Robert B. Parker's Blind Spot by Reed Farrel Coleman

Reed Farrel Coleman has been commissioned by the estate of Robert B. Parker to continue the Jesse Stone series.  Blind Spot is Coleman’s first in this series.

Jesse Stone has failed more than once in his life.  First an injury ended his chances to play short stop for the L.A. Dodgers.  Then he became a Detective for LAPD but his drinking ended that career.  His marriage to Jenn failed about the same time.  Now he is chief of police in the small town of Paradise, Massachusetts… still drinking, still hanging on to what he has, yet haunted by what could have been.

Jesse’s former minor league team mate, Vic Prado invites him to a team reunion in New York.  Odd because Vic had gone on to have a successful major league baseball career and had not kept in contact.  This after he had been involved in the mishap that ended Jesse’s baseball career and had married the beautiful Kayla, Jesse’s girlfriend from those days.  At the reunion both Kayla and Vic tell Jesse they need to meet with him in private after the party.  He also meets the lovely Dee, a friend and younger version of Kayla.

 

But Jesse’s trip is cut short by a murder back in Paradise.  A young woman is found murdered at the aging and nearly abandon summer estate of a local wealthy family.  Their college age son, Ben is missing but his car remains in the driveway.  Ben’s father brings in his attorney who complicates Jesse’s investigation.  But the more Jesse learns, the more he becomes convinced that his out of the blue invitation to NYC from old buddy Vic is related to the murder in his jurisdiction.

I’m a longtime fan of Robert B. Parker and really appreciate his flawed yet noble characters with quick wits and efficiency with words.  But Coleman takes these qualities and expands on them.  He delves into the backgrounds and motivations of each character, not with boring drivel, but in a way that enriches the experience.  I learned more about Jesse Stone in this one novel than in all of the six or eight I’d read (or viewed in movie form) previously.  I happened to hear Reed Farrel Coleman talk about his experience with Robert B. Parker when his book tour took him through St. Louis.  He is a longtime RBP fan himself and has apparently had some success with his own Moe Prager series.  I’ll definitely read his next Jesse Stone novel and maybe sample some of his earlier work.