Claire McNab, who also writes under the pseudonym Claire Carmichael, is a prolific author born in Melbourne, Australia in 1940. She is best known for her contribution to the mystery genre, particularly her three lesbian mystery series featuring Inspector Carol Ashton, Agent Denise Cleever, and Detective Kylie Kendall. McNab's writing career began while she was still working as a high school teacher in Sydney, where she wrote comedy plays and textbooks. After leaving teaching in the mid-eighties, she became a full-time writer and gained recognition in her native Australia for her crime fiction, children's novels, picture books, self-help, and English textbooks.
In addition to her writing career, McNab has also been an active member of the literary community. She has served as the president of Sisters in Crime and is a member of both the Mystery Writers of America and the Science Fiction Writers of America. Her contributions to the literary world have been recognized with several awards, including the 2006 Alice B. Medal. McNab's writing journey has taken her from Australia to Los Angeles, where she currently resides and teaches not-yet-published writers through the UCLA Extension Writers' Program. She is working on the finale of the Carol Ashton series, Lethal Care.