Michael Collins (author)

Michael Collins is the best-known pseudonym of Dennis Lynds (January 15, 1924 – August 19, 2005), an American author who primarily wrote mystery fiction.

Over four decades Lynds published some 80 novels and 200 Short stories, in both mystery and literary themes. He was a recipient of the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America (MWA), the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Private Eye Writers of America and the Marlowe Lifetime Achievement Award from MWA, Southern California Chapter.

Lynds was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the only child of actors who were touring at the time. He grew up in New York City and fought in Europe during World War II, earning a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. He studied chemistry(Bachelor) and journalism(Master). After working as a magazine editor in New York, he moved to California in 1965 to write full-time. Married to thriller author Gayle Lynds, he lived in California until his death.

Written under the Michael Collins pen name, his Dan Fortune stories constitute one of the longest-running private detective series written, beginning in 1967 with Act of Fear, which earned a 1968 Edgar Award, for Best First Novel. As Collins, Lynds is largely credited with bringing the detective novel into the modern age:

“After naming Lynds the Best Suspense writer of the 1970s”, Baker and Nietzel continue, “the Crime Literature Association of West Germany praised him as follows:

Baker and Nietzel point out a popular phenomenon that began with Collins's first book: "Act of Fear ... inspired the by-now monotonous chant by critics about each new hard-boiled author being 'the best since Hammett,' 'the new Chandler,' and 'the heir to Ross Macdonald.' Fortune enjoys a senior status among modern private eyes" predating Lawrence Block, Robert Parker, Elmore Leonard, Joseph Hansen, Joe Gores, Michael Lewin, and Bill Pronzini.

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