Peter Spiegelman (born 1958) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...

author and former

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

executive. He is most known for his series of books following the cases of the

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

-based

private eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...

, John March, winning a

Shamus Award The Shamus Award is awarded by the Private Eye Writers of America (PWA) for the best detective fiction ( P. I. = Private investigator) genre novels and short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a sing ...

for the first novel in the series. He lives with his family in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

Biography

Spiegelman grew up in

Forest Hills, Queens Forest Hills is a neighborhood in the central portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is adjacent to Corona to the north, Rego Park and Glendale to the west, Forest Park to the south, Kew Gardens to the southeast and Flushing ...

and, creating his own home made

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

comic books A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

, was interested in writing from a young age. He attended boarding school and studied English as an undergraduate at

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, winning the Beatrice Daw Brown prize for "a member of the senior class who has demonstrated excellence in the composition of poetry". Spiegelman then "sobered up and realized I had to pay the rent" and worked for twenty years in the

financial services Financial services are service (economics), economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of tertiary sector of the economy, service sector activities, especially as concerns finan ...

industry; starting out as a

computer programmer A programmer, computer programmer or coder is an author of computer source code someone with skill in computer programming. The professional titles ''software developer'' and ''software engineer'' are used for jobs that require a progr ...

for a small consulting firm and ending up as a

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

J.P. Morgan JP may refer to: Arts and media * ''JP'' (album), 2001, by American singer Jesse Powell * ''Jp'' (magazine), an American Jeep magazine * '' Jönköpings-Posten'', a Swedish newspaper * Judas Priest, an English heavy metal band * ''Jurassic Pa ...

. He followed this by becoming a junior partner for The Frustum Group, a company that sold computer software to large financial institutions, until, in 2001, it was sold for "a "high eight-figure" sum" allowing him the financial freedom to return to writing. Speaking about his time on the

trading floor Open outcry is a method of communication between professionals on a stock exchange or futures exchange, typically on a trading floor. It involves shouting and the use of hand signals to transfer information primarily about buy and sell orde ...

, Spiegelman stated that "it's a great place to study dysfunctional

ego Ego or EGO may refer to: Social sciences * Ego (Freudian), one of the three constructs in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche * Egoism, an ethical theory that treats self-interest as the foundation of morality * Egotism, the drive to ...

s and uncompromising greed - great for an aspiring novelist. Wall Street is such a ' noirish' place." He was influenced by

Dashiell Hammett Samuel Dashiell Hammett ( ; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the characters he created are Sam Spade ('' The Ma ...

Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...

, and

Ross Macdonald Ross Macdonald was the main pseudonym used by the American-Canadian writer of crime fiction Kenneth Millar (; December 13, 1915 – July 11, 1983). He is best known for his series of hardboiled novels set in Southern California and featur ...

. He currently lives in

Ridgefield, Connecticut Ridgefield is an affluent New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains and on the New York state border, Ridgefield had a population o ...

, with his wife Alice Wang, a managing director at J. P. Morgan.

Bibliography

''John March'' series

The series of books follows John March, an ex-deputy Sheriff and current

-based

. Spiegelman came up with the character "during his drives from Ridgefield" to his workplace in

White Plains, New York White Plains is a city in and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, and a commercial hub of Westchester County, a densely populated suburban county that is home to about one milli ...

. * 2003 ''Black Maps'' * 2005 ''Death's Little Helpers'' (in the UK market, this book was initially published in as ''False Dawn'' and later as ''No Way Home'') * 2007 ''Red Cat'' (aka ''The Alibi League'') * 2007 ''This Year's Model'' (short-story)

Standalone works

* 2007 ''Wall Street Noir'' (short-story collection, editor) * 2011 '' Thick as Thieves'' * 2016 ''Dr. Knox: A Novel'' * 2022 ''A Secret About a Secret''

Awards

His first novel, ''Black Maps'', earned him the 2004

in the "Best First P. I. novel" category. The third novel of the ''John March'' series, ''Red Cat'', was nominated for the 2008 Barry Award for "Best Novel". His fourth novel, ''Thick as Thieves'', was recognised by ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' editor Elaine Szewczyk as one of the "Best Fiction ovelsof 2011".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spiegelman, Peter Living people 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American mystery writers Shamus Award winners 1958 births Novelists from Connecticut Novelists from New York City Vassar College alumni 21st-century American male writers