author
b. 1885
A globe-trotting mystery writer from an old New York family, he brought an elegant, slightly exotic atmosphere to crime fiction between the wars. His books mix classic puzzle plotting with the cosmopolitan settings of a life spent between America, Europe, and North Africa.
by Armstrong Livingston
Born in New York City in 1885, Armstrong Livingston was educated at St. George's School in Newport, Rhode Island, and also studied in Europe. Biographical notes connected with his author listings say he began his writing career in 1918 and later lived in Algiers with his wife, while making occasional trips to Paris and London.
Livingston wrote mystery and detective fiction, with books including The Mystery of the Twin Rubies (1922), The Juju-Man (1926), The Monk of Hambleton (1928), The Monster in the Pool (1929), The Murder Trap (1930), In Cold Blood (1931), Murder Is Easy! (1936), Magic for Murder (1945), and The Murdered and the Missing (1947). His work is now remembered especially by collectors and readers of vintage crime fiction.
A later biographical account identifies him as Robert Armstrong "Ray" Livingston Jr. and gives his dates as August 16, 1885, to February 7, 1948. I couldn't confirm a reliable, page-based portrait image for him, so no profile photo is included here.