The author, Tom Bender, is a fan of detective fiction himself, and tries to learn from other writers. He has been influenced by his reading of Hemingway, Faulkner, Steinbeck, Mark Twain, John Grisham, Harper Lee, Raymond Chandler, John D. McDonald, Sue Grafton, O. Henry, and P.G. Wodehouse. As one critic said, "Bender's gift for the profound and the humorous" is what makes his books so good to read. Tom has been a newspaper editor, a speech writer, a college professor, and an editor. His previous novels have won critical praise and awards. More important, his yarns have been loved by a lot of readers. A common comment about Tom's books is "I didn't want to put it down."