Eugene Izzi

Eugene Izzi was born March 23, 1953, and was a lifelong resident of Chicago, setting most of his work in that city. He wrote in the classic hard-boiled style made famous by Mickey Spillane and Dashiell Hammett.

Izzi was raised in the hardscramble area of Hegewisch, a neighborhood on the southeast side of Chicago, Illinois. His father was a heavy drinker and was sent to prison at various points for a variety of crimes. Young Eugene dropped out of high school and enlisted in the army. He eventually earned his high school equivalency degree while in the service. He had also begun writing short volumes of what he called clones of Mickey Spillane books. Izzi's escape as a kid had been through books, and he was relishing the chance to create.