Night Passage

Robert B. Parker

I received this book as a gift from a friend. My first exposure to the character Jesse Stone was through the Tom Selleck movie "Stone Cold". I had liked the movie, recommended it to this same friend, and then my friend read the books, who then in turn sent me a copy of the first two books. Night Passage is no longer in print and I'm glad to say the copy I have is a hard cover, a very nice addition to my collection.

The novel is about Jesse Stone and nothing more. The characters, the scenes, the plot--as much as it is-- is only there to show us the character of Stone. Without him, the novel would be nothing more then the lesser pieces it is. More a profile then a mystery, Night Passage can be considered an opening chapter on Stone, with the intention of more chapters to come--which happened as more stories were written. I will get to them as I read them.

Night Passage though is a quick read, no more then a few hours. Surprisingly, as I came away from it I was left wanting more. More of the character and more of a plot. I was sorely disappointed with the central conflict and felt Stone was undeserving of it. He was too much character for the situation he was put into and even then, the last twenty pages felt like they were a cop out--a kind of super fast resolution which came all too easily.

Overall, Night Passage reads more like an outline to a good story then a good story by itself. This in no way detracts from the outline, and from the potential of the central character, but overall I was left wanting--and I do not want that with a novel, especially from Parker whom I enjoy as a writer.