Thrilling Writers
by lawrenceconwayvulcan | created - 19 Dec 2015 | updated - 26 Oct 2016 | PublicAuthors of page turning novels that have been adapted to the screen
1. Ian Fleming
Writer | Casino Royale
Born into a wealthy and influential English family, Ian Fleming spent his early years attending top British schools such as Eton and Sandhurst military academy. He took to writing while schooling in Kitzbuhel, Austria, and upon failing the entrance requirements for Foreign Service joined the news ...
Casino Royale, Live And Let Die, Goldfinger, On Her Majestry Secret Service, et al
2. Tom Clancy
Writer | The Hunt for Red October
Tom Clancy became one of the best-selling writers of the late 20th and early 21st Centuries, starting with the publication of his 1984 thriller, The Hunt for Red October (1990). Born in Baltimore to a U.S. Post Office employee and his wife on April 12, 1947, Clancy graduated from Loyola Blakefield,...
The Hunt For Red October, Patriot Games, Clear And Present Danger, The Sum Of All Fears
3. Lee Child
Writer | Jack Reacher
Lee Child was born in the exact geographic centre of England, in the heart of the industrial badlands. Never saw a tree until he was 12. It was the sort of place where if you fell in the river, you had to go to the hospital for a mandatory stomach pump. The sort of place where minor disputes were ...
One Shot (filmed as Jack Reacher), Never Go Back (filmed as Jack Reacher: Never Go Back)
4. Frederick Forsyth
Writer | The Day of the Jackal
Frederick Forsyth was youngest pilot of the Royal Airforce, joining at the age of 19. He then became a journalist and worked for Reuters in several European capitals. Now he is a thriller author and his books have been sold over 35 million times worldwide.
The Day Of The Jackal, The Odessa File, The Dogs Of War, The Fourth Protocol
5. Alistair MacLean
Writer | The Guns of Navarone
Alistair MacLean was born on April 28, 1922 in Daviot, Scotland, UK. He was a writer, known for The Guns of Navarone (1961), Where Eagles Dare (1968) and Puppet on a Chain (1970). He was married to Mary Marcelle Georgius and Gisela Heinrichsen. He died on February 2, 1987 in Munich, Germany.
The Guns Of Navorone, Where Eagles Dare, Ice Station Zebra, et al
6. Jack Higgins
Writer | The Eagle Has Landed
Jack Higgins was born on July 27, 1929 in Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, UK. He was a writer, known for The Eagle Has Landed (1976), A Prayer for the Dying (1987) and The Violent Enemy (1967). He was married to Denise Palmer and Amy Hewitt. He died on April 9, 2022 in Jersey, Channel Islands, UK.
The Eagle Has Landed, A Prayer For The Dying
7. James Herbert
Writer | The Unholy
James Herbert was born on April 8, 1943 in East End, London, England, UK. He was a writer, known for The Unholy (2021), Deadly Eyes (1982) and The Survivor (1981). He was married to Eileen O'Donnell. He died on March 20, 2013 in Woodmancote, Henfield, West Sussex, England, UK.
Haunted
8. Stephen King
Writer | Maximum Overdrive
Stephen Edwin King was born on September 21, 1947, at the Maine General Hospital in Portland. His parents were Nellie Ruth (Pillsbury), who worked as a caregiver at a mental institute, and Donald Edwin King, a merchant seaman. His father was born under the surname "Pollock," but used the last name ...
Carrie, The Shining, The Dead Zone et al
9. Robert Ludlum
Writer | The Bourne Supremacy
Robert Ludlum was born on May 25, 1927 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for The Bourne Supremacy (2004), The Bourne Identity (2002) and The Bourne Legacy (2012). He was married to Karen Dunn and Mary Patricia Ryducha. He died on March 12, 2001 in Naples, Florida, ...
The Bourne Supremacy, The Holcroft Convenet, The Ostermen Weekend et al
10. Mickey Spillane
Writer | The Girl Hunters
Mickey Spillane, the king of the pulp novelists in the post-WW II period, sold an estimated 200 million copies globally. He was born Frank Morrison Spillane in Brooklyn, New York. Young Frank's mother was a Protestant who bestowed on him his middle name "Morrison", but his Irish Catholic father, ...
Kiss Me Deadly
11. Jeffery Deaver
Writer | The Bone Collector
Jeffery Deaver was born on May 6, 1950 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for The Bone Collector (1999), Tracker (2024) and Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector (2020).
The Bone Collecter
12. Martin Cruz Smith
Writer | Gorky Park
Martin Cruz Smith was born on November 3, 1942 in Reading, Pennsylvania, USA. He is a writer, known for Gorky Park (1983), Nightwing (1979) and The Art of Crime (1975).
Gorky Park
13. Craig Thomas
Writer | Firefox
Craig Thomas was born on November 24, 1942 in Cardiff, Wales, UK. He was a writer, known for Firefox (1982) and Clint Eastwood: Director (1982). He was married to Jill. He died on April 4, 2011 in Somerset, England, UK.
Firefox
14. Len Deighton
Writer | The Ipcress File
Len Deighton was born on February 18, 1929 in Marylebone, London, England, UK. He is a writer and producer, known for The Ipcress File (1965), SS-GB (2017) and Only When I Larf (1968).
The IPCRESS File, Funeral in Berlin, Billion Dollar Brain
15. John le Carré
Writer | The Constant Gardener
John le Carré was born in Poole, Dorset in England on 19 October, 1931. He went to Sherborne School and, later, studied German literature for one year at University of Bern. Later, he went to Lincoln College, Oxford and graduated in Modern Languages. From 1956 to 1958, he taught at Eton and from ...
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Russia House et al
16. Arthur Conan Doyle
Writer | Sherlock Holmes
Arthur Conan Doyle was a British writer of Irish descent, considered a major figure in crime fiction. His most famous series of works consisted of the "Sherlock Holmes" stories (1887-1927), consisting of four novels and 56 short stories. His other notable series were the "Professor Challenger" ...
The Hound of The Baskervilles, The Sign Of Four, The Lost World et al.
17. Agatha Christie
Writer | Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie
Agatha was born as "Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller" in 1890 to Frederick Alvah Miller and Clara Boehmer. Agatha was of American and British descent, her father being American and her mother British. Her father was a relatively affluent stockbroker. Agatha received home education from early childhood ...
Murder On The Orient Express, Death On The Nile, Evil Under The Sun et al
18. John Buchan
Writer | The 39 Steps
John Buchan was born on August 26, 1875 in Perth, Perthshire, Scotland, UK. He was a writer, known for The 39 Steps (1935), Thirty Nine Steps and The 39 Steps. He was married to Susan Charlotte Grosvenor. He died on February 11, 1940 in Montréal, Québec, Canada.
The 39 Steps
19. Thomas Harris
Writer | The Silence of the Lambs
Thomas Harris was born in 1940 in Jackson, Mississippi, USA. He was raised in the town of Rich where his father worked as a farmer. He earned his bachelor's degree in English from Baylor University in Texas in 1964. While attending school, he also worked for the local newspaper.
After graduating, ...
Black Sunday, Red Dragon, Silence Of The Lambs et al
20. Dan Brown
Writer | Inferno
Dan Brown was born on June 22, 1964 in Exeter, New Hampshire, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Inferno (2016), The Da Vinci Code (2006) and Angels & Demons (2009). He was previously married to Blythe Newlon.
The Da Vinci Code, Angels And Demons
21. Wilbur Smith
Writer | The Mercenaries
Wilbur Smith was born on January 9, 1933 in Broken Hill, Northern Rhodesia (now Kabwe, Zambia). He was a writer, known for Dark of the Sun (1968), Shout at the Devil (1976) and The Last Lion (1972). He was married to Mokhiniso Rakhimova, Danielle Thomas, Jewell Slabbert and Anne Rennie. He died on ...
Shout At The Devil, Gold Mine (filmed as Gold)
22. Clive Cussler
Writer | Sahara
Probably one of the greatest adventure novelists of our time. When his novel "Raise the Titanic" was bought for $840,000 by Viking Publishing in 1976, it put him on the map after 11 years of hard work. Before his success with RTT, he previously had written "Pacific Vortex", which wasn't published ...
Rise The Titanic, Saraha
23. Nelson DeMille
Writer | The General's Daughter
Nelson DeMille was born Nelson Richard DeMille to Huron and Antonio DeMille on August 23, 1943 in New York City. Mr. DeMille served in the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1969 and earned the rank of First Lieutenant. Part of that time was served during the Vietnam War (in Quang Tri Provence, from November '...
The General's Daughter
24. Elleston Trevor
Writer | The Quiller Memorandum
Elleston Trevor was born on February 17, 1920 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK. He was a writer, known for The Quiller Memorandum (1966), The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) and Dunkirk (1958). He was married to Chaille Anne Groom and Jonquil Burgess. He died on July 21, 1995 in Cave Creek, Arizona, USA.
The Quiller Memorandum
25. Roderick Thorp
Writer | Die Hard
Novelist, short-story writer, teacher -- and private detective. He wrote two novels that would be turned into theatrical films, "The Detective" (1966), which became The Detective (1968); and "Nothing Lasts Forever" (1979), which became Die Hard (1988). His 1986 novel "Rainbow Drive" was later ...
The Detective, Nothing Lasts Forever (filmed as Die Hard)
26. Walter Wager
Writer | Die Hard 2
Graduated from Harvard Law School. Was a Fullbright Fellow at the Sorbonne in Paris, and diplomatic advisor to Israel's Director of Civil Aviation, and editor of "Playbill" & "Show". Has written articles to magazines, written novles under a psuedonym and written documetaries for television and for ...
Telefon, Viper Three (filmed as Twilight's Last Gleaming) 58 Minutes (filmed as Die Hard 2)
27. Scott Turow
Writer | Presumed Innocent
Scott Turow was born on April 12, 1949 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Presumed Innocent (1990), Presumed Innocent (2024) and The Burden of Proof (1992).
Presumed Innocent
28. David Morrell
Writer | First Blood
David Morrell was born in 1943, shortly after his father was killed in action. His mother could not both raise him and have a job, so David was sent to an orphange. He went to Pennsylvania State University from 1966-70, where he was inspired by his teacher, writer William Tenn. In 1972 he wrote ...
First Blood
29. Elmore Leonard
Writer | Out of Sight
Elmore Leonard was born on October 11, 1925 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Out of Sight (1998), Get Shorty (1995) and Justified (2010). He was married to Christine Kent, Joan Shepard and Beverly Claire Cline. He died on August 20, 2013 in Bloomfield Township...
Rum Punch (filmed as Jackie Brown)
30. James Patterson
Writer | Alex Cross
James Patterson was born on March 22, 1947 in Newburgh, New York, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Alex Cross (2012), Kiss the Girls (1997) and Along Came a Spider (2001). He has been married to Susan Patterson since July 24, 1997. They have one child.
Kiss the Girls, Along Came a Spider
Tell Your Friends