John Lutz (mystery writer) explained

Birth Name:John Thomas Lutz
Birth Place:Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Death Place:Chesterfield, Missouri, U.S.
Genre:Mystery fiction

John Thomas Lutz (September 11, 1939[1] – January 9, 2021)[2] was an American writer who mainly wrote mystery novels.

Career

Lutz's work included political suspense, private eye novels, urban suspense, humor, occult, crime caper, police procedural, espionage, historical, futuristic, amateur detective, thriller; virtually every mystery sub-genre. He was the author of more than forty novels and over 200 short stories and articles. His novel Single White Female was the basis for the 1992 film starring Bridget Fonda[3] [4] [5] [6] and his novel The Ex was made into the HBO original movie of the same title, for which he co-authored the screenplay. Lutz's novels and short fiction have been translated into almost every language and adapted for almost every medium.

Lutz served as president of both Mystery Writers of America and Private Eye Writers of America. Among his awards are the MWA Edgar Award, the Shamus Award (twice), The Trophee 813 Award for best mystery short story collection translated into the French language, the PWA Life Achievement Award, and the Short Mystery Fiction Society's Golden Derringer Lifetime Achievement Award. John Lutz also wrote stories for jigsaw puzzles.[7] [8]

Personal life and death

He and his wife, Barbara, split their time between St. Louis, Missouri, and Sarasota, Florida. Together, they had three children and eight grandchildren.

Lutz died as a result of complications from Lewy body dementia, Parkinson's disease, and COVID-19 in Chesterfield, Missouri, on January 9, 2021, at age 81, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Missouri.[2] [9]

Awards

In 1995, Lutz received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America.[10]

Awards for Lutz's writing[11] !Year!Title!Awards!Result
1985NightlinesShamus Award for Best NovelFinalist
1987Tropical HeatAnthony Award for Best NovelFinalist
1988Ride the LightningShamus Award for Best NovelFinalist
1989KissShamus Award for Best NovelWinner
2003Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Paperback OriginalFinalist
2010Urge To Kill International Thriller Writers Award for Best PaperbackFinalist
2011Mister XShamus Award for Best Paperback OriginalFinalist
2012SerialShamus Award for Best Paperback OriginalFinalist
2013PulseShamus Award for Best Paperback OriginalFinalist

Bibliography

Series

Standalone novels

Notes and References

  1. Book: https://books.google.com/books?id=D_m2AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA209 . Cornucopia of Crime: Memories and Summations . . 209 . John Lutz. July 2010 . Lulu.com . 9781605434582 .
  2. News: John Thomas Lutz . Legacy . July 4, 2021 . November 18, 2021 . November 18, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211118223539/https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/stltoday/name/john-lutz-obituary?id=5906133 . live .
  3. Web site: Edgar Award Winners and Nominees in the Private Eye Genre. 2012-03-06. Thrillingdetective.com. 2011-10-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20111018104715/http://thrillingdetective.com/trivia/triv50.html. live.
  4. Web site: The Private Eye Writers of America and The Shamus Awards. 2012-03-06. Thrillingdetective.com. 2011-08-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20110807082823/http://www.thrillingdetective.com/trivia/triv72.html. live.
  5. Web site: Canby. Vincent. 1992-08-14. Movie Review - Single White Female - Review/Film; A Devoted (and Deadly) Roommate - NYTimes.com. 2012-03-06. Movies.nytimes.com.
  6. Web site: Peter Travers. 1992-08-14. Single White Female | Movie Reviews. 2012-03-06. Rolling Stone. 2018-03-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20180311142207/https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/single-white-female-19920814. dead.
  7. Web site: Grounds for Murder . Mysterygamecentral.com . 2012-03-06 . 2014-03-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140302020503/http://www.mysterygamecentral.com/games/GroundsForMurder.html . live .
  8. Web site: John Lutz Online. John Lutz. 2015-03-17. 2015-02-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20150223044037/http://www.johnlutzonline.com/about. live.
  9. Web site: John Lutz, master of crime fiction, dies in Chesterfield at age 81 Obituaries stltoday.com. 13 January 2021. 18 November 2021. 18 November 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211118051313/https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/obituaries/john-lutz-master-of-crime-fiction-dies-in-chesterfield-at-age-81/article_1f7d8d67-733e-53e2-a190-716e18a7c811.html. live.
  10. Web site: The Private Eye Writers of America and The Shamus Awards . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20110807082823/http://www.thrillingdetective.com/trivia/triv72.html . 2011-08-07 . 2019-06-04 . Thrilling Detective .
  11. Web site: John Lutz . 2024-05-12 . Stop, You're Killing Me! . 2024-05-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240506002642/https://stopyourekillingme.com/L_Authors/Lutz_John.html . live .