In Death in Paradise, police chief Jesse Stone finds himself on a troubling new case when a body is found washed up on the lake shore, in his home town of Paradise. The deceased is a fourteen-year-old girl, who was two months pregnant before she died.
After searching the local vicinity for clues, Jesse and officer ‘Suitcase’ Simpson recover a ring. The ring leads Jesse to the local college, where he meets its former owner, baseball hopeful, Hooker Royce.
Upon speaking with Royce, Jesse believes the body could be Elenor ‘Billie’ Bishop. Although her parents haven’t reported her missing, Billie hasn’t been seen in the last three weeks.
As Jesse delves deeper into the case, he finds himself haunted by images of the girl. This case has gotten under his skin, and he’s determined to get to the bottom of it.
Directed by Robert Harmon, and based on Robert B. Parker’s novel of the same name, Death in Paradise is the third entry in the Jesse Stone movie series. The film stars Tom Selleck, Viola Davis, and Kohl Sudduth, alongside John Diehl, Debra Christofferson, Mae Whitman, and William Devane.
Picking up two years after the events of Stone Cold, Jesse is very much a part of the Paradise landscape and is firmly embedded in the town. He’s still battling alcoholism, but it isn’t impacting his work, nor his determination to see justice prevail.
In fact, I’d argue that in Death in Paradise, Jesse is at his most determined to solve the case. The previous movies have shown Jesse keen to catch the perpetrators of their respective crimes, but this particular case has him rattled.
The core crime in Death in Paradise is murder, but this film touches upon molestation too. The victim was a pregnant teenager, and the circumstances of her demise, as well as her young age, get to Jesse in a way the other crimes didn’t.
The central mystery this time around feels tighter, and more involving. This isn’t to say the previous films didn’t contain intriguing stories, but the main plot thread here is easily the strongest so far.
This is perhaps down to the audience having restricted information and not knowing about the murderer’s identity. The two previous films made it clear who was involved in the crimes, whereas Death in Paradise keeps everyone guessing.
After two films which place the suspects at the forefront of the story, it’s nice to see this one shift things around. The story keeps the killer’s identity hidden until the final few minutes, leaving room for a last minute shock.
It’s also great to see the series picking up a regular cast, with Vito Rezza, John Beale, Stephen McHattie, and Joe the dog all returning from previous instalments. With so many faces popping up, even if it’s just for a few minutes here and there, there’s a real sense this world is continuing to flesh itself out.
As with the two previous entries in this film series, Death in Paradise includes both an ‘A’ plot and a ‘B’ plot, and it’s enjoyable to see this continue. The ‘A’ plot is the aforementioned murder investigation, while the ‘B’ plot revolves around an unconnected domestic violence case.
This case only takes up a brief amount of screen time, but it results in some important conversations, an action sequence, and a near-fatale injury. This injury befalls one of the recurring cast members, who ends up in hospital, and it allows for a couple of heartfelt scenes.
It’s moments like these which continue to add heart to the Jesse Stone film series. The films need the big cases to drive the narrative forward, but having the smaller cases peppered throughout is proving a real winner.
Outside of the above, Selleck continues to nail every scene as Jesse, remaining a key presence throughout, and the same can be said of director Robert Harmon who continues to sail this series to success. With each new entry, Harmon refines what he did before, and his vision shines through.
Keeping a film series going and making it consistently enjoyable is hard to pull off, yet Harmon proves with Death in Paradise that it is achievable. This entry is as good as what came before, possibly better, and the Jesse Stone series retains the level of high quality it has displayed from day one.
Should you wish to check out Death in Paradise, the movie is available on digital download and DVD from all good entertainment retailers, including Amazon US.
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