William Louis DeAndrea (July 1, 1952 - October 9, 1996) was an American mystery writer and columnist.

Biography

DeAndrea was born in

Port Chester, New York Port Chester is a administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the largest part of the town of Rye (town), New York, Rye in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County by populati ...

in 1952 and was educated at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

. During the 1980s his job took him to Europe, first to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and then

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

; on his return to the United States he settled in Litchfield County,

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. ...

. He won three

Edgar Awards The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor ...

from the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the E ...

, the first for his

first novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

, ''Killed in the Ratings''. The majority of his novels made up several series. The Matt Cobb mysteries drew on DeAndrea's experience working for a major American television network. The Niccolo Benedetti mysteries paid homage to great detectives such as

Nero Wolfe Nero Wolfe is a brilliant, obese and eccentric fictional armchair detective created in 1934 by American mystery (fiction), mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe was born in Principality of Montenegro, Montenegro and keeps his past murky. He lives in a ...

. (DeAndrea was an active member of

The Wolfe Pack The Wolfe Pack is a literary society devoted to Rex Stout's character Nero Wolfe. History As publicity for William S. Baring-Gould's book ''Nero Wolfe of West 35th Street'', Viking Press ran a "Mammoth New Nero Wolfe Contest" in ''The New York ...

when he lived in New York.) The Clifford Driscoll series ventured into the realm of the spy thriller, while the Lobo Blacke/Quinn Booker series of historical mysteries--also reminiscent of the Wolfe stories--were set in the old West. DeAndrea was also the author of the ''J’Accuse!'' column in ''the Armchair Detective'', a fanzine published by Mysterious Press. He won his third Edgar in 1994 for his reference work, ''Encyclopedia Mysteriosa''. In 1982, he participated in the intercontinental quiz show Top of the World, which pitted contestants via satellite from Australia, the US and the UK. DeAndrea emerged as the American champion (thanks to his knowledge of

Ellery Queen Ellery Queen is a pseudonym created in 1928 by the American detective fiction writers Frederic Dannay (1905–1982) and Manfred Bennington Lee (1905–1971). It is also the name of their main fictional detective, a mystery writer in New York City ...

) and was invited to the final in London, but lost out to British insurance broker James Eccleson. He was married to mystery writer

Jane Haddam Orania Papazoglou (July 13, 1951 - July 17, 2019), better known by her pen name Jane Haddam, was an American mystery writer. Biography Haddam was born in Bethel, Connecticut and lived in Watertown. She was married to mystery writer William L ...

, and died of cancer on October 9, 1996.

Bibliography

The Lunatic Fringe (1980) Five O'clock Lightning (1982) The Matt Cobb Mysteries: * ''Killed in the Ratings'' 1978 (Edgar winner: Best First Novel) * ''Killed in Fringe Time'' 1994 * ''Killed in the Fog'' 1996 * ''Killed in Paradise'' 1988 * ''Killed in the Act'' 1981 * ''Killed on the Ice'' 1984 * ''Killed on the Rocks'' 1990 * ''Killed With a Passion'' 1983 The Professor Niccolo Benedetti Mysteries: * ''The HOG Murders'' 1979 (Edgar winner: Best Paperback Original) * ''The Manx Murders'' 1992 * ''The Werewolf Murders'' 1994 The Clifford Driscoll series: * ''Atropos'' * ''Azrael'' * ''Cronus'' * ''Snark'' The Lobo Blacke/Quinn Booker Mysteries: * ''Fatal Elixir'' * ''Written in Fire'' As Philip DeGrave: * ''Unholy Moses'' * ''Keep the Baby, Faith (Bogie's Mystery)'' Collection: * ''Murder — All Kinds'' (

Crippen & Landru Crippen & Landru Publishers is a small publisher of mystery fiction collections, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1994 by husband and wife Sandi and Douglas G. Greene in Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an indepen ...

, 2003) Non-Fiction * ''Encyclopedia Mysteriosa''

References

* Haddam, Jane (1999) New Introduction to ''The Hog Murders'' by William L. DeAndrea, International Polgonics, New York City

External links

*
The Official Site of the Nero Wolfe Fan Club, The Wolfe Pack
{{DEFAULTSORT:DeAndrea, William L 1952 births 1996 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American mystery writers Edgar Award winners People from Port Chester, New York Novelists from New York (state) Syracuse University alumni Place of death missing 20th-century American male writers