John Thomas Lutz (September 11, 1939 – January 9, 2021) was an American author of mystery, crime and suspense fiction. During a career spanning more than fifty years, he published at least fifty books and approximately 250 short stories. His fiction ranged from private-eye and police-procedural stories to psychological thrillers and espionage novels.

Lutz was best known for SWF Seeks Same, adapted as the 1992 film Single White Female, and for series featuring the private investigators Alo Nudger, Fred Carver and Frank Quinn. He served as president of both the Mystery Writers of America (MWA) and the Private Eye Writers of America (PWA). His honors included an Edgar Award, two competitive Shamus Awards, the PWA's lifetime-achievement award and the Short Mystery Fiction Society's Golden Derringer for lifetime achievement.

Early life Lutz was born in Dallas to photographer John Peter Lutz and his wife, Jane. His family moved to St. Louis when he was four. He graduated from Southwest High School in 1957 and later attended Meramec Community College.

At age thirteen, Lutz read Ray Bradbury's short story "A Sound of Thunder" and became interested in how fiction could convey more than information. As a young adult, he worked as a theater usher, construction laborer, warehouseman, truck driver and civilian switchboard operator for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. He later said that listening to police officers call in reports helped him understand how they thought.

Writing career Short fiction and early novels Lutz spent several years submitting stories before selling "Thieves' Honor" to Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, which published it in December 1966. His stories subsequently appeared in that magazine, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine and other periodicals. His first novel, The Truth of the Matter, was published in 1971. After being laid off from a truck-driving job in 1973, he became a full-time writer.

His work covered numerous branches of mystery and suspense writing, including private-eye fiction, police procedurals, psychological suspense, espionage, humor and the occult. Critics particularly associated him with tightly plotted stories and with protagonists and antagonists given detailed motives and personalities.

Lutz's office files included FBI material on serial killers and crime trends. He kept notes on police uniforms, patrol cars and city streets to use as background for his books.

Series and adaptations Lutz introduced the St. Louis private investigator Alo Nudger in Buyer Beware (1976). He later created the disabled former police officer Fred Carver, whose cases were set in Florida, and the former New York homicide detective Frank Quinn. His final series followed intelligence operative Thomas Laker. Lutz continued writing stand-alone suspense novels alongside the series; his final novel, The Havana Game, was published in 2019.

Lutz's 1990 novel SWF Seeks Same was adapted as Single White Female, directed by Barbet Schroeder and starring Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh. The Ex (1996) became a 1997 HBO film, and Lutz co-wrote its screenplay with Larry Cohen. He also wrote narratives used in mystery-themed jigsaw puzzles.

He also invented the mystery board game Double Cross. By 1991, it had sold 40,000 copies.

Professional service and honors Lutz served as president of both the Mystery Writers of America and the Private Eye Writers of America. The MWA gave him the 1986 Edgar Award for Best Short Story for "Ride the Lightning". He received the Shamus Award for Best P.I. Short Story for "What You Don't Know Can Hurt You" in 1983 and the Shamus Award for Best P.I. Hardcover Novel for Kiss in 1989. The PWA presented him and Robert B. Parker with its Eye lifetime-achievement award in 1995.

The French mystery association 813 honored the translated edition of Better Mousetraps in 1989. The Short Mystery Fiction Society gave Lutz its Golden Derringer for lifetime achievement in 2001, and the University of Missouri awarded him an honorary degree in 2007.

Personal life and death Lutz met Barbara Jean Bradley while both worked at a St. Louis movie theater. They married in 1958 and had three children. The family lived for many years in Webster Groves, Missouri, and Lutz and his wife later divided their time between the St. Louis area and Sarasota, Florida.

Friends and colleagues described Lutz as unpretentious, generous and fond of understated humor.

During the final eight years of his life, Lutz had dementia with Lewy bodies with symptoms of Parkinson's disease. He died from COVID-19 at a nursing home in Chesterfield, Missouri, on January 9, 2021, at age 81.

Selected awards and nominations The following list includes Lutz's major competitive awards and selected nominations.

Year Work Award Result 1981 "Until You Are Dead" Edgar Award for Best Short Story Finalist 1983 "What You Don't Know Can Hurt You" Shamus Award for Best P.I. Short Story Won 1985 Nightlines Shamus Award for Best P.I. Novel Finalist 1986 "Ride the Lightning" Edgar Award for Best Short Story Won 1987 Tropical Heat Anthony Award for Best Novel Finalist 1988 Ride the Lightning Shamus Award for Best P.I. Novel Finalist 1989 Kiss Shamus Award for Best P.I. Hardcover Novel Won 1989 Better Mousetraps Trophée 813 for best translated mystery-story collection Won 1995 Career achievement PWA Eye lifetime-achievement award Honoree 2001 Career achievement Golden Derringer lifetime-achievement award Honoree 2003 The Night Watcher Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Paperback Original Finalist 2010 Urge to Kill International Thriller Writers Award for Best Paperback Original Finalist 2011 Mister X Shamus Award for Best Paperback Original Finalist 2012 Serial Shamus Award for Best Paperback Original Finalist 2013 Pulse Shamus Award for Best Paperback Original Finalist

Bibliography Lutz wrote more than fifty novels. The lists below identify his principal series and a selection of his other novels and story collections.

Series Series Novels Alo Nudger Buyer Beware (1976); Nightlines (1984); The Right to Sing the Blues (1986); Ride the Lightning (1987); Dancer's Debt (1988); Time Exposure (1989); Diamond Eyes (1990); Thicker Than Blood (1993); Death by Jury (1995); Oops! (1998) Fred Carver Tropical Heat (1986); Scorcher (1987); Kiss (1988); Flame (1990); Bloodfire (1991); Hot (1992); Spark (1993); Torch (1994); Burn (1995); Lightning (1996) Frank Quinn Darker Than Night (2004); In for the Kill (2007); Night Kills (2008); Urge to Kill (2009); Mister X (2010); Serial (2011); Pulse (2012); Twist (2013); Frenzy (2014); Slaughter (2015) Thomas Laker The Honorable Traitors (2018); The Havana Game (2019)

Selected other novels Year Title Notes 1971 The Truth of the Matter First novel 1977 Bonegrinder 1979 Lazarus Man 1980 Jericho Man 1981 The Shadow Man 1982 Exiled With Steve Greene 1984 The Eye With Bill Pronzini 1988 Shadowtown 1990 SWF Seeks Same Reissued as Single White Female 1992 Dancing with the Dead 1996 The Ex Adapted as The Ex 1998 Final Seconds With David August 2001 The Night Caller 2002 The Night Watcher 2003 The Night Spider Later reissued as Night Victims 2005 Fear the Night 2006 Chill of Night

Short-story collections Better Mousetraps: The Best Mystery Stories of John Lutz, edited by Francis M. Nevins (St. Martin's Press, 1988) Shadows Everywhere (Mystery Scene Press, 1994) Until You Are Dead (Five Star, 1998) The Nudger Dilemmas (Five Star, 2001) Endless Road, and Other Stories (Five Star, 2003)

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