This Goodly Land

Thomas H. Cook (September 19, 1947–present)

Alabama Connections

• Fort Payne, DeKalb County: birthplace, childhood residence

Selected Works

• Cook, Thomas H. The Orchids. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1982.
• Cook, Thomas H. Sacrificial Ground. New York: Putnam, 1988.
• Cook, Thomas H. Streets of Fire. New York: Putnam, 1989.
• Cook, Thomas H. Evidence of Blood. New York: Putnam, 1991.
• Cook, Thomas H. The City When It Rains. New York: Putnam, 1991.
• Cook, Thomas H. Breakheart Hill. New York: Bantam Books, 1995.
• Cook, Thomas H. The Chatham School Affair. New York: Bantam Books, 1996.
• Cook, Thomas H. Red Leaves. Orlando, Fla.: Harcourt, 2005.
• Cook, Thomas H. The Cloud of Unknowing. Orlando, Fla.: Harcourt, 2007.
• Cook, Thomas H. Master of the Delta. Orlando, Fla.: Harcourt, 2008.

Literary Awards

• Alabama Author Award, Alabama Library Association, 1990, for Sacrificial Ground
• Edgar Allan Poe Award, Best Novel, Mystery Writers of America, 1997, for The Chatham School Affair

Biographical Information

Thomas H. Cook was born and raised in Fort Payne, Ala. Although he started writing as a child, Cook didn’t read regularly until he was in college, when he was inspired by works such as Melville’s Moby Dick and Faulkner’s A Light in August. After earning a BA in English and philosophy from Georgia State College in 1969, Cook moved to New York City. From 1970 to 1972, he worked in the advertising department of U.S. Industrial Chemicals and attended Hunter College, earning an MA in American history in 1972. From 1973 to 1975, he worked as a clerk-typist for the Association for the Help of Retarded Adults and took graduate courses at Columbia University, earning an MPhil in 1976. Cook moved back to Georgia and taught English and history at Dekalb (Ga.) Community College from 1978 to 1981. Cook also worked for Atlanta magazine from 1978 until 1982, when he resigned to write full-time. Cook began his first novel Blood Innocents, while he was still in graduate school. It was published in 1980, and he has published steadily since then. A movie version of one of his books, Evidence of Blood, was released in 1998. Cook lives with his family in Cape Cod and New York City.

Interests and Themes

Thomas H. Cook writes murder mysteries, true crime books, novels, and short stories. Many of his works are set in rural areas of the South.

For More Information

Please check your local library for these materials. If items are not available locally, your librarian can help you borrow them through the InterLibrary Loan program. Your librarian can also help you find other information about this author.

There may be more information available through the databases in the Alabama Virtual Library. If you are an Alabama citizen, AVL can be used at your public library or school library media center. You can also get a username and password from your librarian to use AVL at home.

Reference Web Sites

• Feder, Sue. "Cook's Books: The Work of Thomas H. Cook". Sue Feder's Magical Mystery Tour Plus. 2005. http://mywebpages.comcast.net/monkshould/CooksBooks.html.
• Kowars, Kacey. "Author Interviews: Thomas H. Cook". Kacey Kowars Show. 2007. http://www.kaceykowarsshow.com/authors/cook.html.

Photo by Richard Perry; courtesy of Harcourt.

Last updated on May 30, 2008.