A new Jesse Stone novel is coming out on September 13, 2011!!!!!!!!!

For fans of the late Robert B. Parker and the "Jesse Stone" series, a new novel is coming out on September 13, 2011. The book is titled, Robert B. Parker's Killing the Blues (a Jesse Stone novel) by Michael Brandman. I just discovered this today. I'm suspecting a lot of fans are unaware of this forthcoming novel.

For those who don't know (and I didn't) Michael Brandman, the author of the new "Jesse Stone" book, is a successful Hollywood producer with over thirty movies to his credit. He worked on twelve of the films with Robert Parker, especially Monty Walsh, starring Tom Selleck. Even better, Michael Brandman had been the producer on all of the "Jesse Stone" TV movies. Can he write a novel? I don't know, but I certainly want to find out. I don't think Joan Parker (Robert Parker's wife) or the publisher of the series would have allowed Mr. Brandman to tackle this job if he wasn't capable of continuing with the character.

I, for one, don't want to see the "Jesse Stone" novels or movies stop. Both the fictional series and made-for-television movies are top quality entertainment in my book and always give me a long pause for deep reflection on life and its challenges. It's also no secret that I think Jesse Stone is the best character Tom Selleck has ever played, and I'm happy to know he's hard at work on another movie in the series.

Here's a brief description of Killing the Blues by Michael Brandman from Amazon.com.

"Paradise, Massachusetts, is preparing for the summer tourist season when a string of car thefts disturbs what is usually a quiet time in town. In a sudden escalation of violence, the thefts become murder, and chief of police Jesse Stone finds himself facing one of the toughest cases of his career. Pressure from the town politicians only increases when another crime wave puts residents on edge. Jesse confronts a personal dilemma as well: a burgeoning relationship with a young PR executive, whose plans to turn Paradise into a summertime concert destination may have her running afoul of the law. When a mysterious figure from Jesse's past arrives in town, memories of his last troubled days as a cop in L.A. threaten his ability to keep order in Paradise-especially when it appears that the stranger is out for revenge."

That sounds damn good to me, and I intend on buying a copy of the novel at the end of the summer. I hope the book proves to be everything the fans of the late Robert Parker have come to expect with his wonderful characters and deep insight to life. Now, if only someone could continue the "Spenser" series or the Virgil Cole/Everett Hitch series. Does anybody know if Ed Harris can write a novel?