First published 2009
Jesse Stone gets an unusual call from Paradise's junior high school. Principal Betsy Ingersoll faces accusations of inappropriate conduct with students. Stone wants to pursue the case, but Betsy's husband Jay runs the state's most powerful law firm. Jay demands the matter disappear, and he usually gets his way. Meanwhile, a voyeur terrorizes Paradise's neighborhoods after dark. The women call him "The Night Hawk." He starts by watching through windows, but his behavior escalates quickly. He breaks into homes and forces victims to undress at gunpoint while he photographs them. His threatening notes promise worse to come. Stone must navigate the political pressure from the Ingersoll case while hunting a predator who grows bolder each night. The Night Hawk's victims live in fear as his crimes become more violent. Stone races to stop him before he crosses the line from voyeurism to something far worse. Both cases test Stone's commitment to justice when powerful people want problems buried.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: abuse-of-power, cat-and-mouse, corruption
Setting: Paradise
Period: contemporary
304 pages · Hardcover · Putnam
Content warnings: abuse, violence