Robert Brown Parker was an American writer primarily known for fiction in the mystery and detective genres. Born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1932, he became one of the most prolific and influential crime writers of his era. Parker is best remembered for his Spenser series, comprising 40 novels centered on the fictional private detective Spenser. The character proved so popular that ABC television developed the series Spenser: For Hire in the mid-1980s, along with subsequent TV movies based on the same character. His works are distinguished by their encyclopedic knowledge of the Boston metropolitan area, which serves as a detailed backdrop for many of his stories. Critics and bestselling authors including Robert Crais, Harlan Coben, and Dennis Lehane have cited the Spenser novels as instrumental in reviving and transforming the detective genre. Parker died in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2010.