Brian Freeman is the international bestselling author of psychological suspense novels featuring detectives Jonathan Stride and Serena Dial. His books have been sold in 46 countries and 17 languages and have appeared as Main Selections in the Literary Guild and the Book of the Month Club.

His debut thriller, IMMORAL, won the Macavity Award for Best First Novel and was a finalist for the Edgar®, Dagger, Anthony, and Barry Awards. His second novel, STRIPPED, was named among the top 10 mysteries of 2006 by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The Library Journal review of his third book STALKED declared, "Freeman just keeps outdoing himself with each book."

"Who is Brian Freeman?" says bestselling author Michael Connelly. "This guy can tell a story."

For Freeman, launching a worldwide publishing career at age 41 was the culmination of thirty years of fascination with writing suspense fiction. "I started my first 'novel' in sixth grade," he recalls wryly. "It was about the death of a chess grandmaster. This was in the Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky days. I called it Checkmate. Who knows, I may yet go back to that one."

He credits two unusual sources for his career: his grandmother and his eighth grade composition teacher. "My grandmother really spurred the family obsession with crime fiction. She used to tell us, 'I'm reading this great new book. It's got lots of bodies in it!'" His middle-school teacher spotted his obsession with writing and encouraged him to follow it. "She pretty much scrapped the lesson plans for me and simply told me to sit in a corner and write. The next summer, I finished my first full-length novel."

Freeman rattles off a list of novels he wrote at various points in his life as he honed his craft: a thriller about the kidnapping of a U.S. president; a surreal erotic fantasy about a classical composer ("perfect for an idealistic college kid," he says), and then three mysteries ranging from racial violence in Minnesota to sexual obsessions in a revival Shaker community to sins and crimes among the super-rich of Newport, Rhode Island.

"I recall James Michener saying that you should only get published after you've written a million words," Freeman says. "I must be just about there."

Prior to going out on his own as an author and business writer, Freeman established a reputation among the most respected writers and communication strategists in his home state of Minnesota. He served as director of marketing and public relations at the international law firm of Faegre & Benson, where he conceived and led a multiple-award-winning communications and marketing program.

Freeman is a 1984 alumnus of Carleton College, where he graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, with distinction in the department of English. He was born in Chicago and grew up in San Mateo, California, before moving to Minnesota.