E. L. Withers (1930–2012)
Autor von Diminishing Returns
Über den Autor
Hinweis zur Begriffsklärung:
(eng) E.L. Withers is a pseudonym for George W. Potter.
Werke von E. L. Withers
The Salazar Grant 4 Exemplare
The House on the Beach 3 Exemplare
Royal blood: gory path to the throne 1 Exemplar
Zugehörige Werke
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Wissenswertes
- Gebräuchlichste Namensform
- Withers, E. L.
- Rechtmäßiger Name
- Potter, George William.
- Andere Namen
- Potter, George W., Jr.
- Geburtstag
- 1930-08-05
- Todestag
- 2012-07-31
- Geschlecht
- male
- Nationalität
- USA
- Geburtsort
- St Louis, Missouri, USA
- Wohnorte
- Kansas City, Missouri, USA
- Berufe
- author
- Preise und Auszeichnungen
- Missouri Writers Award (1967)
- Kurzbiographie
- Bill Potter, of Kansas City, Missouri, died at home on July 31st 2012. He was born in St. Louis on August 5, 1930 to George William Potter, Sr. and Faye Finch Potter. He grew up in Joplin, Missouri, until he went to The Arizona Desert School in Tucson and then Fountain Valley School in Colorado Springs. He graduated with a B.A. in Music from Kansas City University (now UMKC), where he met Emily Louise Withers. They were married in 1956. Bill was the president of Ortiz Mines, Inc. from 1962-64 and the chairman of the board of directors from 1964-1987.
An accomplished author and artist, he penned six mystery novels under the pseudonym of E. L. Withers; The House on the Beach, 1957; The Salazar Grant, 1959; Diminishing Returns, 1960; Heir Apparent, 1961; The Birthday, 1962; and Royal Blood, 1964. His pen and ink drawings were exhibited in one-man shows at The Barn Gallery, Fountain Valley School, University of Leyden, The Netherlands, and The Barstow School.
He served on the board of directors of the Winfred and Elizabeth Post Memorial Art Reference Library in Joplin; The Kansas City Ballet, 1976-79; and was a trustee of the UMKC Conservatory of Music, 1988-2000. He received the Missouri Writers Award in 1967.
A true Renaissance man, he was an expert collector with a keen eye for quality in the areas of old master drawings, Faberge, Renaissance art, and English oak furniture and carvings, to name a few. The breadth and scope of his understanding of fine arts was unparalleled. His knowledge of, and appreciation for, fine art led him on numerous travels with his wife to points of the world far and wide. His flair for collecting was evident in the home they transformed into a work of art, itself. - Hinweis zur Identitätsklärung
- E.L. Withers is a pseudonym for George W. Potter.
Mitglieder
Rezensionen
3 
danielx | Jun 5, 2016 |
danielx | Jun 5, 2016 | 
Poor try at being a mystery, but I wasn't interested.
Noted during my 1980's attempt to read every book in my small town library.
Noted during my 1980's attempt to read every book in my small town library.
The House on the Beach is a first rate suspense novel. On its publication in 1957, it was declared by a reviewer as "a magnificent story... the best mystery of the year". What's more (as I can attest), it's a thriller that can stay with the reader for decades. As a teenager, I borrowed it from the library by mistake (I got it confused with On the Beach ). Decades later, I recalled it vividly, and having recently located a copy, I reread it -- and it's still a thriller.
Twelve year old Katherine suddenly finds herself orphaned, and under the care of the man her mother recently married. Fortunately, she has inherited her mother's substantial estate; but with growing horror, she suspects that her new stepfather is trying to kill her. The suspense is agonizing, as her suspicions are gradually confirmed -- and entirely alone, she must match wits against the man who murdered her own mother.
This book was the first novel of George W. Potter, writing under a pseudonym, and it's too bad it has fallen into obscurity. When it comes to suspense, it certainly ranks better than a lot of works that are better known.… (mehr)
Twelve year old Katherine suddenly finds herself orphaned, and under the care of the man her mother recently married. Fortunately, she has inherited her mother's substantial estate; but with growing horror, she suspects that her new stepfather is trying to kill her. The suspense is agonizing, as her suspicions are gradually confirmed -- and entirely alone, she must match wits against the man who murdered her own mother.
This book was the first novel of George W. Potter, writing under a pseudonym, and it's too bad it has fallen into obscurity. When it comes to suspense, it certainly ranks better than a lot of works that are better known.… (mehr)
6 danielx | 1 weitere Rezension | Jan 11, 2009 |
danielx | 1 weitere Rezension | Jan 11, 2009 | 
The Salazar Grant is a well - done suspense novel with an unlikely hero. Hendrick Van Doorn is a mining engineer who is investigating the unworked mines of the Salazar estate, mines that may hold uranium deposits. He comes up against a ruthless killer, in (as the dust jacket describes) " a surreal landscape of broiling desert, empty mines, and a moonlit ghost town where every shadown hides a killer.". As in Withers' House on the Beach , the action moves at an agonizing pace, and the reader is drawn in by feeling the protagonist's every thought and emotion. That the protagonist is overweight and well out of his element in the desert makes the suspense all the more acute.… (mehr)
6 danielx | 1 weitere Rezension | Jan 11, 2009 |
danielx | 1 weitere Rezension | Jan 11, 2009 | Dir gefällt vielleicht auch
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- Werke
- 6
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- #508,561
- Bewertung
- 3.7
- Rezensionen
- 6
Diminished Returns (1961), his third novel is a tantalizing work of mystery and murder with good plot. Six people (two married couples and an engaged couple) are having a late-night drink together; all are poisoned, and one (John Byers, a wealthy bully) dies. Clearly, given the circumstances, the perpetrator must be one of the remaining five. (These consist of Byers' wife, his daughter, daughter's fiancé, and his business partner and his wife). However, in the ensuing days, the survivors die, one by one, each under suspicious circumstances (in a And Then There Were None fashion). The police are stymied, but figure that the perpetrator must be the one who remains alive the longest. As the suspense mounts, several surprises await the reader, and the ending is worth waiting for.
Readers with an eye to detail will notice a few flaws. For example, the poison is variously said to be arsenic and strychnine (the symptoms match the latter); two of the deaths are accomplished implausibly; and the motive is one that would have made little sense, even in the late 1950s. However, the mystery and suspense compensate for such aspects. What's more, the book introduces an amusing older detective named Wetherby -- a retired lawyer who sleeps until noon and who drinks a lot, producing “a slight fuzziness which was always urbane and gentle and good-humored.” Wetherby doesn't like “to walk when he could stand still, or to stand still when he could sit, or to sit when he could recline.”
This book is certainly recommended to readers who like the genre, as are other works by EL Withers.… (mehr)