Dorothy B. Hughes was a mystery and thriller author, born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1904. From a young age, she had a keen interest in writing and knew that it was what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. After graduating high school, she pursued her passion for writing by attending the University of Missouri, where she earned a degree in journalism in 1924. Hughes furthered her education by attending Columbia University and the University of New Mexico for her post-graduate studies.
Hughes began her writing career as a journalist, working in New Mexico, New York, and Missouri. However, her true love was fiction, and she soon returned to her first love. Her first work, a collection of poems titled "Dark Certainty," was published in 1931 and won the Yale Series of Younger Poets competition. After several unsuccessful attempts at writing fiction, Hughes finally achieved success with her novel "The So Blue Marble," published in 1940. The book received critical acclaim for its tough-minded characters and crisp prose.
Over the course of her career, Hughes published a total of fifteen novels, including "In a Lonely Place" (1947) and "Ride the Pink Horse" (1946), both of which were adapted into successful films. In the early 1950s, Hughes shifted her focus to criticism, a field in which she would go on to achieve great success. She won the Edgar Award for her criticism and was presented with the Grand Master Award for literary achievement by the Mystery Writers of America in 1978. Hughes died in 1993, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most accomplished mystery and thriller authors of her time.