Stranger in Paradise by Robert B. Parker

About the book: Police Chief Jesse Stone faces his most fearsome adversary in the latest addition to the celebrated series.

The last time Jesse Stone, chief of police of Paradise, Massachusetts, saw Wilson "Crow" Cromartie, the Apache Indian hit man was racing away in a speedboat after executing one of the most lucrative and deadly heists in the town's history. Crow was part of a team of ex-cons who plotted to capture Stiles Island, the wealthy enclave off the Paradise coast, by blowing up the connecting bridge. Residents were kidnapped, some were killed, and Crow managed to escape with a boatload of cash, never to be seen again. Until now.

So when Crow shows up in Jesse's office some ten years after the crime, it's not to turn himself in. Crow is on another job, and this time he's asking for Jesse's help-by asking him to stay out of his way.

First line:

My Thoughts: This is the first of the Jesse Stone series I've read. Well, actually I listened to this one. In fact the only other books of Parker's that I have read are the Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch westerns which I liked. This wasn't a mystery as you knew what was going on with everyone most of the time. But the flow of the story kept pulling me along page after page. Crow was an interesting character. The ultimate bad guy with a heart? The hired killer who won't kill women. I can't say that I liked Amber very much, but had to giver her some slack since she was 14 and had had no real parental guidance in her life. I want to read more of the books in this series, I think Jesse might be worth getting to know. One thing that didn't set right with me was a lot of the dialog. It sounded stiff. Each comment was ended with said so&so or so&so said. Each and every short comment. I like to be able to keep up with who said what, but it got a little tiresom after awhile. All in all, though, I liked it and I'll pick up mort of his work.