After graduating from Columbia Law School with a J.D. and New York University with a Ph.D. in English Literature, Stefanie Pintoff worked as an attorney and a teacher. Then she decided to pursue her longtime dream and write a novel. Naturally she would write crime fiction; that had always been her favorite genre to read. Her writing would draw upon her passion for New York City and its history—as well as her interest in early criminal science, including forensic methods like fingerprinting and early criminal profiling. Stefanie's first novel, IN THE SHADOW OF GOTHAM, won the 2008 Mystery Writers of America / St. Martin's Minotaur Best First Crime Novel Award. It introduces Detective Simon Ziele, who teams up with a brilliant but self-interested criminal scientist to solve a brutal murder in 1905 New York. Her second in the series, A CURTAIN FALLS, releases May 11, 2010 and sends Detective Ziele into the seamy underside of Times Square to search for a murderer who targets the actresses of the Great White Way—leaving his writing as a calling card. Now a full-time writer, Stefanie splits her time between Manhattan's Upper West Side and Westchester County. When not working, she enjoys all New York has to offer—together with her husband, daughter, and their family dog. Author Photograph: Alison Sheehy (download)