About the author:
Dorothy Salisbury Davis was born in Chicago
in 1916 and grew up on farms in Wisconsin and Illinois. She was educated in
Waukegan and Lake Forest, Illinois. For two years she traveled with a magic
show, visiting small towns in 28 states. One of them is the locale of “The
Judas Cat.”
Mrs. Davis first became aware of crime at
the age of seven when a farm-hand burglarized the house. It puzzled her that
someone who ate with the family, rolled his own cigarettes and tied Dorothy’s
shoe laces, could be taken away by the police. Since that time she has been
fascinated by the workaday, live-a-day behavior of most criminals a great part
of the time.
Davis was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America,
the organization she presided over as president in 1956. She is also an
eight-time Edgar Award nominee.