Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise
By Mal Simons, Blockbuster.co.uk
Set after the events in Night Passage and Stone Cold, Jesse Stone is back to investigate the murder of a fourteen year old girl and also prevent a battered wife from returning to her husband.
While it is not essential to see the first two films, the story picks up after Stone Cold where a major character is now dead, so… if you intend to watch the other two films at some point, I’d certainly recommend you start at the beginning and work your way through.
Tom Selleck is back as alcoholic detective turned small town Police Chief Jesse Stone, in the role that feels like it has been especially written for him. A different film to the others in the Jesse Stone series, Death in Paradise is more of a low key Jesse Stone mystery that has less concentration on the agonizing of the Jesse Stone character and more on the actual mechanics and procedures of Stone doing his job.
When the semi-decomposed body of a pregnant 14-year old Billie Bishop is washed up at the lake, Jesse Stone finds himself in the middle of a complicated murder case involving the town jock, a Boston mobster and a local author. As he investigates the case, Stone begins to suspect that one of his suspects has an unhealthy predilection for young girls and is linked to Billie's parents and some of the State’s top politicians.
All the time while Stone is investigating this young girl’s murder, he also finds himself dealing with a serious domestic violence case involving a man who is viciously beating his wife. As Stone and his deputies work on getting the religious (and opposed to divorce) woman to leave her husband, this leads to an explosive situation that has devastating consequences for one of Stone’s loyal deputies.
From a character development point of view, Stone is now seeing a councilor in the hope of ending his dependence on alcohol. Stone uses his sessions with his councilor to talk through scenarios and theories about the cases he is working on.
A straightforward mystery that is an excellent addition to the Jesse Stone series, Death in Paradise is sure to please all fans of thrillers and mysteries. Highly recommended to rent.