Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Promised Land | 1976 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 2 | Ceremony | 1982 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 3 | The Widening Gyre | 1983 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 4 | A Catskill Eagle | 1985 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 5 | Pale Kings and Princes | 1987 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 6 | Crimson Joy | 1988 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 7 | Pastime | 1991 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 8 | Paper Doll | 1993 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 9 | Thin Air | 1995 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 10 | Chance | 1996 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 11 | Small Vices | 1997 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 12 | Sudden Mischief | 1998 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 13 | Hush Money | 1999 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 14 | Hugger Mugger | 2000 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 15 | Potshot | 2001 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 16 | Hundred-Dollar Baby | 2006 | Mike Lupica | N/A |
| 17 | Hundred-Dollar Baby / Dream Girl | 2006 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 18 | Now & Then | 2007 | Mike Lupica | N/A |
| 19 | Rough Weather | 2008 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 20 | Chasing The Bear | 2009 | Mike Lupica | N/A |
| 21 | The Professional | 2009 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 22 | Painted Ladies | 2010 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 23 | Sixkill | 2011 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 24 | Robert B. Parker’s Lullaby | 2012 | Mike Lupica | N/A |
| 25 | Spenser Confidential | 2013 | Mike Lupica | N/A |
| 26 | Robert B. Parker’s Cheap Shot | 2014 | Mike Lupica | N/A |
| 27 | Robert B. Parker’s Kickback | 2015 | Mike Lupica | N/A |
| 28 | Kickback | 2015 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 29 | Robert B. Parker’s Slow Burn | 2016 | Mike Lupica | N/A |
| 30 | Slow Burn | 2016 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 31 | Robert B. Parker’s Little White Lies | 2017 | Mike Lupica | N/A |
| 32 | Robert B. Parker’s Old Black Magic | 2018 | Mike Lupica | N/A |
| 33 | Robert B. Parker’s Angel Eyes | 2019 | Mike Lupica | N/A |
| 34 | Angel Eyes | 2019 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 35 | Robert B. Parker’s Bye Bye Baby | 2022 | Mike Lupica | N/A |
| 36 | Robert B. Parker’s Broken Trust | 2023 | Mike Lupica | N/A |
| 37 | Broken Trust | 2023 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 38 | Robert B. Parker’s Hot Property | 2024 | Mike Lupica | N/A |
| 39 | Hot Property | 2024 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 40 | Showdown | 2025 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 41 | The Godwulf Manuscript | 1973 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 42 | God Save the Child | 1974 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 43 | Mortal Stakes | 1975 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 44 | The Judas Goat | 1978 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 45 | Looking for Rachel Wallace | 1980 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 46 | A Savage Place | 1981 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 47 | Early Autumn | 1981 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 48 | Valediction | 1984 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 49 | Taming a Sea-Horse | 1986 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 50 | Playmates | 1989 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 51 | Stardust | 1990 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 52 | Double Deuce | 1992 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 53 | Walking Shadow | 1994 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 54 | Widow’s Walk | 2002 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 55 | Back Story | 2003 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 56 | Bad Business | 2004 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 57 | Cold Service | 2005 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 58 | School Days | 2005 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 59 | Now and Then | 2007 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 60 | Silent Night | 2011 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 61 | Lullaby | 2012 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 62 | Wonderland / Spenser Confidential | 2013 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 63 | Cheap Shot | 2014 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 64 | Little White Lies | 2017 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 65 | Old Black Magic | 2018 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 66 | Someone to Watch Over Me | 2020 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
| 67 | Bye Bye Baby | 2022 | Mike Lupica | Buy |
The Spenser series is one of the defining works of American detective fiction. Robert B. Parker created the Boston PI in The Godwulf Manuscript (1973) and wrote him through over thirty novels before his death in 2010. Spenser is a wise-cracking, tough, cultured investigator who operates by a personal code that sometimes puts him at odds with both criminals and the law. His relationship with Susan Silverman and his friendship with Hawk are as central to the series as the cases.
After Parker’s death, the series continued through authors including Ace Atkins and Mike Lupica, who have brought the total to sixty-seven novels. The Spenser books have been adapted for television (Spenser: For Hire) and film (Spenser Confidential), but the novels remain the definitive version of the character. Reading from The Godwulf Manuscript through the latest entries gives readers a five-decade portrait of Boston through the eyes of one of fiction’s most enduring detectives.