Patricia Highsmith (1921–1995) was an American writer, a recognized master of the psychological detective genre. Highsmith is the author of 20 novels and several collections of short stories. Her works have been awarded the Grand Prix of French detective literature and the "Silver Dagger" of the British Crime Writers' Association; they are included in the list of "100 best detectives" by English writer and critic Henry Keating. Highsmith's creativity has inspired a whole array of talented filmmakers (Alfred Hitchcock, René Clément, Wim Wenders, Liliana Cavani, Claude Miller, Anthony Minghella, Adrian Lyne, and others) and paved the way for modern queens of the psychological thriller Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins. Patricia Highsmith rose to fame in 1950, immediately after the release of her debut novel "Strangers on a Train," which inspired Hitchcock's acclaimed noir. Five years later, the brilliant and utterly realistic in its inhumanity "The Talented Mr. Ripley" emerged. Four sequels were written later. The first adaptation of "The Talented Mr. Ripley" was René Clément's film "Plein Soleil" (1960) starring Alain Delon, the second was the eponymous film by Anthony Minghella with Matt Damon, Jude Law, and Gwyneth Paltrow (1999); and in 2024, the series "Ripley" will premiere on Netflix, starring Andrew Scott (Moriarty in BBC's "Sherlock"). Mr. Ripley is Highsmith's most famous character and beloved antihero. Friendly and charming, Tom Ripley carefully conceals his true "self." In his strange, isolated, irrational world with distorted moral values, crime is merely a game, a chess match. He justifies himself, and thanks to Highsmith's writing talent, he does this convincingly. From an unfortunate boy with a dark past, Ripley gradually transforms into a true monster, a cold-blooded killer, little troubled by a sense of guilt, as the end always justifies the means. Especially since someone else pays for it. For the first time under one cover — all five novels about Ripley!
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