"Stone Cold"

"Stone Cold" by Robert B. Parker is his 4th Jesse Stone novel.  Jesse is Chief of Police in the small town of Paradise, Massachusetts but his police background was in California. He left California after his drinking (and continued love for his ex-wife) became an issue.  Paradise may not be the big city but it has its share of crime and having a police chief who is adept at solving crimes has its benefits.

Leaving California did not solve his ex-wife problems, though, because she has followed him to Massachusetts.  She may not live in Paradise but is close enough to be a constant reminder of how much he still loves her.

"Stone Cold" has Jesse solving two cases - one is fairly easy but the murders of random people with no seeming ties or motives by two serial killers working together has the town on edge and the lack of clues has Stone stymied.  He and his department call on state resources for help and eventually Jesse thinks he has identified suspects but has no way to prove they are the killers -- until they appear to target him!  Great police work by Jesse, the state, and his department finally help him to an arrest but not before tragedy strikes the Paradise police department.

The "easy" case involves a young high school girl who is gang raped by three male students who blackmail her into silence with the threat of showing pictures around that they took of their crime.  The girl's mother doesn't want the case pursued because she doesn't want her daughter's name to come out but, working with the young woman and her father, Jesse is able to identify and arrest the assailants thanks to a wise woman in his department and "Suitcase" Simpson.

Jesse Stone cases may tend to be gruesome but the caring of Chief Stone shows through when he is working a case and the glimpses into his personal life struggles make him very real.  I look forward to the next book in the series, "Sea Change."  pazt