Born in Levittown, Long Island, the birthplace of mass-produced housing, Michael Simon is a former actor, playwright, and Texas probation officer. He has taught at Brooklyn College and New York University.

In 2004, Viking published his first novel, Dirty Sally, which introduced the half-Jewish, New York Mafia-born Texas homicide detective Dan Reles. Dirty Sally was lauded by The Chicago Tribune as "A bloody and intriguing delight for noir aficionados." The Seattle Times called it "the finest crime-novel debut since Dennis Lehane's A Drink Before the War in 1994." It was named one of the Top Ten Thrillers and Mysteries of the Year by Amazon.com.

In 2005, the second book in Simon's Texas series, Body Scissors, was published, also to critical acclaim. The Rocky Mountain News called it, "Fast paced and suspenseful from start to finish."

Viking signed on for two more Dan Reles thrillers, Little Faith (2006) and The Last Jew Standing (2007).

To date, Simon's works have appeared in Swedish, French, Italian, Japanese, and on audio tape.

He lives in New York City.