"Jonathan Craig" was born Frank Eugene Smith on May 14, 1919 in Lexington, Missouri. He first worked as a clerk for the Kansas City Star newspaper and then relocated to Washington, D.C. to take jobs with the U.S. government. During World War II he joined the navy where he was appointed as head research analyst for the Pentagon. After the war, Smith became an advisor to President Truman at the Potsdam Conference. He started writing in 1947, penning western and crime stories in a spare, sardonic style. His first novel was Junkie! in 1952. Smith went on to write a series of ten police procedurals featuring detectives Pete Selby and Stan Rayder during the 50s and 60s for Gold Medal Books. He died after a long illness in New Port Richey, Florida, on September 14, 1984.