Sea Change (Jesse Stone)
by Robert B. Parker

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Book Reviews of Sea Change (Jesse Stone)

Book Review: Exquisite Morality Tale
Summary: 5 Stars

If reading about disgusting people is more than you can take, I suggest you avoid this book. Mr. Parker has made his villains as unappealing as possible. That's part of the book's strength as a morality tale. I must admit that I flinched more than once as the graphic descriptions brought home the horrible lessons. But a good session with reading the book of Mark soon brought me back to normal.

The book has two story lines that will not seem interconnected to many. The first involves a mysterious floater who needs to be identified, the cause of death determined and an investigation conducted. The second involves Jesse Stone's latest efforts to reconcile with his ex-wife, Jenn. Actually, these stories are like bookends. You need both to hold the book up. The first shows you what goes wrong when you make a mistake and stick with it. The second shows you what's possible when you try to rectify your mistakes and seek out a better path. Between the two, Mr. Parker shares with us his sense of what marriage should be all about.

The book involves an interesting investigation where who did what to whom isn't clear until near the end. Although Mr. Parker is fair with his clues, his writing style is a good one for keeping the outcome opaque. Mr. Parker, according to his local talk on Wednesday night this week, doesn't plan ahead. He lets the book write itself, 10 pages a day. I felt that indeterminate focus quite clearly in this book which made the story work better for me.

As usual, the dialogue is sublime. Each character is revealed more through what she or he says . . . or doesn't say . . . even more than by what they do or don't do.

Once again, it looks like the Jesse Stone books are emerging as the best of Mr. Parker's three series.

Bravo, Mr. Parker!

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