Helen Warrell Clarkson McCloy was born in New York City. In 1923 she went to France and studied at the Sorbonne. From 1927 till 1932, she worked for Hearst's Universal News Service. In 1932, she returned to the United States. In 1946 she married Davis Dresser, writer of the 'Mike Shayne' novels under the pseudonym Brett Halliday. With Dresser she founded the Torquil Publishing Company. The marriage ended in 1961. She is the creator of 'Basil Willing', a doctor. She also wrote a post-apocalyptic novel, The Last Day, under the pseudonym 'Helen Clarkson'. |
Titles and year of publication:
'Basil Willing' Novels | |
1) Dance of Death (UK Title: Design for Dying [1938]) | 1938 |
2) The Man in the Moonlight | 1940 |
3) The Deadly Truth | 1941 |
4) Who's Calling | 1942 |
5) Cue for Murder | 1942 |
6) The Goblin Marker | 1943 |
7) The One That Got Away | 1945 |
8) Through a Glass Darkly | 1950 |
9) Alias Basil Willing | 1951 |
10) The Long Body | 1955 |
11) Two-Thirds of a Ghost | 1956 |
12) Mr. Splitfoot | 1968 |
13) Burn This (Nero Wolfe Award) | 1980 |
14) The Unpleasant Assassin and Other Cases of Dr. Basil Willing (short stories) | 2003 |
Other Novels | |
1) Do Not Disturb | 1943 |
2) Panic | 1944 |
3) She Walks Alone (Also published as: Wish Your Were Dead [1958]) | 1948 |
4) Better Off Dead | 1951 |
5) Unfinished Crime (UK Title: He Never Came Back [1954]) | 1954 |
6) The Slayer and the Slain | 1957 |
7) Before I Die | 1963 |
8) The Singing Diamonds (UK Title: Surprise, Surprise [1965]) (short stories) | 1965 |
9) The Further Side of Fear | 1967 |
10) A Question of Time | 1971 |
11) A Change of Heart | 1973 |
12) The Sleepwalker | 1974 |
13) Minotaur Country | 1975 |
14) The Changeling Conspiracy (UK Title: Cruel As the Grave [1977]) | 1976 |
15) The Impostor | 1977 |
16) The Smoking Mirror | 1979 |