Richard S. Forrest | |
---|---|
Born |
Richard Stockton Forrest May 8, 1932 Upper Montclair, NJ |
Died | March 14, 2005 Towson, MD |
(aged 72)
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Novelist, author |
Known for | Mystery Novels |
Spouse(s) | Frances Anne Reese, Mary Bolan Brumby and Patricia Hale |
Children | Richard Stockton Forrest Jr, Christopher Brumby Forrest, Remley Hunt Mann, Katherine Bolan Forrest, Richard Mongin Forrest, Bellamy Truman Forrest |
Richard Stockton Forrest (May 8, 1932 – March 14, 2005) was an American mystery and suspense novelist and short story author.
Forrest was born in Upper Montclair, New Jersey. Although his family moved frequently, he spent most of his childhood living in New Jersey, graduating from Ridgewood High School in 1950. He studied in the New York Dramatic Workshop in 1950 under the German Director Erwin Piscator. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1951 and served in various locations in the United States. After serving as a Technical Sergeant with the 39th Antiaircraft (AAA) Battalion at Sculthorpe AFB in England, he was discharged in 1954. While writing plays and novels at night, he worked in the title insurance industry from 1958 - 1972, first for Lawyer's Title Insurance Company then Chicago Title Insurance Company. In 1972, Forrest left his executive position to write novels and short stories. His first novel, Who Killed Mr. Garland's Mistress, was published in 1974 and was nominated for an Edgar Award. His books and short stories were published in the U.S., U.K., Japan, Italy, Finland, France, Germany, and Sweden. The Richard Forrest collection, which includes published and unpublished manuscripts, correspondence, personal memorabilia, printed materials, research materials, legal materials, and financial materials is stored in the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center located at Boston University. Forrest died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease due to smoking in 2005.
The Lyon and Bea Wentworth Mystery Series comprises 10 novels set in a small town called Murphysville, Connecticut. Lyon Wentworth and his wife, Bea Wentworth, a state senator, team up with Police Chief Rocco Herbert, Lyon's wartime buddy, to unravel a variety of murder mysteries. Lyon writes children's books and is a hot air balloonist. The New York Times Book Review called the first book in the series, A Child's Garden of Death, "a curiously absorbing book, and a compassionate one."
Forrest wrote three novels for youth and low fluency adults as part of "The Thumbprint Mysteries" series. Each of these books features Diff James, a mute woodsman with an uncanny ability to understand animals.