Ed Lacy

Ed Lacy (born Leonard S. Zinberg; August 25, 1911 – January 7, 1968) was an American author of crime and detective fiction, best known for creating the first credible African American private investigator, Toussaint "Touie" Moore, in his 1957 novel Room to Swing, which won the 1958 Edgar Award for Best Novel. A New Yorker of Jewish descent who died of a heart attack in Harlem at age 56, Lacy authored over two dozen novels and numerous short stories, often featuring urban crime, boxing, and minority protagonists with psychological depth and twisty plots.