Ed Lacy (August 25, 1911 - January 7, 1968), born Leonard S. Zinberg, was an American writer of

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

and

detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an criminal investigation, investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around ...

. Lacy, who was

Jewish American American Jews (; ) or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by culture, ethnicity, or religion. According to a 2020 poll conducted by Pew Research, approximately two thirds of American Jews identify as Ashkenazi, 3% id ...

, is credited with creating "the first credible African American PI" character in fiction, Toussaint "Touie" Marcus Moore. ''Room to Swing'', his 1957 novel that introduced Touie Moore, received the 1958 Edgar Award for Best Novel.

Biography

Lacy was born in New York City. He was a member of the League of American Writers, and served on its Keep America Out of War Committee in January 1940 during the period of the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, officially the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and also known as the Hitler–Stalin Pact and the Nazi–Soviet Pact, was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Ge ...

. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in Harlem in 1968, at the age of 56.

Bibliography

all bibliographical data from physical source material; first state hardcover (US:UK)/paperback Zinberg, Len "Walk Hard-Talk Loud", The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Indianapolis, 1940 Zinberg, Len "Walk Hard-Talk Loud", Lion Books Inc.,N.Y.,February, 1950 (pbk) Zinberg, Len "What D'ya Know for Sure", Doubleday & Co., Garden City, N.Y., 1947 Zinberg, Len "Strange Desires" (What D'ya Know for Sure), Avon Publishing Co., N.Y. 1949 (pbk) Zinberg, Len "What D'ya Know for Sure", Avon Publishing Co., N.Y. January, 1955 (pbk) Zinberg, Len "Hold With The Hares", Doubleday & Co.,Garden City, N.Y., 1948 Lacey (sic), Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg, The Woman Aroused", Avon Publishing Co., N.Y. 1951 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg, "The Woman Aroused", Robert Hale Ltd., London 1969 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg), "Sin in Their Blood", Eton Books Inc. N.Y. 1952 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg), "Death in Passing" ('Sin in Their Blood'), T.V.Boardman and Co. Ltd., London 1959 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg), "Strip for Violence", Eton Books Inc. N.Y. 1953 April, Steve (pseud. Len Zinberg) "Route 13", Funk & Wagnalls Company, N.Y. 1954 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "Enter Without Desire", AvonPublishing Co. N.Y. 1954 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "Go for the Body", Avon Publishing co. N.Y. 1954 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg), "Go For the Body", T.V.Boardman and Co. Ltd.,London 1959 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "The Best That Ever Did It", Harper & Brothers N.Y. 1955 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "Visa to Death" ('The Best That Ever Did It') Permabooks, N.Y. March, 1956 (pbk) Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "The Best That Ever Did It", Hutchinson and Co. Ltd., London 1957 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "...The Men From The Boys", Harper & Brothers, N.Y. 1956 Lacy, Ed )pseud. Len Zinberg) "...The Men From the Boys", Pocket Books Inc.,N.Y. April, 1957 (pbk) Lacy, Ed (pseud Len Zinberg) "Keep an Eye on the Body", Mercury Mystery Magazine, Mercury Publications Inc. N.Y., November 1956 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "Lead With Your Left" ('Keep an Eye on the Body'), Harper & Brothers, N.Y. 1957 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "Lead With Your Left", Permabooks N.Y., February, 1958 (pbk) Turner, Russell (pseud. Len Zinberg) The Short Night", Hillman Periodicals Inc. N.Y. 1957 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "Room to Swing", Harper & Brothers, N.Y. 1957 (Edgar Award, 1957) Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "Room to Swing", Pyramid Publications Inc., N.Y. 1958 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "Breathe No More My Lady", Avon Publishing Co., N.Y. 1958 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "Shakedown for Murder", Avon Publishing Co., N.Y. 1958 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "Devil For the Witch"('Shakedown for Murder'), T.V.Boardman and Co. Ltd., London 1958 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "Time Wounds all Heels", Mercury Mystery Magazine, Mercury Publications Inc. N.Y. December 1958 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "Be Careful How You Live" ('Time Wounds All Heels') Harper & Brothers, N.Y. 1959 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "Dead End" ('Be Careful How You Live') Pyramid Publications Inc., N.Y. January, 1960 (pbk) Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "Blonde Bait" Zenith Books Inc. N.Y. 1959 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "A Deadly Affair", Hillman Periodicals Inc. N.Y. 1960 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "The Big Fix", T.V.Boardman and Co. Ltd., London 1961 Lacy. Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "Bugged for Murder", Avon Publishing Co., N.Y. 1961 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "South Pacific Affair", Belmont Productions Inc. N.Y. 1961 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "The Freeloaders", Berkley Publishing Corp. N.Y. 1961 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "The Sex Castle", Paperback Library Inc., N.Y. 1963 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "Two Hot To Handle", Paperback Library Inc., N.Y. 1963 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "Sleep in Thunder", Tempo Books, N.Y. 1964 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "Moment of Untruth", Lodestone Publishing Inc., N.Y. 1964 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "Pity The Honest", T.V.Boardman and Co. Ltd., London, 1964 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "Pity The Honest", MacFadden-Bartell Corp., N.Y. 1965 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "Harlem Underground", Pyramid Publications Inc., N.Y. 1965 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "Double Trouble", T.V.Boardman and Co. Ltd., London 1965 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "Double Trouble", Lancer Books Inc., N.Y. 1967 (pbk) Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "The Hotel Dwellers", Harper & Row, N.Y. 1966 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "In Black & Whitey", Lancer Books Inc., N.Y. 1967 (Note: Len Zinberg died in January, 1968) Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "The Napalm Bugle", Pyramid Publications Inc., N.Y. July, 1968 Lacy, Ed (pseud. Len Zinberg) "The Big Bust", Pyramid Publications Inc., N.Y. July, 1969

Series

David Wintino There are 2 novels and 2 short stories featuring detective, David Wintino. # ''Lead with Your Left'' (1957) # ''Double Trouble'' (1967) # "Say 'Cheese'" (1964), "The Taut Alibi" (1968)

Toussaint M. Moore

There are 2 novels and 1 short story featuring detective, Toussaint M. Moore # ''Room to Swing'' (1957) # ''Moment of Untruth'' (1964) # "The Death Of El Indio" (1961) (Original short story version of ''Moment of Untruth'')

Lee Hayes

# ''Harlem Underground'' (1965) # ''In Black & Whitey'' (1967)

Other Novels

*''Walk Hard—Talk Loud (1940)'' *''Hold with the Hares'' (1948) *''End to Violence'' (1950) *''The Woman Aroused'' (1951) *''Sin in Their Blood'' (also issued as ''Death in Passing'') (1952) *''Strip for Violence'' (1953) *''Enter Without Desire'' (1954) *''Go for the Body'' (1954) *''The Best That Ever Did It'' (also issued as ''Visa to Death'') (1955) *''The Men from the Boys'' (1956) *''Breathe No More, My Lady'' (1958) *''Shakedown for Murder'' (1958) *''Be Careful How You Live'' (also issued as ''Dead End'') (1959) *''Blonde Bait'' (1959) *''The Big Fix'' (1960) *''A Deadly Affair'' (1960) *''Bugged for Murder'' (1961) *''The Freeloaders'' (1961) *''South Pacific Affair'' (1961) *''The Sex Castle'' (also issued as ''Shoot It Again'') (1963) *''Two Hot to Handle'' (two novellas: ''The Coin of Adventure'' and ''Murder in Paradise'') (1963) *''Pity the Honest'' (1965) *''The Hotel Dwellers'' (1966) *''The Napalm Bugle'' (1968) *''The Big Bust'' (1969) *''The Woman Aroused'' (1969) *''Sleep in Thunder'' (1972 #

References

External links

* 1911 births 1968 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American mystery writers Edgar Award winners Novelists from New York City Jewish American novelists American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American Jews {{US-novelist-1910s-stub