Stranger In Paradise

I've mentioned before my lasting affection for the works of Robert B. Parker. The funny thing is, some of his own biggest fans occasionally accuse the man of coasting. He does tend to write about the same sorts of things over and over again -- difficult relationships that somehow manage to persist; unorthdox families that are held together by love more than blood; men who live by a code of honor that makes them in some way brothers even if they're on opposite sides of the law. And let's not forget a personal favorite -- making fun of pompous bigots, and even then, trying to find the spark of humanity hidden within even those sorry examples of it.

All of which is to say, Parker's new Jesse Stone book Stranger In Paradise is just delicious. Once again he mines his own back catalog of characters, returning to one of the most memorable "villains" of the Stone series' earlier days, Wilson "Crow" Cromartie, and turning him into this series' equivalent of Hawk, the adversary-turned-brother-in-arms of Parker's long-running Spenser saga. Once again the dialogue is alternately snappy and penetrating, illuminating the characters thoroughly in ways pages of description never could.

Small-town police chief Stone is himself in fine form, a pillar of quiet strength and resourcefulness, humanized by a sneaky sense of humor and his personal Achilles' heels: alcohol, and his equally unsettled and imperfect ex-wife Jenn. The supporting characters -- mostly fellow police officers in the fictional town of Paradise -- get lots of play this time, too. It's another great yarn from a master, and makes me want to read the whole Stone series over again from the start.