The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word RUSHDIE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
R
U
S
H
D
I
E
More clues leading to the result RUSHDIE
- Author in a hurry to stop working
- Get killed on the run? Thankfully he didn’t!
- Novelist‘s career to come to an end
- Author‘s career is to end
- Writer’s career decline
- Author hides out after mid-February
- Hurry up and pass writer
- Hurry and stop novelist
- Career that’s consuming Dutch novelist
- Hurry up, then stop for novelist
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Thankfully he didn’t!" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case thankfully he didn’t! = rushdie.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.