Charles Williams (August 13, 1909 – ca. April 7, 1975) was an American author of
crime fiction. He is regarded by some critics as one of the finest suspense novelists of the 1950s and 1960s. His 1951 debut, the pulp paperback novel
Hill Girl, sold more than a million copies. A dozen of his books have been adapted for movies, most popularly
Dead Calm.