I have to say... I really enjoyed this latest Jesse Stone installment. It was fast-paced and well-written. Loved the characters - the storyline - I really loved the arc Jesse is making and how he is changing.

Can't wait to see what happens next in Paradise, with Jesse and Jesse's relationship with his son.

Thank you #netgalley and #PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the eARC.

Paradise - a beautiful town -
I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review -
An injury - pain pills and the driving need for more pills - thus begins the cycle for Heather, a beautiful senior girl.
Then an overdose -
Jessie begins he investigation to find the source of the drugs and what he finds is shocking in the small town of Paradise!!!

Still trying to navigate his sobriety and his newfound son, Jesse Stone is also trying to keep the Boston drugs out of his beloved Paradise. A young girl dies of an apparent overdose which sets of a chain of events that are far reaching... both personally and professionally. Reed Farrel Coleman keeps Robert B, Parker's Jesse Stone true to himself and the character he loved and developed. With a great supporting cast including Vinnie Morris and the remarkable Daisy, this is a fine book to add to the Jesse Stone line of books! A great afternoon read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review the latest book in the Jesse Stone series.

There is trouble in Paradise, again, and police chief Jesse Stone and his department are again put to the test. This time a high school student dies from a drug overdose and it tests Jesse’s investigative skills. As he digs deeper, he finds that the drug problem in town is worse than he hoped, and that there is a connection to the nearby city of Boston. Since he cannot always get straight answers from people potentially involved, his department must use all of their skills, as well as using his contacts at the State Police and even at the FBI. Eventually, the case is solved, but not before there are more tragic consequences and the usual story twists.

This story has Jesse still fighting his demons with drinking, dealing with his new-found son, discovering a relationship with a new women, enlisting the help of a mob boss in Boston, and managing his staff, all while trying to solve the mystery. Reed Farrel Coleman has done an outstanding job of continuing Robert B. Parker’s Jesse Stone series.

The opioid crisis is everywhere in this country and has arrived at Chief Jesse Stone's small town of Paradise.
Chief Stone has to get to the bottom of where these drugs are coming from and who is supplying them before more kids die- it's difficult since the kids won’t talk and their parents are lying about what they know.
As usual, Robert B Parker and Jesse Stone keep us involved from start to finish!

Reed Darrel Coleman has written a fantastic book. Well written and well developed characters. I would read more by this author.

4.5 stars, actually.

When I finished "Colorblind," the previous book in this series, I wasn't sure how much I liked the "new" police chief of small-town Paradise. After all, Jesse Stone had sold his spacious coastal home and moved into a condo, discovered a grown son he never knew he had, given up booze and (gasp!) answered questions with more than two words. Not that I want anyone to bang around alone in a dusty old mansion or be a drunk, mind you, but those less-than-perfect aspects did make for a unique personality that I'd come to love over many years (this is the 18th in the series started by the late, great Robert B. Parker).

And I must admit, over the first several chapters of this one, my doubts continued; the whole thing seemed to get off to a rather slow start (if nothing else, I got a bit weary of all the references to Jesse's not drinking anymore). But about a third of the way through, things started to get much more interesting. Jesse, it seems, isn't the only thing that's changed; vandalism, gangs, graffiti and drugs have crept into town to wreak havoc in the relatively close-knit community not far from Boston. And sure enough, the story takes a dark turn with the death of a teenage girl - an overdose. No one wants to believe she'd been an addict for some time, but once that was established as fact, efforts turn to finding who sold her the drugs with, of course, the hope that the arrest will lead to identifying others farther up the supply chain.

But as we all know, there's many a slip; just as Jesse and his department cohorts Molly Crane and "Suitcase" Simpson figure out who provided the girl with the lethal drugs, that figure turns up dead as well. And it gets worse; apparently, a drug ring has moved to town, so Jesse must use every trick in his bag - including his unlikely friendship with a local mobster - to get to the bottom (or more accurately, the top) of things. As if that challenge isn't enough to knock him off the wagon, he finds himself grappling with emotional upheavals on a personal level that threaten to provide the final shove.

By the end, though, I decided that Jesse is still a guy with whom I'd love to share a burger and beer (or in his case, lemonade). Put another way, this is another entertaining entry in the series and I'm already looking forward to the 19th. Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this one.

When Robert Parker passed away I was bereft, but his series have gone on admirably with several new writers at the helm. This newest Jesse Stone novel is very engrossing because it deals with a problem that is an epidemic in America today. Even small, peaceful Paradise could not escape the current opioid and heroin scourge.

Jesse is faced with uncovering the drug connections to Paradise HS when a young student ODs. At the same time as he is dealing with his own sobriety, a nascent relationship and a newfound son.

Every moment is engrossing, especially for those of us who work with adolescents. I hope that my students will read this and understand the brutality connected with the sale of opiates. The book even explains the relationship between physicians and the seemingly endless drug supply.

I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to all Parker fans. I look forward to the next novels, especially a new Spenser addition before my annual Spenser/Boston tour....no kidding, I’m a real fan! Thank you Netgalley!