Dan Brown (1964- )

Son of a math teacher, himself an English teacher and songwriter, Dan Brown turned to writing full-time in 1996. Angels and Demons was the first to feature his lead character, Harvard symbology expert Robert Langdon.

"Despite savage reviews of the clunky style and tortuous religious conspiracy plot of the 2003 The Da Vinci Code, the book became a worldwide phenomenon, with more than 81 million copies in print. The film got even worse reviews and equally stunning box-office results, taking $758 million to date." [smh.com.au]

What does The Lost Symbol get wrong about the nation's capital? Everything, says Slate

Try the Dan Brown sequel generator [Slate]

Crime & thriller resources:

Best crime & thriller movies