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.

Thomas Perry
Born1947 (age 76–77)
Tonawanda, New York, U.S.
OccupationWriter
EducationCornell University (BA)
University of Rochester (PhD)
GenreMystery, Thriller
Notable worksThe Butcher's Boy, Metzger's Dog, Jane Whitefield series

Writings

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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

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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

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Year Title Publisher Series ISBN
1982 The Butcher's Boy Scribner Butcher's Boy 978-0-684-17455-6
1983 Metzger's Dog Scribner 978-0-684-17948-3
1985 Big Fish Scribner 978-0-684-18367-1
1987 Island Putnam 978-0-399-13327-5
1992 Sleeping Dogs Random House Butcher's Boy 978-0-679-41064-5
1995 Vanishing Act Random House Jane Whitefield 978-0-679-43536-5
1996 Dance for the Dead Random House Jane Whitefield 978-0-679-44911-9
1997 Shadow Woman Random House Jane Whitefield 978-0-679-45302-4
1998 The Face-Changers Random House Jane Whitefield 978-0-679-45303-1
1999 Blood Money Random House Jane Whitefield 978-0-679-45304-8
2001 Pursuit Random House 978-0-679-45306-2
2001 Death Benefits Random House 978-0-679-45306-2
2002 Dead Aim Random House 978-1-4000-6003-0
2006 Nightlife Random House 978-1-4000-6004-7
2007 Silence Harcourt Jack Till 978-0-15-101289-3
2008 Fidelity Harcourt 978-0-15-101292-3
2009 Runner Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Jane Whitefield 978-0-15-101528-3
2010 Strip Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 978-0-15-101522-1
2011 The Informant Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Butcher's Boy 978-0-547-56933-8
2012 Poison Flower Mysterious Press Jane Whitefield 978-0-8021-2605-4
2013 The Boyfriend Grove Jack Till 978-0-8021-2606-1
2014 A String of Beads Grove Jane Whitefield 978-0-8021-2329-9
2016 Forty Thieves Mysterious Press 978-0-8021-2452-4
2017 The Old Man Mysterious Press 978-0-8021-2586-6
2018 The Bomb Maker Mysterious Press 978-0-8021-2748-8
2019 The Burglar Grove 978-0-8021-2900-0
2020 A Small Town Mysterious Press 978-0-8021-4806-3
2020 Eddie's Boy Mysterious Press Butcher's Boy 978-0-8021-5777-5
2021 The Left-Handed Twin National Geographic Books Jane Whitefield 978-1-61316-259-0
2023 Murder Book National Geographic Books 978-1-61316-383-2
2024 Hero Mysterious Press 978-1-61316-477-8
Not Yet Released Pro Bono Mysterious Press 978-1-61316-616-1

References

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  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.
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