Product Description

The murder of a notorious public figure places Paradise, Massachusetts, police chief Jesse Stone in the harsh glare of the media spotlight.

When the body of controversial talk-show host Walton Weeks is discovered hanging from a tree on the outskirts of Paradise, police chief Jesse Stone finds himself at the center of a highly public case, forcing him to deal with small-minded local officials and national media scrutiny. When another dead body-that of a young woman-is discovered just a few days later, the pressure becomes almost unbearable.

Two victims in less than a week should provide a host of clues, but all Jesse runs into are dead ends. But what may be the most disturbing aspect of these murders is the fact that no one seems to care-not a single one of Weeks's ex-wives, not the family of the girl. And when the medical examiner reveals a heartbreaking link between the two departed souls, the mystery only deepens.

Despite Weeks's reputation and the girl's tender age, Jesse is hard-pressed to find legitimate suspects. Though the crimes are perhaps the most gruesome Jesse has ever witnessed, it is the malevolence behind them that makes them all the more frightening. Forced to delve into a world of stormy relationships, Jesse soon comes to realize that knowing whom he can trust is indeed a matter of life and death.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #180360 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The murder of Walton Weeks, a Rush Limbaugh–like political commentator in sleepy Paradise, Mass., drives the action of bestseller Parker's competent whodunit, a sequel of sorts to Blue Screen (2006), which first paired two of the authors' non-Parker series characters—Jess Stone, an ex-LAPD detective trying to resurrect his career as Paradise's police chief, and PI Sunny Randall—with predictable romantic results. After a stalker sexually assaults Stone's ex-wife, Jenn, Stone asks Randall to serve as Jenn's bodyguard. Stone finds himself under atypical media and political scrutiny, especially after Weeks's pregnant mistress is also found dead in Paradise. Both Stone and Randall are still weighed down with significant emotional baggage from their exes, and it's Parker's exploration of their ambivalent relationship that is this book's strength. The plot, however, is much less developed than Jane Haddam's Hardscrabble Road (2006), which likewise featured the murder of a right-wing radio commentator. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
What's up with Police Chief Jesse Stone? In the latest book in the Stone series, Jesse gets his new girlfriend, the funny, likable Sunny Randall, to babysit for his sourpuss ex-wife, Jenn, while he tries to figure out who killed a high-profile radio host. When is Jesse going to ditch that ex-wife and get on with the obvious? This is one of the better Stone novels, the second in the series, and Scott Sowers gives Stone just the right mix of humor and despair. We're also glad to see that Molly Crane and Suitcase Simpson are evolving into regular supporting characters. R.W.S. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
*Starred Review* Walton Weeks is a one-man media empire. He hosts a popular national radio gabfest, writes a newspaper column, and churns out best-selling books. At least he did until someone shot him and left him hanging from a tree in Paradise, Massachusetts. Shortly thereafter, the body of Weeks' pregnant lover is discovered in a nearby dumpster. Paradise police chief Jesse Stone fends off pressure from the governor and the state police in order to solve the high-profile case with the resources of his 12-person force. The potential suspects include two ex-wives, a widow, a bodyguard, and assorted staff members. Stone's problem is determining a motive. In a parallel plot, Stone attends to the needs of his ex-wife, Jenn, who alleges she was raped and claims she is being stalked by her attacker. Unable to cope with the murders and the rape, Stone calls on private investigator Sunny Randall--a sometime lover--to help with Jenn. Obsessive, sometimes unhealthy love is a recurring theme in Parker's work. In his Spenser novels, the protagonist and his lover have come through the tough times intact. Stone and Jenn have a strong but deleterious bond and are in the midst of a trying emotional journey to an unknown destination. This is Parker's most complex, ambitious novel in years. Spenser is always the toughest, coolest guy in the room. Jesse Stone sometimes seems like the toughest, coolest guy in the room, but he knows he's not. Great reading from an old hand who hasn't lost his touch. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

The Bonds of Matrimony

Pick up a Robert Parker book and you expect a mystery, some action, and witty dialogue. Sometimes the order of importance changes among those three elements. In the background, there will be rumblings about the nature of friendship, love, and commitment.

HIGH PROFILE adds a new dimension to the primary mix: relationships. HIGH PROFILE could be best characterized as relationships, dialogue, mystery, and action. For those who will like this book, only the first element, relationships, will count. Those who won't like the book will be annoyed that there's not enough mystery, action, and witty dialogue.

When most people marry in the United States, they promise to stay together "until death do us part." With the current divorce rate, a more accurate statement would be to promise to remain wedded "until divorce or death do us part."

Robert B. Parker has decided to take the original oaths seriously in this novel: What if we remain connected primarily to those we marry until we die . . . even if we become separated or divorced? Those connections might be based in part on our vows, our understanding of one another's needs, mutual sympathy, and an interpersonal dynamic that helps one another get through life. In this story, that question is examined from the perspective of every once-married character in the book. I found it to be fascinating. If you like serious novels about relationships, I think you'll find HIGH PROFILE to be rewarding whether or not you agree with the point that Mr. Parker has to make.

Here's the surface story. Jesse Stone has been seeing Sunny Randall (see BLUE SCREEN if you want to know the background). Jesse's ex-wife, Jenn, has gone off to pursue her career, one bedroom at a time. Into that seemingly quiet circumstance, Paradise is rocked by finding two dead bodies . . . killed by the same gun. The first body belongs to media personality, Walton Weeks, and draws a media crowd due to his celebrity and the public way that his murdered body was hoisted up to hang in a tree. Jesse puts Molly in charge of talking to the press and is trying to focus on the murders when Jenn shows up for help with a rapist-stalker. Not having any choice, Jesse asks Sunny to take care of Jenn while Jesse works the homicides. As you can imagine, this is a situation ripe with conflict.

Much of the murder investigation is done in police procedural style which strings out the mystery until near the end of the book. A parallel story runs concerning Jenn's problem, and the relationships that the triangle of lovers have with one another.

More than in the other Jesse Stone books, HIGH PROFILE also develops Jesse's relationships with the rest of the police force. Molly and Suitcase play major roles in the story. I suspect that Mr. Parker plans to involve these characters more in future stories.

The plots design is an especially intricate one because Mr. Parker has to use the characters and action to solve the mystery while developing his major points about marital relationships. With so many burdens to carry, necessarily the book doesn't move as fast as the best of the Spenser novels. I thought that the slower development was mostly worth the price.

May you enjoy a healthier love in your marriage than Mr. Parker's characters do in and after their marriages.

Triangles, Bad Chices
Jesse Stone's personal life comes to a crux with Jenn and Sunny brought together all the while a high profile double murder investigation takes place. Some nice plotting with the murder and great repartee with Molly and Suitcase - the running "detective" gag is well played out. Now, pers opinion but, what really is there to like about Jenn? More and more she's written out as a round-heeled airhead careerist. Enough to drive a strong man to drink! Also, guessing that the next Sunny Randall tale will (should?) go back and explore Richie...