After spending the 1990s as a homeless heroin addict in San Francisco, Joe Clifford got off the streets and turned his life around, earning an MFA from Florida International University in 2008. His autobiographical novel, Junkie Love, chronicles his battle with drugs and was published by Battered Suitcase (2010). He is the author of the award-winning Jay Porter series, as well as several standalones including The One That Got Away, The Lakehouse, and the forthcoming The Shadow People. Joe is also editor of Trouble in the Heartland: Crime Stories Based on the Songs of Bruce Springsteen and Just to Watch Him Die: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Johnny Cash. Currently, Clifford lives in the Bay Area with his wife and two sons.

Alex Segura is the bestselling and award-winning author of Secret Identity, which The New York Times called "wittily original" and named an Editor's Choice. NPR described the novel as "masterful," and it received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and Booklist. Alex is also the author of Star Wars Poe Dameron: Free Fall, the Pete Fernandez Miami Mystery series, and a number of comic books, including The Mysterious Micro-Face (in partnership with NPR), The Black Ghost, The Archies, The Dusk, The Awakened, and more. His short story, "90 Miles" was included in The Best American Mystery and Suspense Stories for 2021 and won the Anthony Award for Best Short Story. A Miami native, he lives in New York with his wife and children.