Robert Crais

Name	Robert Crais
Image
Caption	Crais in 2008
Birth Date	1953-6-20
Birth Place	Independence, Louisiana, U.S.
Occupation	Novelist ⋅ screenwriter
Alma Mater	Louisiana State University
Genre	Fiction, crime fiction, thrillers
Pseudonym	Elvis Cole, Jerry Gret Samouche
Website	robertcrais.com

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 in 1976, where he initially found work as a screenwriter for the television series Baretta and Quincy, M.E., later working on Hill Street Blues, Cagney & Lacey and Miami Vice. He was nominated for an Emmy award for a Hill Street Blues episode he co-wrote in 1981. Following the death of his father in 1985, Crais published the novel The Monkey's Raincoat, which won the 1988 Anthony Award 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 detective novel by Robert Crais. It is the fifteenth in a series of linked novels centering on the character Elvis Cole. 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 and Joe Pike novels

Other novels

References

• Robert Crais: Awards and Recognitions, www.robertcrais.com
• Encyclopedia of World Biography, 24 February 2013
• 34th Primetime Emmys Nominees and Winners, Television Academy: Emmys, June 28, 2014, March 5, 2016, dead
• Macavity Awards, Mysteryreaders.org, 2012-03-14
• History of Bouchercon, Bouchercon.info, 2012-03-14, 2012-03-03, dead
• Santa Barbara Book and Author Festival - Awards, sbbookfestival.org, January 25, 2014
• Shamus Award, thrillingdetective.com, January 24, 2014
• MWA Announces 2014 Grand Master and Raven Awards, mysterywriters.org, January 25, 2014
• Frequently Asked Questions, RobertCrais.com, 2012-06-02
• Barry Awards (Crime Fiction) – 2020, Nightstand Book Reviews, 12 May 2021
• Bouchercon World Mystery Convention : Anthony Award Nominees and Winners, Bouchercon.info, January 24, 2014, February 7, 2012, dead
• Macavity Awards, Mysteryreaders.org, January 24, 2014
• Edgar Award Database, TheEdgars.com, January 24, 2014, April 4, 2019, dead
• The Dilys Award, mysterybooksellers.com, January 25, 2014
• 2013 Left Coast Crime Awards, leftcoastcrime.org, January 25, 2014

External links

• Interview with Robert Crais, A DISCUSSION WITH National Authors on Tour TV Series, Episode #158 (1995)