Jack Karney was born in 1911 in New York City on the Lower East Side, where many of his novels are set. Though he tried out for a job in the police department, due to an excessive case of flat feet, he was rejected and entered the civil service instead, working in the New York District Attorney's office. Here he listened to the trials and tribulations of cops, both veterans and rookies, and this wealth of information plus his childhood memories provided material for his many novels. Karney was married with three children, and spent his entire life in the same New York City neighborhood.