R.I.P. Robert B. Parker

One of my grandfather's favorite authors (famous for his Spenser series of books, and the Jesse Stone ones too, as well as the writer of the book that became the movie Appaloosa) has died. Here's part of the obituary from The New York Times:

Robert B. Parker, the best-selling mystery writer who created Spenser, a tough, glib, Boston private detective who was the hero of nearly 40 novels, died on Monday at home in Cambridge, Mass. He was 77.

The cause was a heart attack, said his agent of 37 years, Helen Brann. She said Mr. Parker had been thought to be in splendid health, and that he died at his desk, working on a book. He wrote every single day, she said.

Mr. Parker wrote more than 60 books all told, including westerns and young adult novels, but he churned out entertaining detective stories with a remarkable alacrity that made him one of the country’s most popular writers. In recent years he created two new protagonists, Jesse Stone, an alcoholic ex-ballplayer turned small-town chief of police, who has been featured in nine novels since 1997 (including one to be published in February), and Sunny Randall, a fashion-conscious, unlucky-in-love, gun-toting female private eye. But it was Spenser, spelled “like the poet,” as the character is wont to point out — his first name is never revealed — who was Mr. Parker’s signature creation.

-Rest in peace...