A murder back home in Paradise, MA forces Police Chief Jesse Stone to cut short his trip to his minor league baseball team reunion in New York, organized by his former roommate, Vic Prado. Upon arriving home, he learns that Ben Salter, son of a wealthy local investment banker is missing and his girlfriend murdered. Ben is an unlikely suspect and appears the murder was collateral damage. Assuming, therefore, Ben was kidnapped but puzzled by the lack of a ransom note, Stone believes the elder Salter knows more than he is revealing.
Oddly, Prado, his wife Kayla (Stone’s former girlfriend in his pre-injury days) and Kayla’s friend, Dee, who live in Arizona, also travel to Paradise. While Jesse and Dee fell for each other in New York, in Paradise he senses she is hiding something. Prado, the murder, Dee all disturb Stone, but he cannot pinpoint exactly why.
Mixed in with all of this is the notion, put forth by one of Stone’s old teammates, that Stone’s injury was intentionally caused by Prado to enhance his chances of making the major leagues and getting the girl.
Spenser and Jesse Stone fans will enjoy Blind Spot, this thirteenth installment, after Damned if You Do. Like Spenser, Stone is a man of honor who feels he must speak for the dead and downtrodden. Coleman’s writing mimics Parker’s with short chapters, snappy repartee and just enough action. However, I didn’t like the ending at all. It seemed hastily put together, sort of like Coleman ran out of ideas and had to end the book. It is undoubtedly a set up for another series installment.
I’ll tell you the truth. I used to love the Spenser books until they got too mushy and too philosophical and some of them veered away from Boston. I also liked the first few Jesse Stone books, but stopped reading them after a while for exactly the same reason. With Reed Farrel Coleman, who I really like as an author, I’m willing to give the series another chance. Blind Spot was an adequate reintroduction…not great, not terrible. Adequate.
Two Heads Together 
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