"Michael Underwood" was the pseudonym of British writer John Michael Evelyn. He published his first mystery novel, Murder on Trial, in 1954. His series characters were Martin Ainsworth and Inspector (later Superintendent) Simon Manton. Evelyn was educated at Christ Church College Oxford and Grays Inn London. He was called to the Bar in 1939 but joined the British Army to serve during WWII until 1946, attaining the rank of Major. He returned to a career in law with the Department of Public Prosecutions, serving for some thirty years until his retirement in 1976.