This edition is an abridged reprint of 12 against the Law, a collection of true-crime articles written by US journalist and syndicated columnist Edward D. Radin (1909-1966).

12 against the Law was originally published in a hardcover edition by Duell, Sloan & Pearce (New York, 1946), and issued a paperback edition by Bantam Books (#97, 1952). The Australian edition uses a modified version of the cover from the Bantam paperback.

Crime Library #11 contains only seven stories from the original US editions. Some of the story titles from the original US editions have been changed for the Australian version and it is difficult to accurately identify which stories were used by Atlas without access to the original US versions.