Charlotte Armstrong was born in Vulcan, Michigan. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Barnard College in 1925. Her first published novel, Lay On, MacDuff!, was published in 1942. In 1957, she received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for her novel A Dram of Poison. Under the names Charlotte Armstrong and Jo Valentine she wrote over 28 novels, as well as working for the New York Times advertising department, as a fashion reporter for Breath of the Avenue (a buyer's guide), and in an accounting firm.