Robert B. Parker's Stone's Throw by Mike LupicaMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Lupica does a serviceable job of emulating Parker's style and carrying forward the series. But after seeing what Reed Farrel Coleman was able to with Jesse, Lupica's stories fall short. It's hard to pinpoint why, there isn't anything Lupica is doing that is really off, it's just not as good. Coleman pushed the characters, the story more. With Lupica, things feel a little flatter, a little rote. I do have a few issues though. One is something I've complained about with Lupica before: the 'he said'; "molly said", "she said" etc. It's too much. The context makes it perfectly clear who is talking: we don't need a XXX said after nearly every line of dialogue. This is especially bothersome on the audio. Second, there was way to much Stone pinning for Sunny here (especially with the way the book ends, which I'm not thrilled with). Bringing back Crow was interesting; and I always like Vinny (though Lupica's version wasn't a bit off for me). Tony Marcus might have been a bit of stretch though and not all that necessary for the story.
Nevertheless, for long-time fans of Parker/Stone this is an overall enjoyable entry.
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