Thomas Perry (author)

For other people with the same name, see Thomas Perry.

Thomas Perry
Born	1947 (age 76–77) Tonawanda, New York, United States
Occupation	Writer
Genre	Mystery, Thriller
Notable works	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.

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. The New York Times selected Nightlife for its best seller selection. From this point, Perry has elected to develop a non-series list of mysteries with Death Benefits, Pursuit (which won a Gumshoe Award in 2002), Dead Aim, Night Life, Fidelity, and Strip. 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.

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 Jo (née Lee) and two children.

Works

The following table can be sorted to show Perry's novels in chronological order, or arranged alphabetically by title, or by series.

Year	Title	ISBN	Series	Notes
1982	The Butcher's Boy	0-684-17455-3	Butcher's Boy	1983 Edgar Award winner for Best First Mystery Novel (American)
1983	Metzger's Dog	978-0-6841-7948-2
1985	Big Fish	978-0-684-18367-1
1987	Island	978-0-399-13327-5
1992	Sleeping Dogs	978-0-679-41064-5	Butcher's Boy
1995	Vanishing Act	978-0-679-43536-0	Jane Whitefield
1996	Dance for the Dead	978-0-679-44911-9	Jane Whitefield
1997	Shadow Woman	978-0-679-45302-4	Jane Whitefield
1998	The Face-Changers	978-0-679-45303-1	Jane Whitefield
1999	Blood Money	978-0-679-45304-8	Jane Whitefield
2001	Death Benefits	978-0-679-45305-5
2001	Pursuit	978-0-679-45306-2
2002	Dead Aim	1-4000-6003-6
2006	Nightlife	1-4000-6004-4
2007	Silence	978-0-15-101289-3	Jack Till
2008	Fidelity	978-0-15-101292-3
2009	Runner	978-0-15-101528-3	Jane Whitefield
2010	Strip	978-0-15-101522-1
2011	The Informant	978-0-547-56933-8	Butcher's Boy	2012 Barry Award for Best Thriller
2012	Poison Flower	978-0-8021-2605-4	Jane Whitefield
2013	The Boyfriend	978-0-8021-2606-1	Jack Till
2015	A String of Beads	978-0-8021-2329-9	Jane Whitefield
2016	Forty Thieves	978-0-8021-2452-4
2017	The Old Man	978-0802125866
2018	The Bomb Maker	978-0802127488
2019	The Burglar	978-0802129000
2020	A Small Town	978-0802148063
2020	Eddie's Boy	978-0802157775	Butcher's Boy	The fourth book in the Butcher's Boy series available December 2020

External links

• Official site
• Interview with Thomas Perry
• "The Professional," an overview of Perry's work by Ethan Iverson
• Modern Signed Books BlogTalkRadio Interview with Rodger Nichols about Forty Thieves (March 2016)