WELCOME

My name is Terence Faherty.  I'm a storyteller whose stories most often take the form of mysteries.  (A critic once noted, cryptically but correctly, that all my stories are mysteries, even the ones that aren't.)  I do see basic storytelling and mystery solving as linked, because in so many stories the protagonist is trying to answer a question or right a wrong.  This is why I see the mystery and especially the private eye story as a particularly straightforward form of storytelling:  a problem is posed and a hero sets out to resolve it.  (At least, it would be straightforward if all clients were forthcoming and truthful.)

I've written two series in book form.  The Owen Keane series follows the bumpy life of a failed seminarian turned amateur sleuth (a job title I love).  It's been nominated twice for the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award and once for the Anthony Award and it's won a Macavity Award from Mystery Readers International.  The Scott Elliott series is set in old Hollywood during its decline and fall.  Elliott, an operative for a shady security company, tries to slow that decline and fall in his own small way.  Elliott has been nominated for four Shamus Awards from the Private Eye Writers of America and taken home two.  Both series are described in detail elsewhere on this web site.

The Mystery Company has begun reissuing the Keane novels in trade paper and eBook versions, starting with my first novel, DEADSTICK, originally published in 1991. More about that can be found under Writing News.

It's still hard for me to believe that DEADSTICK has reached its twentieth anniversary.  In those two decades, I've published eleven novels, three novellas, two short fiction collections, and a score or so of uncollected stories and essays.  I've also met many wonderful people in mystery and related fields:  authors, readers, critics, bookstore owners, conference organizers, and librarians.  And I've managed to stay married and play some golf.  All in all, it was a good use of my time.

Thank you for visiting this site.  I hope it will encourage you to seek out one of more of my books.  (Several of the early ones will take some serious seeking out.)  If you'd like to contact me, please use this link.