ROBERT B. PARKER, página 3 de 7

Spenser had a simple job-protect an art scholar during a ransom exchange for a stolen painting. No one was supposed to die. But the scholar had secrets no one knew, and uncovering them will endanger

A girl has been found dead, seemingly strangled, in the hotel room of movie star Jumbo Nelson. Jumbo's lawyers want Spenser to find out whether Jumbo did it - not because they care either way, but because the knowledge will help them work out how to block his conviction. Jumbo is a sufficiently repulsive individual that Spenser finds it hard to contain his distaste. And then there is his bodyguard, Zebulon Sixkill, a Cree Indian who squandered his pro-football career thanks to an inability to control his temper, and turned his attentions to alcohol instead. Also involved in Jumbo's case for reasons that remain unclear is a cold-blooded assassin who just might be the most dangerous enemy Spenser has faced yet. But if he can persuade Sixkill to turn his life around, Spenser might just have the ally he needs...

Having created a successful business empire, life was never going to be easy for Henry Cage when he was forced by his colleagues to quit. Despite a generous severance package, it still felt like the end of a love affair. As he drifts towards a new millennium, a lonely future unrolls ahead of him. When his ex-wife Nessa summons him to Palm Beach, he realises time is running out to redress the past. But one seemingly random vicious act begins to escalate out of control as he is pursued by a psychopath with a score to settle. The Upright Piano Player is a short novel which packs a terrific emotional punch. It explores with an unflinching eye the whims of fate and the small but devastating flaws in human nature.

Spenser, detective bostoniano, recibe un singular encargo: recuperar un manuscrito iluminado medieval de incalculable valor. El libro ha sido sustraído de una universidad por un grupo desconocido que exige un rescate para devolverlo. La investigacion se complica cuando aparece un cadaver. Y Spenser se vera envuelto en un caso en el que se entremezclan radicalismo politico, crimen organizado, trafico de drogas, adulterio, asesinatoY es que en la aparentemente tranquila y docta universidad, tanto los profesores como los alumnos tienen muchas cosas que ocultar.

Kevin Barlett, un muchacho de catorce años, ha desaparecido. Vivía en una de esas tranquilas zonas residenciales en las que aparentemente nunca pasa nada y en las que los chicos crecen felices y seguros. Pero el se ha esfumado sin dejar rastro. ¿Una fuga? ¿Un secuestro? Los progenitores contratan a Spenser para que les traiga de vuelta a su hijo y las pistas y giros inesperados se suceden: llega una nota pidiendo un rescate, el abogado de la familia aparece asesinado en casa de los padres, salen a la luz las extrañas amistades del muchacho, entre las que destaca un culturista al que el chico al parecer admiraba y con el que se podria haber fugado o que acaso sea su secuestrador…

The Paradise Men's Softball League has wrapped up another game, and Jesse Stone is lingering in the parking lot with his teammates, drinking beer, swapping stories of double plays and beautiful women in the late-summer twilight. But then a frightened voice calls out to him from the edge of a nearby lake. There, two men squat at the water's edge. In front of them, facedown, was something that used to be a girl.The local cops haven't seen anything like this, but Jesse's L.A. past has made him all too familiar with floaters. This girl hadn't committed suicide; she hadn't been drowned: she'd been shot and dumped, discarded like trash. Before long it becomes clear that she had a taste for the wild life; and her own parents can't be bothered to report her missing, or even admit that she once was a child of theirs. All Jesse has to go on is a young man's school ring on a gold chain, and a hunch or two.

Tony and Brianna Lincoln just moved into Paradise, but friendly they aren't. In fact, these urbane thrill killers are knocking off the neighbors one by one, and Jesse Stone is next.

After a busted marriage kicks his drinking problems into overdrive and the LAPD unceremoniously dump him, 35-year-old Jesse Stone's future looks bleak. He is shocked, however, when a small Massachusetts town called Paradise hires him as their police chief. Once on board he doesn't have to look for trouble in Paradise - it comes to him. For what is on the surface a quiet New England community quickly proves to be a crucible of political and moral corruption - replete with triple homicide, tight Boston mob ties, flamboyantly errant spouses, maddened militiamen and a psychopath-about-town who has fixed his violent sights on the new lawman. He finds he must test his mettle and powers of command to emerge a local hero - or the deadest of dupes.

The murder of a notorious public figure places Paradise, Massachusetts, police chief Jesse Stone in the harsh glare of the media spotlight.When the body of controversial talk-show host Walton Weeks is discovered hanging from a tree on the outskirts of Paradise, police chief Jesse Stone finds himself at the center of a highly public case, forcing him to deal with small-minded local officials and national media scrutiny. When another dead body-that of a young woman-is discovered just a few days later, the pressure becomes almost unbearable.Two victims in less than a week should provide a host of clues, but all Jesse runs into are dead ends. But what may be the most disturbing aspect of these murders is the fact that no one seems to care-not a single one of Weeks's ex-wives, not the family of the girl. And when the medical examiner reveals a heartbreaking link between the two departed souls, the mystery only deepens.Despite Weeks's reputation and the girl's tender age, Jesse is hard-pressed to find legitimate suspects. Though the crimes are perhaps the most gruesome Jesse has ever witnessed, it is the malevolence behind them that makes them all the more frightening. Forced to delve into a world of stormy relationships, Jesse soon comes to realize that knowing whom he can trust is indeed a matter of life and death.

Lily Ellsworth-erect, firm, white-haired, and stylish-is the grand dame of Dowling, Massachusetts, and possesses an iron will and a bottomless purse. When she hires Spenser to investigate her grandson Jared Clark's alleged involvement in a school shooting, Spenser is led into an inquiry that grows more harrowing at every turn. Though seven people were killed in cold blood, and despite Jared's being named as a co-conspirator by the other shooter, Mrs. Ellsworth is convinced of her grandson's innocence. Jared's parents are resigned to his fate, and the boy himself doesn't seem to care whether he goes to prison for a crime he might not have committed.

When a woman's partially decomposed body washes ashore in Paradise, Massachusetts, police chief Jesse Stone is forced into a case far more difficult than it initially appears. Identifying the woman is just the first step in what proves to be an emotionally charged investigation. Florence Horvath was an attractive, recently divorced heiress from Florida; she also had a penchant for steamy sex and was an enthusiastic participant in a video depicting the same. Somehow the combination of her past and present got her killed, but no one is talking-not the crew of the Lady Jane, the Fort Lauderdale yacht moored in Paradise Harbor; not her very blond, very tan twin sisters, Corliss and Claudia; and not her curiously affectless parents, living out a sterile retirement in a Miami high rise. But someone-Jesse-has to speak for the dead, even if it puts him in harm's way.

When Sunny Randall helps a young woman locate her birth parents, she uncovers the dark truth about her own past.

When Spenser's closest ally, Hawk, is brutally injured and left for dead while protecting bookie Luther Gillespie, Spenser embarks on an epic journey to rehabilitate his friend in body and soul. Hawk, always proud, has never been dependent on anyone. Now he is forced to make connections: to accept the medical technology that will ensure his physical recovery, and to reinforce the tenuous emotional ties he has to those around him.Spenser quickly learns that the Ukrainian mob is responsible for the hit, but finding a way into their tightly knit circle is not nearly so simple. Their total control of the town of Marshport, from the bodegas to the police force to the mayor's office, isn't just a sign of rampant corruption it's a form of arrogance that only serves to ignite Hawk's desire to get even. As the body count rises, Spenser is forced to employ some questionable techniques and even more questionable hired guns while redefining his friendship with Hawk in the name of vengeance.

Jesse Stone is just relishing another win with his softball team when he discovers a girl's body facedown in a nearby lake. Before long it becomes clear that the girl had a taste for the wild life; her own parents can't be bothered to report her missing, or even admit that she was once their child. All Jesse has to go on is a young man's school ring on a gold chain, and a hunch or two. 'Nobody does it better than Parker' - Sunday Times 'Very readable, slick and professional' - Evening Standard 'Brilliant overdrive' - Literary Review

Boston. Un soir, Lisa St. Claire ne rentre pas chez elle. Depuis, personne ne reçoit plus de ses nouvelles. Pour Franck, son époux, cette disparition est d'autant plus inexplicable que leur couple semblait une réussite. Est-elle partie de son plein gré ? A-t-elle été enlevée ? Désemparé, il s'adresse à Spencer, le fameux détective privé. Quand Franck lui révèle que sa femme lui a fait jurer de ne jamais l'interroger sur son passé, Spencer est perplexe : pourquoi cette loi du silence ? La clé du mystère n'y serait-elle pas enfouie ? Or voilà que Franck est victime d'une tentative d'assassinat et que Spencer découvre un étrange message sur le répondeur de Lisa. S'engage alors un effrayant jeu de piste semé d'imprévus, où s'éclaire peu à peu le terrible secret d'une ancienne prostituée alcoolique manipulée par un tueur psychopathe.