Thomas Perry (author)

Last updated
Thomas Perry
Born1947 (age 7677)
Tonawanda, New York, U.S.
OccupationWriter
Education Cornell University (BA)
University of Rochester (PhD)
Genre Mystery, Thriller
Notable works The Butcher's Boy , Metzger's Dog, Jane Whitefield series

Thomas Perry (born 1947) is an American mystery and thriller novelist. He received a 1983 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best First Novel for The Butcher's Boy .

Contents

Writings

Perry's work has covered a variety of fictional suspense starting with The Butcher's Boy , which received a 1983 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best First Novel, followed by Metzger's Dog, Big Fish, Island, and Sleeping Dogs. He then launched the critically acclaimed Jane Whitefield series: Vanishing Act (chosen as one of the "100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century" by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association), Dance for the Dead, Shadow Woman, The Face Changers, Blood Money, Runner, and Poison Flower.

Perry developed a non-series list of mysteries with Death Benefits, Pursuit (which won a Gumshoe Award in 2002), Dead Aim, Night Life, Fidelity, and Strip. The New York Times selected Night Life for its best seller selection. In The Informant, released in 2011, Perry brought back the hit-man character first introduced in The Butcher's Boy and later the protagonist in Sleeping Dogs.

The Informant was awarded the 2012 Barry Award for Best Thriller. [1] Eddie's Boy received the 2021 Barry Award for Best Thriller. [2] In 2021, Vanishing Act was included in Parade's list of "101 Best Mystery Books of All Time". [3]

Biography

Perry was born in Tonawanda, New York, in 1947. He received a B.A. from Cornell University in 1969 and his Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Rochester in 1974. He has been a laborer, maintenance man, commercial fisherman, weapons mechanic, university administrator and teacher, as well as a television writer and producer ( Simon & Simon , 21 Jump Street , Star Trek: The Next Generation ). Through January 2020, Perry has published 27 novels. He lives in Southern California with his wife, author Jo (née Lee), [4] and their two children. [5]

Bibliography

YearTitlePublisherSeriesISBN
1982 The Butcher's Boy ScribnerButcher's Boy 978-0-684-17455-6
1983Metzger's DogScribner 978-0-684-17948-3
1985Big FishScribner 978-0-684-18367-1
1987IslandPutnam 978-0-399-13327-5
1992Sleeping DogsRandom HouseButcher's Boy 978-0-679-41064-5
1995Vanishing ActRandom House Jane Whitefield 978-0-679-43536-5
1996Dance for the DeadRandom HouseJane Whitefield 978-0-679-44911-9
1997Shadow WomanRandom HouseJane Whitefield 978-0-679-45302-4
1998The Face-ChangersRandom HouseJane Whitefield 978-0-679-45303-1
1999Blood MoneyRandom HouseJane Whitefield 978-0-679-45304-8
2001PursuitRandom House 978-0-679-45306-2
2001Death BenefitsRandom House 978-0-679-45306-2
2002Dead AimRandom House 978-1-4000-6003-0
2006NightlifeRandom House 978-1-4000-6004-7
2007SilenceHarcourtJack Till 978-0-15-101289-3
2008FidelityHarcourt 978-0-15-101292-3
2009RunnerHoughton Mifflin HarcourtJane Whitefield 978-0-15-101528-3
2010StripHoughton Mifflin Harcourt 978-0-15-101522-1
2011The InformantHoughton Mifflin HarcourtButcher's Boy 978-0-547-56933-8
2012Poison FlowerMysterious PressJane Whitefield 978-0-8021-2605-4
2013The BoyfriendGroveJack Till 978-0-8021-2606-1
2014A String of BeadsGroveJane Whitefield 978-0-8021-2329-9
2016Forty ThievesMysterious Press 978-0-8021-2452-4
2017 The Old Man Mysterious Press 978-0-8021-2586-6
2018The Bomb MakerMysterious Press 978-0-8021-2748-8
2019The BurglarGrove 978-0-8021-2900-0
2020A Small TownMysterious Press 978-0-8021-4806-3
2020Eddie's BoyMysterious PressButcher's Boy 978-0-8021-5777-5
2021The Left-Handed TwinNational Geographic BooksJane Whitefield 978-1-61316-259-0
2023Murder BookNational Geographic Books 978-1-61316-383-2
2024HeroMysterious Press 978-1-61316-477-8
Not Yet ReleasedPro BonoMysterious Press 978-1-61316-616-1

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harlan Coben</span> American fiction writer (born c. 1962)

Harlan Coben is an American writer of mystery novels and thrillers. The plots of his novels often involve the resurfacing of unresolved or misinterpreted events in the past, murders, or fatal accidents and have multiple twists. Twelve of his novels have been adapted for film and television.

Earl Emerson is an American mystery novelist and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tess Gerritsen</span> Chinese-American novelist (born 1953)

Tess Gerritsen is the pseudonym of Terry Gerritsen, an American novelist and retired general physician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Connolly (author)</span> Irish author, primarily of detective fiction

John Connolly is an Irish writer who is best known for his series of novels starring private detective Charlie Parker.

Ken Bruen is an Irish writer of hardboiled and noir crime fiction.

Jan Burke is an American author of novels and short stories. She is a winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel, the Agatha Award for Best Short Story, the Macavity Award, and Ellery Queen Readers Choice Award.

Charles Todd is a pen name used by the American authors Caroline Todd and Charles Todd, who were mother and son. Caroline Todd was the pen name for Carolyn Watjen and Charles Todd is the pen name for her son David Watjen. Caroline Todd died in August 2021, at age 86 from complications of a lung infection. Charles Todd lives in North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart MacBride</span> Scottish writer (born 1969)

Stuart MacBride is a Scottish writer, whose crime thrillers are set in the "Granite City" of Aberdeen, with Detective Sergeant Logan McRae as protagonist.

<i>Tell No One</i> (novel) 2001 thriller novel by Harlan Coben

Tell No One is a 2001 thriller novel by American writer Harlan Coben. This was Coben's third stand-alone novel and first since 1991, his previous seven books having all been part of the Myron Bolitar series. Said Coben, "I came up with a great idea that simply would not work for Myron."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Butcher's Boy</span> 1982 book by Thomas Perry

The Butcher's Boy is a 1982 book written by Thomas Perry. The suspense novel won the 1983 Edgar Award for Best First Mystery Novel (American). It is not to be confused with Michael Robb's "The Butcher's Boy - The Ballad of Billy Badass".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adrian McKinty</span> Irish crime novelist and critic

Adrian McKinty is a Northern Irish writer of crime and mystery novels and young adult fiction, best known for his 2020 award-winning thriller, The Chain, and the Sean Duffy novels set in Northern Ireland during The Troubles. He is a winner of the Edgar Award, the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, the Macavity Award, the Ned Kelly Award, the Barry Award, the Audie Award, the Anthony Award and the International Thriller Writers Award. He has been shortlisted for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger and the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière.

<i>The Watchman</i> (Crais novel) 2007 novel by Robert Crais

The Watchman is a 2007 detective novel by Robert Crais. It is the eleventh in a series of linked novels centering on private investigator Elvis Cole and his partner Joe Pike.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryan Gruley</span> American writer (born 1957)

Bryan Gruley is an American writer. He has shared a Pulitzer Prize for journalism and been nominated for the "first novel" Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America.

Teri Peitso-Holbrook is an American mystery writer living in Atlanta with her husband and two children. She is the author of four mysteries and has been nominated for several literary awards. She currently teaches at Georgia State University and is pursuing multimodal and digital writing.

Susan Elia MacNeal is an American author best known for her Maggie Hope mystery series of novels, which are set during World War II, mainly in London.

Rebecca Cantrell is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She has published nine novels in over ten different languages. Her novels have won the ITW Thriller, the Macavity, and the Bruce Alexander awards. They have been nominated for the GoodReads Choice award, the Barry, the RT Reviewers Choice, and the APPY award. She and her husband and son live in Berlin.

<i>The Last Child</i> 2009 suspense thriller by John Hart

The Last Child is a suspense thriller by American novelist John Hart. It was first published in 2009 by Minotaur Books.

Jane Whitefield is a crime and mystery novel series written by Thomas Perry. The series features Jane Whitefield, a Native American (Seneca) who has made a career out of helping people disappear. The series is usually narrated in third-person perspective. Perry weaves Native American history, stories, theology, and cultural practices into each novel.

Lou Berney is an American crime fiction author who has published six books since 1991. For his works, Berney has won multiple awards including an Anthony, Barry and Edgar for The Long and Faraway Gone. With November Road, Berney won the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger while also winning additional Anthony and Barry awards. Apart from writing, Berney was a screenwriter whose written film, Angels Sing, was released in 2012. Berney has also taught at the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma City University during the 2010s.

Eli Cranor is an American author and former professional footballer. His debut novel, Don't Know Tough, won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel.

References

  1. "Barry Awards". Deadly Pleasures. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  2. "The Barry Award Winners 2021 – Deadly Pleasures". Deadly Pleasures – Mystery Magazine. August 5, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  3. Giltz, Michael (November 14, 2021). "Want to Crack the Case?". Parade . Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  4. "Thomas Perry & Jo Perry | Murder By The Book". www.murderbooks.com. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  5. "Biography". Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2011-02-27.