Robert Knott

Robert Knott is an American writer and actor who was selected by the estate of Robert B. Parker to continue the Cole and Hitch series (also known as the Appaloosa novels) following Parker's death in 2010. The series follows lawmen Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch as they bring order to lawless towns across the American frontier, a premise established in Parker's original novel Appaloosa, which Knott had already worked on as a screenwriter and producer for the 2008 film adaptation starring Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen. Knott's background in film production and screenwriting shaped his approach to continuing the series, emphasizing terse dialogue and visual, scene-driven pacing consistent with Parker's own minimalist prose style. He has written multiple entries extending the Cole and Hitch story well beyond where Parker left off, maintaining the western's core partnership dynamic while introducing new plots and antagonists. Knott's work represents one of several successful continuations of Parker's various series undertaken by different authors after his death, each entrusted with preserving a distinct voice within Parker's larger body of work.