New Releases by Robert B. Parker

A murder draws Boston PI Spenser into the dramatic world of theater in this New York Times bestseller in Robert B. Parker’s long-running series. In a shabby waterfront town, an actor is shot dead onstage. Granted, the script left much to be desired. But there''s more behind the scenes than an overzealous critic—and Spenser and Hawk are combing Port City’s underworld to find it... “Great fun...[Spenser] is still the cockiest and wittiest P.I. on the block.”—The New York Times

Boston PI Spenser investigates the perfect murder in this New York Times bestselling mystery in Robert B. Parker’s acclaimed series. She was a model wife and mother, bludgeoned with a hammer on the streets of Beacon Hill. Spenser''s searching for a motive and a murderer—and finding more secrets than meet the eye... “Among the best Spensers...Parker''s at the top of his game!”—Boston Globe

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.

Mystery fans will delight in matching wits with Spencer, Robert B. Parker''s critically acclaimed P.I., in this fast-paced, highly entertaining novel. "The sassiest, funniest, most enjoyable-to-read private eye around today".--Cincinnati Post. Striking new cover treatment.

A part of Dell''s Robert B. Parker reissue program, this newly packaged, thrill-a-minute mystery will keep the adrenaline flowing. Praise for Parker''s popular private eye Spenser: "Tough, wisecracking, unafraid, and unexpectedly literate--in many respects (Spencer''s) the very exemplar of the species".--The New York Times.

“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.

“[Robert B.] Parker''s brilliance is in his simple dialogue, and in Spenser.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer A bitter divorce is only the beginning. First the father hires thugs to kidnap his son. Then the mother hires Spenser to get the boy back. But as soon as Spenser senses the lay of the land, he decides to do some kidnapping of his own. With a contract out on his life, he heads for the Maine woods, determined to give a puny 15 year old a crash course in survival and to beat his dangerous opponents at their own brutal game.

The most personal and revealing Spenser thriller from New York Times bestselling author Robert B. Parker In this electrifying masterpiece of crime fiction, a startling game of memory, desire, and danger forces Spenser to face his own past. Ten years ago, he saved a teenage boy from a father''s rage. Now, on the brink of manhood, the boy seeks answers to his mother''s sudden disappearance. Spenser is the only man he can turn to. This time, it''s more than a routine search for a missing person—Spenser must search his own soul...

Cynical sleuth Philip Marlowe weds a wealthy heiress from the exclusive Poodle Springs only to find himself embroiled with the law, local gangsters and murder

In the heart of bustling Boston, a private investigator finds himself delving into the corruption that lurks beneath the collegiate glamour of Taft University. Spenser goes back to school...to investigate corruption infiltrating a college town. Taft University''s hottest basketball star is shaving points for quick cash. If Spenser doesn''t watch his own footwork, the guilty parties will shave a few years off his life... With an exciting blend of mystery, suspense, and thrilling sports action, Robert B. Parker gives us another legendary story in the Spencer detective series.

“Ebullient entertainment.”—Time A hotshot reporter is dead. He''d gone to take a look-see at “Miami North”—little Wheaton, Massachusetts—the biggest cocaine distribution center above the Mason-Dixon line. Did the kid die for getting too close to the truth . . . or to a sweet lady with a jealous husband? Spenser will stop at nothing to find out. Praise for Robert B. Parker''s Spenser novels “Like Philip Marlowe, Spenser is a man of honor in a dishonorable world. When he says he will do something, it is done. The dialogues zings, and there is plenty of action . . . but it is the moral element that sets them above most detective fiction.”—Newsweek “Crackling dialogue, plenty of action and expert writing . . . Unexpectedly literate—[Spenser is] in many respects the very exemplar of the species.”—The New York Times “They just don’t make private eyes tougher or funnier.”—People “Parker has a recorder’s ear for dialogue, an agile wit . . . and, strangely enough, a soupçon of compassion hidden under that sardonic, flip exterior.”—Los Angeles Times “A deft storyteller, a master of pace.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer “Spenser probably had more to do with changing the private eye from a coffin-chaser to a full-bodied human being than any other detective hero.”—The Chicago Sun-Times “[Spenser is] tough, intelligent, wisecracking, principled, and brave.”—The New Yorker

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!

A high-class New York madam hires Spenser to find a missing hooker, But when Spenser tracks down April Kyle, he uncovers the murder of yet another prostitute. Now Spenser is searching through a world of sex for sale. Because somewhere between Boston and a kinky Caribbean club, someone has a taste for young women, big money, and murder. . . . Praise for Taming a Seahorse “Irresistible!”—The Bergen Record “A winner.”—The Chicago Tribune

New York Times bestselling author of the Spenser series of crime thrillers - Book 2 in the series - 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. "A brillant, and cynical, comic tragedy or tragic comedy of manners. Long may Parker wave." -- Los Angeles Times

Acclaimed mystery author Robert B. Parker continues to win an even greater audience with each new Spenser novel. For all crime fiction lovers who discovered Parker through his latest bestsellers "Pastime" and "Double Deuce", his entire Dell backlist is now available in attractively repackaged editions.

A crime thriller, which is also a novel of character, concerning a wealthy but degenerate American family and the crowd of blackmailers and gangsters it attracts.