A New York Times Best Seller!In 1994, director Peter Jackson released the movie Heavenly Creatures, based on a famous 1950s matricide committed in New Zealand by two teenage girls embroiled in an obsessive relationship. The movie launched Jackson’s international career. It also forever changed the life of Anne Perry, an award-winning, bestselling crime writer, who at the time of the movie’s … at the time of the movie’s release was publicly outed at Juliet Hulme, one of the murderers. A new light was now cast, not only on Anne’s life but also on her novels, which feature gruesome and violent deaths and confront dark issues, including infanticide and incest.
Acclaimed literary biographer Joanne Drayton was given unparalleled access to Anne Perry, her friends, relatives, colleagues, and archives to complete this book. She intersperses the story of her life with an examination of her writing, drawing parallels between Perry’s own experiences and her characters and storylines. Anne Perry’s books deal with miscarriages of justice, family secrets exposed, punishment, redemption, and forgiveness, themes made all the more poignant in light of her past. She has sold 25 million books worldwide and published in 15 different languages, yet she will now forever be known as a murderer who became a writer of murder stories. The Search for Anne Perry is a gripping account of a life, and provides understanding of the girl Anne was, the adult she became, her compulsion to write, and her view of the world.
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This book is interesting, and sometimes hard to put down, given Anne Perry’s choices in life following the extremely bad choice she made as an adolescent, for which she, her co-conspirator, and both their families paid dearly. Clearly brilliant and creative, Ms Perry found a way to make a living, and a way to live with herself, that has been in …
While it was very interesting to read about Anne Perry’s difficult childhood and how she picked herself up as an adult and became successful the book spent too much time going deep into the content of her books. I have read many of them and did not really enjoy going through that much detail of all of them.
This amazing book was thoroughly researched and left no stone unturned as to the development of the writer Anne Perry from the convicted teenage murderess Juliet Hulme, one of the subjects of the movie “Beautiful Creatures”. I am not a fan of the types of books that made Ms. Perry’s considerable reputation, so the seemingly endless plot reveals, …
I love Ms. Perry’s books, all of them, therefore, wanted a better understanding
Of her personality. Read the book, but really gained no more insight into the
Author.
Fascinating story of a tragic event.
I was so pleased with the author’s handling of a very delicate part of Ms Perry’s life. Anne Perry is one of my absolute favorite authors.
Well-documented, interesting subject.
Wish I could discuss this with my husband who was an Anne Perry fan
You must know that not much time is spent on the murder….more about Anne Perry’s career as a writer which in itself is interesting, but it does go on and on…..
Love anything connected with Anne Perry. Loved the insight into her past. Perhaps why her novels are all so realistic.
I’ve enjoyed Anne Perry’s books for decades. This biography helped to explain her writing. I found this book to be extremely compelling. I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of Perry.
If you love Anne Perry’s books then this biography is a must read. It not only covers the writing and publication of each of her books, but it also goes back into her sickly, lonely and troubled childhood. A childhood that ended abrutpty when she helped her girlfriend commit murder.
It just goes to show anyone can change their life. I was a fan of Anne Perry before I knew of her past. A sales clerk at the bookstore told me as I was purchasing one of her books. I wondered how she had made the the transition in her life from prison to a bestselling author. This is an interesting book for anyone but especially for a mystery …
Very educational. What makes a person murder & become a productive member of society?
Unbelievable having read virtually all her books without having any inkling about her past.
I had no idea Anne Perry had this type of background. Amazing what she has done with her life since then.
Since I am a fan of Ann Perry but have not tied her history together. How can you commit a very brutal and bloody murder and move onto be a prolific and talented writer?
For anyone who has read and enjoyed Anne Perry’s mysteries, this is a must read! Who even suspected that she had served time for murder, Her past has uniquely suited her to write in this genre…
Although the premise of the book was written about a tragedy that occurred many years ago the author gave a very good presentation of the facts. I have been an avid fan of Anne Perry since her first book and did not realize her background until 10 years ago but never made the effort to read the circumstances.
For fans of Anne Perry, it’s fascinating to learn about her processes and research for her writing; it’s a synopsis of many of her series books as well. The biographical information is fascinating with the inclusion of how her experiences have influenced her plots and characterizations. Thought provoking to say the least.