Clarkson, John 1947–

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Clarkson, John 1947–

PERSONAL: Born 1947; married.

ADDRESSES: Office—Clarkson Cogen Inc., 72 Spring St., New York, NY 10012.

CAREER: Has worked as a copywriter for advertising agencies in New York, NY; Clarkson/Cogen, Inc. (advertising agency), New York, NY, founder; coproducer of five episodes of the television series Land's End.

MEMBER: Authors' Guild, Authors League of America, Writers' Guild of America East.

WRITINGS:

NOVELS

And Justice for One, Crown (New York, NY), 1992.

One Man's Law, Berkeley (New York, NY), 1994.

One Way Out, Jove (New York, NY), 1995.

New Lots, Forge (New York, NY), 1998.

Reed's Promise, Forge (New York, NY), 2001.

OTHER

And Justice for One (screenplay), Paramount Pictures, c. 1999.

Also author of plays, one of which has been produced at the Ensemble Studio Theater, New York, NY. Head writer and author of five episodes of the television series Land's End. Contributor of short stories to periodicals, including Smoke.

SIDELIGHTS: John Clarkson is a novelist with a flair for thrilling stories. His first novel, 1992's And Justice for One, begins with brothers Jack and George Devlin drinking away their sorrows in Manhattan bars after their father's funeral. Jack, who is single, finds a beautiful woman to comfort him, while George, who is married, has kids, and lives in the suburbs, visits an illegal after-hours nightclub. George is beaten by employees of the nightclub's evil, sadistic owner, Robert Wexler.

Jack finds his brother lying comatose in the hospital, and he also learns that the police have no leads in the crime and have little intention of pursuing the case. The attack becomes Jack's problem to solve, and he has almost nothing to go on. Jack encounters a couple of love interests en route to answering such questions as whether Does Wexler have friends in high places, including the police department. A critic for Kirkus Reviews called And Justice for One "dark, sexy, tough, and fast. Reminiscent of the best early Lawrence Sanders." Marilyn Stasio commented in the New York Times Book Review that Clarkson's first novel "packs a savage punch." Clarkson is also the author of two other novels featuring Jack Devlin, One Man's Law and One Way Out.

In addition, Clarkson has published stand-alone novels outside the Devlin series. In New Lots Lloyd Shaw is a struggling New York City detective who is assigned to "New Lots," a housing project in Brooklyn. Shaw must keep the residents of New Lots safe from dangerous drug dealers who live in the project. To accomplish his task, he must put together a team of rogue cops to take on the drug dealers. David Pitt recommended New Lots in his Booklist article to "fans of gritty crime dramas."

Another stand-alone novel by Clarkson is the mystery thriller Reed's Promise, a book that a Kirkus Reviews critic called "well-researched." The books's primary character is Bill Reed, a retired Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent who has recently become an amputee. When Johnny Boy Reed, Bill Reed's mentally challenged cousin, calls him in distress, Bill becomes engrossed in a mystery surrounding illegal funds passing through the institution housing his cousin. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly wrote: "This engaging thriller is equipped with psychological depth and a solidly believable center."