Entertaining Mr. Stone
921121
HORRIBLE.I brought this book because of the reveiws. It was just GHASTLY!! I couldn't even finish it because it was just BAD, BAD, BAD. I have returned it to the store. Also I gave it 0 stars, but amazon wouldn't let me submit w/no star check. So my review is for 0 STARS!!
398779
Stone is growing and so are the dangers and complexities he has to deal with. Great to see old faces and some new ones. Nice job foreshadowing the what has been the real threat all along. Will be interesting to see where this goes. Would like to see more of the repercussions of those who chose to mess with him at the beginning. Don't think he, the emperor or Grandpa are the forgive and forget types.
2878459
Stone is back in another book. Bill Eggers needs help on getting the dirty for a rich client. To catch her husband having an affair. Things don't go as well as Stone plans and a mess that leads Stone to something that needs the help. Of course Dino is there. I always love the banter between Done and Stone. Again this author has winner and with each book I love Stone more and more.
1486050
I've always been a fan of Stuart Woods, all the way back to when I first read White Cargo.  Worst Fears Realized takes the story of Stone Barrington, Woods' one-time cop turned lawyer, and moves it further.
A lot of people say that Woods writes far-fetched fiction, but for him, it works.  Sure, Barrington always ends up on top, always finds unbelievable sums of money, and always escapes would-be death.  That's fine with me.  In these times, it's nice to read about a reality where all things turn out nice in the end.
What drives this book, more than any other Barrington novel, is the banter between Stone and Dino.  The characterization is strong, and the reader feels like the third muskateer.  Great stuff.
Also, the plot is strong, dealing with a serial murderer who is coming after, in the end, Stone himself.  Every element drives another, offering an entertaining read that you just won't be able to put down.
In the end, Worst Fears Realized keeps you interested, keeps you entertained, and will stay in your memory for quite some time.
John Misak, Author of Soft Case and Time Stand Still
681682
It is good as the others in the Stone series and good for a sequel. I read and enjoyed the series.
1831831
One of mr woods better stone barrington books.  Don't over analyze. Just enjoy the ride
4257142
I enjoy all of the Jesse Stone movies, as much or maybe more than I do the books that the stories depict.  Tom Selleck in always so good.  He is a talented actor who seems to improve as he ages.  More, please.
2147825
I like Stone so any story involving him is good. Always fast paced, hard to stop reading. Always enjoyable storyline.
2102835
I continue to enjoy spending time with Stone and his friends and enemies! I look forward to each new book. I also look forward to the spin-off characters who have become the leading players in stories.
3283628
Another fun Jesse Stone novel.  Most of the characters return and there is lots of drama.
3821680
I like the Jesse Stone stories and Tom Selleck playing the part, I like them better then reading the book which is great also but sometimes I like seeing on t.v.
1186508
Great pace and loved Woods bringing Teddy Fay back as one of the good guys. Stone clearly leads a charmed life & while critics regard his exploits as unbelievable, in these days of terrorist threats and government dysfunction, it's nice to have a diversion.
1984632
Josh Stone has a sarcastic wit and a reputation for being a bad boy, but as this story progresses he reveals himself to be a bit of a softie. While posing as his best friends romantic partner at a writers convention, Josh takes one look at a girl named Leelee and vows to capture her heart. And she thinks hes gay. And taken. Whoo-ey. This is a fantastically fun romp and Im looking forward to the next book in the series. Warning to readers: very coarse language. Four stars.
3056365
"Sea" is the fifth in Parker's nine-book Jesse Stone series, with now three more written for the estate by Michael Brandon. We find Stone a likable character almost in the mold of Dick Francis' leading men. As Police Chief of small-town Boston seacoast suburb "Paradise Mass.", Jesse relies more upon wits and persistence than upon classic police procedures to solve crimes and catch his villains.

In this entry typical of the set, a "floater" washes up on shore and is relatively quickly identified as a young woman from Florida. She appears to have been an integral part of an amoral, yacht-club-set, sex swapping scheme; and between the videos and so on of the goings-on, the basic story was rather too lurid for our taste. When pedophilia and incest are further added to the mix, we were mostly just glad to get to the end. Jesse's cleverness, his fun interactions with ex-wife Jenn and co-worker Molly, as well as with a Florida policewoman who helps him out considerably, only temper the sordid plot to a minor degree.

Certainly this novel won't deter us an iota from continuing to knock off the entire set, but we surely prefer the story lines in all the other books so far.
401173
I enjoyed the suspense in this book.  There were some unexpected twists along the way.  It was interesting to learn a bit more about Jesse Stone, the man.
840076
The Bad News: It's not a particularly good one.

However, Robert B. Parker's books remind me of those bumper stickers that say 'A Bad Day Fishing is Better Than a Good Day at Work.'

A bad Jesse Stone book is still a fun read.

In this installment, Stone's police department is investigating a woman's body found floating in the harbor. Along the way, Stone discovers lots of perversion, money, yachts and messed-up rich kids. Or, as his psychologist puts it, Stone is working on a case 'in which control and loveless sexual objectification is rampant.'

Stone comments that pornography is fun for about the first 10 seconds and then it loses most of its appeal for him (he has to wade through hours of personal videotapes of the stuff in the search for victims and suspects) because it gets so repetitive. Unfortunately, this book has the same problem. Lots of sex parties and videotape. Lots of rich boys, easy girls and videotape. The problem is that the story just gets stuck in a rut for about a hundred pages or so. The dialogue is wonderful. The observations are witty. At one point, though, I realized that I was just reading for the witty dialogue and the observations - not for the plot.

Too bad. The last Jesse Stone novel I read was one of the best novels Parker had written, in my opinion. This one goes in the lower half of that long, long list of books.

As has been the case for several books now, the book seems quite hefty when you pick it up. However, open it up and it reminds me of when a college student tries to pad the length of his paper by enlarging the margins and the font size. This book features large print, extra thick paper, lots of space between each line and full one inch margins. Each chapter also starts about 2/3 of the way down the page and there are 62 chapters, so that's a good way to stretch it out an extra 30 pages or so. Not that it makes any difference, but I wonder why they've done this. It weighs in at 296 pages and could have easily have been printed in a 200 page format without straining the eyes. This little one-day read is wider than most textbooks! This has to be more expensive, it adds to shipping costs and makes it harder for the stores to stock multiple copies...

Anyway, final grade: C+
2358828
Detective/cop stories have a similar stand of events. This story follows the usual cop strand with Tom Selleck adding just the right amount of spice and intrigue to the Jesse Stone character. What is left unsaid often leaves more pull to the story than the script itself, which keeps the viewer hanging on every nuance.