Jeff Abbott
Encyclopedia
Jeff Abbott is a U.S. suspense novelist. He has a degree in History and English from Rice University
. He lives in Austin, Texas
. His early novels were traditional detective fiction
but in recent years he has turned to writing thriller fiction. A theme of his work is the idea of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary danger and fighting to return to their normal lives. His novels are published in several countries and have also been bestsellers in the United Kingdom
, Australia
, Ireland
, and France
.
His novel, Panic, has been optioned for film by The Weinstein Company
and is in development. His novel, Collision, has been optioned for film by Twentieth Century Fox.
*Adrenaline (2010) Out in UK Summer 2010 and in US July 2011.
*The Last Minute (2011) Out in UK Summer 2011.
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
. He lives in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. His early novels were traditional detective fiction
Detective fiction
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
but in recent years he has turned to writing thriller fiction. A theme of his work is the idea of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary danger and fighting to return to their normal lives. His novels are published in several countries and have also been bestsellers in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Novels
- The Jordan Poteet mysteries, set in TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. These novels are more traditional mysteries, centering around Jordan Poteet's eccentric family in a small Texas town:- Do Unto Others (1994) -- winner of the Agatha AwardAgatha AwardThe Agatha Awards are literary awards for mystery and crime writers who write via the same method as Agatha Christie...
and the Macavity AwardMacavity AwardsThe Macavity Awards are a literary award for mystery writers. Nominated and voted upon annually by the members of the Mystery Readers International, the award is named for the "mystery cat" of T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. The award is given in four categories -- best novel,...
(given by Mystery Readers InternationalMystery Readers InternationalMystery Readers International is a fan/reader organization open to all readers, fans, critics, editors, publishers, and writers of Mystery fiction. It was founded by Janet A...
) for Best First Novel, nominated for the Dilys AwardDilys AwardThe Dilys Award have been presented every year since 1992 by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. It is given to the mystery title of the year which the member booksellers have most enjoyed selling. The Independent Mystery Booksellers Association is an association of retail businesses...
given by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Associations - The Only Good Yankee (1995)--nominated for the Writers' League of Texas Violet Crown Award
- Promises of Home (1996)
- Distant Blood (1996)
- Do Unto Others (1994) -- winner of the Agatha Award
- The Whit Mosley series (Mosley is a Texas judge and coronerCoronerA coroner is a government official who* Investigates human deaths* Determines cause of death* Issues death certificates* Maintains death records* Responds to deaths in mass disasters* Identifies unknown dead* Other functions depending on local laws...
who partners with investigatorDetectiveA detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
Claudia Salazar in a Gulf Coast county). These books are darker and more thriller-oriented than the Poteet novels:- A Kiss Gone Bad (2001)--nominated for the Anthony Award (given out at the World Mystery Conference also known as BoucherconBoucherconBouchercon, the Anthony Boucher Memorial World Mystery Convention, is an annual convention of creators and devotees of mystery and detective fiction. It is named in honour of writer, reviewer, and editor Anthony Boucher....
) - Black Jack Point (2002)--nominated for the Edgar AwardEdgar AwardThe Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
(given by Mystery Writers of AmericaMystery Writers of AmericaMystery Writers of America is an organization for mystery writers, based in New York.The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday....
) and for the Anthony Award and for the Barry Award - Cut and Run (2003)--nominated for the Edgar AwardEdgar AwardThe Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
- A Kiss Gone Bad (2001)--nominated for the Anthony Award (given out at the World Mystery Conference also known as Bouchercon
- PanicPanic (novel)Panic is a 2005 thriller by Jeff Abbott about an unsuspecting young documentary film maker, Evan, whose life is turned upside down when he realizes that his parents have been working as spies throughout their lives. One morning his mother phones him and asks him to come to her urgently, but when he...
(2005)--nominated for the Thriller Award (given by the International Thriller WritersInternational Thriller WritersInternational Thriller Writers, Inc., was founded October 9, 2004, at a meeting at Bouchercon World Mystery and Suspense Conference in Toronto, Canada. Six months later, some 150 authors with more than one billion books sold worldwide had joined the organization as founding members.Co-founders...
) - FearFear (2006 novel)Fear is a 2006 thriller by Jeff Abbott. Texas Monthly described the novel as a "pharmaco-thriller about a clandestine medical clinic".-Plot:Miles Kendrick suffers from Post-traumatic stress disorder and is in a witness protection program. When his psychiatrist is targeted and killed he feels...
(2006) - CollisionCollision (novel)Collision is a 2008 thriller novel by Jeff Abbott. The novel was also known as Run in the UK.-Plot:Ben Forsberg is an independent contractor who has buried himself in his work after the death of his wife...
(2008)--known as Run in the UK - Trust Me (2009)
His novel, Panic, has been optioned for film by The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company is an American film studio founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in 2005 after the brothers left the then-Disney-owned Miramax Films, which they had co-founded in 1979...
and is in development. His novel, Collision, has been optioned for film by Twentieth Century Fox.
- The Sam Capra Series:
*Adrenaline (2010) Out in UK Summer 2010 and in US July 2011.
*The Last Minute (2011) Out in UK Summer 2011.