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This page lists novel, story collections and non-fiction books by Robert B. Parker. Books about Robert B. Parker and books that continue series started by Parker are also included.

By Robert B. Parker:
- novels
- non-fiction

Edited by Robert B. Parker:
- anthologies

About Robert B. Parker:
- biographical / critical

By other writer:
- series continuations

The Godwulf Manuscript

Robert B. Parker

1973

A Spenser novel.

"The first in the series featuring private detective Spenser, sees Spenser hired to return a rare stolen fourteenth-century manuscript to its rightful owners, a Boston university who has hired him. Spenser earned his degree in the school of hard knocks so he is hardly surprised that his only clue is a radical student with four bullets in his chest. The investigation soon leads him into a complex web of murder, radical politics, adultery, drugs and organised crime. The cops are ready to throw the book at the pretty blond coed whose prints are all over the murder weapon but Spenser knows there are no easy answers. He tackles some very heavy homework and knows that if he doesn't finish his assignment soon, he could end up marked D -- for dead."

God Save the Child

Robert B. Parker

1974

A Spenser novel.

"Appie Knoll is the kind of suburb where kids grow up right. But something is wrong. Fourteen-year-old Kevin Bartlett disappears. Everyone thinks he's run away -- until the comic strip ransom note arrives. It doesn't take Spenser long to get the picture -- an affluent family seething with rage, a desperate boy making strange friends...friends like Vic Harroway, body builder. Mr. Muscle is Spenser's only lead and he isn't talking...except with his fists. But when push comes to shove, when a boy's life is on the line, Spenser can speak that language too."

Mortal Stakes

Robert B. Parker

1975

A Spenser novel.

"Everybody loves a winner, and the Rabbs are major league. Marty is the Red Sox star pitcher, Linda the loving wife. She loves everyone except the blackmailer out to wreck her life. Is Marty throwing fast balls or throwing games? It doesn't take long for Spenser to link Marty's performance with Linda's past...or to find himself trapped between a crazed racketeer and an enforcer toting an M-16. America's favorite pastime has suddenly become a very dangerous sport, and one wrong move means strike three, with Spenser out for good!"

Promised Land

Robert B. Parker

1976

A Spenser novel.

"Spenser is a wisecracking former boxer turned private investigator and he is just settling into his new office when enters Harv Shepard, a beleaguered businessman who is looking for someone to help locate his runaway wife. So begins Promised Land, the fourth novel by Robert Parker, that follows the exploits of his cerebral but tough character, detective Spenser. Why Harv Shepard's wife abandoned her family and exactly where she has gone comprise only half the intrigue in this story, though Spenser soon discovers that Harv is a man in deep trouble, involved with a crooked loan shark and tangled in an ailing business venture."

The Judas Goat

Robert B. Parker

1978

A Spenser novel.

"Spenser has gone to London -- and not to see the Queen. He's gone to track down a bunch of bombers who've blown away his client's wife and kids. His job is to catch them. Or kill them. His client isn't choosy. But there are nine killers to one Spenser -- long odds. Hawk helps balance the equation. The rest depends on a wild plan. Spenser will get one of the terrorists to play Judas Goat -- to lead him to others. Trouble is, he hasn't counted on her being very blond, very beautiful and very dangerous."

Wilderness

Robert B. Parker

1979

A standalone novel.

"At 46, Aaron Newman was enjoying the good things in life - a good marriage, good health, a good job. Then he witnesses a murder and is plunged into a world of fear and violence. But Aaron refuses to be a victim. In a world where only the strongest survive, he determines to eliminate the psychopath who threatens those he loves."

Looking for Rachel Wallace

Robert B. Parker

1980

A Spenser novel.

"Rachel Wallace is a woman who writes and speaks her mind. She has made a lot of enemies - enemies who threaten her life. Spenser is the tough guy with a macho code of honor, hired to protect a woman who thinks that code is obsolete. Privately, they will never see eye to eye. That's why she fires him. But when Rachel vanishes, Spenser rattles skeletons in blue-blooded family closets, tangles with the Klan and fights for her right to be exactly what she is. He is ready to lay his life on the line to find Rachel Wallace."

Early Autumn

Robert B. Parker

1981

A Spenser novel.

"A bitter divorce results in a father ordering the kidnapping of his own son, and private detective Spenser is hired by the mother to get her boy back. But when Spenser senses the lay of the land, he decides to do some kidnapping of his own, and soon finds there is a contract out on his own life."

A Savage Place

Robert B. Parker

1981

A Spenser novel.

"TV reporter Candy Sloan is in danger, after investigating labour racketeering in Hollywood's movie industry. Someone isn't happy about it. Spenser is hired to keep Candy safe until the story breaks, but when he discovers quite how far she is willing go to secure her headline, he begins to have second thoughts about the job. But soon her unorthodox approach isn't his only concern."

Ceremony

Robert B. Parker

1982

A Spenser novel.

"Boston private eye Spenser's search for a missing high school girl takes him to Boston's Compat Zone, to high-class, specialty brothels, and back to the straight world whose righteous facade overlap pervasive corruption."

The Widening Gyre

Robert B. Parker

1983

A Spenser novel.

"When a senatorial candidate's seemingly perfect wife becomes the target of blackmailers, Spenser quickly becomes embroiled in a world where political ambition often extends into corruption and violence."

Love & Glory

Robert B. Parker

1983

A standalone novel.

"After separating from his love, Jennifer Grayle, when he was twenty-two, Boone Adams disintegrates, hitting bottom in the streets of Los Angeles ten years later, when he realizes that all he has left is his love for Jennifer Grayle."

Valediction

Robert B. Parker

1984

A Spenser novel.

"When a religious sect kidnap a young dancer, a hit man's bullet soon has Spenser's name on it. But the most dangerous man to cross is the one who isn't afraid to die, and Spenser has just lost the woman who made his life worth living."

A Catskill Eagle

Robert B. Parker

1985

A Spenser novel.

"When Susan Silverman disappears with the heir to an underground weapons empire, Spenser breaks sidekick Hawk out of jail to help him with the search for her. But they also need the help of the CIA, and favours from the agency don't come cheap."

Taming a Sea-Horse

Robert B. Parker

1986

A Spenser novel.

"Spenser's concern for teenage prostitute April Kyle leads him to Robert Rambeaux, her pimp. Another of Rambeaux's hookers, Ginger Buckey, is found dead shortly afterwards. When April disappears, Spenser traces a deadly relationship between sex, money and power that is not limited solely to the world of prostitution."

Pale Kings and Princes

Robert B. Parker

1987

A Spenser novel.

"When a young journalist researching the cocaine trade in a small Massachusetts town is found murdered, private detective Spenser is called in to find out who is responsible. Wheaton isn't just any small town though - Spenser soon discovers it's one of the biggest cocaine distribution centres in the Northeast. But the local drugs cartel are not the only suspects - did the journalist get too close to the truth, or too close to the wife of a very jealous man?"

Crimson Joy

Robert B. Parker

1988

A Spenser novel.

"Private detective Spenser is on the case of a serial killer with an unusual calling card - he leaves a red rose on the body of each of his victims. And when the madman targets Susan Silverman, Spenser's resolve is strengthened and he determines to find the murderer no matter what the risk."

Playmates

Robert B. Parker

1989

A Spenser novel.

"When Spenser is hired to look into rumours of match fixing in university basketball, his investigations lead him deep into the gambling underworld - and into the most dangerous job of his career."

Poodle Springs

Raymond Chandler & Robert B. Parker

1989

A Philip Marlowe novel. Four chapters of this novel were completed by Chandler prior to his death in 1959. Completed by Parker and published in 1989 to mark the centenary of Chandler's birth.

"Marlowe is back...and he's married to a rich, beautiful society lady who want him to settle down in the posh desert community of Poodle Springs. Marlowe may have married rich, but old habits die hard: he's hired to recover a gambling debt and soon finds himself in a case involving bigamy, pornography and murder."

Stardust

Robert B. Parker

1990

A Spenser novel.

"When Spenser is hired to protect glamorous star Jill Joyce from an anonymous harasser, he gets more than he bargained for. The stalking is growing steadily more sinister and Spenser fears it could soon turn into murder."

Pastime

Robert B. Parker

1991

A Spenser novel.

"Ten years ago, Spenser saved a teenage boy from his father's rage. Now, in his twenties, the son is seeking answers to his mother's sudden disappearance. And once again, Spenser is the only one he can turn to."

Perchance To Dream

Robert B. Parker

1991

A Philip Marlowe novel. A sequel to The Big Sleep.

"The Sternwood Family, immortalized in" The Big Sleep," is in trouble again...Vivian's psychotic sister Carmen had disappeared from the sanatorium, and Vivian herself has once again fallen into the clutches of Eddie Mars, the shady underworld character. Enter Philip Marlowe, the original tough-but-tender private eye. He saved the Sternwoods once before, and the butler believes he can do it again."

Double Deuce

Robert B. Parker

1992

A Spenser novel.

"Double Deuce is a forgotten neighbourhood, home to some of Boston's toughest gangs. Private detective Spenser and his sidekick, Hawk, have been tasked with cleaning up the area. But before they can begin, Spenser must take on the teenage thugs and gain control of the streets."

Paper Doll

Robert B. Parker

1993

A Spenser novel.

"Hired by an aristocrat who refuses to believe that his wife's brutal street-slaying was random violence, private detective Spenser suddenly finds himself in a world where nothing is what it seems, least of all the life - and death - of the victim."

Walking Shadow

Robert B. Parker

1994

A Spenser novel.

"A local theatre director claims he is being followed. An actor is gunned down onstage. There's more behind the scenes than an overzealous critic - and private detective Spenser intends to find out exactly what that is."

All Our Yesterdays

Robert B. Parker

1994

A standalone novel.

"They were the Sheridan men, ruled by passion, betrayed by love, heirs to a legacy of violence and forbidden desire.  Gus, Boston's top homicide cop: he knew equally well the backroom politics of City Hall and the private passions of the very rich, a man haunted by the wanton courage and perilous obsessions he inherited from his father... Conn, the patriarch, a lawless cop who spawned a circle of vengeance and betrayal that would span half a century... and Chris, Gus's beloved son, a Harvard lawyer and criminologist, fated to risk everything to break the chain of obsession and rage...  Three generations linked by crime and punishment - cops and heroes, fathers, sons, and lovers united at last by revelations that could bring a family to its knees."

Thin Air

Robert B. Parker

1995

A Spenser novel.

"When the beautiful young wife of a Boston policeman goes missing, he asks his friend, private detective Spenser, to find her. But to do so Spenser must delve into the woman's past - which he soon discovers is darker than he could ever have imagined."

Chance

Robert B. Parker

1996

A Spenser novel.

"When Boston mobster Julius Ventura asks Spenser and his sidekick, Hawk, to find his missing son-in-law, it's clear he's not telling the whole truth. But something about the case appeals to Spenser and he agrees to take it, only to find himself at the centre of a gangland turf war."

Small Vices

Robert B. Parker

1997

A Spenser novel.

"Ellis Alves is a bad kid from the 'hood with a long record, but did he really murder Melissa Henderson, a white student from ritzy Pemberton College? Alves's former lawyers think he was framed, and they hire Spenser to uncover the truth. From Boston's back streets to Manhattan's elite, Spenser and Hawk search for suspects, including Melissa's rich kid tennis-star boyfriend. But when a man with a .22 puts Spenser in a coma, the hope for justice might just die along with the detective."

Night Passage

Robert B. Parker

1997

A Jesse Stone novel.

"After a busted marriage kicks his drinking problems into overdrive and the LAPD unceremoniously dump him, 35-year-old Jesse Stone's future looks bleak. He is shocked, however, when a small Massachusetts town called Paradise hires him as their police chief. Once on board he doesn't have to look for trouble in Paradise - it comes to him. For what is on the surface a quiet New England community quickly proves to be a crucible of political and moral corruption - replete with triple homicide, tight Boston mob ties, flamboyantly errant spouses, maddened militiamen and a psychopath-about-town who has fixed his violent sights on the new lawman. He finds he must test his mettle and powers of command to emerge a local hero - or the deadest of dupes."

Sudden Mischief

Robert B. Parker

1998

A Spenser novel.

"When Susan's ex-husband, Brad, appears after a decades-long absence, nearly broke and the object of a sexual-harassment suit, Spenser reluctantly agrees to help. As he investigates the circumstances surrounding the suit, he discovers that fund-raiser Brad is swimming in very deep water: mobsters, who were using his fund-raising campaigns to launder money, have discovered he was cooking the already cooked books and aren't at all pleased. The deeper Spenser digs, the more bodies he uncovers and the more culpable Brad appears to be."

Trouble in Paradise

Robert B. Parker

1998

A Jesse Stone novel.

"Stiles Island is a wealthy and exclusive enclave separated by a bridge from the Massachusetts coastal town of Paradise. James Macklin sees Stiles Island as the ultimate investment opportunity: all he needs to do is invade the island, blow up the bridge, and get to work. To realise his investment, Macklin, along with his devoted girlfriend, Faye, assembles a crew of fellow ex-cons - all experts in their fields - including Wilson Cromartie, a fearsome Apache. James Macklin is a bad man - a very bad man. And Wilson Cromartie, known as Crow, is even worse. As Macklin plans his crime, Paradise Police Chief Jesse Stone has his hands full. He faces romantic entanglements in triplicate: his ex-wife, Jenn, is in the Paradise jail for assault; he's begun a new relationship with a Stiles Island realtor named Marcy Campbell; and he's still sorting out his feelings for attorney Abby Taylor. When Macklin's attack on Stiles Island is set in motion, both Marcy and Abby are put in jeopardy. As the casualties mount, it's up to Jesse to keep both women from harm."

Hush Money

Robert B. Parker

1999

A Spenser novel.

"Spenser and his buddy Hawk are helping a couple of troubled friends (i.e., they're working without a fee). The first case involves the denial of tenure for Professor Robinson Nevins. While tenure meetings are always closed-door affairs, Nevins assumes that the recent suicide of graduate student Prentice Lamont (who some claim was having an affair with Nevins) ruined his chances for a coveted permanent position. Spenser and Hawk cut a brawl-strewn path through the members of the tenure committee on their way to the surprising truth of the Nevins case. The other investigation pits Spenser against the unknown stalker of K.C. Roth. Spenser's girlfriend, Susan, has known K.C. for a while, and while the PI finds Ms. Roth a bit melodramatic, he's always eager to help a damsel in distress. The only problem is that after he's apparently resolved the case, K.C. begins a little stalking of her own - of Spenser."

Family Honor

Robert B. Parker

1999

A Sunny Randall novel.

"Her name is Sunny Randall, a Boston P.I. and former cop, a college graduate, an aspiring painter, a divorcee, and the owner of a miniature bullterrier named Rosie. Hired by a wealthy family to locate their teenage daughter, Sunny is tested by the parents' preconceived notion of what a detective should be. With the help of underworld contacts she tracks down the runaway Millicent, who has turned to prostitution, rescues her from her pimp, and finds herself, at thirty-four, the unlikely custodian of a difficult teenager when the girl refuses to return to her family. But Millicent's problems are rooted in much larger crimes than running away, and Sunny, now playing the role of bodyguard, is caught in a shooting war with some very serious mobsters. She turns for help to her ex-husband, Richie, himself the son of a mob family, and to her dearest friend, Spike, a flamboyant and dangerous gay man. Heading this unlikely alliance, Sunny must solve at least one murder, resolve a criminal conspiracy that reaches to the top of state government, and bring Millicent back into functional young womanhood."

Hugger Mugger

Robert B. Parker

2000

A Spenser novel.

"When Spenser is approached by Walter Clive, president of the Three Fillies Stables, to find out who is threatening his horse Hugger Mugger, he can hardly say no: he's been doing pro bono work for so long his cupboards are just about bare. Disregarding the resentment of the local Georgia law enforcement, Spenser takes the case. Though Clive has hired a separate security firm, he wants someone with Spenser's experience to supervise the operation. Despite the veneer of civility, Spenser encounters tensions beneath the surface southern gentility. The case takes an even more deadly turn when the attacker claims a human victim, and Spenser must revise his impressions of the Three Fillies organization - and watch his own back as well."

Perish Twice

Robert B. Parker

2000

A Sunny Randall novel.

"Sunny Randall comes to the aid of three very different women, with deadly consequences. Hired by prominent feminist Mary Lou Goddard to protect her from threatening phone calls and shadowy pursuers, Sunny must contend with Goddard's reluctance to reveal all she knows about the unwelcome attention bestowed upon her. When a member of Goddard's staff is gunned down, it's called a case of mistaken identity. And when the murder suspect is found to have eaten his own gun, two cases are settled, neither to Sunny's satisfaction. At the same time, Sunny must help both her dearest friend and her older sister, each of whom face wrenching personal battles. When the murder investigations lead her to the Boston underworld, Sunny's footing-despite backup from her close friend Spike and ex-husband, Richie-is treacherous at best."

Potshot

Robert B. Parker

2001

A Spenser novel.

"Potshot overcame its rough reputation as a rendezvous for old-time mountain men who lived off the land, thanks to a healthy infusion of new blood and even newer money. But when this western idyll is threatened by a local gang - a twenty-first-century posse of desert rats, misfits, drunks and scavengers - the local police seem powerless. Led by a charismatic individual known only as The Preacher, this motley band of thieves selectively exploits the town, nurturing it as a source of wealth while systematically robbing the residents blind. Enter Spenser, called in to put the group out of business and establish a police force who can protect the town. Calling on his own cadre of cohorts, including Vinnie Morris, Bobby Horse, Chollo Bernard J. Fortunato, as well as the redoubtable Hawk, Spenser must find a way to beat the gang at their own dangerous game."

Death in Paradise

Robert B. Parker

2001

A Jesse Stone novel.

"The Paradise Men's Softball League has wrapped up another game, and Jesse Stone is lingering in the parking lot with his teammates, drinking beer, swapping stories of double plays and beautiful women in the late-summer twilight. But then a frightened voice calls out to him from the edge of a nearby lake. There, two men squat at the water's edge. In front of them, facedown, was something that used to be a girl. The local cops haven't seen anything like this, but Jesse's L.A. past has made him all too familiar with floaters. This girl hadn't committed suicide; she hadn't been drowned: she'd been shot and dumped, discarded like trash. Before long it becomes clear that she had a taste for the wild life; and her own parents can't be bothered to report her missing, or even admit that she once was a child of theirs. All Jesse has to go on is a young man's school ring on a gold chain, and a hunch or two."

Gunman's Rhapsody

Robert B. Parker

2001

A standalone western novel.

"In 1879, lawman Wyatt Earp, accompanied by his wife and his brothers, leaves Dodge City and heads to Tombstone, Arizona, where he takes a job as deputy sheriff; encounters legendary gunfighters Doc Holliday, Clay Allison, and Bat Masterson; meets lovely showgirl Josie Marcus; and becomes embroiled in a deadly feud with Johnny Behan."

Widow's Walk

Robert B. Parker

2002

A Spenser novel.

"When Nathan Smith, 51, is found in bed with a hole in his head it's hard not to imagine his young bride as the one with the finger on the trigger. Even her lawyer thinks she is guilty. But given that Mary Smith is entitled to the best defence she can afford - and thanks to Nathan's millions, she can afford plenty - Spenser is hired to investigate Mary's bona fides. Her alibi is flimsy - she claims she was watching TV in the other room when the murder occurred. But the couple were seen fighting at a high profile cocktail party earlier that evening and the prosecution has a witness who says Mary once tried to hire him to kill Nathan. What's more she is too pretty, too made-up, too blonde and she sleeps around - just the kind of person a jury loves to hate."

Shrink Rap

Robert B. Parker

2002

A Sunny Randall novel.

"Melanie Joan Hall is a best-selling author in a bind. Her publisher needs her to tour on behalf of her newest blockbuster, and Melanie Joan needs a bodyguard-cum-escort to protect her from an overbearing ex-husband whose presence unnerves her to the point of hysteria. Sunny's cool demeanour, cop background, and P.I. smarts are an instant balm for the older woman. She begins to sense that Melanie Joan's ex-a psychotherapist-is not your basic stalker, and when an incident at a book signing leaves the ex bloodied and the author unconscious, it's clear the stakes are high. Deciding that the only way to crack the case is from the inside, Sunny enters therapy herself, only to discover some disturbing truths about herself . . . while putting her life on the line."

Back Story

Robert B. Parker

2003

A Spenser novel.

"In 1974, a revolutionary group held up the Old Shawmut Bank in Boston's Audubon Circle. Money was stolen. And a woman named Emily Gordon, a visitor in town cashing traveller's checks, was shot and killed. No one saw who shot her. Despite security-camera photos and a letter from the group claiming responsibility, the perpetrators have remained at large for nearly three decades. Enter Paul Giacomin, the closest thing to a son Spenser has. Twice before, Spenser's come to the young man's assistance; and now Paul is thirty-seven, his troubled past behind him. When Paul's friend Daryl Gordon - daughter of the long-gone Emily-decides she needs closure regarding her mother's death, it's Spenser she turns to. The lack of clues and a missing FBI intelligence report force Spenser to reach out in every direction-to Daryl's estranged, hippie father, to Vinnie Morris and the mob, to the mysterious Ives - testing his resourcefulness and his courageousness."

Stone Cold

Robert B. Parker

2003

A Jesse Stone novel.

"Jesse Stone has a problem no officer of the law likes to face: Dead bodies keep appearing, but clues do not. A man takes his dog out for a run on the beach, only to be discovered hours later - with two holes in his chest. A woman drives her Volvo to the store to do some grocery shopping, and is then found dead, her body crumpled behind her loaded shopping cart. A commuter takes a shortcut home from the train, and never makes it back to his house. Hunting down a serial killer is difficult and dangerous in any town, but in a town like Paradise, where the selectmen and the media add untold pressures, Jesse feels considerable heat. Already walking an emotional tightrope, he stumbles; he's spending too much time with the bottle, and with his ex-wife - neither of which helps him, or the case. And the harder these outside forces push against him, the more Jesse retreats into himself, convinced - despite all the odds - that it's up to him alone to stop the killing."

Bad Business

Robert B. Parker

2004

A Spenser novel.

"When Marlene Cowley hires Spenser to see if her husband, Trent, is cheating on her, he encounters more than he bargained for: Not only does he find a two-timing husband, but a second investigator as well, hired by the husband to look after his wife. As a result of their joint efforts, Spenser soon finds himself investigating both individual depravity and corporate corruption. It seems the folks in the Cowley's circle have become enamoured of radio talk-show host Darrin O'Mara, whose views on Courtly Love are clouding some already fuzzy minds with the notion of cross-connubial relationships. O'Mara's brand of sex therapy is unconventional at best, unlawful-and deadly-at worst. Then a murder at Kinergy, where Trent Cowley is CFO, sends Spenser in yet another direction. Apparently, the unfettered pursuit of profit has a price."

Melancholy Baby

Robert B. Parker

2004

A Sunny Randall novel.

"The fourth novel in the bestselling series featuring Sunny Randall who now faces the unthinkable: the marriage of her ex-husband, Richie, to someone else. Despite the formality of divorce, Sunny and Richie's relationship had continued, in its own headstrong way, until Richie's desire for marriage overtook Sunny's need for freedom. So when college student Sarah Markham comes asking for help in finding her birth parents, Sunny realizes she must take the case, if only to distract her from her personal life. But life and work have a curious - and dangerous - way of intersecting. Before the investigation has a chance to take off, two key players are dead, and Sunny is back on a psychiatrist's couch, probing her own past for clues. What she discovers has the potential to shatter Sarah Markham's family and destroy her sense of self, while Sunny's own beliefs are put to the ultimate test. Emotionally complex and rich with insight, this is the Grand Master at his storytelling best."

Double Play

Robert B. Parker

2004

A standalone novel.

"It is 1947, the year Jackie Robinson breaks major-league baseball's color barrier by playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers - and changes the world. This is the story of that season, as told through the eyes of a difficult, brooding, and wounded man named Joseph Burke. Burke, a veteran of World War II and a survivor of Guadalcanal, is hired by Brooklyn Dodgers manager Branch Rickey to guard Robinson. While Burke shadows Robinson, a man of tremendous strength and character suddenly thrust into the media spotlight, the bodyguard must also face some hard truths of his own, in a world where the wrong associations can prove fatal. A brilliant novel about a very real man, Double Play is a triumph: ingeniously crafted, rich with period detail, and resounding with the themes familiar to Parker's readers."

Cold Service

Robert B. Parker

2005

A Spenser novel.

"When Spenser's closest ally, Hawk, is brutally injured and left for dead while protecting bookie Luther Gillespie, Spenser embarks on an epic journey to rehabilitate his friend in body and soul. Hawk, always proud, has never been dependent on anyone. Now he is forced to make connections: to accept the medical technology that will ensure his physical recovery, and to reinforce the tenuous emotional ties he has to those around him. Spenser quickly learns that the Ukrainian mob is responsible for the hit, but finding a way into their tightly knit circle is not nearly so simple. Their total control of the town of Marshport, from the bodegas to the police force to the mayor's office, isn't just a sign of rampant corruption - it's a form of arrogance that only serves to ignite Hawk's desire to get even. As the body count rises, Spenser is forced to employ some questionable techniques and even more questionable hired guns while redefining his friendship with Hawk in the name of vengeance."

School Days

Robert B. Parker

2005

A Spenser novel.

"Lily Ellsworth - erect, firm, white-haired and stylish — is the grand dame of Dowling, Massachusetts, and possesses an iron will and a bottomless purse. When she hires Spenser to investigate her grandson Jared Clark's alleged involvement in a school shooting, Spenser is led into an investigation that grows more harrowing at every turn. Though seven people were killed in cold blood, and despite being named as a co-conspirator by the other shooter, Mrs. Ellsworth is convinced of her grandson's innocence. Jared's parents are resigned to his fate, and the boy himself doesn't seem to care whether he goes to prison for a crime he might not have committed. As the probe goes on, Spenser finds himself up against a number of roadblocks - from the school officials who don't want him investigating, to Jared's own parents, who are completely indifferent to the boy's defence. Ultimately Spenser discovers a web of blackmail and some heavy-duty indiscretions - and a truth too disturbing to contemplate. Before the case reaches its unfortunate end, Spenser is forced to make a series of difficult decisions—with fatal consequences."

Appaloosa

Robert B. Parker

2005

A Cole and Hitch novel.

"When Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch arrive in Appaloosa they find a small, dusty town suffering at the hands of a renegade rancher Randall Bragg, a man who has so little regard for the law that he has taken supplies, horses and women for his own and left the city marshal and one of his deputies for dead. Cole and Hitch, itinerant lawmen, are used to cleaning up after opportunistic thieves, but in Bragg they find an unusually wily adversary – one who raises the stakes by playing not with the rules, but with emotions."

Hundred-Dollar Baby

Robert B. Parker

2006

A Spenser novel.

"A client from a decades-old case reaches out to Boston PI Spenser-but can he rescue troubled April Kyle once more? When a mature, beautiful, and composed April strides into Spenser's office, the Boston PI barely hesitates before recognizing his once and future client. Now a well-established madam herself, April oversees an upscale call-girl operation in Boston's Back Bay. Still looking for Spenser's approval, it takes her a moment before she can ask him, again, for his assistance. Her business is a success; what's more, it's an all-female enterprise. Now that some men are trying to take it away from her, she needs Spenser."

Sea Change

Robert B. Parker

2006

A Jesse Stone novel.

"When a woman's partially decomposed body washes ashore in Paradise, Massachusetts, police chief Jesse Stone is forced into a case far more difficult than it at first appears. Identifying the woman is just the first step in what proves to be a difficult and emotionally charged investigation. Florence Horvath was an attractive, recently divorced heiress from Florida; she also had a penchant for steamy sex and was an enthusiastic participant in a video depicting the same. Somehow the combination of her past and present got her killed, but no one is talking - not the crew of the Lady Jane, the Fort Lauderdale yacht moored in Paradise harbour; nor her very blonde, very tanned twin sisters, Corliss and Claudia; and not her curiously affectless parents, living out a sterile retirement in a Miami high rise. But someone - Jesse - has to speak for the dead, even if it puts him in harm's way."

Blue Screen

Robert B. Parker

2006

A Sunny Randall novel.

"Buddy Bollen is a C-list movie mogul who made his fortune producing films of questionable artistic merit. When Buddy hires Sunny Randall to protect his rising star and girlfriend, Erin Flint, Sunny knows from the start that the prickly, spoiled beauty won't make her job easy. And when Erin's sister, Misty, is found dead in the lavish home they share with sugar daddy Bollen, there doesn't seem to be a single lead worth pursuing. But then Sunny meets Jesse Stone, chief of police in Paradise, Massachusetts, under whose jurisdiction the case falls. It immediately becomes clear that Jesse and Sunny have much in common. While searching for the killer, they learn an awful lot about each other - and themselves. Tracking Misty's murderer reveals a host of seedy complications behind Erin's glamorous lifestyle as well as Buddy Bollen's entertainment empire, made up of shady film deals and mobsters out for revenge. But in a world where there's little difference between the good guys and the bad, exposing the killer could prove to be Sunny's undoing."

Now and Then

Robert B. Parker

2007

A Spenser novel.

"Spenser knows something's amiss the moment Dennis Doherty walks into his office. The guy's aggressive yet wary, in the way men frightened for their marriages always are. So when Doherty asks Spenser to investigate his wife Jordan's abnormal behavior, Spenser agrees. A job's a job, after all. Not surprisingly, Spenser catches Jordan with another man, tells Dennis what he's found out, and considers the case closed. But a couple of days later, all hell breaks loose, and three people are dead. This isn't just a marital affair gone bad. Spenser is in the middle of a hornet's nest of trouble, and he's got to get out of it without getting stung."

High Profile

Robert B. Parker

2007

A Jesse Stone novel.

"When the body of controversial talk-show host Walton Weeks is discovered hanging from a tree on the outskirts of Paradise, police chief Jesse Stone finds himself at the center of a highly public case, forcing him to deal with small-minded local officials and national media scrutiny. When another dead body - that of a young woman - is discovered just a few days later, the pressure becomes almost unbearable. Two victims in less than a week should provide a host of clues, but all Jesse runs into are dead ends. But what may be the most disturbing aspect of these murders is the fact that no one seems to care-not a single one of Weeks's ex-wives, not the family of the girl. And when the medical examiner reveals a heartbreaking link between the two departed souls, the mystery only deepens. Despite Weeks's reputation and the girl's tender age, Jesse is hard-pressed to find legitimate suspects. Though the crimes are perhaps the most gruesome Jesse has ever witnessed, it is the malevolence behind them that makes them all the more frightening. Forced to delve into a world of stormy relationships, Jesse soon comes to realize that knowing who he can trust is indeed a matter of life and death."

Spare Change

Robert B. Parker

2007

A Sunny Randall novel.

"When a serial murderer dubbed 'The Spare Change Killer' by the Boston press surfaces after three decades in hiding, the police immediately seek out the cop, now retired, who headed the original task force: Phil Randall. As a sharp-eyed investigator and a doting parent ("You're smart. You're tough. You, too, are a paradigm of law enforcement perfection, and you're my kid"), Phil calls on his daughter, Sunny, to help catch the criminal who eluded him so many years before. Sunny is certain that she's found her man after interviewing just a handful of suspects. Though she has no evidence against Bob Johnson, she trusts her intuition. And she knows the power she has over him - she can feel the skittishness and sexual tension that he radiates when he's around her - but persuading her father and the rest of the task force is a different story. When the killer strikes a second and third time, the murders take a macabre turn, as the victims each eerily resemble Sunny. While her father pressures her to drop the case, Sunny's need to create a trap to nab her killer grows. In a compelling game of cat-and-mouse, Sunny uses all her skills to draw out her prey, realizing too late that she's setting herself up to become the next victim."

Edenville Owls

Robert B. Parker

2007

A standalone young adult novel.

"There is something evil in the air; Bobby senses it. Who is that man he saw arguing with his pretty new English teacher? Bobby knows he should mind his own business, but times are confusing. World War II just ended, and the world is changing? Bobby's world, especially. There's Joanie, for one - why does being her friend feel awkward? And then there are his buddies, the junior varsity Edenville Owls - basketball players in need of a leader. Can they help each other off the court as well as they can on it? They will need to."

Rough Weather

Robert B. Parker

2008

A Spenser novel.

"Heidi Bradshaw is wealthy, beautiful, and well-connected. She's also a notorious gold digger only recently separated from her latest husband - and she's hired Spenser to act as her stand-in spouse. The Boston P.I. is to accompany Heidi to her private island to attend her daughter's wedding. It should be a straightforward job, but when his old nemesis Rugar - the Gray Man - arrives, Spenser realizes that something is amiss. As a storm strikes, cutting off the island, a kidnapping and a series of murders turn celebrations into chaos. With six dead bodies and more questions than he can handle, Spenser begins a search for answers - and the Gray Man."

Stranger In Paradise

Robert B. Parker

2008

A Jesse Stone novel.

"Jesse Stone is an ex LA cop who has taken the job of police chief in Paradise, Massachusetts. His drinking and his damaged relationship with his wife, define him as much as his supreme skill at policing his patch. When Crow, an Apache hitman, turns up in Jesse Stone's office, he is intrigued and very much on his guard. Ten years before, Crow was part of a gang that had taken a woman in the town hostage when a bank raid went wrong. The hostages were released unharmed, thanks to Crow's moral view that you didn't kill women, but he also got away with enough money not to have to work again. So why is Crow back in town? Why has he come to see Jesse? And why has he taken a job of kidnapping a young girl and her mother?"

Resolution

Robert B. Parker

2008

A Cole and Hitch novel.

"After the bloody confrontation in Appaloosa, Everett Hitch heads into the afternoon sun and ends up in Resolution, an Old West town so new the dust has yet to settle. It’s the kind of town that doesn’t have much in the way of commerce, except for a handful of saloons and some houses of ill repute. Hitch takes a job as lookout at Amos Wolfson’s Blackfoot Saloon and quickly establishes his position as protector of the ladies who work the backrooms—as well as a man unafraid to stand up to the enforcer sent down from the O’Malley copper mine. Though Hitch makes short work of hired gun Koy Wickman, tensions continue to mount, so that even the self-assured Hitch is relieved by the arrival in town of his friend Virgil Cole. When greedy mine owner Eamon O’Malley threatens the loose coalition of local ranchers and starts buying up Resolution’s few businesses, Hitch and Cole find themselves in the middle of a makeshift war between O’Malley’s men and the ranchers. In a place where law and order don’t exist, Hitch and Cole must make their own, guided by their sense of duty, honor, and friendship."

The Boxer and The Spy

Robert B. Parker

2008

A standalone young adult novel.

"When a shy high school student's body is found washed up on the shore of a quiet New England beach town, an apparent suicide, fifteen-year-old Terry Novak doesn't know what to think. Something just doesn't add up, so he decides to do some investigating of his own with the help of his best friend, Abby. It doesn't take long before they learn that asking questions puts them in grave danger, and surviving is going to be a fight. Fortunately, Terry has been learning a thing or two about fighting, thanks to a retired boxer named George, who teaches the boy to use his head and always keep his feet set beneath him, lessons Terry takes to heart in more ways than one."

Chasing the Bear: A Young Spenser Novel

Robert B. Parker

2009

A Spenser novel for young adults.

"Now, for the first time, see how it all began as the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master sheds light on Spenser's formative years spent with his father and two uncles out West. This is an event book for every fan of Spenser, and a revelation for teens about to discover an American icon."

The Professional

Robert B. Parker

2009

A Spenser novel.

"Spenser has never had any difficulty handling women. But when four stunningly beautiful trophy wives hire him to protect them against a blackmailer threatening to expose their infidelities, even he must admit that they look like trouble. For a private eye of Spenser's abilities and contacts, tracking down Gary Eisenhower, the blackmailer and serial adulterer, isn't too difficult - but almost in spite of himself Spenser finds that he quite likes the guy. Certainly the women, with their loose purse-strings and looser morals, and their loveless marriages to rich, powerful, corrupt men, are hard to feel sorry for. But a killing soon changes the complexion of the case, and draws Spenser into the world of Boston's monied aristocracy: a world of corruption, vice and murder. As the bodies start to pile up, Spenser must decide which of his friends he can trust."

Night and Day

Robert B. Parker

2009

A Jesse Stone novel.

"Stone is called to the junior high school when reports of lewd conduct by the school's principal, Betsy Ingersoll, filter into the station. Ingersoll claims she was protecting the propriety of her students when she inspected each girl's undergarments in the locker room. Jesse would like nothing more than to see Ingersoll punished, but her high-powered attorney husband stands in the way. At the same time, the women of Paradise are faced with a threat to their sense of security with the emergence of a tormented voyeur, dubbed "The Night Hawk." Initially, he's content to peer through windows, but as times goes on, he becomes more reckless, forcing his victims to strip at gunpoint... And according to the notes he's sending to Jesse, he's not satisfied to stop there. It's up to Jesse to catch the Night Hawk, before it's too late."

Brimstone

Robert B. Parker

2009

A Cole and Hitch novel.

"Gunslinging saddle pals Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch rescue Allie French, Virgil's former sweetie who ran off to become a prostitute, and head to Brimstone, south Texas. The two gunmen sign on as deputy sheriffs, but Brimstone fails to provide a quiet respite. A mysterious Indian is killing locals, and a brutal saloon owner and corrupt preacher are headed for a showdown... Virgil and Everett settle on a tricky solution that involves a talented tracker, a bribe, a double-cross, a noxious cloud of gun smoke and a pile of perforated bodies. The result is classic Parker - exciting, suspenseful and entertaining."

Painted Ladies

Robert B. Parker

2010

A Spenser novel.

"The infamous Spenser is hired by an art professor to help recover a stolen painting and claim a ransom. But with one massive explosion, the painting disappears. And with it the professor and a shedload of cash. The case becomes deadly - Spenser must find out who's behind it, and why. Before they come after him."

Split Image

Robert B. Parker

2010

A Jesse Stone novel.

"Cold-blooded murder. Police chief Jesse Stone is investigating two supposedly retired gangsters. But when one of them is found with a bullet in his skull, it is the wives who seem suspect. Meanwhile, the Markham family enlists Sunny Randall's help in rescuing their eighteen-year-old daughter from a religious cult. Are they just over-protective, or is there something sinister lurking beneath the sugar-free tea and desire to connect to the spirit? Jesse and Sunny are soon to discover that there is a fine line between virtue and vice."

Blue-Eyed Devil

Robert B. Parker

2010

A Cole and Hitch novel.

"Once, Appaloosa law was Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch. Now it's Amos Callico, a vindictive, power-hungry tin star with bigger aims - and he could use Cole and Hitch on his side. This time the paid guns aren't for hire, which makes Callico a very vengeful man. But threatening Cole and Hitch ignites something just as dangerous."

Sixkill

Robert B. Parker

2011

A Spenser novel.

"A young girl has been found dead in a hotel room. The womanizing movie star Jumbo Nelson is the obvious suspect. Given that he spent the night with her. But he's innocent. Or at least he says he is. Enter Spenser. Jumbo's lawyers hire him to find out who did it. Never one to turn down a challenge, Spenser starts to investigate. He finds an unlikely ally in the shape of Jumbo's bodyguard, Zebulon Sixkill. He's an alcoholic Cree warrior with a bad past and a worse temper. But given that there's a cold-blooded assassin on the loose, he might just prove to be the secret weapon Spenser needs."

Silent Night

Robert B. Parker with Helen Brann

2013

A Spenser novel.

"It's December in Boston, and Spenser is busy planning the menu for Christmas dinner when he's confronted in his office by a young boy named Slide. Homeless and alone, Slide has found refuge with an organization named Street Business, which gives shelter and seeks job opportunities for the homeless and lost. Slide's mentor, Jackie Alvarez, is being threatened, and Street Business is in danger of losing its tenuous foothold in the community, turning Slide and many others like him back on the street. But it's not a simple case of intimidation - Spenser, aided by Hawk, finds a trail that leads to a dangerous drug kingpin, whose hold on the at-risk community Street Business serves threatens not just the boys' safety and security, but their lives as well. Unfinished at the time of his death, Silent Night was completed by Parker's longtime agent, whose decades-long association with Parker's work gives her unique insight and perspective to his voice and storytelling style."

Sports Illustrated: Training with Weights

Robert B. Parker & John R. Marsh

1974

A revised edition was published in 1990.

"Explains the use of weight-lifting equipment and exercises for each part of the body, emphasizing the intense exercising of individual muscles, and presents a training program for beginners."

Three Weeks in Spring

Robert B. Parker & Joan H. Parker

1982

"The Parkers candidly recount the events, pains, and fears attendant upon the discovery of her breast cancer and her subsequent mastectomy and the relief, good humor, and elation that accompanied her recovery."

Colloquium On Crime: Eleven Renowned Mystery Writers Discuss Their Work

Editor: Robin W. Winks

1986

Robert B. Parker is one of the contributing authors.

The other contributing authors are: Robert Barnard, Rex Burns, K. C. Constantine, Dorothy Salisbury Davis, Michael Gilbert, Donald Hamilton, Joseph Hansen, Tony Hillerman, Reginald Hill, and James McClure.

A Year At The Races

Robert B. Parker & Joan H. Parker

Avery

1990

"A best-selling novelist and an award-winning photographer provide an insider's look at the sport of thoroughbred horse racing, from morning walks to the owner's box."

Spenser's Boston

Photographs: Kasho Kumagai

Introductory text: Robert B. Parker

1994

"Documenting historic Boston, this volume shows the city through the eyes of one of its most famous citizens - Spenser, the tough guy who is sensitive and intelligent - with photographs and excerpts from the best-selling mystery novels."

New Hard-Boiled Writers: 1970s-1990s

Leroy Lad Panek

2000

"Beginning in the 1970s, a new generation of writers took over the hard-boiled story and transformed it to fit the realities of their world - a universe infected by violence, greed, racism, sexism, war, and commercialism. The author comments both on the way the hard-boiled story has changed over the past three decades and examines the work of ten significant contemporary hard-boiled writers. Chapters on Robert B. Parker, James Crumley, Loren Estleman, Sara Paretsky, Sue Grafton, Carl Hiaasen, Earl Emerson, Robert Crais, James Lee Burke, and Walter Mosley demonstrate how these writers have used the hard-boiled hero to make powerful statements about life in the last quarter of the twentieth century."

Profiling the American Detective: Parker's Prose on the Coded Game of Sleuth and Rogue and the Tradition of the Crime Story

Georg Schmid

2004

"Firmly anchored in literary and psychoanalytic theory, yet also combining an ironically essayistic style with scholarly profundity, this book reinserts the mystery genre in its framework of Western history and tradition. Exemplifying the arguments by systematic references to the American Detective par excellence, Robert B. Parker's Spenser, vistas are opened up to a remarkable oeuvre, while, at the same time, a whole popular genre is reevaluated. In addition, major Western ideals and notions are discussed which are arguably more clearly discernable in detective fiction than anywhere else, yet reach far beyond a mere genre and are of general relevance. The analysis of the delicacy and eminently entertaining qualities of detective fiction is nicely balanced with reflections on what literature means to us existentially."

In Pursuit of Spenser: Mystery Writers on Robert B. Parker and the Creation of an American Hero

Editor: Otto Penzler

2012

"When Robert B. Parker passed in early 2010, the world lost two great men: Parker himself, iconic American crime writer whose books have sold more than 6 million copies worldwide, and his best-known creation, Spenser. Parker's Spenser series not only influenced the work of countless of today's writers, but is also credited with reviving and forever changing the genre. In Pursuit of Spenser offers a look at Parker and to Spenser through the eyes of the writers he influenced."

• Introduction (Otto Penzler)
• Songs Spenser Taught Me (Ace Atkins)
• Voice Of The City (Dennis Lehane)
• They Like The Way It Sounds (Lawrence Block)
• Spenser's Code Of Humor (Parnell Hall)
• Parker And Spenser: A Collaboration (Loren D. Estleman)
• Bob, Boston And Me: A Remembrance (Jeremiah Healy)
• A Man For All Seasonings (Brendan Dubois)
• Spenser And The Art Of The Family Table (Lyndsay Faye)
• Looking For Hawk (Gary Phillips)
• Who Is Silverman, What Is She? (S.J. Rozan)
• A Look At Spenser: For Hire (Max Allan Collins And Matthew Clemens)
• Go East, Young Man: Robert B. Parker, Jesse Stone, And Spenser (Reed Farrel Coleman)
• Parker Saddles Up: The Westerns Of Robert B. Parker (Ed Gorman)
• Spenser: A Profile (Robert B. Parker)
• A Bibliography Of The Works Of Robert B. Parker

The Best American Mystery Stories 2002

Editor: Robert B. Parker

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

1997

"For many years, some of the most vital, creative, and exciting fiction published in America has been in the field of mystery, crime, and suspense. Now Robert B. Parker and Otto Penzler - both Edgar winners - have assembled the best that 1997 had to offer."

• Blind Lemon (Doug Allyn)
• Hot Springs (James Crumley)
• The Weekender (Jeffery Deaver)
• The Dark Snow (Brendan Dubois)
• The Surprise of His Life (Elizabeth George)
• Eyes That Never Meet (Jeremiah Healy)
• Another Tented Evening (Melodie Johnson Howe)
• The Mark (Pat Jordan)
• The Things We Do for Love (Jonathan Kellerman)
• Lou Monahan, County Prosecutor (Andrew Klavan)
• Karen Makes Out (Elmore Leonard)
• Red Clay (Michael Malone)
• Mrs. Feeley Is Quite Mad (Mabel Maney)
• Will You Always Love Me? (Joyce Carol Oates)
• When You're Hungry (George Pelecanos)
• Hoops (S.J. Rozan)
• Doblin's Lecture (Allen Steele)
• Kindred Spirits (Brad Watson)
• There Are Monsterim (John Weisman)
• Unlawful Contact (Monica Wood)

Robert B. Parker's Killing the Blues

Michael Brandman

2011

A Jesse Stone novel.

"Paradise, Massachusetts, is gearing up for the busy summer season when a spate of car thefts places its quiet, tourist-friendly reputation in jeopardy. Jesse Stone fears an automobile theft gang has set up shop in town, and the silver-tongued, heavy-handed police chief vows to put a stop to their activity. Almost as soon as he starts tackling this threat, another materializes: one of a more personal nature. An old enemy, hell-bent on revenge, is fresh out of prison. Thus begins a tale of proactive policing and personal paranoia, in which Stone finds himself defending himself, his patch and - before long - his latest squeeze. In Killing the Blues, Michael Brandman combines all of Parker's tried and tested ingredients to create a highly enjoyable and authentic Jesse Stone thriller."

Lullaby

Ace Atkins

2012

A Spenser novel.

"When fourteen-year-old Mattie Sullivan asks Spenser to look into her mother’s murder, he’s not completely convinced by her claim that the police investigation four years ago was botched. Mattie is gruff, street-smart, and wise beyond her years, left to care for her younger siblings and an alcoholic grandmother in a dilapidated apartment in South Boston. But her need for closure and her determination to make things right hit Spenser where he lives- they’re the very characteristics he abides by. Mattie believes the man convicted of the crime is innocent and points Spenser to the Southie toughs who she saw carrying her mother away hours before her murder. Neither the Boston PD nor the neighborhood thugs are keen on his dredging up the past, but as Spenser becomes more involved in the case, he starts to realize that Mattie may be onto something. Spenser will need Hawk’s help to find peace for Mattie – a job that’s more dangerous than he ever thought."

Robert B. Parker's Fool Me Twice

Michael Brandman

2012

A Jesse Stone novel.

"Hollywood has come to Paradise, Massachusetts. And Police Chief Jesse Stone has been distracted from his duty by a beautiful young producer. But before Jesse can get too cozy, the leading star of the movie, Marisol Hinton, approaches him for help. Her meth-addicted ex is terrorizing her, and, expecting him to turn up in town, she grows increasingly frightened for her life. Jesse, meanwhile, is waging a war against an off-the-rails teenage girl - the seemingly untouchable daughter of a local business magnate - whose reckless and dangerous driving is endangering Paradise's citizens on a daily basis. And as if he's not got enough to be dealing with, Jesse's juggling a third ongoing investigation: addressing a string of complaints from angered locals, claiming they are being charged suspiciously high fees by the local water company. Not one to give up a fight, Jesse throws himself into all three cases with his characteristic bullish vigour. But what he doesn't necessarily realize is that those that seem to present the least danger will prove to be the most deadly."

Wonderland

Ace Atkins

2013

A Spenser novel.

"Henry Cimoli and Spenser have been friends for years, yet the old boxing trainer has never asked the private eye for a favor. Until now. A heavy-handed developer is trying to buy up Henry's condo on Revere Beach and sends thugs to move the process along. Soon Spenser and his apprentice, Zebulon Sixkill, find a trail leading to a mysterious and beautiful woman, a megalomaniacal Las Vegas kingpin, and plans to turn to a chunk of land north of Boston into a sprawling casino. Bitter rivals emerge, alliances turn, and the uglier pieces of the Boston political machine look to put an end to Spenser's investigation. Aspiration, greed, and twisted dreams all focus on the old Wonderland dog track where the famous amusement park once fronted the ocean. For Spenser and Z, this simple favor to Henry will become the fight of their lives."

Silent Night

Robert B. Parker with Helen Brann

2013

A Spenser novel.

"It's December in Boston, and Spenser is busy planning the menu for Christmas dinner when he's confronted in his office by a young boy named Slide. Homeless and alone, Slide has found refuge with an organization named Street Business, which gives shelter and seeks job opportunities for the homeless and lost. Slide's mentor, Jackie Alvarez, is being threatened, and Street Business is in danger of losing its tenuous foothold in the community, turning Slide and many others like him back on the street. But it's not a simple case of intimidation - Spenser, aided by Hawk, finds a trail that leads to a dangerous drug kingpin, whose hold on the at-risk community Street Business serves threatens not just the boys' safety and security, but their lives as well. Unfinished at the time of his death, Silent Night was completed by Parker's longtime agent, whose decades-long association with Parker's work gives her unique insight and perspective to his voice and storytelling style."

Robert B. Parker's Damned If You Do

Michael Brandman

2013

A Jesse Stone novel.

"The woman on the bed was barely out of her teens. She wasn't exactly beautiful, but she'd tried to make the most of her looks. Now, defiled and alone in a seedy beachfront motel, she was dead. And Paradise Police Chief Jesse Stone doesn't know her name. Whoever she is, she didn't deserve to die. State police captain Healy's resources turn up nothing helpful, and Gino Fish, who knows his way around dark places, is characteristically uncooperative. Unwilling to take no for an answer, Jesse continues digging his own way, only to find himself caught in the crosshairs of a bitter turf war between two ruthless pimps, Thomas Walker and Fat Boy Nelly, and a beautiful woman to whom they both lay claim. Jesse tries for a diplomatic solution, but more blood will be spilt before it's over."

Robert B. Parker's Ironhorse

Robert Knott

2013

A Cole and Hitch novel.

"Now, newly appointed as Territorial Marshalls, Cole and Hitch find themselves traveling by train through the Indian Territories. Their first marshaling duty starts out as a simple mission to escort Mexican prisoners to the border, but when the Governor of Texas, his wife and daughters climb aboard with their bodyguards and $500,000 in tow, their journey suddenly becomes a lot more complicated. The problem is Bloody Bob Brandice. He and Virgil have had it out before, an encounter that left Brandice face-down in the street with two .44 slugs lodged in him. Now, twelve years later on a night train struggling uphill in a thunderstorm, Brandice is back - and he's not alone. Cole and Hitch find themselves in the midst of a heist with a horde of very bad men, two beautiful young hostages, and a man with a vendetta he's determined to carry out."

Cheap Shot

Ace Atkins

2014

A Spenser novel.

"Kinjo Heywood is one of the New England Patriots' marquee players — a hard-nosed linebacker who's earned his reputation as one of the toughest guys in the league. When off-field violence repeatedly lands Heywood in the news, his slick agent hires Spenser to find the men who he says have been harassing his client. Heywood's troubles seem to be tied to a nightclub shooting from two years earlier. But when Heywood's nine-year-old son, Akira, is kidnapped, ransom demands are given, and a winding trail through Boston's underworld begins, Spenser puts together his own all-star team of toughs. It will take both Hawk and Spenser's protégé, Zebulon Sixkill, to watch Spenser's back and return the child to the football star's sprawling Chestnut Hill mansion. A controversial decision from Heywood only ups the ante as the clock winds down on Akira's future."

Robert B. Parker's Blind Spot

Reed Farrel Coleman

2014

A Jesse Stone novel.

"When Jesse is invited to a reunion of his old Triple-A team at a hip New York city hotel, he is forced to grapple with his memories and regrets over what might have been. Jesse left more behind him than unresolved feelings about the play that ended his baseball career. The darkly sensuous Kayla, his former girlfriend and current wife of an old teammate is there in New York, too. As is Kayla’s friend, Dee, an otherworldly beauty with secret regrets of her own. But Jesse’s time at the reunion is cut short when, in Paradise, a young woman is found murdered and her boyfriend, a son of one of the town’s most prominent families, is missing and presumed kidnapped. Though seemingly coincidental, there is a connection between the reunion and the crimes back in Paradise. As Jesse, Molly, and Suit hunt for the killer and for the missing son, it becomes clear that one of Jesse’s old teammates is intimately involved in the crimes. That there are deadly forces working below the surface and just beyond the edge of their vision. Sometimes, that’s where the danger comes from, and where real evil lurks. Not out in the light - but in your blind spot."

Robert B. Parker's Bull River

Robert Knott

2014

A Cole and Hitch novel.

"After hunting down the notorious desperado Alejandro Vasquez, Territorial Marshal Virgil Cole and Deputy Everett Hitch return him to San Cristóbal to stand trial. No sooner do they remand him into custody than a major bank robbery occurs and the lawmen find themselves tasked with another job: investigating the robbery of the Comstock Bank, recovering the loot, and bringing the criminals to justice. But when their primary suspect is found severely beaten outside a high-class brothel and turns out to be using a false identity to escape a torrid past, it is Alejandro who becomes the key to their investigation. Cole and Hitch are soon on the trail of the money, two calculating brothers, and the daughter of St. Louis's most prominent millionaire in a Cain and Abel story that brings revenge to a whole new level."

Kickback

Ace Atkins

2015

A Spenser novel.

"What started out as a joke landed seventeen-year-old Dillon Yates in a lockdown juvenile facility in Boston Harbor. When he set up a prank Twitter account for his vice principal, he never dreamed he could be brought up on criminal charges, but that s exactly what happened. This is Blackburn, Massachusetts, where zero tolerance for minors is a way of life. Leading the movement is tough-as-nails Judge Joe Scali, who gives speeches about getting tough on today s wild youth. But Dillon s mother, who knows other Blackburn kids who are doing hard time for minor infractions, isn't buying Scali s line. She hires Spenser to find the truth behind the draconian sentencing. From the Harbor Islands to a gated Florida community, Spenser and trusted ally Hawk follow a trail through the Boston underworld with links to a shadowy corporation that runs New England s private prisons. They eventually uncover a culture of corruption and cover-ups in the old mill town, where hundreds of kids are sent off to for-profit juvie jails."

Robert B. Parker's The Devil Wins

Reed Farrel Coleman

2015

A Jesse Stone novel.

"In the wake of a huge storm, three bodies are discovered in the rubble of an abandoned factory building in an industrial part of Paradise known as The Swap. One body, a man's, wrapped in a blue tarp, is only hours old. But found within feet of that body are the skeletal remains of two teenage girls who had gone missing during a Fourth of July celebration twenty-five years earlier. Not only does that crime predate Jesse Stone's arrival in Paradise, but the dead girls were close friends of Jesse's right hand, Officer Molly Crane. And things become even more complicated when one of the dead girls' mothers returns to Paradise to bury her daughter and is promptly murdered. It's up to Police Chief Jesse Stone to pull away the veil of the past to see how all the murders are connected."

Robert B. Parker's The Bridge

Robert Knott

2015

A Cole and Hitch novel.

"An ominous storm rolls in, and along with it a band of night riders with a devious scheme, who show up at the Rio Blanco camp, where a three-hundred-foot bridge is under construction. Appaloosa s Sheriff Sledge Driskill and his deputies are the first to respond, but as the storm grows more threatening, news of troubles at the bridge escalate and the Sheriff and his deputies go missing. Virgil and Everett saddle up to sort things out but before they do the hard drinking, Beauregard Beauchamp arrives in Appaloosa with his Theatrical Extravaganza troupe and the promise of the best in lively entertainment west of the Mississippi. With the troupe comes a lovely and mysterious fortune-teller who is set on saving Everett from imminent but indefinable danger. The trouble at the bridge, the missing lawmen, the new arrivals, and Everett s shoot-out in front of Hal s Cafe aren t the only things on Cole and Hitch s plate as a gang of unsavory soldiers ease into town with a shady alibi, shadier intentions, and a soon-to-be-discovered wake of destruction."

Slow Burn

Ace Atkins

2016

A Spenser novel.

"The fire at a boarded-up Catholic church raged hot and fast, lighting up Boston's South End and killing three firefighters who were trapped in the inferno. A year later, as the city prepares to honour their sacrifice, there are still no answers about how the deadly fire started. Most at the department believe it was just a simple accident: faulty wiring in a century-old building. But Boston firefighter Jack McGee, who lost his best friend in the blaze, suspects arson. McGee is convinced department investigators aren't sufficiently connected to the city's lowlifes to get a handle on who's behind the blaze - so he takes the case to Spenser. Spenser quickly learns not only that McGee might be right but that the fire might be linked to a rash of new arsons spreading through the city. Spenser follows the trail of fires to Boston's underworld, bringing him; his trusted ally, Hawk; and his apprentice, Sixkill, toe-to-toe with a dangerous new enemy who doesn't play by the city's old rules. Spenser has to find the firebug before he kills again - and stay alive himself."

Robert B. Parker's Debt to Pay

Reed Farrel Coleman

2016

A Jesse Stone novel.

"All is quiet in Paradise, except for a spate of innocuous vandalism. Good thing, too, because Jesse Stone is preoccupied with the women in his life, both past and present. As his ex-wife, Jenn, is about to marry a Dallas real-estate tycoon, Jesse isn't too sure his relationship with former FBI agent Diana Evans is built to last. But those concerns get put on the back burner when a major Boston crime boss is brutally murdered. Despite all evidence to the contrary, Jesse suspects it's the work of Mr. Peepers, a psychotic assassin who has caused trouble for Jesse in the past. Peepers has long promised revenge against the Mob, Jesse, and Suit for their roles in foiling one of his hits - and against Jenn as well. And though Jesse and Jenn have long parted ways, Jesse still feels responsible for her safety. Jesse and Diana head to Dallas for the wedding and, along with the tycoon's security team, try to stop Peepers before the bill comes due. With Peepers toying with the authorities as to when and where he'll strike, Jesse is up against the wall. Still, there's a debt to pay and blood to be spilled to satisfy it. But whose blood, and just how much?"

Robert B. Parker's Blackjack

Robert Knott

2016

A Cole and Hitch novel.

"Appaloosa, the hometown of Territorial Marshals Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch, continues to prosper, but with prosperity comes a slew of new trouble: carpetbaggers, gamblers, migrants, peddlers, drifters, thieves, and whores, all boiling in a cauldron of excess and greed. And there's a new menace in town: a wealthy, handsome easterner - and the owner of Appaloosa's new casino - Boston Bill Black. Boston Bill is flashy and bigger than life. He's a prankster and a notorious womanizer, and with eight notches on the handle of his Colt, he's rumored quick on the draw. When he finds himself wanted for a series of murders, he quickly vanishes. Cole and Hitch locate and arrest him, but Boston Bill escapes once again. Another murder sets the duo on his trail, eventually taking them back to Appaloosa--where one woman in particular may, or may not, prove to be the apple of Boston Bill's eye."

Little White Lies

Ace Atkins

2017

A Spenser novel.

"A self-proclaimed military hotshot, Welles had been a frequent guest on national news shows speaking with authority about politics and world events. But when he disappears, he leaves not only a jilted lover but a growing list of angry investors, duped cops, and a team of paramilitary contractors looking for revenge. Enter Spenser, who quickly discovers that everything about Welles is phony. His name, his resume, and his client list are nothing but an elaborate fraud. But uncovering the truth won't be easy, as he'll have to keep the mystery man alive long enough to get back his client's money. As the trail winds from Boston to backroads Georgia, Spenser will need help from trusted allies Hawk and Teddy Sapp to make sure Welles's next con is his last."

Robert B. Parker's The Hangman's Sonnet

Reed Farrel Coleman

2017

A Jesse Stone novel.

"Jesse Stone, still reeling from the murder of his fiancée by crazed assassin Mr Peepers, must keep his emotions in check long enough to get through the wedding day of his loyal protégé, Suitcase Simpson. The morning of the wedding, Jesse learns that a gala 75th birthday party is to be held for folk singer Terry Jester. Jester, once the equal of Bob Dylan, has spent the last forty years in seclusion after the mysterious disappearance of the master recording tape of his magnum opus, The Hangman's Sonnet. That same morning, an elderly Paradise woman dies while her house is being ransacked. What are the thieves looking for? And what's the connection to Terry Jester and the mysterious missing tape? Jesse's investigation is hampered by hostile politicians and a growing trail of blood and bodies, forcing him to solicit the help of mobster Vinnie Morris and a certain Boston area PI named Spenser. While the town fathers pressure him to avoid a PR nightmare, Jesse must connect the cases before the bodies pile up further."

Robert B. Parker's Revelation

Robert Knott

2017

A Cole and Hitch novel.

"Territorial marshals Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch figured things had finally settled down in Appaloosa when Boston Bill Black's murder charge was dropped. But all that changed when Augustus Noble Driggs was transferred to a stateside penitentiary just across the border from Mexico. Square-jawed, handsome, and built like a muscled thoroughbred stallion, Driggs manages to intimidate everyone inside the prison walls, including the upstart young warden. In a haunting twist of fate, Driggs and a pack of cold-blooded convicts are suddenly on the loose - and it's up to any and all territorial lawmen, including Cole and Hitch, to capture the fugitives and rescue the woman kidnapped during their escape. But nothing is ever quite what it seems with the ever-elusive Driggs. Finally free, he's quickly on his own furious hunt for a hidden cache of gold and jewels - and for the men who betrayed him and left him for dead. With an unlikely and unconventional Yankee detective by their side, Cole and Hitch set off on a massive manhunt."

Robert B. Parker's Colorblind

Reed Farrel Coleman

2018

A Jesse Stone novel.

"Jesse Stone is back on the job after a stint in rehab, and the road to recovery is immediately made bumpy by a series of disturbing and apparently racially motivated crimes, beginning with the murder of an African American woman. Then, Jesse's own deputy Alisha - the first black woman hired by the Paradise police force - becomes the target of a sophisticated frame-up. As he and his team work tirelessly to unravel the truth, he has to wonder if this is just one part of an even grander plot, one with an end game more destructive than any of them can imagine. At the same time, a mysterious young man named Cole Slayton rolls into town with a chip on his shoulder and a problem with authority - namely, Jesse. Yet, something about the angry twenty-something appeals to Jesse, and he takes Cole under his wing. But there's more to him than meets the eye, and his secrets might change Jesse's life forever."