Lillian O'Donnell was an accomplished Italian-American author, born on March 15, 1926, in Trieste, Italy. She was widely recognized for her contributions to the mystery, suspense, and thriller genres. O'Donnell's career as an author was marked by the creation of several novel series, most notably the Gwenn Ramage and Nora Mulcahaney series. Towards the end of her writing career, she embarked on another mystery series, the Mici Anhalt series, although she was only able to contribute three books before her death.
Before turning to writing, O'Donnell spent several years in the theater industry. She was an actress who performed on television and stage and was even the first lady stage manager in Broadway. O'Donnell worked for the Schubert Organization, serving as a stage manager and director for the organization's stock packages of summer until 1954. It was in this year that she met her husband, J. Leonard O'Donnell, and got married. After a few years of marriage, O'Donnell developed an interest in writing and released her first book in 1960. Over the next four decades, she wrote and published a total of 28 books, which varied from being fairly stock mysteries of murder to psychological suspense novels. Only one of them was a novel of police procedural, titled "The Face of Crime."
O'Donnell's writing was notable for her portrayal of strong female lead characters. She was popular for being among the first authors to introduce a lead character in the form of a lady police officer in a novel series, with her character Nora Mulcahaney. Her books were well-received by readers and critics alike, earning her a reputation as a talented crime novelist. Lillian O'Donnell passed away on April 02, 2005, and was interred in Maple Grove Cemetery, New York.