A great writer has passed.

One of my all time favorite writers has passed this week, Robert B. Parker of the Spenser, Jesse Stone, Sonny Randall and Appalosa fame.

He specialized in my two favorite brands of fiction, tough guy detective and western. I did find that he had started to repeat himself a lot in the Spenser series. Not to say that they weren't a great fast read and that I didn't buy everyone as soon as they came out. But the plots seem to always go the same way. Someone would come into Spenser's office and pose a problem. He would investigate but would pull in one of his friends who were a criminal to help. Sometimes Hawk his sidekick the black hit man. Or Vinnie Morris the Mafia hit man. Or Cholo the Mexican hit man. In one book he got together all of those guys in a sort of homage to the "Magnificent Seven." A fun read but not the most original.

I thought his Jesse Stone mysteries were more intriguing. Stone was an alcoholic police chief struggling with a wife he divorced but couldn't end it with. And he had started a dalliance with another main character in another series, Sonny Randall. So this was shaping up as a fun series to follow.

Sometimes when an author gets older a son will step in to follow in his fathers footsteps and keep the series alive. Michael Shaara's son Jeff did that with the Killer Angels series. WEB Griffin has already integrated his son into his series so he can take over. I don't know if anyone will pick up Robert Parker's mantle but I would hate for the series to end. They have been too much fun for me and too much a part of my life. I will really miss them.

To his wife Joan and his family, I extend my thoughts and prayers and may he rest in peace. He will be remembered fondly by many millions of his fans.