Thomas Perry

Thomas Perry was born in Tonawanda, New York in 1947. In 1969, he was awarded a B.A. degree from Cornell University. In 1974, he got his Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Rochester. Perry's background is extensive, which gives him many experiences to use in his writing. Before he became a mystery novelist, he was a commercial fisherman, a teacher, a maintenance man, and a weapons mechanic, as well as a television writer and producer. He worked on shows such as 21 Jump Street, Simon and Simon, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Today, he lives in Southern California with his wife and daughters.

From the time his first book was released, it was clear that Perry was meant to be a novelist. The Butcher's Boy was awarded the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers Association. He was honored for having the Best First Novel. Perry went on to write many mystery novels, such as Sleeping Dogs and Dead Aim. Pursuit was a novel that won a Gumshoe Award in 2002 for one of the best crime fiction novels of that year.

Perry is probably most well known for his work with the series of books featuring Jane Whitfield as the protagonist. The first of the novels featuring her was Vanishing Act, released in 1995. He has published 6 novels in the series with Runner being the most recent. He takes a break from the series to get out of his comfort zone, explore other ideas, and allow his characters to evolve. Perry is always interested in Jane Whitfield, and the fans keep him on his toes to find new plots to engage her in.