Jean-Claude Izzo was born in Marseilles, France, in 1945. He achieved astounding success with his Marseilles Trilogy (Total Chaos, Chourmo, Solea). In addition to the books in this trilogy, his two novels The Lost Sailors and A Sun for the Dying and one collection of short stories have also enjoyed great success with both critics and the public. Izzo died in 2000, at the age of fifty-five.