An upcoming birthday celebration sticks Paradise police chief Jesse Stone with a case that even Spenser, his private-eye counterpart in the late Parker's better-known franchise, couldn't solve.Terry Jester, ne Jacobivitz, is about to turn 75, and Stan White, his longtime manager, is pulling out all the stops to celebrate the event. It would be wonderful if the great man could mark the day, and end 40 years out of the musical limelight, by releasing "The Hangman's Sonnet," his legendary comeback project, but the master tape of the album, which reportedly featured all sorts of A-list musicians in unaccustomed support of Boston's answer to Bob Dylan, vanished years ago, unheard by anyone but WBMB DJ Roscoe Niles. Jesse, still mourning his murdered fiancee, Diana Evans (Robert B. Parker's Debt to Pay, 2016), while he celebrates the wedding of Officer Luther "Suitcase" Simpson, wants nothing better than to be left alone to fall off the wagon again. But medical examiner Tamara Elkin lectures him about drinking himself numb; Paradise mayor Constance Walker alternately needles and threatens him over his minimal efforts at making her look good; and the death of elderly Maude Cain at the hands of a pair of burglars demands his attention. There's no mystery about who the burglars werewith the help of his mobbed-up frenemy Vinnie Morris, whom he consults when he doesn't feel like doing actual detective work, Jesse quickly identifies them as Kirk Kingston Curnutt and Humphrey Boltonthe big questions involve what they were looking for and whether they found it before they took off. An even bigger question has an even more obvious answer: could the long-missing mix tape and the brand-new burglary possibly be connected? A cameo appearance by Spenser resolves nothing but makes Jesse, who can certainly use a boost, look comparatively good. The convoluted plot entangles a remarkable number of suspects. If you think you've picked out the guilty party, you're probably right. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

*Starred Review* Since the death of his fiancée in a violent shootout, Jesse Stone, police chief of Paradise, Massachusetts, has crawled into the bottle and rarely emerged. He's kept his job only because his loyal second, Molly Crane, has covered for him. Jesse is sober for the first time in weeks because it's wedding day for his deputy, Suit Simpson. As long as he's sober, Stone agrees to meet with representatives of a group planning a seventy-fifth birthday celebration for Terry Jester, a once-renowned folk singer who has lived in seclusion for 40 years, since the disappearance of the master tape of his much-anticipated album The Hangman's Sonnet. The event will take place at a tony local resort and should bring the elite to Paradise. Shortly after the meeting, a 90-year-old widow is killed during a home invasion and her home ransacked. It's only the beginning in a series of violent events that may be connected to the reclusive singer and his lost album. For help, Jesse reaches out to his mobster friend Vinnie Morris and to a private investigator named Spenser. Coleman's fourth Jesse Stone novel is easily his best. It features a clever plot and finds Jesse confronting some very real inner demons. Best of all, it brings together three of Robert B. Parker's much-loved characters. Must reading for Parker devotees who have made peace with the idea of other writers carrying on his name.--Lukowsky, Wes Copyright 2017 Booklist

Coleman's heartfelt fourth contribution to Parker's Jesse Stone series explores the meaning of a haunting line from the eponymous sonnet: "The mirror has revealed my hangman's face." Jesse, the police chief of Paradise, Mass., has been deeply scarred by the tragic death of his significant other, who was murdered in front of him at the end of 2016's Debt to Pay. Several months later, Jesse is still taking refuge in the bottle, and despite his colleagues' efforts to cover for him, his diminished capacity has come to the attention of the town's mayor, Constance Walker, who was already not a fan of his. As he struggles to cope with his loss and his self-destructive response to it, Jesse must investigate the death of an elderly town resident during the course of a burglary. He also cooperates with private security on an upcoming birthday gala honoring a reclusive singer and songwriter who was once considered the "Boston Bob Dylan," a responsibility that becomes progressively more complicated. Coleman balances plot and character perfectly. Author tour. Agent: Esther Newberg, ICM Partners. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.