The Bitterest Pill Book Review

I saw this on the new release section and knew that I hadn't read it so I grabbed the newest in the Jesse Stone series.  Robert B. Parker's The Bitterest Pill (A Jesse Stone Novel) by Reed Farrel Coleman is the 18th book in the series.  I have enjoyed reading all the books in the series and even enjoyed the movie series so I was excited to get to read another installment.

The opioid epidemic has reached Paradise, and Police Chief Jesse Stone must rush to stop the devastation in the latest thriller in Robert B. Parker's New York Times-bestselling series.

When a popular high school cheerleader dies of a suspected heroin overdose, it becomes clear that the opioid epidemic has spread even to the idyllic town of Paradise. It will be up to police chief Jesse Stone to unravel the supply chain and unmask the criminals behind it, and the investigation has a clear epicenter: Paradise High School. Home of the town's best and brightest future leaders and its most vulnerable down-and-out teens, it's a rich and bottomless market for dealers out of Boston looking to expand into the suburbs.

But when it comes to drugs, the very people Jesse is trying to protect are often those with the most to lose. As he digs deeper into the case, he finds himself battling self-interested administrators, reluctant teachers, distrustful schoolkids, and overprotective parents . . . and at the end of the line are the true bad guys, the ones with a lucrative business they'd kill to protect.

I thought it was very different from the other books and actually I thought that made it a little better.  You could tell that this book was set in modern times where the older books were dealing with problems that could have happened in the 80's so I thought it was moving with the times.  Jesse is dealing with being sober and his new role as father.  In addition, there is a growning drug and resulting crime problem in the small town of Paradise.  Many people don't have to worry about it until it hits the high school and there are children showing up dead.  Jesse is deeply invested in getting to the bottom of the crime spree and finding all of the people responsible.  This leads to tons of other things going wrong as always happens but you have to pick up the book to find out what happens.  I think that you will be impressed whether you have read the other books or not.  Although I highly recommend starting at the beginning and getting to know Jesse Stone first.  I hope that you like this book as much as I did!!