One of my favorite novelists died yesterday. He died at his home in Cambridge, Mass. His wife, Joan, found him dead at his desk. He will be sorely missed. It is said that he revived the genre of tough guy crime novels.
He was probably best know for his series, "Spencer". His character named Spencer wove his way through many of Parker's novels as a Boston private eye. His novel inspired the television show "Spenser: For Hire" starring Robert Urich. Spenser was a very funny, perceptive, skilled P.I. I always thought his character reflected Parker's values and wit. Spenser had a significant other that he was very faithful to. She was a psychiatrist and she helped Spenser work through some of his cases. They did not live together but did share their dog Pearl that they were both fond of. Spenser had a detective named Hawk that was an articulate African American. Some of the dialogue between Spenser and Hawk was classic. So funny!
He had other characters that he wrote about too. The Jesse Stone series was about an L. A. policeman that was fired for being drunk on the job and moved east and got a job as the chief of police in a New England small town. One of those books came to TV also. His values of right and wrong, and his compassion and love came through in that series also. His new Jesse Stone novel, "Split Image" is due out next month.
He wrote "Double Play" a novel inspired by Jackie Robinson and he wrote a couple of Westerns. I must admit, I did not care very much for those, but his "Sunny Randall"series and many, many other books are favorites on my book shelves.
He won two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America and a Grand Master Edgar for lifetime achievement. He was an expert at writing about tough characters and dealt with all kinds of people. He included men, women, Latinos, blacks, gays, street walkers, and all others and treated them with equanimity.
I have not read all fifty or so of his novels so I can look forward to acquiring some of them, but this tough guy that wrote about tough guys will be missed by me. Ciao
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