Synopsis: 'Jesse Stone, still reeling from the murder of his fiancée by crazed assassin Mr. Peepers, must keep his emotions in check long enough to get through the wedding day of his loyal protégé, Suitcase Simpson. The morning of the wedding, Jesse learns that a gala 75th birthday party is to be held for folk singer Terry Jester. Jester, once the equal of Bob Dylan, has spent the last forty years in seclusion after the mysterious disappearance of the master recording tape of his magnum opus, The Hangman's Sonnet.
That same morning, an elderly Paradise woman dies while her house is being ransacked. What are the thieves looking for? And what's the connection to Terry Jester and the mysterious missing tape? Jesse's investigation is hampered by hostile politicians and a growing trail of blood and bodies, forcing him to solicit the help of mobster Vinnie Morris and a certain Boston area PI named Spenser. While the town fathers pressure him to avoid a PR nightmare, Jesse must connect the cases before the bodies pile up further.' From author website.

Review: I knew who 'did it' from the introduction of the character and I guessed why fairly early, as well. Glad Jesse is not drinking. ( )

Jesse Stone, still reeling from the murder of his fiancé by crazed assassin Mr. Peepers, must keep his emotions in check long enough to get through the wedding day of his loyal protégé, Suitcase Simpson.

Sheriff Jesse Stone is recovering from the brutal death of Diana, a woman he thought he would spend the rest of his life with. He is recovering with the help of his old friend Johnnie Walker Black. But at this point in time he has to stay sober as his right hand man, "Suitcase" Simpson is getting married and all must go right.

Before he can get out of the office, he is visited by Roger Bascom, head of security for the posh Stiles Island where the wealthy live; Stan White, agent/promoter of Terry Jester the one time equivalent to Bob Dylan; and Bella Lawton, PR agent and stunning woman. They are there to discuss the big birthday bash for Jester's 75th birthday on Stiles Island. Touted to have numerous luminaries from the entertainment world and more. Something that Jesse knows will be a major pain for the small village of Paradise Cove.

What ensues is the unnecessary death of one of Paradise Cove's oldest residents and the theft of her very valuable and historic jewellery. The word of the emergence of a long missing recording of Jester's last great work, The Hangman's Sonnet, which is expected to be offered for a bidding war ransom.

While Jesse has his hands full with the cases, he is also dealing with personalities such as the mayor, who would love for fire Jesse and is concerned more with her image and her climb up the political food chain; the mayor's PR assistant whose job is to protect the mayor's image; Bascom and White and their huge egos, and Lawton and her seduction come-ons. The frosting is his dealing with his alcoholism and what he is going to do about it, if anything.

Jesse is not a verbose person, but he does get his point across. He has connections and uses them...even if they may not all be attached to law enforcement. The plot moves along at a steady pace. The chapters are short so you can always get a bit of reading in, even when time is short.

I am enjoying the series and looking forward to reading more. ( )

Not a Robert Parker novel - or a very good copy of his style
WAY too much emphasis on Jessee's drinking problem
Concure with the other reviews.
Discontinued reading ... ( )

This should be the book to end the Jesse Stone series on. I read the first 100 pages or so page by page. But I lost interest as the book focused on Stone's problem with alcoholism that I quickly paged through to the end. Just as Stone's employees in the Paradise Police Department were getting weary of dealing of Stone's problem with drinking, so had this reader.

I had borrowed the book from the library and quickly moved on to a book less depressing...I had enjoyed Debt to Pay, the previous book in the series a year ago---this book did not capture my interest. ( )