities and action scenes.

One complaint is that Coleman puts in far too many references to past books, and brings out old characters like Vinnie, Suit and Perkins to do gratuitous cameos. Only Molly--and maybe Bill--seems to be developing.

My biggest complaint is that this reads like hysterical-in-both-senses propaganda, strong echos of the 1936 film "Reefer Madness." Parker never stooped to headline-panic-of-the-hour nonsense. The book does not present any credible picture of drug abuse in 2019. Unmentionable urban evil--personified by foreigners who either engage in suspicious old-world customs or speak in cartoon accents--are invading upper-middle-class suburbia, via lower-middle-class residents. Nice girls from good homes instantly choose the most depraved sexual degradation, described of course in pornographic detail, to get the evil weed (or in this case, pill). Pain relief is not a medical necessity or something essential for quality of life, it's the gateway to chemical thralldom beyond the control of any individual.

You won't find in any genuine Parker novel pompous nonsense like, "It starts with legal prescriptions and ends with a dead girl and a murdered boy," or, "It's a plague, Suit, a goddamn plague." There's no too-obvious-for-words filler like, "But Jesse had learned long ago that the perfection on the exterior of the house wasn't a commentary on the people who resided within." (On the other hand, Coleman, or perhaps his editor, resisted describing the architecture of the house in detail).

My least favorite quote in the book is, "The same people who had lit the fire, the big pharma companies, their stockholders, doctors, drugstores, were now screaming for everyone else to put it out." The "fire" is that drugs that relieve pain can also cause addiction. No one lit that fire, it's as old as pain itself. Pain can ruin lives, relief from pain can ruin lives (and wars--including wars on drugs--ruin many lives).

Sure, some doctors prescribe irresponsibly for money, and can be accused of fanning the flames. But they're not screaming for anyone to solve the problem, they live off the problem. The vast majority of doctors who do want the problem mitigated work hard to do it--striking balances with their patients between pain relief and avoiding addiction, and advocating sensible policies. No individual doctor lit the fire and screamed for solutions.

Similarly some pharmaceutical companies marketed painkillers irresponsibly, but the overall industry is searching hard for drugs that provide more relief with less abuse potential. And drugstores? Are they supposed to refuse to fill prescriptions? Are stockholders supposed to refuse to cash dividend checks? Or perhaps drug store clerks and stockholders are supposed to figure out the right balance between pain relief and addiction and enforce their solution on everyone else.

Overall, the best I can say is this novel suggests a promising path for future Paradise novels with Molly and Cole stepping up, and maybe a new love interest, as Paradise changes with the times. Strip away the excessive references to the past and the drug hysteria of the present, and this is a workmanlike classic mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC for my honest review.

I have always loved the Jesse Stone books and enjoyed the characters. This one is just as good as the others! I highly recommend the whole series.

The fact that I am still reading, and enjoying, this series - now on book 18 - is testament enough to how I think Reed Farrel Coleman is doing picking up and running with it. In this, his latest outing, Paradise Police Chief Jesse Stone, ably assisted by Molly and Suit, has his work cut out for him with an epidemic of drugs. Specifically opiods which have been drifting into the town from nearby Boston. Things come to a head with the death of a popular high-school cheerleader but his investigations take some rather strange turns on the way which is even more worrying for Jesse and his future in Paradise. But it's not easy for Jesse with his fledgling sobriety still precarious and also the appearance into his life of, well, that'd be telling. So he has his work cut out to both keep on the straight and narrow as well as investigating a case that appears to stall at every turn. But he has his own resources and, well, you'll have to read to find out more...
I really love the direction that Coleman is taking Jesse these days. Staying true to the foundations and core values as laid down by Parker, he has slowly built up his own layers and I like what I am seeing in this latest offering. The story was good and kept my attention nicely. Some of what was contained within this book was a bit obvious but this was balance out by things that I would have never seen coming in a month of Sundays! Which really did keep me on my toes throughout.
It's fast paced, action packed and without and padding or waffle. Everything contained herein spoke either to plot or character development which meant that I got through it in only a couple of sittings, it being a book so very hard to put down. Only down side being that now I have finished it I have to wait for the next one. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I've loved Jesse Stone's laid-back attitude, at least until it's time to be not so laid back, for years. I was introduced to him first in the movies with Tom Selleck, which led me to the books, and I was forever hooked. Jesse's story continues through the words of Reed Farrel Coleman, and I love that he holds true to the wonderful character first brought to life by Parker. There is one big difference, Jesse's sober now and trying to remain so. I realize that Jesse's sobriety is a source of contention for some, but I don't see it that way. For me, a character needs to continue to grow and evolve, and an honest effort at sobriety seems like a natural progression for the character.
I missed the last book in the series, so the addition of Jesse's son was new to me. That's where this book first got a little personal for me. I grew up in a situation very similar to Cole's, except I was older than Cole by the time I met my father. So, I'm always interested in how these situations play out on the page. Based on my own experiences, the interactions between Cole and Jesse ring true. They're still getting to know each other, and Cole is still learning to trust Jesse as well as learning that everything he thought he knew wasn't exactly how things were. I liked the progression for the father and son, and I enjoyed the addition of Cole's character.
The Bitterest Pill tackles the growing drug problem, specifically the opioid crisis and how it gets a hold on small towns everywhere. The web of players on that side of things was complex and held my interest as well as kept me guessing about a particular player in the game. There are red herrings, and there's also more than one possibility for who it could be. And here I will admit that I was wrong. I had my guesses, and while this one didn't exactly come out of nowhere, that person wasn't even on my radar. Of course, we get plenty of Suit and some of Molly as the case moves forward as well as Jesse relying on some help from a known criminal, which, again, rings true to the character.
In addition to a solid mystery and some page time with some series favorites, Coleman gives us a touch of romance for our favorite police chief. One that comes with some migivings, and we all know Jesse's penchant for wanting answers. I won't go into details on that so as not to give spoilers, but I felt like things happened the only way they could have given the circumstances.
In the end, there were a lot of players in this deadly game as the opioid crisis hits Paradise with a vengeance, and the story moves along with a steadily rising tension that explodes into an edge of your seat conclusion. However, I will add that when you think the dust has settled on this particular addition to the Jesse Stone series, it really hasn't. There's a bit more to the story. I don't know if there's another Jesse Stone book planned, but I sincerely hope so, and I certainly recommend this one.

Jesse is fighting the opioid epidemic, his desire for a drink, and to connect to his newly found son in Robert B. Parker’s The Bitterest Pill.

I read each of Robert B. Parker’s novels as they were released. I’ve only read one of the books by Michael Brandman, which I didn’t care for at all. This is my first book in the series by Reed Farrel Coleman. He does a better job making the writing style sound similar to Mr. Parker’s writing. However, I feel that Jesse’s highly controlled alcoholism was what made him unique. By removing that trait, Jesse doesn’t feel genuine. I also thought the addition of a long lost son was kind of a stretch. It seemed like a plot device rather than a natural shift in Jesse’s world.

Overall, I would recommend Robert B. Parker’s The Bitterest Pill to readers new to the series. The mystery was good and the writing style excellent. But it may be a disappointment to longtime fans of the original author. 3 stars.

Thanks to G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

This series has remained strong despite being taken over by other writers after Parker's death more than a decade ago. Nice to see it so lovingly carried on!

A solid entry in the Jesse Stone series as carried on by Reed Coleman. Jesse is still struggling with the aftermath and destruction from the last book, although it appears he has finally got a handle on his alcoholism. Drugs have started to have a more organized appearance in Paradise with a teen death by OD starting Jesse on a winding investigation to uncover the source. All of the usual characters make an appearance, but I find the addition of a son for Jesse to be off putting. The scenes with Cole feel forced and really add nothing to the story, and his "news" felt like a somewhat clumsy and unneeded plot device. I also found the denouement of his latest relationship to be unnecessarily sensational and rather implausible. Hopefully these are not signs the series is beginning to run out of creative steam.

The Bitterest Pill is one of the most reviting Jesse Stone books. The suspense builds as the drug scene on Paradise is exposed.

Not a pretty story but a good one. Very well done. Good character development. Author does a fine job of carrying on the Jesse Stone tradition. Deserved 5 stars.I will look forward to reading his next book.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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Well, it's pretty clear that Don Winslow has left his mark on Reed Farrel Coleman—there's a quotation from Winslow on the so-called War on Drugs as the epigraph to this novel. Jesse cites it and alludes to it later in the novel. It's a good line—catchy and insightful (and, not that it matters, I agree 100% with it)—don't misunderstand me, but I'm used to Robert B. Parker characters citing Shakespeare, (Edmund) Spenser, Shelley, and songs from the late 60s/70s. I don't think I've ever seen one quote someone contemporary. The latest focus of most of our country in that War is the Opioid Crisis, in The Bitterest Pill, that epidemic shows up in Paradise, Massachusettes—partially fulfilling Vinnie Morris' prediction to Jesse that Boston crime was on its way to Paradise.

A student at Paradise High—the daughter of a city councilman—dies of an overdose and the city is rocked. It can't be the first drug-related death in its history, but this was a different kind of thing. She's not an obvious user, cheerleader, from a well-to-do family, and so on. Not the kind of person that Paradise is ready to believe would be an addict or that would die of an O.D.

What's obvious to Jesse and his team is that if they don't shut down the supply chain that fed this girl her drugs, she won't be the only death, she'll just be the first. This sets Jesse on a Hunt through Paradise High School and Boston's underbelly. There's a moment that made me think of Connelly's Two Kinds of Truth (which just means that Connelly and Coleman have both done their research into the ways prescription drug rings work, not that Coleman's copying anything)—but there's a difference. Bosch is trying to deal with a situation, he's involved in busting a ring as a means to an end. Jesse? He's trying to protect his town it's personal—and the ways that this particular ring is trying to invade Paradise are more diverse than what Bosch dealt with.

Skip this next paragraph if you're worried about Colorblind spoilers.
I avoided talking about the new character Cole last time out, because, how could I? I'm on the fence with him, honestly. I don't see where he was necessary—Jesse has Suit to father (although, at this stage, Luther doesn't need much), he's got the weight of the city on his shoulders, what's added to the character by this relation? On the other hand, scenes with him are done so well, and Jesse's different with him. I really enjoy him—he's not the Paradise equivalent of Paul Giacomin, thankfully (nothing against Paul, we just don't need another one), he's a different kind of character (as Jesse was compared to Spenser and Sunny).

Speaking of Suitcase, I think I've loved everything Coleman's done with him (every major thing, anyway, there might have been a scene or two that I forgot about), other than not using him as often as he could. But there's a scene with Suit and Cole in this book that is so well done that it's one of those passages I could read from time to time just to smile at. He's come a long way. Molly seemed a little under-used, but she was good whenever she showed up and did get to shine a bit. I think Coleman overplayed the difficulty of Molly doing her job because of the way this case impacted Paradise's children a bit (really not much), and, as always, he's too dependent on bringing up the incident with Crow in relation to Molly. But on the whole, Suit, Molly and the rest of Paradise PD came off pretty well.

For awhile under Coleman and Ace Atkins, Vinnie Morris seemed more dangerous, more of a wild card—less "tamed." But both the way that Atkins has used him the last time or two and here he seems to be tacking back to a friendly criminal who's too willing to help out the non-criminal element. Frankly, I prefer the less-tame version, but as someone who's enjoyed Vinnie since he worked for Joe Broz ages ago, I don't care, I just like seeing him on the page.

After the very effective use of the mayor recently, I was surprised at her absence in this novel—not that there was room for anything like that.

There's really one more supporting character that we should talk about—Alcohol. Jesse's greatest foe (although, you could argue he's the enemy and alcohol is the tool he uses to attack himself, but...eh, let's make this easy and say alcohol). He may be clean and sober, but he's still an addict, and his drug of choice is still a near-constant presence in his life. I love, respect and admire the way that Jesse (and Coleman) have dealt with this subject, particularly since Jesse stopped drinking. It's so much more believable (and healthy) than Jesse's attempts to manage his drinking before. I liked the approach in Colorblind, and continuing it in The Bitterest Pill made it stronger.

So, we've got Jesse battling personal demons (but with a clearer head), adjusting to a new personal reality, and dealing with a potentially crushing crime wave that's leaving a trail of destruction through the youth of Paradise. Throw in the instability of a new romantic relationship? Jesse's in a pretty healthy place, but given the pressures (and a couple I didn't list)—it's gotta be weighing on him, and Coleman does a pretty good job of balancing the health and precarious nature of Jesse's state of mind.

As Coleman's writing, it seemed frequently that he was trying too hard to make this something the level of Colorblind or Debt to Pay, and didn't quite make it. Maybe because he was trying so hard? The topic he's dealing with is important, so it's understandable he's taking big swings to hit this out of the park. But there are a few sentences that no one but Reed Farrel Coleman could have written. They were gorgeous and practically sang. I don't want to sound like one of those anti-genre literary snobs, but Coleman comes close to transcending the genre and its easy to see the impact his poetry frequently has on his prose.

At the same time, he's an effective mystery writer—there are red herrings all over the place for readers to get distracted with. As far as the main conduit for drugs into the school goes, I had a candidate I was sure of and a back-up, and another one, too. I couldn't have been more wrong and had dismissed the actual perpetrator without much thought at all. While ratcheting up the tension, keeping me locked into the story, he pulls the wool over my eyes and manages a few lines that are practically lyrical. There are few in the genre who can match that.

The ending of this novel came as a little bit of a gut punch. Granted, there was a sense in which the last couple of pages couldn't have gone any other way—I'll leave the specifics out of it, but the last few paragraphs were hard to read. But they were so, so good. They might be the most effective few paragraphs in the book. I don't think it's much of a spoiler to say that just when you think the story's done, it's not.

Rumor has it that this is Coleman's last Jesse Stone book—I hope it's not true, but it'd make sense as he's switching publishers. As I said when his first entry in this series came out, his was the best Jesse Stone since Parker's early days with the series. Yes, he didn't do things the way Parker would have (especially later), but what he did was honest and genuine to the spirit of the characters and series that Parker left. Stone has a complexity that Spenser lost in the mid-80s, and Coleman recaptured that. The Bitterest Pill might not have been Coleman's Stone at his best, but I think that's largely because he was trying too hard to say something about the societal impact of the drugs (whereas in Colorblind it seemed effortless). And, while it wasn't as good as it wanted to be, it was very, very good, and will go down as one of the higher points of the series.

The Bitterest Pill would be a good place to meet Jesse Stone and the rest of the Paradise Police Department, and it's a great way for long-time fans/readers to touch base with them. I strongly recommend this.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Putnam Books via NetGalley in exchange for this post—I thank both groups for this.

Love Robert Parker’s character Jesse Stone. The Bitterest Pill is a great addition to the series. Well written plot that kept me glued to the story. I highly recommend this book. I received an arc from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

(4 1/2 stars rounded up) Robert B. Parker's The Bitterest Pill makes my heart happy as the legacy of Jesse Stone continues in another edge of your seat mystery. The opioid crisis has arrived in Paradise as a high school teen is found dead of an overdose. A recovery alcoholic, Jesse sympathizes with addicts but not the dealers and pushers. Jesse uses the tenacity he is known for to hunt down the heads of the drug ring. The drug ring is cleaning house and Jesse is on the list too. Fast paced and action packed, the latest Jesse Stone book stays true to Parker's vision and pleases this long time fan who hopes Reed Farrel Coleman keeps the Jesse Stone stories coming. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

THE BITTEREST PILL by Reed Farrel Coleman is the 6th book written by author Coleman in the “Jesse Stone” series that was created by Robert B. Parker.

Jesse is has continued his sobriety that is a carryover from the previous novel “Colorblind”, where he learns of a son he has never known about, and who gives him new purpose and meaning in life and reason to continue his commitment to remain sober.

Since there is never much of a reprieve for Jesse in the adversity he faces as Chief of Police in Paradise, the current situation that he is up against is the apparent influx of opiates and related criminal activity that has made it’s way into his community from the Boston area, which has been brought into light by the recent death of a high school student who was quite popular and extremely attractive, but reported changes in her grades at school were noticed by teachers and administrators at her school.

Vinnie Morris, Jesse’s longtime friend and crime boss, had recently predicted that drugs and related crimes would eventually make their way into Paradise, and Jesse is reminded of his words as events unfold that make the case complex and far reaching, and investigation is made difficult in determining who is involved in the case, although the investigation indicates that it is likely students and a teacher from the local High School are involved, and that organized crime from a group with foreign ties could be a factor, leading to assistance of Vinnie who is opposed to drug activity in his area, and is willing to make his presence known to those involved.

Jesse has progressively become attracted to an art teacher at the school who seems to be reluctant to discuss her past, and as much as he’d like to ignore the possibility, she seems to fit as a suspect for a role in the opiate connection involving the students.

Can Jesse solve the case in a way that can cut off the supply of drugs into his peaceful community, and by doing so is he putting himself, his son, and his relationship with the art teacher at risk?

Strong follow up novel to the recent books written in the series by author Coleman, and I like the fact that while he’s made it possible for Jesse to see a light at the end of the tunnel in his personal life, he still has his demons to face and is at constant risk of reverting back to his former self.

4 stars.