Ace Atkins?

The following is an article just released by the Associated Press (AP):

NEW YORK (AP)- Crime novelist Robert B. Parker is gone, but his most popular series will continue.

Parker's estate and publisher G.P. Putnam's Sons announced Wednesday that new "Spenser" and "Jesse Stone" novels will be written. Michael Brandman, a longtime friend of Parker's, will handle the "Jesse Stone" books. Ace Atkins will take on Spenser. Parker's widow, Joan Parker, says in a statement that she's "delighted" the author's characters will "live on."

Parker died last year at age 77. "Sixkill," a Spenser novel completed before his death, comes out next month.