Language English Role Fiction writer Genre Psychological suspense Movies Broken Vows | Notable works A Gentle Murderer Awards Edgar Grand Master Award Name Dorothy Davis | |
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Born Dorothy Margaret Salisbury
April 25, 1916
Chicago, Illinois, U.S. ( 1916-04-25 ) Occupation Novelist, short story person Notable awards Mystery Writers of America: Grand Master Award (1985)
Anthony Awards: Lifetime Achievement (1989) Died August 3, 2014, Palisades, United States Spouse Harry Davis (m. 1946–1993) Nominations Edgar Award for Best Novel, Edgar Award for Best Short Story Books A gentle murderer, The judas cat, A Gentleman Called, A Death in the Life, The clay hand | ||
thememorium author dorothy salisbury davis dies at 98
Dorothy Margaret Salisbury Davis (April 25, 1916 − August 3, 2014) was an American crime fiction writer.
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Life and career
Davis, an adopted child, was born in Chicago in 1916 and raised in Illinois by Margaret (Greer) and Alfred J. Salisbury. She worked in Chicago in advertising as a research librarian and as an editor of The Merchandiser, prior to taking up fiction writing. She was married to Harry Davis, the character actor, from 1946 until his death in 1993. She published many novels and short stories. Among them are two sets of series novels, but she mainly wrote stand alone novels. Her novels explore psychological suspense, as was popular for many decades, and has 'an especially strong way of sharing with readers the minds of female characters confronting hazards and crisis'. She was nominated for an Edgar Award eight times, served as President of the Mystery Writers of America in 1956 and was declared a Grand Master by that organization in 1985.
She was on the initial steering committee of Sisters in Crime when it was formed in 1986 and her support was influential in dampening attacks on the new organization.
Davis died on August 3, 2014, at a senior residence facility in Palisades, New York. She had been in failing health for several months prior to her death at the age of 98.