Bill Crider, born in Mexia, Texas is an American author of Mystery fiction. He received an M.A. at the University of North Texas. Later, he taught English at Howard Payne University for twelve years, before earning a Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin, where he wrote a dissertation on the hardboiled detective novel. He then moved to Alvin, Texas with his wife, where he was the Chair of the Division of English and Fine Arts at Alvin Community College. He retired in August 2003 to become a full-time writer. He is the author of the Professor Sally Good and the Carl Burns mysteries, the Sheriff Dan Rhodes series, the Truman Smith PI series, and wrote three books in the Stone: M.I.A. Hunter series under the pseudonym "Jack Buchanan." He is also the writer of several westerns and horror novels. 

January 1st, 1941 in Mexia  /  Died:   Feb 12th, 2018 - cancer