April Henry at the Bettendorf Public Library -- September 28.
Thursday, September 28, 6 p.m.
Bettendorf Public Library, 2950 Learning Campus Drive, Bettendorf IA
A New York Times-bestselling author of 26 mysteries and thrillers for teens and adults who, as she has stated, "makes up for a peaceful childhood in an intact home by killing off fictional characters," April Henry will be the special guest in a September 28 presentation at the Bettendorf Public Library, her recent novels including 2019's Run, Hide, Fight Back, 2020's The Girl in the White Van, and the 2021 two-fer of Playing with Fire and Eyes of the Forest.
Born in Portland, Oregon, April 14, 1959, Henry grew up in the small southern Oregon city of Medford, where her father Hank was a KTVL television newscaster and her mother Nora was a florist. Author Roald Dahl helped Henry take her first step as a writer, for when the nascent writer was 12, she sent Dahl a short story about a frog who loved peanut butter. Dahl had lunch with the editor of an international children's magazine and read her the story, after which the editor contacted young Henry and asked to publish it. In 1999, Henry's first book Circles of Confusion was published by HarperCollins. A Mystery Guild Editor's Choice, the book was short-listed for the Agatha Award and the Anthony Award, and was also chosen for the Booksense 76 list and The Oregonian Book Club.
Henry's first stand-alone thriller Learning to Fly was published by St. Martin's Press in 2002. It was a Booksense pick, got starred reviews in Library Journal and Booklist, was named one of Library Journal's Best of 2002, and was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award. Shock Point, Henry's first young-adult thriller, was subsequently published by Putnam in 2006, and that work was an ALA Quick Pick, a Top 10 Books for Teens nominee, a New York Library's Books for the Teen Age book, named to the Texas Tayshas list, and a finalist for Philadelphia's Young Readers Choice Award. Henry's next young-adult book Torched, a thriller about a girl who goes undercover in an environmental extremist group, was published in 2009, while Girl, Stolen, a young-adult thriller about a blind girl who is accidentally kidnapped by a car thief, was released by Henry Holt in 2010. The following April, Henry actually located the blind girl whose brief kidnapping inspired Girl, Stolen, and their story was featured in Publishers Weekly.
In 2009, April Henry partnered with Lis Wiehl to collaborate on the Triple Threat Mystery series, and the first book in the series, Face of Betrayal, was on the New York Times best-seller list for four weeks. In addition to her active writing career, Henry currently travels all over the country speaking at schools about the importance of writing, reading, and research, and because she is known for meticulously researching her novels to get the details right, she proudly states that she"knows how to kill you in two-dozen different ways."
April Henry visits the Bettendorf Public Library on September 28, and following her reading, the author will greet participants and autograph personal copies of her books. Participation in the 6 p.m. event is free, and more information is available by calling (563)344-4175 and visiting BettendcorfLibrary.com.
