Jesse Stone novels
Encyclopedia
Jesse Stone is the lead character in a series of detective novels initially written by Robert B. Parker
. They were among his last works, and the first series in which the novelist used the third-person narrative. The series consists of nine books, starting with Night Passage (1997) and ending with Split Image (2010), which Parker completed before his death in January 2010 but did not live to see published. The series is to be continued by Michael Brandman.
The Jesse Stone character starts out at about thirty-five years old. A former minor league baseball
shortstop
, who injures the shoulder of his throwing arm, he was raised in Arizona and California. Having been dumped by his beautiful wife (actress Jennifer Stone), he was asked to resign from his job as a homicide detective for the LAPD
Robbery-Homicide Division because of a drinking problem that begins after his divorce. Showing up drunk to an interview for a job as police chief for the small town of Paradise, Massachusetts (loosely based on the real town of Swampscott, Massachusetts
), he is inexplicably hired, because the corrupt president of the town board of selectmen (town council) thinks he will be easy to control. He quickly notices that the town is rife with big league crimes, the mob
, white supremacists, wildly errant wives and a triple homicide
. Stone knows this job will be more difficult than he anticipated. But Stone proves up to the task and makes a corruption case against the town council president and arrests him. The series chronicles Stone's cases as chief of the Paradise Police Department as well as his struggles with alcohol and ending his relationship with his ex-wife. He is respected and well liked by the police officers in the town police department. He has a good working relationship and friendship with the State Police Homicide Commander, Captain Healey.
The character of Jesse Stone, a deeply troubled man, was a departure for the author. Parker, comparing Stone to Spenser, the protagonist
of his first series and the one for which he was best known, said, "Jesse is a much more damaged individual who is coming to terms with himself as he goes along..."
By Michael Brandman:
has adapted the Jesse Stone novels into a series of movie specials starring Tom Selleck
in the title role. The movies begin out of sequence but stay relatively true to storylines and character with exceptions made mostly for network
viewing palatability, until the fourth film. Tom Selleck plays the character as straight from the novels as possible, and although Selleck is much older (late fifties / early sixties vs late thirties in the books) than Stone, the author, Robert B. Parker, has stated that he finds the Jesse Stone movies the most accurate television adaptations of his novels, even going so far as to say on his blog "Tom nails the character." Tom Selleck carries a Smith & Wesson Model SW1911SC .45 ACP pistol while portraying Police Chief Jesse Stone. Tom Selleck is a former soldier and skilled shooter as well as a collector of firearms in real life. All the characters that he has portrayed in television who carry a pistol have carried a type of Model 1911A1 .45 ACP pistol. However, in the first novels Jesse Stone usually carried a .38 Special snub-nosed revolver; the personal weapon that Stone carried when he was a homicide detective with the LAPD. Robert B. Parker's private detective character Spenser also carried a snub-nosed .38 Special revolver in the first thirteen Spenser novels. In the most recent Jesse Stone novel Robert B. Parker's Killing the Blues, Chief Jesse Stone has started carrying 1911A1 Colt Commander .45 ACP pistol.
Other regular characters have included Viola Davis
as Police Officer Molly Crane, Kohl Sudduth as Police Officer Luther "Suitcase" Simpson, and Vito Rezza as Police Officer Anthony D'Angelo (as fellow members of the Paradise Police Department). The character of Anthony D'Angelo was no longer a member of the department by the time the 5th film "Thin Ice," having quit at the urging of Chief Stone. The character of Molly Crane was discontinued in that film as well. This was due to scheduling conflicts Viola Davis
had with other film projects she was doing which caused her leave the film series. However, in the Jesse Stone storyline it was explained that she quit the department to raise a family after becoming pregnant. Her position in the department was replaced by Police Officer Rose Gammon, portrayed by Kathy Baker
(from Picket Fences
), who is actually closer to the character of Molly Crane from the novels. Stephen McHattie
appears in some of the movies as Captain Healy head of the Massachusetts State Police
Homicide Division and likewise William Devane
as Dr. Dix, a former cop turned mental health therapist, who Stone sees for help with his drinking and other personal issues. Saul Rubinek
has a recurring role as Hastings "Hasty" Hathaway, the former corrupt town council president, who has since been released from prison and is now running a local automobile dealership. Hasty and Jesse have become friends despite their past. Robert Harmon
has directed all of the films, and Jeff Beal
has provided original music. Selections from the scores of all the movies to date were released on a limited edition CD by Varèse Sarabande
in 2009.
Starting with the fifth film, Tom Selleck & Michael Brandman took over writing duties. That film marked a departure from films based on the novels by Robert B. Parker
(who recently passed away while working on another novel at his home in Boston) and a significant divergence from the storyline in the novels. In the recent television storyline, Jesse Stone was forced out of his job as the Paradise Chief of Police by the town council. The council dubbed it "early retirement" and granted Stone a partial pension. The head of the town council wanted to install his son-in-law as the new police chief. Stone is hired as an occasional "consultant" by Captain Healey to assist on certain state police investigations. Stone insists that he will get his old job as chief back saying, "that he is not done."
Robert B. Parker
Robert Brown Parker was an American crime writer. His most famous works were the novels about the private detective Spenser. ABC television network developed the television series Spenser: For Hire based on the character in the late 1980s; a series of TV movies based on the character were also...
. They were among his last works, and the first series in which the novelist used the third-person narrative. The series consists of nine books, starting with Night Passage (1997) and ending with Split Image (2010), which Parker completed before his death in January 2010 but did not live to see published. The series is to be continued by Michael Brandman.
The Jesse Stone character starts out at about thirty-five years old. A former minor league baseball
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
, who injures the shoulder of his throwing arm, he was raised in Arizona and California. Having been dumped by his beautiful wife (actress Jennifer Stone), he was asked to resign from his job as a homicide detective for the LAPD
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
Robbery-Homicide Division because of a drinking problem that begins after his divorce. Showing up drunk to an interview for a job as police chief for the small town of Paradise, Massachusetts (loosely based on the real town of Swampscott, Massachusetts
Swampscott, Massachusetts
Swampscott is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States located 15 miles up the coast from Boston in an area known as the North Shore. The population is 13,787...
), he is inexplicably hired, because the corrupt president of the town board of selectmen (town council) thinks he will be easy to control. He quickly notices that the town is rife with big league crimes, the mob
MOB
Mob may refer to:* A crowd Mob may refer to:* A crowd Mob may refer to:* A crowd (of people, from Latin mobile vulgus "fickle commoners":*An angry mob; see Ochlocracy*A criminal gang*In American English, organized crime; slang for Mafia or American Mafia*Mobbing, human bullying behaviour...
, white supremacists, wildly errant wives and a triple homicide
Homicide
Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
. Stone knows this job will be more difficult than he anticipated. But Stone proves up to the task and makes a corruption case against the town council president and arrests him. The series chronicles Stone's cases as chief of the Paradise Police Department as well as his struggles with alcohol and ending his relationship with his ex-wife. He is respected and well liked by the police officers in the town police department. He has a good working relationship and friendship with the State Police Homicide Commander, Captain Healey.
The character of Jesse Stone, a deeply troubled man, was a departure for the author. Parker, comparing Stone to Spenser, the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of his first series and the one for which he was best known, said, "Jesse is a much more damaged individual who is coming to terms with himself as he goes along..."
Novels
By Robert B. Parker:- Night PassageNight Passage (Parker novel)Night Passage is a crime novel by Robert B. Parker, the first in his Jesse Stone series.-Plot summary:After being fired from his job as an LA homicide detective for being drunk on the job, Jesse Stone is hired as chief of police for the small town of Paradise, Massachusetts...
(September 1997) ISBN 978-0-399-14304-5 - Trouble in ParadiseTrouble in Paradise (Parker novel)Trouble in Paradise is a crime novel by Robert B. Parker, the second in his Jesse Stone series.-Plot summary:In Parker's second Jesse Stone novel we find Chief Stone settled into his new life after the events that marked his arrival in Night Passage. Jesse’s ex-wife, Jenn, has also relocated to...
(September 1998) ISBN 978-0-399-14433-2 - Death in ParadiseDeath in Paradise (Parker novel)Death in Paradise is a crime novel by Robert B. Parker, the third in his Jesse Stone series. It was made into a film in 2006.-Plot summary:...
(October 2001) ISBN 978-0-399-14779-1- Back StoryBack Story (Parker novel)Back Story is a crime novel by Robert B. Parker, the thirtieth novel in his Spenser series.-Plot summary:The novel begins with Spenser receiving a large payment for a case he worked for Rita Fiore. Due to this, Spenser decides to work a case pro bono for an aspiring young actress named Daryl...
(March 2003) ISBN 978-0-399-14977-1 – a Spenser novel
- Back Story
- Stone ColdStone Cold (Parker novel)Stone Cold is a crime novel by Robert B. Parker, the fourth in his Jesse Stone series.-Plot summary:A couple of middle-aged thrill killers, Brianna and Anthony Lincoln, are independently wealthy from a patent Anthony obtained for an optical scanner he invented while practicing medicine...
(October 2003) ISBN 978-0-399-15087-6 - Sea Change (February 2006) ISBN 978-0-399-15267-2 – mentions Spenser
- Blue ScreenBlue Screen (Parker novel)Blue Screen is a crime novel by Robert B. Parker, the fifth in his Sunny Randall series.-Plot summary:The novel begins when Sunny Randall is approached by Buddy Bolen to provide protection for his number one client, Erin Flint. Ms. Flint is the star of the Woman Warrior movie series and future star...
(June 2006) ISBN 978-0-399-15351-8 – a Sunny Randall novel
- Blue Screen
- High ProfileHigh Profile (Parker novel)High Profile is a crime novel by Robert B. Parker, the sixth in his Jesse Stone series.-Plot summary:The novel begins with the discovery of a body hanging from a tree in the park. It doesn’t take long to figure out that this is no suicide, as the person had been shot several times before the hanging...
(February 2007) ISBN 978-0-399-15404-1- Spare ChangeSpare Change (Parker novel)Spare Change is a crime novel by Robert B. Parker, the sixth and final novel in his Sunny Randall series published before his death.-Plot summary:...
(June 2007) ISBN 978-0-399-15425-6 – a Sunny Randall novel
- Spare Change
- Stranger In ParadiseStranger in Paradise (Parker novel)Stranger in Paradise is a crime novel by Robert B. Parker, the seventh in his Jesse Stone series.-Plot summary:In Stranger in Paradise, Wilson "Crow" Cromartie from Trouble in Paradise returns to the quiet town. On arrival he meets with Jesse Stone to let him know he’s in town looking for someone...
(February 2008) ISBN 978-0-399-15460-7 - Night and DayNight and Day (Parker novel)Night and Day is a crime novel by Robert B. Parker, the eighth in his Jesse Stone series. It was the last in the series to be published before his death in 2010.-Plot summary:...
(February 2009) ISBN 978-0-399-15541-3 - Split ImageSplit Image (Parker novel)Split Image is a crime novel by Robert B. Parker, the ninth and final novel in his Jesse Stone series. It was published a month after his death.-Plot summary:...
(February 2010) ISBN 978-0-399-15623-6
By Michael Brandman:
- Robert B. Parker's Killing the Blues (September 2011) ISBN 13: 978-0399157844
Television adaptations
CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
has adapted the Jesse Stone novels into a series of movie specials starring Tom Selleck
Tom Selleck
Thomas William "Tom" Selleck is an American actor, and film producer. He is best known for his starring role as Hawaii-based private investigator Thomas Magnum on the 1980s television show Magnum, P.I.. He also plays Police Chief Jesse Stone in a series of made-for-TV movies based on the Robert B....
in the title role. The movies begin out of sequence but stay relatively true to storylines and character with exceptions made mostly for network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
viewing palatability, until the fourth film. Tom Selleck plays the character as straight from the novels as possible, and although Selleck is much older (late fifties / early sixties vs late thirties in the books) than Stone, the author, Robert B. Parker, has stated that he finds the Jesse Stone movies the most accurate television adaptations of his novels, even going so far as to say on his blog "Tom nails the character." Tom Selleck carries a Smith & Wesson Model SW1911SC .45 ACP pistol while portraying Police Chief Jesse Stone. Tom Selleck is a former soldier and skilled shooter as well as a collector of firearms in real life. All the characters that he has portrayed in television who carry a pistol have carried a type of Model 1911A1 .45 ACP pistol. However, in the first novels Jesse Stone usually carried a .38 Special snub-nosed revolver; the personal weapon that Stone carried when he was a homicide detective with the LAPD. Robert B. Parker's private detective character Spenser also carried a snub-nosed .38 Special revolver in the first thirteen Spenser novels. In the most recent Jesse Stone novel Robert B. Parker's Killing the Blues, Chief Jesse Stone has started carrying 1911A1 Colt Commander .45 ACP pistol.
Other regular characters have included Viola Davis
Viola Davis
Viola Davis is an American actress.Known primarily as a stage actress, Davis won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play and a Drama Desk Award for her role in King Hedley II . She won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for her role in the...
as Police Officer Molly Crane, Kohl Sudduth as Police Officer Luther "Suitcase" Simpson, and Vito Rezza as Police Officer Anthony D'Angelo (as fellow members of the Paradise Police Department). The character of Anthony D'Angelo was no longer a member of the department by the time the 5th film "Thin Ice," having quit at the urging of Chief Stone. The character of Molly Crane was discontinued in that film as well. This was due to scheduling conflicts Viola Davis
Viola Davis
Viola Davis is an American actress.Known primarily as a stage actress, Davis won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play and a Drama Desk Award for her role in King Hedley II . She won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for her role in the...
had with other film projects she was doing which caused her leave the film series. However, in the Jesse Stone storyline it was explained that she quit the department to raise a family after becoming pregnant. Her position in the department was replaced by Police Officer Rose Gammon, portrayed by Kathy Baker
Kathy Baker
Katherine Whitton "Kathy" Baker is an American stage, film and television actress.-Career:Baker began her career at San Francisco's Magic Theatre, performing in several of Sam Shepard's plays before getting her break in an off-Broadway production of Fool for Love opposite Ed Harris...
(from Picket Fences
Picket Fences
Picket Fences is a 60-minute American television drama about the residents of the fictional town of Rome, Wisconsin, created and produced by David E. Kelley. The show initially ran from September 18, 1992, to June 26, 1996, on the CBS television network in the United States...
), who is actually closer to the character of Molly Crane from the novels. Stephen McHattie
Stephen McHattie
Stephen McHattie is a Canadian actor.-Life and career:McHattie was born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia....
appears in some of the movies as Captain Healy head of the Massachusetts State Police
Massachusetts State Police
The Massachusetts State Police is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security responsible for criminal law enforcement and traffic vehicle regulation across the state...
Homicide Division and likewise William Devane
William Devane
William Joseph Devane is an American film, television and theater actor.-Life and career:Devane was born in Albany, New York in 1937 or 1939 , the son of Joseph Devane, who was Franklin D. Roosevelt's chauffeur when he was Governor of New York...
as Dr. Dix, a former cop turned mental health therapist, who Stone sees for help with his drinking and other personal issues. Saul Rubinek
Saul Rubinek
Saul Rubinek is a Canadian actor, director, producer and playwright, known for his work in TV, film and the stage.-Early life:...
has a recurring role as Hastings "Hasty" Hathaway, the former corrupt town council president, who has since been released from prison and is now running a local automobile dealership. Hasty and Jesse have become friends despite their past. Robert Harmon
Robert Harmon
Robert Harmon is an American film and television director. He is best known for the 1986 horror classic The Hitcher, starring Rutger Hauer, as well as for films like They and Nowhere to Run....
has directed all of the films, and Jeff Beal
Jeff Beal
Jeff Beal is an American composer of music for film, television, recordings, and the concert hall. Highly regarded as a jazz instrumentalist and versatile composer, Beal's music often incorporates a synthesis of improvisatory and composed elements.- Early life :Beal began trumpet studies in the...
has provided original music. Selections from the scores of all the movies to date were released on a limited edition CD by Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract...
in 2009.
Starting with the fifth film, Tom Selleck & Michael Brandman took over writing duties. That film marked a departure from films based on the novels by Robert B. Parker
Robert B. Parker
Robert Brown Parker was an American crime writer. His most famous works were the novels about the private detective Spenser. ABC television network developed the television series Spenser: For Hire based on the character in the late 1980s; a series of TV movies based on the character were also...
(who recently passed away while working on another novel at his home in Boston) and a significant divergence from the storyline in the novels. In the recent television storyline, Jesse Stone was forced out of his job as the Paradise Chief of Police by the town council. The council dubbed it "early retirement" and granted Stone a partial pension. The head of the town council wanted to install his son-in-law as the new police chief. Stone is hired as an occasional "consultant" by Captain Healey to assist on certain state police investigations. Stone insists that he will get his old job as chief back saying, "that he is not done."
Filmography
need a section for each TV episode below- Stone ColdStone Cold (Parker novel)Stone Cold is a crime novel by Robert B. Parker, the fourth in his Jesse Stone series.-Plot summary:A couple of middle-aged thrill killers, Brianna and Anthony Lincoln, are independently wealthy from a patent Anthony obtained for an optical scanner he invented while practicing medicine...
(February 20, 2005) - Jesse Stone: Night PassageNight Passage (Parker novel)Night Passage is a crime novel by Robert B. Parker, the first in his Jesse Stone series.-Plot summary:After being fired from his job as an LA homicide detective for being drunk on the job, Jesse Stone is hired as chief of police for the small town of Paradise, Massachusetts...
(January 15, 2006) a prequel to Stone Cold - Jesse Stone: Death In ParadiseDeath in Paradise (Parker novel)Death in Paradise is a crime novel by Robert B. Parker, the third in his Jesse Stone series. It was made into a film in 2006.-Plot summary:...
(April 30, 2006) - Jesse Stone: Sea ChangeJesse Stone: Sea ChangeJesse Stone: Sea Change is the fourth film in the Jesse Stone film series aired on the CBS television network. It stars Tom Selleck, Kathy Baker, and Sean Young. It is based on the character created by Robert B. Parker from the successful book series...
(May 22, 2007) - Jesse Stone: Thin IceJesse Stone: Thin IceJesse Stone: Thin Ice is the fifth film in the Jesse Stone film series aired on the CBS television network starring Tom Selleck. It is based on the character from the successful book series created by the late Robert B. Parker...
(March 1, 2009) - Jesse Stone: No RemorseJesse Stone: No RemorseJesse Stone: No Remorse is the sixth film in the Jesse Stone film series aired on the CBS television network starring Tom Selleck. It is based on the character from the successful book series created by the late Robert B. Parker...
(May 9, 2010) - Jesse Stone: Innocents LostJesse Stone: Innocents LostJesse Stone: Innocents Lost is the seventh film in the Jesse Stone film series aired on the CBS television network starring Tom Selleck. It is based on the character from the successful book series created by the late Robert B...
(May 22, 2011) - Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt (In Production 2011)
External links
- Jesse Stone page at Robert Parker's website
- Megan Walsh-Boyle interview with Tom Selleck - TV Guide - May 2007
- Bullets & Beer website - (With list of all of Parker's novels, including Jesse Stone)
- Jesse Stone novels at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...