Todd Downing (1902-1974) was born and raised in Atoka, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory (later Oklahoma). He was one-eighth Choctaw and an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation. He earned his B.A. and M.A. at the University of Oklahoma. Being fluent in five languages, he was hired to teach university classes and lead tour groups in Mexico. In 1930 he began reviewing mystery novels for the OKC Daily Oklahoman.
Downing wrote his first detective novel in 1931, Murder on Tour, which was published in 1933. This introduced his main series detective, U.S. Customs Service agent Hugh Rennert. He continued on to write eight more mystery novels, and a mystery novella (as yet unreprinted), along with other works.
