Most Popular Books by Robert B. Parker

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!

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

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.

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.

A serial killer is on the loose in Beantown and the cops can''t catch him. But when the killer leaves his red rose calling card for Spenser''s own Susan Silverman, he gets all the attention that Spenser and Hawk can give. Spenser plays against time while he tracks the Red Rose killer from Boston''s Combat Zone to the suburbs. His trap is both daring and brave, and gives the story a satisfying climax.

For almost forty years, Robert B. Parker''s inimitable private investigator Spenser has been solving cases and selling millions of books worldwide. 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 most dangerous man to cross is one who isn''t afraid to die. But the most deadly is one who doesn''t want to live. And Spenser has just lost the woman who made life his #1 priority. So when a religious sect kidnaps a pretty young dancer, no death threat can make Spenser cut and run. Now a hit man''s bullet is wearing Spenser''s name. But Boston''s big boys don''t know Spenser''s ready and willing to meet death more than halfway.

A hunt for a stolen painting turns into a murder investigation for Spenser, Robert B. Parker''s legendary private eye.

PI Spenser investigates his most glamorous case yet in this New York Times bestselling series. 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 Jill learns the true meaning of "stage fright." Soon, Spenser finds himself at the center of a murder plot with a twist he never saw coming.

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

Susan''s letter came from California: Hand 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. . . . Praise for A Catskill Eagle “Entertaining.”—The San Diego Union-Tribune “His best mystery novel.”—Time

Spenser has his hands full when he takes on two cases at once. In the first, a high-minded university might be hiding a killer within a swamp of political correctness. And in the other, Spenser comes to the aid of a stalking victim, only to find himself the unwilling object of the woman''s dangerous affection.

Sensing danger when his pretty, new English teacher misses school for several days after arguing with a strange man, fourteen-year-old Bobby witnesses changes within his post-World War II community and struggles with changing feelings about a girl and a lack of leadership on his basketball team.

When a flashy, womanizing casino owner, who is implicated in a series of murders, disappears, Cole and Hitch set out on his trail.

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.

“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.

The town of Paradise receives a tragic shock when the mayor is discovered dead, his body lying in a shallow grave on a property on the lake. It''s ostensibly suicide, but Jesse has his doubts... especially because the piece of land where the man was found is the subject of a contentious and dodgy land deal. Meanwhile, the town council is debating if they want to sacrifice Paradise''s stately character for the economic boost of a glitzy new development. Tempers are running hot, and as the deaths begin to mount, it''s increasingly clear that the mayor may have standing in the wrong person''s way.

''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

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

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

Boston private eye Spenser and his sidekick, Hawk, follow a con man''s schemes on cable news shows and within police precincts in the wake of an elaborate double cross that has victimized a smitten woman as well as a cache of investors, cops and paramilitary contractors.

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.

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. 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.

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

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.

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

Fifteen-year-old Terry, an aspiring boxer, uncovers the mystery behind the unexpected death of a classmate.

Based on characters created by Robert B. Parker.

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.

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.

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.

“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

Tony and Brianna Lincoln just moved into Paradise, but friendly they aren''t. In fact, these urbane thrill killers are knocking off the neighbors one by one, and Jesse Stone is next.

"What did it matter where you lay once you were dead? In a dirty sump or in a marble tower on a top of a high hill. You were dead, you were sleeping the big sleep..." Raymond Chandler wrote those immortal words on the final page of his first Marlowe thriller in 1939. Today, The Big Sleep is considered the all-time masterpiece of hard-boiled suspense. Now detective Philip Marlowe has returned--in this electrifying sequel by Chandler''s acclaimed successor, Robert B. Parker, author of the bestselling Spenser mysteries...

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.