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This page lists crime novels and short story collections set wholly or partly in Boston.

 

Boston: Novels and short story collections

The Friends of Eddie Coyle

George V. Higgins

Alfred A. Knopf

1971

"When small-time gunrunner Eddie Coyle is convicted on a felony, he's looking at three years in the pen - that is, unless he sells out one of his big-fish clients to the DA. But which of the many hoods, gunmen and executioners he calls his friends should he send up river? Set on the mean streets of Boston and told almost entirely in crackling dialogue by a vivid cast of cops and lowlifes, The Friends of Eddie Coyle set a standard for authentically gritty crime fiction that has never been bettered."
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The Digger's Game

George V. Higgins

Alfred A. Knopf

1973

"Jerry 'Digger' Doherty is an ex-con and proprietor of a workingman's Boston bar, who supplements his income with the occasional 'odd job', like stealing live checks or picking up hot goods. His brother's a priest, his wife's a nag, and he has a deadly appetite for martinis and gambling. On a trip to Vegas, the Digger finds himself in the sights of a loan shark known as 'The Greek'. Luckily - if you call it luck - the Digger has been let in on a little job that can turn his gambling debt into a profit, if only he can pull it off without getting himself killed."
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The Godwulf Manuscript

Robert B. Parker

Houghton Mifflin

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."
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God Save the Child

Robert B. Parker

Houghton Mifflin

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."
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Cogan's Trade

George V. Higgins

Alfred A. Knopf

1974

Published in 2012 by Vintage with the title Killing Them Softly - following the movie that also had that title.

"Jackie Cogan doesn't advertise what he does. But when the New England mob have a mess they need cleared up, they know who to call. Markie Trattman runs a high-stakes card-game under their protection. When the game gets raided by a couple of no-name hoodlums, Jackie's out of pocket. Unless of course he set up the heist himself. Either way the mob's got a problem. To restore credibility and keep things running smooth, they need to find out who's behind the heist - and then justice must be seen to be done. Which is where Jackie comes in. The trouble is, this is one game with a lot of players, including an out-of-town hitman, a sleazy attorney, a professional dog-stealer, and enough hoods, hangers-on and high-rollers to really make Jackie earn his dough."
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A City on a Hill

George V. Higgins

Alfred A. Knopf

1975

"Ex-newspaperman Hank Cavanaugh, right-hand PR man to Democratic Massachusetts Congressman Sam Barry, methodically sounding out and projecting his boss's presidential possibilities, subordinates his personal life to the privacies, panderings, and politicsof inside Washington."
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Mortal Stakes

Robert B. Parker

Houghton Mifflin

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!"
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Promised Land

Robert B. Parker

Houghton Mifflin

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."
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Looking for Rachel Wallace

Robert B. Parker

Delacorte

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."
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Kennedy for the Defense

George V. Higgins

Random House

1980

A Jerry Kennedy novel.

"An honest man with few illusions that have gone unchallenged, criminal lawyer Jerry Kennedy is hard put to reconcile his professional life--defending car thieves, pimps, pushers, and mobsters--with his family life."
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Burn This

Helen McCloy

Dodd, Mead

1980

A Dr. Basil Willing novel.

"Boston landlady Harriet Sutton discovers a note about a conspiracy to murder someone - a note that must have come from one of her tenants. When a tenant is murdered, she asks psychiatrist-sleuth Dr Basil Willing to investigate. Her son, a Vietnam veteran whom the police consider a victim of combat fatigue who may be capable of anything, is under suspicion. And as the mystery unfolds, Harriet Sutton tries desperately to prove them wrong."
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Early Autumn

Robert B. Parker

Delacorte

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."
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Ceremony

Robert B. Parker

Delacorte

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."
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The Widening Gyre

Robert B. Parker

Delacorte

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."
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Valediction

Robert B. Parker

Delacorte

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."
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A Choice of Enemies

George V. Higgins

Alfred A. Knopf

1984

"Bernie Morgan, longtime Speaker of the Massachusetts House, is determined to thwart his political enemies and plan a memorable end to his career."
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A Catskill Eagle

Robert B. Parker

Delacorte

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."
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Penance for Jerry Kennedy

George V. Higgins

Alfred A. Knopf

1985

A Jerry Kennedy novel.

"For low-life Boston lawyer Jerry Kennedy, everything's gone sour--his client Louis Schwartz is in jail; he's a prey of the IRS; and his wife is giving him the silent treatment."
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Taming a Sea-Horse

Robert B. Parker

Delacorte

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."
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Outlaws

George V. Higgins

Henry Holt

1987

"1970, Boston, and a daring attack on an armoured transport delivering money to a bank, catches Massachusetts law enforcement napping. While the police are still trying to figure out where this new and coldly efficient gang sprang from, more dazzling heists follow - each one meticulously planned and ruthlessly executed. It soon becomes clear these are no ordinary criminals, but as one of the cops assigned to the case figures, 'longhairs that got bored with protesting the war and branched out.' Faced with a tight-knit cell of urban revolutionaries led by a charismatic intellectual with no compunction about killing for the cause, the authorities seem powerless to stop them. Unless they step outside the law themselves."
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Crimson Joy

Robert B. Parker

Delacorte

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."
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Playmates

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Stardust

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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In-laws and Outlaws

Barbara Paul

Scribner's

1990

"Gillian stopped being a Decker when her husband, Stuart, died, and she considers herself lucky to have escaped. The Deckers are ruthless, a family of power-hungry backstabbers who live for profit and sneer at love. Stuart was different, but even he obeyed his older brother Raymond like he was a god. Since she lost her husband, Gillian has tried to forget his family, until a notice in the paper brings it all rushing back. Raymond is dead, and the Decker empire is being washed away by blood. When Raymond's widow begs Gillian to come to Boston and help her prove that her husband was murdered, Gillian can't deny her. Raymond was the fourth Decker to die in the last few months, just a few years after his son was kidnapped and killed. Someone is trying to wipe out the Deckers, and if Gillian doesn't tread lightly, she may join her husband in death."
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Pastime

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Double Deuce

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Defending Billy Ryan

George V. Higgins

Henry Holt & Co

1992

A Jerry Kennedy novel.

"Desperate as always, Kennedy takes a case nobody else wants. Billy Ryan, Massachusetts Commissioner of the Department of Public Works, has cut one shady deal too many, and doesn't want to spend his retirement in gaol."
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Paper Doll

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Bomber's Law

George V. Higgins

Henry Holt

1993

"The new commanding officer of the Detective Division at state headquarters in Boston, Brian Dennison begins to suspect that his predecessor, Bomber Lawrence, was in league with a notorious mobster."
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All Our Yesterdays

Robert B. Parker

Delacorte

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."
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Walking Shadow

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Blanche Among the Talented Tenth

Barbara Neely

St Martin's Press

1994

"When Blanche White moved north to Boston, she believed it would be a better place to raise her kids, especially after she got them into an elite private school. But now her children are becoming elitist and judgmental, acquiring more attitude than education. So when she and her kids are invited to Amber Cove, an exclusive resort in Maine for wealthy blacks, Blanche jumps at the chance to see how the other half lives and maybe stop her kids turning into people she doesn’t want to know. When one of the guests kills himself, and another is electrocuted in her bathtub, Blanche becomes an accidental detective once again, using her sharp wit and keen social insight to peel back some disturbing color and class distinctions within the black community that may have driven someone to murder."
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Thin Air

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Chance

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Sandra Nichols Found Dead

George V. Higgins

Henry Holt

1996

A Jerry Kennedy novel.

"Appointed by former classmate Judge Henry Lawler to prosecute the boyfriend of a murdered woman, Jerry Kennedy has difficulty proving the guilt of the defendant, a more than likely suspect, when the victim's body is discovered long after her deat."
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Small Vices

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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A Change of Gravity

George V. Higgins

Henry Holt

1997

"A campaign manager and his candidate, Danny Hilliard, a powerful politician in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, find themselves fighting not to go to jail as they deal with the political world of the 1990s."
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Sudden Mischief

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Hush Money

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Family Honor

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Perish Twice

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Hugger Mugger

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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At End of Day

George V. Higgins

Harcourt Brace

2000

"Arthur McKeach and Nick Cistero have been behind most of the loan-sharking, extortion, hijacking, illegal gambling, union corruption and drug-dealing in Greater Boston for almost four decades - and every cop in the Boston Police Department knows it.So what's kept them on the streets for so long? What the cops don't know is that McKeach and Cistero have a sweet deal going with the Boston office of the FBI: the bureau looks the other way when they're doing business, and even gives them a heads-up when the local or state cops start poking around - and all McKeach and Cistero have to do is rat out the Italian mob from Boston's North End. It's a deal that has worked for four decades, but now there's a new agent in town, fresh from a desk job in Washington, ready to take over the Organized Crime Unit. Is it the end of an era in the Boston underworld, or are McKeach and Cistero about to find out just how far corruption can go?"
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Widow's Walk

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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A Catch of Consequence

Diana Norman

HarperCollins

2002

A Makepeace Hedley novel.

"Makepeace Burke serves Patriots at her late father's tavern on the Boston waterfront in 1765 and hates the redcoats with a vengeance. But even she can't watch an angry mob drown an Englishman. She rescues him and nurses him back to health-and falls in love. In Patriot Boston, hers is an unforgivable sin-made worse by the fact that her Englishman turns out be the aristocratic Sir Philip Dapifer. Philip must smuggle Makepeace aboard a ship bound for London and save her life at the expense of the world she knows. Rich in period detail, bringing the years of colonial rebellion to vivid life, A Catch of Consequence is a stylish novel of Boston and England, and of a woman who defies convention in both worlds."
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Shrink Rap

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Back Story

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Bad Business

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Melancholy Baby

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Cold Service

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Hundred-Dollar Baby

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Blue Screen

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Spare Change

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Now and Then

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Rough Weather

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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The Professional

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Tower

Ken Bruen / Reed Farrel Coleman

Busted Flush Press

2009

"Nick's father is a stand-up Irishman - once a cop, now a security guard in the World Trade Center's North Tower - but Nick does not take after his old man. He's 'got the bad drop,' meaning he only cares about booze, violence, and getting into trouble with his best friend, Todd, a low-level hood connected to the Boston mob. Todd inducts Nick into the world of petty crime. What starts as a bit of good fun -- robbing apartments, scoring weed -- turns serious as Todd gets closer to the inner circle. He may not love violence as much as Nick does, but he's about to get more than his fair share."
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Painted Ladies

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Boston Noir

Editor: Dennis Lehane

Akashic Books

2010

The contents are:

  • Exit Interview (Lynne Heitman)
  • Animal Rescue (Dennis Lehane)
  • The Place Where He Belongs (Jim Fusilli)
  • Dark Waters (Patricia Powell)
  • Femme Sole (Dana Cameron)
  • The Dark Island (Brendan DuBois)
  • The Reward (Stewart O’Nan)
  • The Cross-Eyed Bear (John Dufresne)
  • The Oriental Hair Poets (Don Lee)
  • The Collar (J. Itabari Njeri)
  • Turn Speed (Russ Aborn)
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Sixkill

Robert B. Parker

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Lullaby

Ace Atkins

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Boston Noir 2: The Classics

Editor: Dennis Lehane, Mary Cotton and Jaime Clarke

Akashic Books

2012

The contents are:

  • The Marriage Privilege (Chuck Hogan)
  • Night-Side (Joyce Carol Oates)
  • Home Sweet Home (Hannah Tinti)
  • Surrogate (Robert B. Parker)
  • Mushrooms (Dennis Lehane)
  • Lucky Penny (Linda Barnes)
  • Blanche Cleans Up (excerpt) (Barbara Neely)
  • The Balance of the Day (George V. Higgins)
  • Bait (excerpt) (Kenneth Abel)
  • Townies (Andre Dubus)
  • Driving the Heart (Jason Brown)
  • The 5:22 (George Harrar)
  • Infinite Jest” (excerpt) by David Foster Wallace)
  • At Night (David Ryan)
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Wonderland

Ace Atkins

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Silent Night

Robert B. Parker with Helen Brann

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Cheap Shot

Ace Atkins

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Kickback

Ace Atkins

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Slow Burn

Ace Atkins

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Robert B. Parker's Debt to Pay

Reed Farrel Coleman

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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?"
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Little White Lies

Ace Atkins

G. P. Putnam's Sons

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."
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Last updated February 2018