The First Jesse Stone Mystery

After a busted marriage kicks his drinking problems into overdrive and the LAPD unceremoniously dump him, 35-year-old Jesse Stone's future looks bleak.

So he's shocked when a small Massachusetts town called Paradise hires him as their police chief.

Once on board he doesn't have to look for trouble in Paradise - it comes to him.

For what is on the surface a quiet New England community quickly proves to be a crucible of political and moral corruption - replete with triple homicide, tight Boston mob ties, flamboyantly errant spouses, maddened militiamen and a psychopath-about-town who has fixed his violent sights on the new lawman.

He finds he must test his mettle and powers of command to emerge a local hero - or the deadest of dupes.

'as richly novelistic as anything Parker has ever written ...light, shade, texture, and complexity'Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe

'The spare style of Parker's third-person narrative cleans the air' Marilyn Stasio, New York Times

'A novel as fresh as it is bold ... Stone is a complex and consistently interesting new protagonist'Newsday

'Parker has always been a master of razor-sharp and witty dialogue, hard-driving suspense and memorable characterization. His Jesse Stone series promises to match if not excel the Spenser novels. Night Passage is a stunning debut.' Houston Chronicle