Robert Brown Parker (September 17, 1932 – January 18, 2010) was an American crime writer. His most famous works were the 40 novels written about the private detective Spenser. ABC television network developed the television series  based on the character in the mid-1980s; a series of TV movies based on the character were also produced. His works incorporate encyclopedic knowledge of the Boston metropolitan area. The Spenser novels have been cited by critics and bestselling authors such as Robert Crais, Harlan Coben and Dennis Lehane as not only influencing their own work but reviving and changing the detective genre. Parker also wrote 2 other series based on an individual character. He wrote 9 novels based on the character Jesse Stone and 6 novels based on the character Sunny Randall.