David L. Lindsey is an American novelist, working primarily in the mystery

Mystery fiction

Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...

 and crime fiction

Crime fiction

Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...

 genres. He has published thirteen novels in a writing career spanning 25 years.

Biography

Lindsey was born in Kingsville, Texas

Kingsville, Texas

As of the census of 2000, there were 25,575 people, 8,943 households, and 6,134 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,848.8 people per square mile . There were 10,427 housing units at an average density of 753.8 per square mile...

 in 1944.

He spent his childhood in the Texas Rio Grande Valley

Rio Grande Valley

The Rio Grande Valley or the Lower Rio Grande Valley, informally called The Valley, is an area located in the southernmost tip of South Texas...

 and in West Texas, near San Angelo

San Angelo, Texas

San Angelo is a city in the state of Texas. Located in West Central Texas it is the county seat of Tom Green County. As of 2010 according to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total population of 93,200...

. Lindsey graduated from North Texas State University with a degree in English literature

English studies

English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...

. Lindsey moved to 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...

 in 1970 and has lived there ever since.

During the 1970s, Lindsey worked as a book editor at a number of small publishing houses in Austin. At one point he operated his own publishing firm, Heidelberg Publishers.
During his years in publishing, Lindsey had an interest in writing, but felt it would be fiscally "irresponsible".
Finally, in 1980 his wife urged him to "go for it". Lindsey decided to write mystery fiction because of its general marketability. His first two novels appeared in 1983: Black Gold, Red Death and A Cold Mind. The latter work introduced Houston homicide detective Stuart Haydon, a cultured, independently wealthy protagonist who would appear in four subsequent novels.

By 1994 Lindsey had over two million books in print. By 2004, his novels had been translated into 20 languages. His 1990 novel Mercy was adapted into a movie of the same name in 2000.

Novels

• Black Gold, Red Death (1983)
• A Cold Mind (1983) – a Stuart Haydon novel
• Heat from Another Sun (1984) – a Stuart Haydon novel
• Spiral (1986) – a Stuart Haydon novel
• In the Lake of the Moon (1988) – a Stuart Haydon novel
• Mercy (1990)
• Body of Truth (1992) – a Stuart Haydon novel
• An Absence of Light (1994)
• Requiem for a Glass Heart (1996)
• The Color of Night (1999)
• Animosity (2001)
• The Rules of Silence (2003)
• The Face of the Assassin (2004)
• Pacific Heights (2011) (Under pen name Paul Harper)

See also

Mercy (film), an adaptation of Lindsey's 1990 novel

External links

• David Lindsey Official Website
• Suspense Novelist David Lindsey on Rag Radio, interviewed by Thorne Dreyer, September 23, 2011