Jesse Stone is a beloved character from a book series by author Robert B. Parker, many of which have also been adapted into a range of movies starring Tom Selleck.
Jesse Stone is a detective, which always makes for great books and movies. Once an LAPD homicide detective, he was fired from that job due to his alcohol problems.
He now lives in a New England town called Paradise, where he is the police chief and continues to solve mysteries and murders.
So far, there are 9 Jesse Stone movies, with a tenth reportedly on the way at some point. In our ultimate guide, we’re going to tell you the order of the Jesse Stone movies in two different ways.
Firstly, we’re going to order the Jesse Stone movies chronologically, listing them in order of when their individual stories are set.
Secondly, we’re going to give you the order of the Jesse Stone movies in order of when they were each released. Read on!
Jesse Stone Movies In Chronological Order
This is the order that the Jesse Stone movies fall into when you look at them chronologically, which means ordering them by when each of their stories were set.
The order is mostly the same as when they were released, though you will see that the second Jesse Stone movie that was made was actually set before the first one.
- JS: Night Passage (2006, released after “Stone Cold”, but set before)
- JS: Stone Cold (2005)
- JS: Death In Paradise (2006)
- JS: Sea Change (2007)
- JS: Thin Ice (2009)
- JS: No Remorse (2010)
- JS: Innocents Lost (2011)
- JS: Benefit Of The Doubt (2012)
- JS: Lost In Paradise (2015)
Jesse Stone Movies In Release Date Order
Now that we’ve looked at the order of the Jesse Stone movies in the order of when they are individually set, we can look at how the movies are ordered in terms of when they came out.
Below is a list of when the Jesse Stone movies were released, in order from earliest to latest.
- JS: Stone Cold (2005)
- JS: Night Passage (2006)
- JS: Death In Paradise (2006)
- JS: Sea Change (2007)
- JS: Thin Ice (2009)
- JS: No Remorse (2010)
- JS: Innocents Lost (2011)
- JS: Benefit Of The Doubt (2012)
- JS: Lost In Paradise (2015)
Jesse Stone Movies: A Deeper Look
With those two orders covered, it’s worth looking at what actually happens in each Jesse Stone movie. In the section below, we’re going to look at each of the nine Jesse Stone movies, describing the plot and noting the cast.
Stone Cold (Jesse Stone — 2005)
This was the very first Jesse Stone movie that was made, adapted from the Jesse Stone book series by author Robert B. Parker. Interestingly, “Stone Cold” was the fourth novel in the Jesse Stone book series.
The film focuses on Jesse Stone, a police chief for a small fictional town named Paradise in New England. Stone used to be a homicide detective for the LAPD in Los Angeles, but started to suffer a drinking problem when his wife left him.
He still struggles with his alcohol now, and still continues to have a complicated relationship with his ex-wife, Jenn.
This first movie sees Jesse Stone investigating a string or murders that have all happened in the same manner. Stone manages to trace the killers, but doesn’t have enough evidence to nail them and get them behind bars. Nevertheless, he keeps trying.
Night Passage (Jesse Stone — 2006)
The second movie to be released in the Jesse Stone movie series, “Night Passage” and its story is actually sety before “Stone Cold”.
The plot of this Jesse Stone movie focuses on how Stone came to be given his job in the New England town of paradise, and how his career there began.
The movie opens with Stone waiting to sober up in Santa Monica, before doing the long drive to Paradise in Massachusetts.
The movie sees Stone struggle to win over his new team of police officers, all the while battling his alcoholism and his difficult relationship with his ex-wife.
Also at the same time is a fresh crime case for him to solve, regarding an instance of domestic abuse that involves a man with mob ties.
The case is difficult enough until Stone’s police chief predecessor is murdered, complicating matters further.
Death In Paradise (Jesse Stone — 2006)
The third entry in the Jesse Stone movie series, this sees Stone investigating a teenage girl’s dead body that’s been found at a lake.
This case takes an especially complicated and unique twist when Stone gets mixed in with the high-class company of a top-selling author who exploits teens that are troubled, as well as the murky underworld of a mobster from Boston.
The mystery is engrossing, with plenty of shady characters for Stone to come across.
Sea Change (Jesse Stone — 2007)
The fourth entry in the Jesse Stone movie series, this sees Jesse Stone taking on a brand new criminal case.
This time, the plot is all about the murder of a bank teller. The murder is unsolved, with the teller being shot in a bank robbery. At the same time, Stone also has to investigate a case of alleged rape.
This case puts Stone into tension with Paradise’s town council, because the town has a reputation for being an ideal resort by the sea.
The nasty criminal case threatens to ruin that reputation, putting even more stress and weight onto Jesse Stone’s shoulders.
Tom Selleck’s portrayal of Jesse Stone really went from strength to strength with this installment in the series, with critical acclaim and awards nominations lauding praise onto the actor.
Thin Ice (Jesse Stone — 2009)
The fifth movie featuring police chief Jesse Stone, this sees the experienced and hardneed character facing up to a brand new mystery.
The crime in question this time is all to do with a kidnapped child. A mysterious letter has been directed to a kidnapped child’s mother, and Stone sets out to find the kid – although they’d previously been declared dead.
However, at the same time, Stone is under the watch of the Paradise town council. This is
because he was in a shootout that resulted in the injury of a colleague.
No Remorse (Jesse Stone — 2010)
The sixth in the series of Jesse Stone movies, and sees a major shakeup for Stone.
Stone has been suspended by the Paradise town council after the events of the previous film. When we first meet him in this movie, he has sunken into loneliness and further alcoholism due to the suspension. He isn’t allowed to communicate with his former police subordinates, which is why he’s grown so reclusive.
However, a bunch of murders that have occured in Boston cause a police collegaue to ask Stone for help. Stone acts as a private consultant on the murder case, getting to solve murders and musteries once again, although with arguably less power and influence.
At the same time, Stone also solves a case of assaults. He does this with some help from Emily, who is the sister of the muder victim from a previous Stone movie, “Death In Paradise”.
Innocents Lost (Jesse Stone — 2011)
“Innocents Lost” is the seventh movie in the Jesse Stone movie series, with an all new criminal case for Stone to get to the bottom of.
At this point in the overall, progressing story of Jesse Stone, he is no longer the chief of police for the town of Paradise. His suspension in the previous movie has stuck, and Stone is replaced as police chief by somebody else.
The somebody in question is William Butler, the son in law of the town council’s president. However, Stone continues to investigate criminal cases, creating a tension between him and Butler.
One of the cases that Stone investigates is about a murder inbvolving an old friend that he hasn’t spoken to for many years.
The other case, meanwhile, is about tracking down a murder and robbery suspect. Stone performs this second case as a consulting investigator for the Massachusetts State Police Homicide Division.
Benefit Of The Doubt (Jesse Stone — 2012)
This is the eighth movie in the Jesse Stone series.
Things are shaken up once again for Jesse, as he is brought back into his old position as chief of police for the fictional town of Paradise, New England.
The reason for his return, after his compulsory retirement and stint as a private investigator, is because his police chief replacement has been blown up and killed in a police car.
Stone must solve the crime of who killed the chief of police, William Butler, as well as officer DeAngelo who was with him.
It’s a mystery that will take him through corruption and drug kingpins, with a string of seemingly-unrelated clues that Stone will have to piece together to find the truth. Thankfully, Stone is the best person for that job!
Lost In Paradise (Jesse Stone — 2015)
This is the ninth entry in the Jesse Stone movie series, and so far the last. However, a tenth film is said to be on the way at some point, with Tom Selleck confirming it.
This particular Jesse Stone movie is all about a serial killer, making it one of the darker entries in the movie series. Stone, still chief of police for the small fictional town of Paradise, consults with the Massachusetts State Police again.
This time, he takes interest in a case that involves a serial killer. However, he soon finds that there is a lot more to the case than he initially thought, with plenty of twists and mysterious turns.
What Jesse Stone Books Are There?
After looking at the movies, you might be wondering how many Jesse Stone novels there are.
Well, there are nine novels written by the original creator of Jesse Stone, Robert B. Parker. Unfortunately, though, Parker died in 2010, a month before his ninth Stone book.
As a result, the series was continued by other writers. Michael Brandman wrote three more Jesse Stone mystery novels, while Reed Farrel Coleman then took over and wrote a further six. After that, Mike Lupica took over in 2020, and has written one Jesse Stone novel so far.
Will There Be Another Jesse Stone Movie?
Jesse Stone actor Tom Selleck has said that there are plans to make a tenth Jesse Stone movie. Selleck himself has actually written for six of the nine Jesse Stone movies, and will likely be penning the next one too.
Interestingly, he expects the next JS mystery to premiere on a different platform to previous ones – meaning that it might be more adult.
Final Thoughts
There are nine Jesse Stone movies so far – use our list to watch them in chronological or release date order!
If you liked this article, you might enjoy our post on ‘The Matrix Movies In Order: The Ultimate Guide‘.
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