Dismas Hardy

Born in 1948 in Houston, Texas, John Lescroart had a varied career before becoming a successful author, whose work is a regular on the New York Times bestseller list. After graduating with honors from the University of California at Berkeley in 1970, he worked as a computer programmer, advertising director, moving man, housepainter, legal secretary, fundraiser, management consultant, bartender, and musician. He wrote about five hundred songs and was lead singer for more than two years with Johnny Capo and His Real Good Band. Although the band was somewhat successful, Lescroart retired to write full-time. His affection for music never disappeared, though, so he founded his own recording label, Crow Art Records.

Lescroart’s first book, Sunburn (1981), a political thriller, was followed by mysteries Son of Holmes (1986) and Rasputin’s Revenge (1987), both of which feature Auguste Lupa, the son of Sherlock Holmes (a character reminiscent of Nero Wolfe). Many of his Dismas Hardy novels follow Abe Glitsky, a somewhat acerbic and disillusioned San Francisco policeman. Lescroart then created yet another popular character, Wyatt Hunt, a private detective who starred in books The Hunt Club (2005) and The Suspect (2007).

Lescroart lives with his wife and children in Davis, California.