Benjamin Appel (September 13, 1907 – April 3, 1977), was an American novelist specializing in detective and crime fiction, sometimes from a radical perspective.
Appel was born in New York City to Louis Appel and Bessie (née Mikofsky) and grew up in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood.
[2] Before he began earning a living from his writing, he was a bank clerk, farmer, lumberjack, factory-hand and a housing inspector for New York City.
Appel married Sophie Marshak in 1936; they had three daughters.
[4][5] Maxim Lieber was Appel's literary agent in 1933 and 1935.