Gaylord Larsen (born January 4, 1932) is an American

crime writer True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...

. He is well known for his fictional murder mystery ''Dorothy and Agatha'', incorporating the well-known mystery novelists

Dorothy L. Sayers Dorothy Leigh Sayers (; 13 June 1893 – 17 December 1957) was an English crime writer and poet. She was also a student of classical and modern languages. She is best known for her mysteries, a series of novels and short stories set between th ...

and Agatha Christie as title characters, where Sayers must solve a crime when a man is murdered in her dining room. Larsen was born in

Canova, South Dakota Canova is a town in Miner County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 89 at the 2020 census. The town celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2008. History Canova was platted in 1883. The town is named after Italian sculptor Antonio Ca ...

, and educated at Sioux Falls College (B.A. 1953) and the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

(M.A. 1959). During the 1960s, he worked in the television and advertising industries in Los Angeles. In addition to his crime novels, Larsen is also a former writer for the Christian television anthology series '' This Is the Life''. His literary influences include Raymond Chandler,

, and Ross Macdonald."Gaylord Larsen". In '' Contemporary Authors Online''. Gale. 2002.'' He is also the author of the ''Jason Bradley Mystery Series,'' as well as: * 1981 ''The Kilbourne Connection'' * 1983 ''Trouble Crossing the Pyrenees'' issued 1986 as ''An Educated Death'' * 1987 ''One Hundred Eighty Degrees Murder'' * 1988 ''A Paramount Kill'' set in Hollywood with Raymond Chandler as detective. * 1989 ''Atascadro Island'' * 1990 ''Dorothy and Agatha''

References

American mystery writers American male screenwriters University of Sioux Falls alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni 1932 births People from Miner County, South Dakota Living people American male novelists American male television writers American television writers Screenwriters from California Screenwriters from South Dakota {{US-fiction-writer-stub