Leather Jacket Optional
Robert B. Parker (17 September 1932 – 18 January 2010) was an American author; mostly of Mystery Fiction and Police Procedural works, although he also dabbled in romance, westerns and young adult fiction. He is best known for his long running Spenser series, about the eponymous Boston-based Private Detective, as well as the Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall books. He also finished Raymond Chandler's unfinished Philip Marlowe novel (and wrote another original one); after Parker's death, the favor was returned, with several authors continuing some of his active series. Many of his peers regarded him as one of the most influential and respected voices in crime fiction, often placing him in the same class as Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett.
Works by Robert B. Parker
- Spenser series
- The Godwulf Manuscript (1973)
- God Save the Child (1974)
- Mortal Stakes (1975)
- Promised Land (1976)
- The Judas Goat (1978)
- Looking for Rachel Wallace (1980)
- Early Autumn (1981)
- A Savage Place (1981)
- Ceremony (1982)
- The Widening Gyre (1983)
- Valediction (1984)
- A Catskill Eagle (1985)
- Taming a Sea-Horse (1986)
- Pale Kings and Princes (1987)
- Crimson Joy (1988)
- Playmates (1989)
- Stardust (1990)
- Pastime (1991)
- Double Deuce (1992)
- Paper Doll (1993)
- Walking Shadow (1994)
- Thin Air (1995)
- Chance (1996)
- Small Vices (1997)
- Sudden Mischief (1998)
- Hush Money (1999)
- Hugger Mugger (2000)
- Potshot (2001)
- Widow's Walk (2002)
- Back Story (2003, features Jesse Stone)
- Bad Business (2004])
- Cold Service (2005)
- School Days (2005)
- Hundred-Dollar Baby (2006)
- Now and Then (2006)
- Rough Weather (2008)
- Chasing the Bear: A Young Spenser Novel (2009)
- The Professional (2009)
- Painted Ladies (2010)
- Sixkill (2011)
- Silent Night (2013, co-written with Helen Brann)
- Philip Marlowe pastiches
- Poodle Springs (1989, completion of unfinished novel by Raymond Chandler)
- Perchance to Dream (1991)
- Jesse Stone series
- Night Passage (1997)
- Trouble in Paradise (1998)
- Death in Paradise (2001)
- Stone Cold (2003)
- Sea Change (2006)
- High Profile (2007, features Sunny Randall)
- Stranger In Paradise (2008)
- Night and Day (2009, features Sunny Randall)
- Split Image (2010, features Sunny Randall)
- Sunny Randall series
- Family Honor (1999)
- Perish Twice (2000)
- Shrink Rap (2002)
- Melancholy Baby (2004)
- Blue Screen (2006, features Jesse Stone)
- Spare Change (2007)
- Virgil Cole/Everett Hitch series
- Appaloosa (2005)
- Resolution (2008)
- Brimstone (2009)
- Blue-Eyed Devil (2010)
- Standalone works
- Wilderness (1979)
- Love and Glory (1983)
- All Our Yesterdays (1994)
- Gunman’s Rhapsody (2001, featuring Wyatt Earp)
- Double Play (2004)
- Edenville Owls (2007)
- The Boxer and the Spy (2008)
Works by other authors featuring Parker’s characters
- Spenser series
- Lullaby by Ace Atkins (2012)
- Wonderland by Ace Atkins (2013)
- Cheap Shot by Ace Atkins (2014)
- Kickback by Ace Atkins (2015)
- Slow Burn by Ace Atkins (2016)
- Little White Lies by Ace Atkins (2017)
- Old Black Magic by Ace Atkins (2018)
- Angel Eyes Ace Atkins (2019)
- Someone To Watch Over Me by Ace Atkins (2021)
- Bye Bye Baby by Ace Atkins (2022)
- Jesse Stone series
- Killing the Blues by Michael Brandman (2011)
- Fool Me Twice by Michael Brandman (2012)
- Damned If You Do by Michael Brandman (2013)
- Blind Spot by Reed Farrel Coleman (2014)
- The Devil Wins by Reed Farrel Coleman (2015)
- Debt to Pay by Reed Farrel Coleman (2016)
- The Hangman's Sonnet by Reed Farrel Coleman (2017)
- Colorblind by Reed Farrel Coleman (2018)
- The Bitterest Pill by Reed Farrel Coleman (2019)
- Fool's Paradise by Mike Lupica (2020)
- Stone’s Throw by Mike Lupica (2021)
- Sunny Randall series
- Blood Feud by Mike Lupica (2018)
- Grudge Match by Mike Lupica (2020)
- Payback by Mike Lupica (2021)
- Revenge Tour by Mike Lupica (2022)
- Bad Influence by Alison Gaylin (2023)
- Virgil Cole/Everett Hitch series
- Ironhorse by Robert Knott (2013)
- Bull River by Robert Knott (2014)
- The Bridge by Robert Knott (2015)
- Blackjack by Robert Knott (2017)
- Revelation by Robert Knott (2018)
- Buckskin by Robert Knott (2020)
Tropes Pertaining to the Author:
- All-Star Cast: One of the narrators of the audiobook version of Nightmares & Dreamscapes (by Stephen King). Also, the TV shows and Films based on his books include Tom Selleck, Avery Brooks, Robert Urich...
- Died During Production: Reportedly, he died while working on one of his books. Which one it was, and whether or not it was finished by another author, is unknown.
- Some evidence suggests Silent Night; there's an author note at the end saying why another author worked on it.
- Boston: Where Parker lived, and where some of his books (if not most, such as for Spenser) are based.
- The Film of the Book/The Show of the Books: Several of his books were turned into movies (e.g. Appaloosa), or into TV shows (Spenser: For Hire).
- Food Porn: If one of Parker's characters can cook, then you will get a great description of what they prepare; otherwise you'll get what's almost an ad for the restaurant that they eat at.
- Money, Dear Boy: While he was proud of his work, Parker's primary motivation for writing was so he could provide his family with a comfortable life without needing to work a 9-to-5 job. His characters live on in books by other authors so his family can continue receiving royalties.
- Outlived Its Creator: The Sunny Randall, Jesse Stone, and Spenser series are still being published; each one has one author assigned, for continuity.
- Said Bookism: Almost a Signature Style for him.
- Sleeping Single: He and his wife Joan realized that their lifestyles were too differentnote to support traditional co-habitation so they lived separate livesnote while remaining very much in love and committed to each other. When describing their arrangment, Parker said, "I want to make love to my wife for the rest of my life, but I never want to sleep with her again."
- Writing by the Seat of Your Pants: Reportedly, he was like the detectives in his stories- never knowing what was coming next.
