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Richard S. Forrest

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Richard S. Forrest
Born
Richard Stockton Forrest

(1932-05-08)May 8, 1932
Upper Montclair, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedMarch 14, 2005(2005-03-14) (aged 72)
Towson, Maryland, U.S.
OccupationAuthor
Known forMystery novels
Spouse(s)Mary Bolan (d. 1996), Patricia Hale Forrest
Children6, including Katherine Forrest; 2 stepchildren

Richard Stockton Forrest (May 8, 1932 – March 14, 2005) was an American mystery and suspense novelist and short story author.[1][2]

Biography

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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.

While writing plays and novels at night, he worked in the title insurance industry from 1958 to 1972, when he left his position to become a full-time writer. His first novel, Who Killed Mr. Garland's Mistress, was published in 1974 and was nominated for an Edgar Award.[3][4] His family received food stamps in the late 1970s and were briefly homeless.[5]

In addition to the U.S., Forrest's novels and short stories were published in the U.K., Japan, Italy, Finland, France, Germany, and Sweden.[6]

Personal life and death

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Forrest was married twice, to Mary Bolan, a geriatric nurse who died in 1996, and to Patricia Hale Forrest. He had six children, including Katherine Forrest, a lawyer and former United States district judge,[5] and two stepchildren, and lived in Charlottesville, Virginia. He died in 2005.[6] His collected papers are stored in the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University.[7]

Books

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Lyon and Bea Wentworth Mystery Series

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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.[8] Lyon writes children's books and is a hot air balloonist.[9] The New York Times Book Review called the first book in the series, A Child's Garden of Death,[10] "a curiously absorbing book, and a compassionate one."[11]

  • A Child's Garden of Death (1975)[10]
  • The Wizard of Death (1977)[12]
  • Death Through the Looking Glass (1978)[13]
  • The Death in the Willows (1979)[14]
  • The Death at Yew Corner (1980)[15]
  • Death Under the Lilacs (1985)[16][17]
  • Death on the Mississippi (1989)[18]
  • The Piped Piper of Death (1997)[19][20]
  • Death in the Secret Garden (2004)[21]
  • Death at King Arthur's Court (2005), published posthumously[22]

Sign Mystery Series with Diff James

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Forrest wrote three novels for youth and low fluency adults as part of "The Thumbprint Mysteries" series, all featuring Diff James, a mute woodsman with an uncanny ability to understand animals.

  • Sign of the Beast (1998)[23]
  • Sign of Blood (1998)[24]
  • Sign of Terror (1999)[25]

Non-series novels

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  • Who Killed Mr. Garland's Mistress (1974)[3]
  • The Killing Edge (1980)[26]
  • Lark (1986)[27]
  • The Disappearing Airplane (1996–1997) - serialized in 21 parts in Asahi Weekly
  • Murder in the Big Apple (1999) - serialized in 20 parts in Asahi Weekly
  • The Impossible Crime (2002) - serialized in 25 parts in Asahi Weekly

Non-series novels published under the pseudonym Stockton Woods

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  • The Laughing Man (1980)[28]
  • Game Bet (1981)[29]
  • The Man Who Heard Too Much (1983)[30]

Short stories

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General fiction

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  • "Bellamy Thurgood Learns to Skate" (January 1983) - Northeast Magazine, The Hartford Courant
  • "Family Friends" (February 1983) - Northeast Magazine, The Hartford Courant
  • "Sailors" (July 1983) - Northeast Magazine, The Hartford Courant
  • "The Crooked Tree" (December 1983) - Northeast Magazine, The Hartford Courant
  • "Crossing the Moat" (1993) St. Raphael's Better Health Writing Contest Winner

Mystery

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  • "Mark of the Beast" (1976) - Mystery Monthly[31]
  • "Return of the Beast" (1976) - Mystery Monthly[32]
  • "The Headmaster Helps One of His Boys" (1982) - Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine[33]
  • "A Very Small Rasher" (1994) - Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine[34]
  • "Lazy Man" (1998) - Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine[35]

Non-fiction

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  • (with Mary Forrest and his son, Christopher Forrest) Nursing Homes: The Complete Guide (1990)[6][36]
  • (with Mary Forrest and his son, Christopher Forrest) Retirement Living: A Guide to Housing Alternatives (1991)[6][37]

References

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  1. ^ Sleeman, Elizabeth (2003). International Who's Who Authors and Writers. St. Edmundsbury Press. p. 181. ISBN 1-85743-1790.
  2. ^ DeAndrea, William (1994). Encyclopedia Mysteriosa. Prentice Hall General Reference. p. 124. ISBN 0-671-85025-3.
  3. ^ a b Forrest, Richard (1974). Who Killed Mr. Garland's Mistress. Pinnacle Books. ISBN 052300446X.
  4. ^ "Edgar Award for Best Paperback original 1975". Fantastic Fiction. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Van Voris, Bob (February 6, 2013). "Military Arrest in Doubt as U.S. Fights Rookie Judge". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on February 11, 2013.
  6. ^ a b c d "Deaths: Forrest, Richard Stockton". The New York Times (paid notice). March 29, 2005. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 29, 2015.
  7. ^ "Collection: Forrest, Richard (1932-2005)". Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center. Boston University. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020.
  8. ^ Barnett, Colleen (1997). Mystery Women: An Encyclopedia of Leading Women Characters in Mystery Fiction. Volume I (1860-1979). Poisoned Pen Press. pp. 427–430. ISBN 1-890208-61-2.
  9. ^ Winn, Dilys (1984). Murder Ink. New York: Workman. pp. 290. ISBN 0-89480-768-4.
  10. ^ a b Forrest, Richard (1975). A Child's Garden of Death. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill. ISBN 0672521512.
  11. ^ New York Times Book Review (1977). New York Times Saturday Review of Books and Art, Volume 2; Volume 81. Arno Press.
  12. ^ Forrest, Richard (1977). The Wizard of Death. Bobbs-Merrill. ISBN 067181799X.
  13. ^ Forrest, Richard (1978). Death Through the Looking Glass. Bobbs Merrill. ISBN 0672522381.
  14. ^ Forrest, Richard (1979). The Death in the Willows. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. ISBN 0030492963.
  15. ^ Forrest, Richard (1980). The Death at Yew Corner. Holt Rinehart & Winston. ISBN 0030533864.
  16. ^ Forrest, Richard (1985). Death Under the Lilacs. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0312188781.
  17. ^ "Death Under the Lilacs by Richard Forrest". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
  18. ^ Forrest, Richard (1989). Death on the Mississippi. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0312033230.
  19. ^ Forrest, Richard (1997). The Piped Piper of Death. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0312152922.
  20. ^ "The Pied Piper of Death by Richard Forrest - FictionDB". www.fictiondb.com. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
  21. ^ Forrest, Richard (2004). Death in the Secret Garden. Severn House. ISBN 0727861921.
  22. ^ Forrest, Richard (2005). Death at King Arthur's Court. Severn House. ISBN 0727863142.
  23. ^ Sign of the Beast. Lincolnwood, Illinois: NTC Publishing Group. 1999. ISBN 9780809206766.
  24. ^ Forrest, Richard (1999). Sign of Blood. Lincolnwood, Illinois: NTC/Contemporary Publishing. ISBN 9780809206773.
  25. ^ Sign of Terror. Lincolnwood, Illinois: NTC/Contemporary Publishing. 1999. ISBN 9780809206780.
  26. ^ Forrest, Richard (1980). Killing Edge. New York: Dorchester. ISBN 9780505515674.
  27. ^ Forrest, Richard (1986). Lark. New York: Signet. ISBN 9780451141651.
  28. ^ Woods, Stockton (October 12, 1980). Laughing Man. New York: Fawcett. ISBN 9780449143650.
  29. ^ Woods, Stockton (October 12, 1981). Game Bet. New York: Fawcett. ISBN 9780449144305.
  30. ^ Woods, Stockton (February 12, 1983). Man Who Heard Too Much. New York: Fawcett. ISBN 9780449123904.
  31. ^ Forrest, Richard (August 1976). "Mark of the Beast". Mystery Monthly.
  32. ^ Forrest, Richard (December 1976). "Return of the Beast". Mystery Monthly.
  33. ^ Forrest, Richard (January 27, 1982). "The Headmaster Helps One of His Boys". Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine.
  34. ^ Forrest, Richard (February 1994). "A Very Small Rasher". Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine.
  35. ^ Forrest, Richard (June 1998). "Lazy Man". Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine.
  36. ^ Forrest, Mary; Forrest, Christopher; Forrest, Richard (1990). Nursing Homes: The Complete Guide. Facts on File. ISBN 0-8160-2170-8.
  37. ^ Forrest, Richard; Forrest, Mary Brumby (1991). Retirement Living: A Guide to Housing Alternatives. Facts on File. ISBN 9780816023394.
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