Edna Solomon Sherry was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on November 28, 1885. She graduated from Hunter College in 1906 and taught English there before becoming a professional writer. She began writing short stories for the pulp magazines, collaborating with Milton Gropper on two early novels. Sherry's first crime novel—and best known work—is Sudden Fear, published in 1948. It was filmed in 1952 with Joan Crawford, Jack Palance and Gloria Grahame, and is considered a film noir classic. Sherry wed dentist Ernest Sherry in 1909, and they remained married until his death. Sherry herself passed away on February 4, 1967, in New York City.