High Profile

I was initially drawn to this series and its characters, especially because the Spenser novels have become so trite and formulaic. The murder investigation in this book is reasonably interesting -- so many suspects with so many motives -- but the central characters are just getting silly. Jesse's inability to distance himself from his lying, unfaithful, manipulative and narcissistic ex-wife -- who proves herself even more despicable in this novel -- makes it difficult to trust his judgment on anything else. He's also turning into a bit of a bully. And Sunny, the private investigator and Jesse's potential new love interest, is equally in thrall to her ex, who may or may not be a mobster. Don't these people learn from the criminals they investigate? Supporting characters Molly and Suitcase are more fleshed out here, which is fun and welcome. I guess I'm just as bad as Jesse and Sunny, because I'll never give up on Parker, even though his last few books have been so disappointing -- whatever happened to the man who wrote such books as Looking for Rachel Wallace?

I'm a big Parker fan and this is his best in quite a while. I've rated recent books from 3-4 but this one I give a 5. There are two interesting plots woven into this book. Also, Jesse Stone has apparently overcome one addiction only to succumb to a worse one. And in keeping with Parker's recent trend, action is given the back bench to detection, character development, and dialog.

The plot was ok, but the book was not designed for listening. The author over-relied on the phrases "He said.." or "she said." If I heard the word "said" one more time I was going to scream. After 15 minutes, it was like fingernails on a blackboard, I couldn't take it anymore!

before you spend your money. I love Parker, but the reading of this book almost made me rethink my Audible subscription. I did finally get through it and the story was good, if not just a bit "mushy" for my taste. I was really annoyed by all of the monotone "Jesse said"'s and will not be listening to this book again at any time.

The gratingly large number of "he said" is impressive and oppressive. Like hitting your head against a wall; it felt really good to turn the book off and return to blissful silence. In written form, your eyes might just scan over the endless, mantra-like repetition, but hearing it was painful.

This was one of the rare books I stopped listening to. Every line of speech ended with 'Jessie said' or 'Molly said'. The narrator only made it more obvious. They never replied, answered, or exclaimed, only 'said'. So distracting I couldn't pay attention to the story.

This is a mildly entertaining mystery, but the writing is not well-crafted. The dialogue is unnatural and there are erroneous and contradictory details. Enjoyable, but not in the same class as Michael Connelly or Jeffrey Deaver.

Mr. Parker did an excellant job blending this book with his past books. I like the all 3 of his Boston Area detectives. keep up the good work

Parker does it again

another good read. Don't even look at the synopsis any more, just buy them, their's never a bad one from this guy!!