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Sep 25, 2017USAF1969 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Coleman's (RBP) THE HANGMAN'S SONNET was a very good read. Ever since Coleman took over for Parker, his Jesse Stone books have maintained the core of the characters and locale very close to what Parker had. This one does the same and the story line for this one is great. Very engaging, many moving parts and some surprising new characters dropping in. I highly recommend it. At the same time Coleman has stayed true to Parker's characters and style, he has increasingly added his own touch - in this case, he is increasingly using more words and explanation than Parker's classic style. But to be fair, Parker was unique in his ability to have 1-line conversations and explanations and still tell a great story. I haven't seen any other author who can do that as he did. And to Coleman's credit most of additional wording adds to the enjoyment of the book. That is with one exception though, which I feel compelled to point out. Jesse Stone came to Paradise because he lost his job in LA because of alcohol addiction. Under Parker's writing, he was in a continuous battle between drinking and abstinence. For reasons explained in this book (death of his soul mate), that drinking has increased to the point of gross excess and seriously affects his job and relationships. In my opinion, while this is a legitimate part of the Stone story line, his drinking issues are overwritten in this book. It's an honest assessment of the affects of heavy drinking and addiction, but too much time and detail is spent on it. On the other hand, the book ends with Stone taking time off to enter rehab. Will he finally conquer/control his addiction or come back and backslide yet again. I guess we have to stay tuned; which I will.