Order of Robert B. Parker Books

Robert B. Parker (1932-2010) was a prolific American novelist, who specialized in writing detective and western novels. Parker may be best known for his Spenser series, but that doesn’t mean he was a one-trick pony. His other series included Jesse Stone, Sunny Randall, Cole & Hitch (Appaloosa) and a couple of Philip Marlowe novels. He also had a number of standalone novels and non-fiction books to his credit.

Robert B. Parker has had a number of his works adapted to other mediums. Spenser For Hire starring Robert Urich was produced by ABC, Jesse Stone films were turned into TV movies starring Tom Selleck and Appaloosa was made into a film starring Viggo Mortensen and Ed Harris. Parker’s Spenser and Jesse Stone series will be continued by Ace Atkins and Michael Brandman, respectively. Below is a list of Robert B. Parker’s books in order of when they were first published:

Publication Order of Spenser Books

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)
Bad Business	(2004)
Cold Service	(2005)
School Days	(2005)
Hundred-Dollar Baby / Dream Girl	(2006)
Now and Then	(2007)
Rough Weather	(2008)
The Professional	(2009)
Painted Ladies	(2010)
Sixkill	(2011)
Silent Night (With: Helen Brann)	(2011)
Lullaby (By: Ace Atkins)	(2012)
Wonderland / Spenser Confidential (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 (By: Ace Atkins)	(2019)
Someone to Watch Over Me (By: Ace Atkins)	(2020)
Bye Bye Baby (By: Ace Atkins)	(2022)
Broken Trust (By: Mike Lupica)	(2023)

Publication Order of Jesse Stone Books

Night Passage	(1997)
Trouble in Paradise	(1998)
Death in Paradise	(2001)
Stone Cold	(2003)
Sea Change	(2005)
High Profile	(2007)
Stranger in Paradise	(2008)
Night and Day	(2009)
Split Image	(2010)
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)	(2018)
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)
Fallout (By: Mike Lupica)	(2022)

Publication Order of Sunny Randall Books

Family Honor	(1999)
Perish Twice	(2000)
Shrink Rap	(2002)
Melancholy Baby	(2004)
Blue Screen	(2006)
Spare Change	(2007)
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)

Publication Order of Virgil Cole & Everett Hitch Books

Appaloosa	(2005)
Resolution	(2008)
Brimstone	(2009)
Blue-Eyed Devil	(2010)
Ironhorse (By: Robert Knott)	(2013)
Bull River (By: Robert Knott)	(2014)
The Bridge (By: Robert Knott)	(2014)
Blackjack (By: Robert Knott)	(2016)
Revelation (By: Robert Knott)	(2017)
Buckskin (By: Robert Knott)	(2019)
Opium Rose (By: Robert Knott)	(2022)

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Wilderness	(1979)
Surrogate	(1982)
Love and Glory	(1983)
All Our Yesterdays	(1994)
Gunman's Rhapsody	(2001)
Double Play	(2004)
Edenville Owls	(2007)
The Boxer and the Spy	(2008)

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Training with Weights (With: John R. Marsh)	(1974)
Three Weeks In Spring (With: Joan H. Parker)	(1978)
A Year at the Races (With: Joan H. Parker)	(1991)
Spenser's Boston	(1994)

Publication Order of Philip Marlowe Books

The Big Sleep (By: Raymond Chandler)	(1939)
Farewell, My Lovely (By: Raymond Chandler)	(1940)
The High Window (By: Raymond Chandler)	(1942)
The Lady in the Lake (By: Raymond Chandler)	(1943)
The Little Sister (By: Raymond Chandler)	(1949)
The Long Goodbye (By: Raymond Chandler)	(1953)
Playback (By: Raymond Chandler)	(1958)
Poodle Springs (With: Raymond Chandler)	(1989)
Perchance to Dream	(1991)
The Black-Eyed Blonde (By: Benjamin Black)	(2014)
Only to Sleep (By: Lawrence Osborne)	(2018)
The Goodbye Coast (By: Joe Ide)	(2022)
The Second Murderer (By: Denise Mina)	(2023)

Publication Order of Young Spenser Books

Chasing the Bear

(2009)

Publication Order of Mysterious Profiles Books

Elvis Cole and Joe Pike (By: Robert Crais)	(2022)
Jack Taylor (By: Ken Bruen)	(2022)
Jack Reacher (By: Lee Child)	(2022)
Charlie Parker (By: John Connolly)	(2022)
Hieronymus Bosch (By: Michael Connelly)	(2022)
Lincoln Rhyme (By: Jeffery Deaver)	(2022)
Alex Delaware (By: Jonathan Kellerman)	(2022)
Tess Monaghan (By: Laura Lippman)	(2022)
Charlie Resnick (By: John Harvey)	(2022)
Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus (By: Faye Kellerman)	(2022)
Inspector Morse (By: Colin Dexter)	(2022)
Dismas Hardy (By: John Lescroart)	(2022)
Bob Lee Swagger (By: Stephen Hunter)	(2022)
Aloysius X. L. Pendergast (By: Douglas Preston)	(2022)
Lou Boldt (By: Ridley Pearson)	(2022)
Spenser	(2022)
Charlotte and Thomas Pitt (By: Anne Perry)	(2022)
John Rebus (By: Ian Rankin)	(2022)
Mallory (By: Carol O'Connell)	(2022)
Jane Whitefield (By: Thomas Perry)	(2022)
Ian Rutledge: A Mysterious Profile (By: Charles Todd)	(2022)
Amos Walker (By: Loren D. Estleman)	(2022)
Precious Ramotswe (By: Alexander McCall Smith)	(2022)
Maisie Dobbs (By: Jacqueline Winspear)	(2022)
The Lincoln Lawyer (By: Michael Connelly)	(2022)

Publication Order of Anthologies

The Best American Mystery Stories 1997	(1997)
Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe	(2011)
Boston Noir 2	(2012)

Notes: Poodle Springs was finished by Robert B. Parker after Raymond Chandler died before finishing the novel. As of Lullaby, the Spenser series is written by Ace Atkins (with the exception of Silent Night, which is written by Helen Brann). Starting with Killing the Blues, the Jesse Stone series is written by Michael Brandman, except for Blind Spot by Reed Farrel Coleman. As of Ironhorse, the Cole & Hitch books are written by Robert Knott.

If You Like Robert B. Parker Books, You’ll Love…

• John Sandford
• Lee Child
• Stuart Woods

Robert B. Parker Synopses: Gunman’s Rhapsody is a book about the famous gunslinger Wyatt Earp that takes place in 1879. It is not about the shootout like you’d expect from a movie, but instead is more of a character story of Wyatt Earp.

The Boxer and the Spy is a standalone title by Robert B. Parker. Terry Novak, fifteen, doesn’t know what to think when the body of a shy high school student is found washed up on the shore of a quiet New England beach town. It appears that the student committed suicide. He decides to conduct his own investigation with the assistance of his best friend Abby because something seems to be going on. They quickly realize that asking questions puts them in serious danger and will be difficult to survive.

Fortunately, a retired boxer by the name of George has been teaching Terry a few things about fighting. He teaches Terry to use his head and keep his feet planted, lessons that Terry takes to heart in more than one way. He’ll have to.

In Edenville Owls by Robert B. Parker, there is an evil presence in the air; Bobby can tell. Who is the man he observed quarreling with his pretty new English teacher? Although Bobby is aware that he ought to concentrate on his own matters, the circumstances are perplexing. What is happening in the world now that World War II is over? Particularly Bobby’s world. One example is Joanie. Why does it feel awkward to be her friend? The junior varsity Edenville Owls, his basketball friends who need a leader, are another group. Can they assist one another on and off the court in the same way that they can?

Spenser’s Boston by Robert B. Parker chronicles the history of Boston through the eyes of one of its most well-known residents, Spenser, the tough guy who is also sensitive and intelligent. It includes photographs and passages from the best-selling mystery novels.

3 Responses to “Order of Robert B. Parker Books”

1. Teresa Vaughan: 3 years ago

   How should I read Jesse stone and sunny Randall to keep their relationship straight?

   Reply

2. Pat dearmore: 9 years ago

   What Jesse Stone books were made into movies and in what order?

   Reply

   • Brandon: 9 years ago

     The movies were made in this order:

     Stone Cold
     Night Passage
     Death in Paradise
     Sea Change
     Thin Ice
     No Remorse
     Innocents Lost
     Benefit of the Doubt

     Night Passage is a prequel to Stone Cold, although I’m going to guess that the best way to watch the films is in the order they were produced, if it matters at all. Benefit of the Doubt doesn’t appear to be adapted from a novel.

     Reply