Vincent McConnor

Vincent McConnor (1907–1997) was an American mystery writer and television dramatist born in Maryland. Over a career spanning five decades, he contributed short fiction to the leading mystery magazines of his era, including Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, and wrote teleplays for such programs as Lights Out, The Clock, and Front Row Center.McConnor is perhaps best remembered for his Inspector Damiot trilogy — The Provence Puzzle (1980), The Riviera Puzzle (1981), and The Paris Puzzle (1981) — atmospheric mysteries set in the villages and cities of France. His standalone novels ranged widely: The French Doll (1965), a psychological thriller set in Los Angeles; I Am Vidocq (1985), inspired by the legendary founder of the French Sûreté; Limbo (1987); The Man Who Knew Hammett (1988), a literary mystery paying homage to the hard-boiled tradition; and Amadoro (1989), a suspense novel centered on a reclusive international beauty. He was also the author of Jack the Ripper, a study of the Whitechapel murders.A craftsman of elegant, tightly constructed suspense, McConnor brought a cosmopolitan sensibility to the mystery genre and deserves to be far better known today.