Robert Crais (pronounced ) (born June 20, 1953) is an American author of

detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...

. Crais began his career writing scripts for television shows such as '' Hill Street Blues'', '' Cagney & Lacey'', '' Quincy'', '' Miami Vice'' and '' L.A. Law''. His writing is influenced by

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 ...

, Dashiell Hammett, Ernest Hemingway,

Robert B. Parker Robert Brown Parker (September 17, 1932 – January 18, 2010) was an American writer, primarily of fiction within the mystery/detective genre. His most famous works were the 40 novels written about the fictional private detective Spenser. AB ...

and

John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...

. Crais has won numerous awards for his crime novels. Lee Child has cited him in interviews as one of his favourite American crime writers. The novels of Robert Crais have been published in 62 countries and are bestsellers around the world. Robert Crais received the Ross Macdonald Literary Award in 2006 and was named Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America in 2014.

Biography

Born in Independence, Louisiana, he was adopted and raised as an only child. He attended Louisiana State University and studied mechanical engineering. Crais moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

in 1976 where he found work as a

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

for the television series '' Hill Street Blues,'' '' Cagney & Lacey'' and '' Miami Vice,'' and was nominated for an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

award. Following the death of his father in 1985, Crais published the novel, '' The Monkey's Raincoat,'' which won the

1988 Anthony Award Bouchercon is an annual convention of creators and devotees of mystery and detective fiction. It is named in honour of writer, reviewer, and editor Anthony Boucher; also the inspiration for the Anthony Awards, which have been issued at the conv ...

for "Best Paperback Original" and the 1988 Mystery Readers International Macavity Award for "Best First Novel". It has since been selected as one of the ''100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century'' by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. In 2006 Crais was awarded the Ross Macdonald Literary Award and in 2010 the Private Eye Writers of America's (PWA) Lifetime Achievement Award ''The Eye''. In 2014 Crais received the Mystery Writers of America's (MWA) Grand Master Award. Crais novels include: ''Demolition Angel,'' '' Hostage,'' ''Suspect'', and ''The Two-Minute Rule.'' Most of Crais' books feature the characters Elvis Cole and Joe Pike, with ''The Watchman'' (2007), ''The First Rule'' (2010) and ''The Sentry'' (2011) centering on Joe Pike. ''Taken'' is a

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

detective novel by Robert Crais. It is the fifteenth in a series of linked novels centering on the character

Elvis Cole Robert Crais (pronounced ) (born June 20, 1953) is an American author of detective fiction. Crais began his career writing scripts for television shows such as ''Hill Street Blues'', ''Cagney & Lacey'', ''Quincy, M.E., Quincy'', ''Miami Vice'' an ...

. The 2005 film, '' Hostage'', was an adaptation of one of his books. In 2020 his novel ''Suspect'' (2013) was named Best Mystery/Crime Novel of the Decade in the Barry Awards.

Bibliography

Elvis Cole/Joe Pike novels

Other novels

References

External links

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Interview with Robert Crais
''A DISCUSSION WITH National Authors on Tour'' TV Series, Episode #158 (1995) {{DEFAULTSORT:Crais, Robert Living people American mystery writers 20th-century American novelists Novelists from Louisiana People from Independence, Louisiana Writers from Los Angeles 1953 births Anthony Award winners Macavity Award winners Shamus Award winners Barry Award winners Dilys Award winners 21st-century American novelists American male novelists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers