Judith Ann (J. A.) Jance (born October 27, 1944) is an American author of

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

novels. She writes three series of novels, centering on retired

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Police Department Detective J. P. Beaumont,

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

County Sheriff

Joanna Brady Joanna Brady is the protagonist of a series of Mystery fiction, mystery novels by author J. A. Jance, centered on the small desert town of Bisbee, Arizona.

, and former Los Angeles news anchor turned mystery solver Ali Reynolds. The Beaumont and Brady series intersect in the novel ''

Partner in Crime Partner, Partners, The Partner, or, The Partners may refer to: Books * ''The Partner'' (Grisham novel), by John Grisham, 1997 * ''The Partner'' (Jenaro Prieto novel), 1928 * ''The Partners'' (book), a 1983 book by James B. Stewart * ''Partner'' (m ...

'', which is both the 16th Beaumount mystery and the 10th Brady mystery. They intersect again in ''Fire and Ice''.

Biography

Jance was born in

Watertown, South Dakota Watertown is a city in and the county seat of Codington County, South Dakota, United States. Watertown is home to the Redlin Art Center which houses many of the original art works produced by Terry Redlin, one of America's most popular wildlife ...

, and raised in

Bisbee, Arizona Bisbee is a city in and the county seat of Cochise County in southeastern Arizona, United States. It is southeast of Tucson and north of the Mexican border. According to the 2020 census, the population of the town was 4,923, down from 5,575 i ...

(the setting for her Joanna Brady series of novels). Before becoming an author, she worked as a school librarian on a Native American reservation (Tohono O'Odham), and as a teacher and insurance agent. Jance attended

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, graduating with a bachelor's degree in education in 1966, then a master's in library science in 1970. In 2000, University of Arizona awarded Jance an honorary doctorate. In July 2018, Strand Magazine gave Jance its Lifetime Achievement Award to recognize her contributions to the field of crime fiction. She lives part of the year in Arizona and part of the year in Seattle. Jance uses her initials for her

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

because a publisher told her that disclosing her gender would be a liability for a book about a male detective. At signings, Jance asks bookstores to donate a percentage of their earnings from her appearances to various causes. Over the past 10 years, she has raised more than $250,000 for charity.

Books

J. P. Beaumont

* ''Until Proven Guilty'' (1985) * ''Injustice for All'' (1986) * ''Trial by Fury'' (1986)
(:

1987 Anthony Award Bouchercon is an annual convention of creators and devotees of mystery and detective fiction. It is named in honour of writer, reviewer, and editor Anthony Boucher; also the inspiration for the Anthony Awards, which have been issued at the conv ...

for "Best Paperback Original") * ''Taking the Fifth'' (1987) * ''Improbable Cause'' (1987) * ''A More Perfect Union'' (1988) * ''Dismissed with Prejudice'' (1989) * ''Minor in Possession'' (1990) * ''Payment in Kind'' (1991) * ''Without Due Process'' (1993) * ''Failure to Appear'' (1994) * ''Lying in Wait'' (1995) * ''Name Withheld'' (1997) * ''Breach of Duty'' (1999) * ''Birds of Prey'' (2002) * ''Partner in Crime'' (2003) * ''Long Time Gone'' (2005) * ''Justice Denied'' (2007) * ''Fire and Ice'' (2009) * ''Betrayal of Trust'' (2011) * ''Ring in the Dead'' (novella, 2013) * ''Second Watch'' (2013) * ''Stand Down'' (novella, 2015) * ''Dance of the Bones'' (2015) (Brandon Walker crossover) * ''Still Dead'' (novella, 2017) * ''Proof of Life'' (2017) * ''Sins Of The Fathers'' (2019) * ''Nothing to Lose'' (2022)

Ali Reynolds books

* ''Edge of Evil'' (2006) * ''Web of Evil'' (2007) * ''Hand of Evil'' (2007) * ''Cruel Intent'' (2008) * ''Trial By Fire'' (2009) * ''Fatal Error'' (2011) * ''Left for Dead'' (2012) * ''Deadly Stakes'' (2013) * ''Moving Target'' (2014) * ''A Last Goodbye'' (novella, 2014) * ''Cold Betrayal'' (2015) * ''No Honor Among Thieves'' (novella, 2015) * ''Clawback'' (2016) * ''Random Acts'' (novella, 2016) * ''Man Overboard'' (2017) * ''Duel to the Death'' (2018) * ''The A List'' (2019) * ''Credible Threat'' (2020) * ''Unfinished Business'' (2021)

Joanna Brady series

* ''Desert Heat'' (1993) * ''Tombstone Courage'' (1995) * ''Shoot/Don't Shoot'' (1996) * ''Dead to Rights'' (1997) * ''Skeleton Canyon'' (1998) * ''Rattlesnake Crossing'' (1998) * ''Outlaw Mountain'' (2000) * ''Devil’s Claw'' (2001) * ''Paradise Lost'' (2002) * ''Partner in Crime'' (2003) * ''Exit Wounds'' (2004) * ''Dead Wrong'' (2006) * ''Damage Control'' (2008) * ''Fire and Ice'' (2009) * ''Judgment Call'' (2012) * ''The Old Blue Line'' (novella, 2014) * ''Remains of Innocence'' (2014) * ''No Honor Among Thieves'' (novella, 2015)(Ali Reynolds crossover) * ''Random Acts'' (novella, 2016)(Ali Reynolds crossover) * ''Downfall'' (2016) * ''Field of Bones'' (2018) * ''Missing And Endangered (2021)

Walker Family Mysteries

* ''Hour of the Hunter'' (1991)
(: 1992 Anthony Award for "Best Paperback Original") * ''Kiss of the Bees'' (2001) * ''Day of the Dead'' (2004) * ''Queen of the Night'' (2010) * ''Dance of the Bones'' (2015) (J.P. Beaumont crossover)

Poetry collection

* ''After the Fire'' (1984)

References

External links

Official Web site

Interview with J.A. Jance
''A DISCUSSION WITH National Authors on Tour'' TV Series, Episode #104 (1994) {{DEFAULTSORT:Jance, J. A. American mystery novelists American horror novelists American women novelists University of Arizona alumni 1944 births Living people People from Bisbee, Arizona People from Watertown, South Dakota 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists Women horror writers Women mystery writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers