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 December 2024, Perry has published 31 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

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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.