Most Popular Books by Robert B. Parker

One of Boston’s elite has been murdered. The accused is his new wife. She’s blonde, beautiful, and young. The jury’s going to hate her. With next-to-no alibi, and multi-million reasons to kill her husband, she needs the best defense money can buy. His name is Spenser, and he’d give anything to believe her.

Hired by a museum to provide protection during a ransom exchange for a stolen painting, Spenser is personally outraged when the ransom fails and the painting is not recovered, a case that makes him suspect the innocence of the art scholar who retained him.

Six mystery novels featuring one of the most beloved detectives of all time: the Boston private investigator known as Spenser. Playmates Stardust Pastime Double Deuce Paper Doll Walking Shadow

Investigating the discovery of three bodies in an abandoned factory after a huge storm, Jesse Stone learns that two of the victims were teen friends, who went missing twenty-five years earlier.

The New York Times bestselling Western from Robert B. Parker Everett Hitch and Virgil Cole are lawmen and friends who share the brutal hardships of an emerging West. But the courage that has defined them is challenged by a man without conscience or remorse. Now, Hitch and Cole have followed him to the small town of Appaloosa. What follows is a dance of wills where villains are cast in shades of grey, where heroes hide in the blackest shadows, where women can betray with frightening ease, and where Hitch and Cole will discover the price of responsibility, honor, and loyalty in the Old West.

''One of the great series in the history of the detective story'' New York Times Book Review There''s trouble in Paradise, Massachusetts... Jesse Stone is an ex LA cop who has taken the job of police chief in Paradise, Massachusetts... and things are getting strange in Paradise. 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. Initially, he''s content to peer through windows, but as times goes on, he becomes more reckless. It''s up to Jesse to catch him, before it''s too late. ''When it comes to detective novels, 90 per cent of us admit he''s an influence, and the rest of us lie about it'' Harlan Coben, bestselling author of Run Away

New York Times bestselling author of the Spenser series of crime thrillers—Book 1 in the series “The toughest, funniest, wisest, private eye in the field these days.”—Houston Chronicle Spenser earned his degree in the school of hard knocks, so he is ready when a Boston university hires him to recover a rare, stolen manuscript. He is hardly surpised that his only clue is a radical student with four bullets in his chest. 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.

The adoring wife of a senatorial candidate has a smile as sweet as candy and dots her "i''s" with little hearts. A blond beauty, she is the perfect mate for an ambitious politician, but she has a little problem with sex and drugs--a problem someone has managed to put on videotape. The big boys figure a little blackmail will put her husband out of the race. Until Spenser hops on the candidate''s bandwagon. But getting back the tape of the lady''s X-rated indiscretion is a nonstop express ride to trouble--trouble that is deep, wide and deadly.

Reluctantly escorting the gold-digging and recently separated Heidi Bradshaw to her daughter''s wedding, Boston private investigator Spenser hopes to reconnect with his beloved Susan but becomes enmeshed in a kidnapping plot involving his nemesis Rugar, in a case that is further complicated by a hurricane. 250,000 first printing.

Spenser is forced by loyalty into an alien world where violence is a way of lie and outsiders enter at a lethal risk. When Spenser''s cohort, Hawk, is hired by the tenants of a gang-plagued Boston housing project known as "Double Deuce", he enlists his friend''s aid. A friend''s girl and her infant daughter have been gunned down. Though the act at first appears to be an accidental drive-by shooting, it soon becomes clear that it was premeditated murder. Before they can solve the crime, Spenser and Hawk must take on an adolescent band of hardened urban warriors. As bullets fly and the brutality escalates, Spenser learns more than he ever dreamed about a generation imprisoned in a hell of poverty and hopelessness where muscle is the ticket to survival, and the surest way out is in a body bag. Pulsing with moral complexity, Double Deuce is the kind of no-holds-barred action thriller only Robert B. Parker can create.

Spenser''s never had a client like Jill Joyce, the star of TV''s Fifty Minutes. She''s beautiful, bitchy, sexy--and someone is stalking her. Spenser can hardly blame the would-be assassin...until he means the true meaning of "stage fright."

Two of the finest early Spensers in a single volume - this is Classic Robert B. Parker. In the first novel, Promised Land, Harvey Shepard''s wife has run away. Spenser has been hired to find her. A seemingly easy mission: go to Cape Cod, find the missing woman, then sit back and enjoy the sun. But it seems there is more to this case than meets the eye. Who are the shady figures Pam Shepard has been seen with? And why does Harvey keep showing up with bruises? Both Pam and Harvey are in over their heads, and soon Spenser will be too. In the second novel, Looking for Rachel Wallace, Spenser is hired to protect Rachel Wallace, the outspoken feminist. Left-wing lesbian meets muscles and machismo. Chalk meets cheese. It is not long before Rachel fires him. Then she disappears. Spenser feels it is his duty to save her. And once he has made up his mind then no bigot, Klansman, or family will get in his way. He will not stop until he finds Rachel Wallace.

Boston P.I. Spenser returns—heading west to the rich man’s haven of Potshot, Arizona, a former mining town reborn as a paradise for Los Angeles millionaires looking for a place to escape the pressures of their high-flying lifestyles. 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, who has been hired by the comely Mary Lou Buckman to investigate the murder of her husband. The Buckmans, a pair of L.A. transplants, moved to Potshot and started a modest outdoor tour service. It is Mary Lou’s belief that when her husband refused to pay The Preacher and his men protection money he was killed. Without any witnesses, Spenser has little to go on, and it’s clear the local police chief won’t be doing much to help. Calling on his own cadre of tried-and-true cohorts, including Vinnie Morris, Bobby Horse, Chollo, Bernard J. Fortunato, Tedy Sapp and the redoubtable Hawk, Spenser must find a way to beat the gang at their own dangerous game.

Spenser creator Robert B. Parker returns with his newest heroine, Boston P.I. Sunny Randall, coming to the aid of three very different women in three very dangerous situations. One is for business. One is for a friend. One is for family. And all could be fatal…

An Apache hit man arrives in Paradise to find a missing girl and snuff out her mother. But his conscience is getting the best of him. If he doesn’t make the hit, he’ll pay for it. So might Jesse Stone, who’s been enlisted to protect them all.

When boxing trainer and long-time friend Henry Cimoli asks for Spenser''s help with a heavy-handed developer who is sending thugs to pressure Henry to sell his beachfront condo, Spenser and his apprentice, Zebulon Sixkill, follow a trail to a beautiful woman, a megalomaniac Vegas kingpin and plans for a sprawling casino in Boston.

A bad-boy movie star pushes the limits of his reputation when he''s accused of rape and murder. It''s a high-profile case for Spenser, but the Hollywood secrets he uncovers are sordidly lowdown -- and not just those of the accused.

Called back from retirement when a serial killer from a long-unsolved case reemerges, detective Phil Randall teams up with daughter and Boston private eye Sunny Randall throughout a series of murder investigations in which the victims unsettlingly resemble Sunny. 250,000 first printing.

When his closest ally, Hawk, is beaten and left for dead while protecting a bookie, Spenser embarks on an epic journey to rehabilitate his best pal, body and soul. But that means infiltrating a ruthless mob—and redefining his friendship with Hawk in the name of vengeance... “Cold Service moves with the speed of light.”—Orlando Sentinel

Susan Silverman''s ex doesn''t call himself "Silverman" anymore--he''s changed his name to "Sterling." And that''s not the only thing that''s phony about him. A do-gooding charity fundraiser, he''s been accused of sexual harassment by no less than four different women. And not long after Spenser starts investigating, Sterling is wanted for a bigger charge: murder...

''I spotted the girl even before she knocked on my door.'' Mattie Sullivan is not Spenser''s typical client. For a start, she''s just fourteen. Nor is her request a typical one - to take a case that''s already been solved. But this kid is wiser than her years. And this case is less clear-cut, and far more dangerous, than it appears.

Boston P.I. Sunny Randall goes on the road to protect a bestselling author—and uncovers a world of dark secrets—in the new novel by the Grand Master. Melanie Joan Hall is a bestselling author in a bind. Her publisher needs her to tour on behalf of her latest 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 demeanor, cop background, and P.I. smarts are an instant balm for the older woman. Sunny 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. Having decided that the only way to crack the case is from the inside, Sunny enters therapy, only to discover some disturbing truths about herself . . . while putting her life on the line. Gripping, nuanced, and filled with Parker’s signature dialogue and psychological insight, Shrink Rap is a winner.

In the wild and untamed West, two honorable gunfighters find themselves caught in a gritty battle that threatens the peaceful town of Resolution. After relocating to an Old-West saloon town after the bloody confrontation in Appaloosa, Everett Hitch is relieved by the arrival of his friend, Virgil Cole. In a place where law and order don’t exist, Hitch and Cole find themselves at the center of a make-shift war against Eamon O’Malley, a greedy mine owner, and his men who threaten to gobble up Resolution''s land and businesses. Guided by their sense of duty, honor, and friendship, Everett Hitch and Virgil Cole fight to defend a coalition of local ranchers and challenge the violently shifting laws of the West.

Her name is Lisa St. Claire. Her husband''s a cop. Her whereabouts are unknown. Spenser thought he could help a friend find his missing wife. Until he learned the nasty truth about Lisa St. Claire. For starters, it''s not her real name...

Investigating a case of infidelity sounds simple—until it plunges Spenser and his beloved Susan into a politically charged murder plot that’s already left three people dead.

“There is no halt to the breathless action!”—The New York Times Book Review 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.

Classic Boston noir thriller from global bestseller, the late, great Robert B. Parker - one of contemporary crime fiction''s most popular, enduring and acclaimed authors ''I spotted the girl even before she knocked on my door.'' Mattie Sullivan has approached Spenser for help, asking him to find her mother''s killer. But her mother was killed some four years back; and a local man, Mickey Green, was convicted of her murder that very same year. Mattie is not Spenser''s typical client. For a start, she''s just fourteen. Nor is her request a typical one - to take a case that''s already been solved. But this kid is wiser than her years. And this case is less clear-cut, and far more dangerous, than it appears. ''One of the great series in the history of the American detective story'' New York Times

“His best mystery novel”—Time Susan''s letter came from California: Hawk was in jail, and she was on the run. Twenty-four hours later Hawk is free, because Spenser has sprung him loose—for a brutal cross-country journey back to the East Coast. Now the two men are on a violent ride to find the woman Spenser loves, the man who took her, and the shocking reason so many people had to die. . . .

Robert B. Parker''s iconic and irresistible PI Sunny Randall is back, and the stakes are higher than ever as she races to protect her ex-husband--and his Mafia family--from the vengeful plan of a mysterious rival. Sunny Randall is "on" again with Richie, the ex-husband she never stopped loving and never seemed to be able to let go, despite her discomfort with his Mafia connections. When Richie is shot and nearly killed, Sunny is dragged into the thick of his family''s business as she searches for answers and tries to stave off a mob war. But as the bullets start flying in Boston''s mean streets, Sunny finds herself targeted by the deranged mastermind of the plot against the Burke family, whose motive may be far more personal than she could have anticipated...

Sunny Randall, "Boston''s leading lady gumshoe" (New York Daily News), returns as hired bodyguard for the spoiled, and possibly dangerous, prize female client of a sleazy producer. This time, she gets a little help from Parker''s popular character Jesse Stone, making a guest appearance here

From "the reigning champion of the American tough-guy detective novel" (Entertainment Weekly), four novels featuring Jesse Stone, ex-LAPD, now the police chief in Paradise, Massachusetts. Don''t miss these mysteries from the New York Times bestselling author of the Spenser series. Includes: High Profile Stranger in Paradise Night and Day Split Image

Ellie Sharp left her Boston family with big dreams of making it as an actress in Hollywood. But two years later, she disappears from her Silver Lake apartment without her friends or police knowing what happened. Soon after the Sharps hire Spenser to find her, another person goes missing - this time Spenser''s protege-turned-L.A. investigator, Zebulon Sixkill. Spenser and Hawk must hit the ground running on the West Coast to follow a twisted trail into the world of drug cartels, casting couches, hedonistic parties, and a whisper network of industry players looking to take down a legendary producer.

''One of the great series in the history of the detective story'' New York Times Book Review 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. ''Reading Parker is like swimming downstream in a river of adrenalin'' Boston Observer

When Sunny Randall helps a young woman locate her birth parents, she uncovers the dark truth about her own past.

“Crackling dialogue, plenty of action, and expert writing.”—The New York Times Rachel Wallace is a tough young woman with a lot of enemies. Spenser is a tough guy with a macho code of honor, hired to protect a woman who thinks that kind of code is obsolete. Privately, they will never see eye to eye. But when Rachel vanishes. Spenser is ready to lay his life on the line—to find Rachel Wallace. “A rare kind of book.”—Chicago Sun-Times

"Robert B. Parker has always been a master of razor-sharp and witty dialogue, hard-driving suspense and memorable characterization," says the Houston Chronicle. With both the classic Spenser series and the more recent Jesse Stone novels, Parker''s spare prose and tight storytelling have earned him critical praise and popular success in equal measure. In Family Honor, he creates an entirely new character--young, smart, and, for the first time, female.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.

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

When a visiting actress becomes the subject of a death threat, Jesse and the rest of the Paradise Police Department go on high alert. When Jesse witnesses a horrifying collision caused by a distracted teenage driver, the political repercussions of her arrest bring him into conflict with the local selectmen, the DA, and some people with very deep pockets.