Chris Berg and Paul James Smith

Chris Berg and Paul James Smith began their careers as beat partners in California’s Bay Area, quickly advancing to detective roles. Chris excelled in vice and intelligence, finding his niche as an undercover narcotics detective. He thrived in the world of hand-to-hand drug ‘buys,’ clandestine lab investigations, and the requisite counterfeit personas. Later, he became a narco field training officer and a court-certified expert witness in narcotics investigations. Paul brings 31 years of law enforcement experience, serving as a field training officer, federal agent, Special Response Team member, sniper/instructor, National Tactical Team leader, and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force program manager. Lifelong friends and writing partners for nearly a decade, Chris Berg and Paul James Smith craft crime thrillers inspired by true events. Their diverse backgrounds enrich both their writing and storytelling. They are Claymore Award winners and PageTurner Award finalists and the authors of The Night Police novels, which debuted with The Night Police: Beyond the Line of Duty in 2020. Centering on richly drawn characters and the impossible choices they face, they currently have three manuscripts in development or on submission—Blood Brothers, Twilight at Wolfie’s, and The Judas Game—each pushing the boundaries of tension and moral complexity in thriller fiction.