David Downie is the award-winning author of three previous crime-mystery novels and over a dozen acclaimed nonfiction books translated into a variety of foreign languages, including French, Italian, Chinese, and Korean. His articles and essays have appeared in anthologies, magazines, and newspapers worldwide. Downie was born in San Francisco and graduated from UC Berkeley and Brown University. He is married to photographer Alison Harris. Since 1986 he has divided his time between Italy, France, and California. www.davidddownie.com