H.R.F. Keating: R.I.P.

I was so saddened to learn of the passing of Harry Keating, aka H.R.F. Keating, crime fiction author best known for his Inspector Ghote mysteries. Harry was Chairman of the Crime Writers Association from 1970-1971, Chairman of the Society of Authors between 1983 and 1984, President of the Detection Club 1985 –2000 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He was for 15 years crime fiction critic for The Times. He wrote over 50 novels and many many non-fiction books over the years. I was lucky enough to meet him several times. Always the gentleman. He won two CWA Awards: the Gold Dagger and the Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement, and many other awards.

About his Inspector Ghote novels, he said it was a deliberate move to break into the American market. He decided he needed a solid detective hero and an interesting location. As he described the process: "I sat down with the atlas and when I got to 'page India' I thought that looked interesting."

Read Mike Ripley's obit in the Guardian HERE.
The Telegraph obit can be read HERE.
SHOTS CRIME & THRILLER EZINE obit HERE.