Sea Change (Jesse Stone) Summary and Reviews

Sea Change (Jesse Stone)
by Robert B. Parker

Sea Change (Jesse Stone)
List Price: $9.99
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Book Summary Information

Author: Robert B. Parker
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-03-06
ISBN: 0425214427
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Berkley

Book Reviews of Sea Change (Jesse Stone)

Book Review: Exquisite Morality Tale
Summary: 5 Stars

Robert Parker is really a social reformer hiding in the guise of a detective novelist. Like many, he's obviously disgusted by the rampant immorality of today's society. Unlike many who keep quiet about it, Mr. Parker has taken a stand to show that immorality just leads to worse consequences. I don't remember a book in which he has made the point as powerfully as in Sea Change.

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!

Literature & Fiction Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Literature & Fiction Books
The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Book 5) ImageThe Last Olympian (Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Book 5)
by Rick Riordan
Disney Hyperion Books for Children; Published: 2009-05-05; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.75
Price in other shops: $17.99
Olive Kitteridge: Fiction ImageOlive Kitteridge: Fiction
by Elizabeth Strout
Random House Trade Paperbacks; Published: 2008-09-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.29
Price in other shops: $14.00
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society ImageThe Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
Dial Press Trade Paperback; Published: 2009-05-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.54
Price in other shops: $14.00
Vision in White (The Wedding Quartet, Book 1) ImageVision in White (The Wedding Quartet, Book 1)
by Nora Roberts
Berkley Trade; Published: 2009-04-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.98
Price in other shops: $16.00
The Help ImageThe Help
by Kathryn Stockett
Putnam Adult; Published: 2009-02-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.00
Price in other shops: $24.95
First Family ImageFirst Family
by David Baldacci
Grand Central Publishing; Published: 2009-04-21; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.49
Price in other shops: $27.99
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! ImagePride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!
by Jane Austen, Seth Grahame-Smith
Quirk Books; Published: 2009-04-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.49
Price in other shops: $12.95
The Shack ImageThe Shack
by William P. Young
Windblown Media; Published: 2008-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.40
Price in other shops: $14.99
For Whom the Bell Tolls ImageFor Whom the Bell Tolls
by Ernest Hemingway
Scribner; Published: 1995-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.25
Price in other shops: $15.00
The Great Gatsby ImageThe Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Scribner; Published: 1999-09-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.98
Price in other shops: $14.00
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Hundred-Dollar Baby (Spenser) ImageHundred-Dollar Baby (Spenser)
by Robert B. Parker
Berkley; Published: 2007-09-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.99
Price in other shops: $9.99
Spare Change (Sunny Randall) ImageSpare Change (Sunny Randall)
by Robert B. Parker
Berkley; Published: 2008-06-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.23
Price in other shops: $9.99
Blue Screen (Sunny Randall) ImageBlue Screen (Sunny Randall)
by Robert B. Parker
Berkley; Published: 2007-06-05; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.74
Price in other shops: $9.99
Night and Day (Jesse Stone) ImageNight and Day (Jesse Stone)
by Robert B. Parker
Putnam; Published: 2009-02-24; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.49
Price in other shops: $25.95
Stranger in Paradise (Jesse Stone Novels) ImageStranger in Paradise (Jesse Stone Novels)
by Robert B. Parker
Putnam Adult; Published: 2008-02-05; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.24
Price in other shops: $25.95
Night Passage ImageNight Passage
by Robert B. Parker
Berkley; Published: 2001-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.22
Price in other shops: $9.99
Trouble in Paradise (Jesse Stone) ImageTrouble in Paradise (Jesse Stone)
by Robert B. Parker
Berkley; Published: 1999-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.07
Price in other shops: $7.99
Death in Paradise (Jesse Stone) ImageDeath in Paradise (Jesse Stone)
by Robert B. Parker
Berkley; Published: 2002-11-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.84
Price in other shops: $7.99
Stone Cold (Jesse Stone) ImageStone Cold (Jesse Stone)
by Robert B. Parker
Berkley; Published: 2004-09-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.65
Price in other shops: $7.99
High Profile (Jesse Stone) ImageHigh Profile (Jesse Stone)
by Robert B. Parker
Berkley; Published: 2008-03-04; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.43
Price in other shops: $9.99