Jesse Stone books by Robert B. Parker

I have always wanted to read the Spenser series but always thought that it was too big of a commitment with so many books to read. However, Parker has written several other series including the Jesse Stone books. Jesse is a divorced ex L.A. homicide cop. He lost his job because his drinking got out of control when his marriage fell apart. He gets a job as the chief of police in Paradise, Massachusetts, a small town on the coast. Jesse is great at his job but not great at his personal life. He and his exwife are on and off again. (He needs to dump her for good!) Anyway, these books are very fast reads but still manage to have good character development and great atmosphere. Also, Tom Selleck stars as Jesse in the made-for-TV movies and does an excellent job. The movies are very well done and capture the dark moodiness of the books. They are in the CLEVNET system. I am addicted to the books and have read the first five in less than a month.