Born in Bayonne, New Jersey, and raised in Roselle Park,[3] Nevins earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1964 from Saint Peter's College (since renamed as Saint Peter's University) and a Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law in 1967.
He passed the bar in New Jersey that same year,[2] and, as of 1970, was a staff attorney for Middlesex County Legal Services.
[5] 1971 also saw the publication of Nevins' first book, Nightwebs: A Collection of Short Stories by Cornell Woolrich, a book "not to be missed," according to Chicago Tribune critic Alice Cromie, who also notes that "the appended comprehensive checklist of Woolrich works, compiled by Woolrich, with Harold Knott and William Thailing, is by itself worth the price of the book to suspense collectors.
[7] In 1975, Nevins received a special Edgar Award for Royal Bloodline; Ellery Queen, Author and Detective, a study dealing with both the authors—Fred Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee—and the protagonist of the Ellery Queen novels.
[8] In 1989, he was awarded the Edgar for best biographical or critical study for his book, Cornell Woolrich: First You Dream, Then You Die.