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Kerry Greenwood biography

Author Biography  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

Kerry Greenwood
Photo: Monty Coles

Kerry Greenwood

Kerry Greenwood Biography

Kerry Greenwood was born in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray and after wandering far and wide, she returned to live there. She has a degree in English and Law from Melbourne University and was admitted to the legal profession on the 1st April 1982, a day which she finds both soothing and significant. Kerry has written twenty novels, a number of plays, including The Troubadours with Stephen D'Arcy, is an award-winning children's writer and has edited and contributed to several anthologies. In 1996 she published a book of essays on female murderers called Things She Loves: Why women Kill.

The Phryne Fisher series (pronounced Fry-knee, to rhyme with briny) began in 1989 with Cocaine Blues which was a great success. Kerry has written sixteen books in this series with no sign yet of Miss Fisher hanging up her pearl-handled pistol. Kerry says that as long as people want to read them, she can keep writing them.

Kerry Greenwood has worked as a folk singer, factory hand, director, producer, translator, costume-maker, cook and is currently a solicitor. When she is not writing, she works as a locum solicitor for the Victorian Legal Aid. She is also the unpaid curator of seven thousand books, three cats (Attila, Belladonna and Ashe) and a computer called Apple (which squeaks). She embroiders very well but cannot knit. She has flown planes and leapt out of them (with a parachute) in an attempt to cure her fear of heights (she is now terrified of jumping out of planes but can climb ladders without fear). She can detect second-hand bookshops from blocks away and is often found within them.

For fun Kerry reads science fiction/fantasy and detective stories. She is not married, has no children and lives with a registered wizard. When she is not doing any of the above she stares blankly out of the window.

In 2013, Kerry was awarded the Sisters in Crime's Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award at its 13th Davitt Awards for Australian women's crime writing. Kerry's Lifetime Achievement Award joins Kerry's previously awarded Ned Kelly lifetime achievement award.

Kerry Greenwood's website

This bio was last updated on 05/29/2017. In a perfect world, we would like to keep all of BookBrowse's biographies up to date, but with many thousands of lives to keep track of it's simply impossible to do. So, if the date of this bio is not recent, you may wish to do an internet search for a more current source, such as the author's website or social media presence. If you are the author or publisher and would like us to update this biography, send the complete text and we will replace the old with the new.

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Books by this Author

Books by Kerry Greenwood at BookBrowse
Electra jacket Out of the Black Land jacket Unnatural Habits jacket Murder in the Dark jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Kerry Greenwood but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Jane Harper

    Jane Harper

    Jane Harper is the New York Times bestselling author of The Dry; and Force of Nature (both featuring Detective Aaron Falk); and two stand-alone novels: The Lost Man and The Survivors. The Exiles, the third volume in the Aaron... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Murder in Montparnasse

    Try:
    The Dry
    by Jane Harper

  • Emyl Jenkins

    Emyl Jenkins

    Emyl Jenkins was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and moved to Raleigh when she was 18 months old. However, she spent most of her childhood in Danville, Virginia, just over the North Carolina state line. After college (Mary... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Murder in Montparnasse

    Try:
    The Big Steal
    by Emyl Jenkins

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