The Search for Anne Perry: The Hidden Life of a Bestselling Crime Writer

Until 1994, the world knew Anne Perry as the writer of bestselling crime fiction at the peak of her writing career. But following the release of Peter Jackson’s film Heavenly Creatures about the sensational 1954 Parker-Hulme murders, came the shocking revelation that Anne Perry started life as Juliet Hulme, the teenager jointly convicted of murdering her friend’s mother. Life would never be the same for Anne. That a convicted murderer had gone on to become a celebrated crime writer with worldwide sales of over 25 million books was tantalizing enough. But careful analysis of her writing reveals that these were more than simple crime stories; spiritual and philosophical complexities thread the way through Anne Perry’s works and the characters she creates. Was Anne, in fact, revealing more about herself in the characters she was creating?

Acclaimed biographer Joanne Drayton takes on the challenge of exploring Anne Perry’s writing to uncover her world view and her compulsion to write. The famously private Perry agreed to be comprehensively interviewed for the book and has allowed Joanne unparalleled access to her friends, relatives, colleagues and archives. The result is a compelling read with revelations that will resonate with the reader long after the final page.

JOANNE DRAYTON is Associate Professor in the Department of Design at UNITEC, Auckland. Her critically acclaimed 2008 Ngaio Marsh: Her Life in Crime was a Christmas pick of the UK Guardian in 2008. This is her fifth biography.