Roderick Thorp


Roderick Mayne Thorp, Jr. was an American novelist specializing mainly in police procedural/crime novels. His 1966 novel The Detective was adapted into a film of the same name in 1968. He is however better known for its sequel, the bestselling 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever, which is the basis for the film Die Hard in 1988. Two other Thorp novels, Rainbow Drive and Devlin, were also adapted into TV movies.

Life

Thorp was born in Bronx, New York City. As a young college graduate, Thorp worked at a detective agency owned by his father. He would later teach literature and lecture on creative writing at schools and universities in New Jersey and California, and also wrote articles for newspapers and magazines. Thorp died of a heart attack in Oxnard, California.

Novels