About the Author

Margaret Millar (1915-1994) was an American-Canadian novelist known for her suspense and mystery novels. Her work was adapted for Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Thriller. In 1965, she won the Los Angeles Times' Woman of the Year Award; she was later named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America.

Ed McBain (1926-2005) was the pseudonym used by Evan Hunter to publish his acclaimed series of police procedure novels, the 87th Precinct series. Blackboard Jungle, a novel based on his experience teaching in at Bronx Vocational High School, became a film of the same name in 1954, and his screenplay was used for Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 film The Birds. He was nominated for multiple Edgar Allan Poe Awards and was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America.

Chester Himes (1909-1984) was known for his hard-boiled crime fiction, most notably the nine novels in his Harlem Detective series. In addition to his crime fiction, he strongly criticized racism in America in novels like If He Hollers Let Him Go and Lonely Crusade. Born in Missouri and settling in Ohio, he began writing and publishing short stories in prison; they started to appear in Esquire by 1934. In the 1950s, he moved to Paris, where he won France's Grand Prix de Litterature Polici re in 1958.

Patricia Highsmith (1921-1995) wrote over twenty highly acclaimed novels and many short stories. Born to artists in Texas, she moved to New York City in 1927, where she later attended Barnard College. She is best known for her psychological thrillers, most notably Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr. Ripley. Her work has been adapted numerous times, including Alfred Hitchcock's 1951 Strangers on a Train. In 1952, she published the groundbreaking lesbian novel The Price of Salt (later retitled Carol) under the pseudonym Claire Morgan.

Geoffrey O'Brien, editor, is a poet, a widely published critic, and the author of books on crime fiction, film, music, and cultural history, including Hardboiled America, The Phantom Empire, Sonata for Jukebox, Where Did Poetry Come From- Some Early Encounters, and Arabian Nights of 1934. He was for many years editor-in-chief of Library of America.