Thomas Reid Pearson (born 1956) is an American writer. Pearson also writes crime fiction under the pen name Rick Gavin.

Biography

Pearson was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He graduated from Richard J. Reynolds High School.

Under the pen name Rick Gavin, Pearson wrote a series of three crime novels, set in the Mississippi Delta, featuring repo man Nick Reid and his best friend, Desmond.

Pearson lives in North Carolina.

Works

Novels

Neely trilogy

  • A Short History of a Small Place (Linden Press, 1985)
  • Off for the Sweet Hereafter (Linden Press, 1986)
  • The Last of How It Was (Linden Press, 1987)

Ray Tatum Mysteries

  • Cry Me a River (Henry Holt, 1993)
  • Blue Ridge (Viking, 2000)
  • Polar (Viking, 2002)
  • Warwolf (Barking Mad Press, 2011)
  • First in Flight (Barking Mad Press, 2015)
  • Brigade (Barking Mad Press, 2018)

Nick Reid and Desmond series (as Rick Gavin)

  • Ranchero (Minotaur Books, 2011)
  • Beluga (Minotaur Books, 2012)
  • Nowhere Nice (Minotaur Books, 2013)

Standalone novels

  • Call and Response (Linden Press, 1989)
  • Gospel Hour (William Morrow, 1991)
  • True Cross (Viking, 2003)
  • Glad News of the Natural World (Simon & Schuster, 2005)
  • Red Scare: A Novel of Venomous Intrigue (Barking Mad Press, 2008)
  • Jerusalem Gap (Barking Mad Press, 2010)
  • East Jesus South (Barking Mad Press, 2014)
  • Low Lords (Barking Mad Press, 2016)
  • Theory of the Case (Barking Mad Press, 2017)
  • Eaglesworth (Barking Mad Press, 2018)
  • Serpent of Old (Barking Mad Press, 2019)
  • Sleepaway (Barking Mad Press, 2019)
  • Confederate States (Barking Mad Press, 2020)
  • Devil Up (Barking Mad Press, 2021)
  • Joy to the Just (Barking Mad Press, 2022)
  • Bone Eye (Barking Mad Press, 2023)

Non-fiction

  • Seaworthy: Adrift with William Willis in the Golden Age of Rafting (Crown, 2006) — Biography of adventurer William Willis.
  • Augie's Quest: One Man's Journey from Success to Significance (Bloomsbury USA, 2007) with Augie Nieto
  • Year of Our Lord: Faith, Hope and Harmony in the Mississippi Delta (Mockingbird Publishing, 2010) — Text by Pearson, photographs by Langdon Clay
  • Top of the Rock (Random House, 2012) with Warren Littlefield

As editor

  • I'll Sleep When I'm Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon, by Crystal Zevon (HarperCollins, 2009)

References