Ken Bruen was nominated for nearly every major award in the mystery field (and won the Shamus Award) for his book The Guards, the first in his series about Jack Taylor and his first book to be published in the United States. In addition to his work as a novelist, Bruen has a Ph.D. in metaphysics and spent 25 years as a teacher in Africa, Japan, Southeast Asia, and South America.

Jason Starr is the internationally bestselling author of many crime thrillers, including Tough Luck, Twisted City, and The Follower, and his books have been published in over a dozen languages. He has also co-written several novels with Ken Bruen for Hard Case Crime, and his work in comics for Marvel, DC, Vertigo, and Boom! Studios has featured Wolverine, the Punisher, Batman, Doc Savage, and Justice Inc. Many of his books are in development for film and television. Starr has won the Anthony Award for mystery fiction twice, as well as the Barry Award. He was born in Brooklyn and lives in Manhattan.