Richard North Patterson Books

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Richard North Patterson is an American author that made a name for himself as a pretty competent lawyer and political commentator before finally turning his attention to the publishing arena.

Born in 1947, Richard comes from Berkley in California, though his most vivid memories are from the Cleveland Suburbs where he spent most of his childhood. A student of Ohio Wesleyan University, Richard took his first steps to becoming a great lawyer when he attended Case Western Reserve Law School. Eventually graduating in 1971, it didn’t take long for Richard North Patterson to make his mark on the legal landscape.

Besides playing the role of Ohio Assistant Attorney General, the author was a powerful player at many leading law firms in the country. One can also trace Richard’s law career all the way to the Securities and Exchange Commission, though Richard will tell you that his passion for writing has always been as strong as his interest in the law.

Richard took creative writing classes at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. His first taste of publishing came when he wrote a short story for a magazine called The Atlantic Monthly. This set Richard on the path to writing and getting The Lasko Tangent published. Not only was this the author’s first novel but it also earned him an award, immediately setting Richard apart as someone to watch for potential greatness.

With so many of his books becoming bestsellers, Richard finally put his law hat aside to become a full-time writer in 1993. This new path did not dissuade the author from pursuing the multitude of causes he is passionate about, this including gun violence and political reform.

These causes and more are common subjects in Richard’s novels. Richard takes great joy in dissecting the political and social issues that keep his American readers up, such as reproductive rights and capital punishment.

Richard North Patterson Awards

Richard’s very first book earned him an Edgar Allan Poe Award. This was back in 1979, and it wasn’t the last time Richard received formal recognition for his writing talent. By the mid-1990s, the author had added the French Grand Prix de Litterateur Policiere to his collection, not to mention the Maggie award in the early 2000s.

Richard also delved into the difficult subject of the Palestine-Israeli conflict in 2007, this earning the author consideration for South Africa’s Leading literary prize.

Less known is Richard’s Silver Bullet Award that the International Thriller Writers Association gave him in 2012. This award wasn’t for any particular book. Rather, it was a means of recognizing his contributions to the literary arena.

Richard North Patterson Books into Movies

In the mid-1990s, NBC took Eyes of a Child and Degree of Guilt, two of Richard’s novels, and blended them into a single miniseries.

Not long after that, TNT turned Silent Witness, another Richard North Patterson novel, into a feature film.

Best Richard North Patterson Books

Richard tends to step on the toes of his readers because of the incendiary nature of the topics he tackles, with some of the best books from the author including:

Silent Witness: Thirty years ago, Alison Taylor was brutally murdered. Tony Lord was suspected of the crime but he was acquitted and quickly left Lake City. With the past firmly behind him, Tony got married, had children and built his career as a San Francisco defense lawyer.

Tony had no intention of ever returning to Lake City. But then a phone call changes everything. A teenage girl from Lake City High school has been murdered and the last person seen with her was Tony’s childhood friend. Tony is requested to promptly return to Lake City.

This book keeps jumping back and forth between the past and the present as it builds upon Tony’s character by revealing the trauma of his childhood and how it shaped him into the man he has become.

Protect and Defend: The first thing President Kerry Kilcannon did when he became president was to appoint a new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; a female judge to be exact, one whose record is unimpeachable. Kerry thought the only battle waiting for him was the Senate’s scrutiny of his female candidate.

But then an abortion rights case comes into his candidate’s court and its implications send shockwaves through the foundations of America. The story Richard North Patterson tells in this book attempts to delineate the difference between what is legal and what is right.

When Does The Next Richard North Patterson book come out?

Richard North Patterson doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is Trial and was released on June, 13th 2023.

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