René Belletto was a French novelist known for crime and fantasy fiction set in his home city of Lyon. He won the Grand Prix de littérature policière in 1983 for Sur la terre comme au ciel, filmed as Péril en la demeure, and the Prix Femina and Prix du Livre Inter in 1986 for L’Enfer. He died on 25 October 2026, aged 81.

Born in Lyon on 11 September 1945, he grew up in Villeurbanne and published 22 books with P.O.L. He also taught literature and guitar.