Robert B. Parker

There is no better writer for you to take your pulp inspiration from than Robert B. Parker. I found his Spenser novels only recently, and have been reading them at the rate of two a week this winter. They’re not long, but they are gripping. Why am I suggesting you take notes from Parker?

The first thing to note is that Parker consciously followed in the footsteps of his three heroes: Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett and Ross Macdonald. There is nothing original about the high level summary of Parker’s Spenser novels. Spenser is a private detective with military experience and a former State trooper. He is based in Boston, unlike the most famous examples, which seem to prefer California. Parker’s novels feature strong women and indeed Parker created that rare creature, a female private eye, called Sunny Randall.

Once you get into the details of the Spenser books though, they are original. The stories are highly imaginative, and there are lots of them. If you find yourself disappointed at how few novels Raymond Chandler wrote, don’t worry. There are 38 Spenser novels written by Parker alone, a few more published after his death, and yet more ghostwritten by Ace Atkins, the latest of which will emerge in April of 2021. So you have a lot of runway.

Another thing to endear you to Parker as a writer is that he made no secret that writing was a job, a way to make money. There is absolutely no shame in writing popular stuff for the mass market to pay the bills, contrary to the image of the starving nocturnal Parisian hammering away in isolation. Once you’re paying the bills from your writing, then you have the luxury of getting high and mighty and imitating Proust.

Parker is the writer’s writer, then, but more importantly, he is brilliant to his readers. He has a clear idea of who you are, and he just keeps on writing what you want. Writers as famous as Harlan Coben and Dennis Lehane credit Parker with reviving the private detective genre, and clearing the way for them. Parker made it cool to write private eye stuff again, changed things up, and inspired a new generation.

So read all you can about Parker and his life, and read some of his books. Don’t necessarily start with The Godwulf Manuscript, which is a slightly odd mystery set on the campus of the university where Parker worked. Don’t be put off by the title (or covers) of God Save the Child, which I loved. Just pick anything, and enjoy it.

If you read nobody else before starting on your own pulp writing journey, make it Robert B. Parker.