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William P McGivern


(William Peter McGivern)
USA flag (1922 - 1982)

aka P F Costello, Bill Peters, Gerald Vance

William Peter McGivern (December 6, 1918 - November 18, 1982) was an American novelist and television scriptwriter. He published more than 20 novels, mostly mysteries and crime thrillers, some under the pseudonym Bill Peters. His novels were adapted for a number of films, among them Odds Against Tomorrow (1959), a noir tale of three losers, The Big Heat (1953), starring Glenn Ford as a cop that will do anything to get his man, and Rogue Cop (1954) a film noir directed by Roy Rowland. The "Big Heat" received an Edgar Award in 1954 as Best Motion Picture, which McGivern shared as author of the original novel.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, McGivern grew up in Mobile, Alabama. After serving in the Army in World War II and studying at the University of Birmingham, McGivern returned to the US and worked for two years as a police reporter for the Philadelphia Bulletin and later as a writer for the Evening Bulletin in Philadelphia. His first hardboiled novel appeared in 1948.

While a successful novelist, McGivern moved to Los Angeles in the early 1960s to write for television. His series credits include Ben Casey, Adam-12, and Kojak. McGivern died in Palm Desert, California, in 1982.
 

 
Novels
   But Death Runs Faster (1948)
     aka The Whispering Corpse
   Heaven Ran Last (1949)
   Very Cold for May (1950)
   Shield for Murder (1951)
   Blondes Die Young (1952) (as by Bill Peters)
   The Crooked Frame (1952)
   The Big Heat (1953)
   Margin of Terror (1953)
   Rogue Cop (1954)
   The Darkest Hour (1955)
     aka Waterfront Cop
   The Seven File (1956)
     aka Chicago-7
   Night Extra (1957)
   Odds Against Tomorrow (1957)
   Mention My Name in Mombasa (1958) (with Maureen McGivern)
   Savage Streets (1959)
   Seven Lies South (1960)
   The Road to the Snail (1961)
   A Pride of Place (1962)
   A Choice of Assassins (1963)
   The Caper of the Golden Bulls (1966)
   Lie Down, I Want to Talk to You (1967)
   Caprifoil (1972)
   Reprisal (1973)
   Night of the Juggler (1975)
   Soldiers of '44 (1979)
   The Seeing (1980) (with Maureen McGivern)
   Summit (1982)
   War Games (1984)
   A Matter of Honor (1984) (with Maureen McGivern)
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Collections
   Killer On the Turnpike (1961)
   The Science Fiction Collection 3 (2018) (with others)
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Novellas and Short Stories
   Convoy to Atlantis (1941)
   The Judas Valley (2008) (with Robert Silverberg (as by Gerald Vance) )
   Send Along a Wreath (2019)
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Omnibus editions show
 
Books containing stories by William P McGivern
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Black Cat Weekly #146 (2024)
(Black Cat Weekly, book 146)
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Black Cat Weekly #83 (2023)
(Black Cat Weekly, book 83)
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Heavy Weather (2021)
Tempestuous Tales of Stranger Climes
(British Library Tales of the Weird, book 21)
edited by
Kevan Manwaring

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