The inspiration for Shadow of the Arch is the period Ken Dye considers the highlight of his career, five years serving as an undercover narcotics Detective. Ken Dye and his partner were honored with the Missouri police Officers of the year award for 1980 for intense undercover work that successfully prevented the bombing of a bank by known drug dealers. Ken Dye transitioned his police experience to corporate security for many years. He ended his career as the administrator for state wide Metropolitan Enforcement Groups and Narcotics Task Forces for the Illinois Criminal Justice Authority.  Ken Dye is the author of Shadow of the Arch and Beyond the Shadow of the Arch.

According to the book description of Beyond the Shadow of the Arch, “Detectives Sloan and Falimoso are at it again. Transferred to work the homicide beat by the Chief of Detectives, the two clear some of the area's most difficult murder cases. They encounter an old and "Street Wise" informant who takes the Detectives into the heart of a conspiracy to topple one of America's most recognizable landmarks...The Gateway Arch. The investigation propels the two Detectives into the secret and shrouded world of International intrigue and treachery.”