Janet Quin-Harkin (born 24 September 1941,

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

) is an author best known for her mystery novels for adults written under the name Rhys Bowen.

Career

Before she began writing novels, Quin-Harkin worked in the drama department of the British Broadcasting Corporation in London and, later, for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Sydney, Australia. She also worked as a drama teacher and a dance teacher. In 1981, she wrote one of the first six books with which Bantam launched the Sweet Dreams series. In the 1990s Quin-Harkin began writing mystery novels for adults under the name Rhys Bowen. She has written three series under this name: one featuring British aristocrat Lady Georgiana ("Georgie") in 1930s England; one featuring Irish immigrant Molly Murphy working as a private detective in early 1900s New York City; and one featuring a Welsh police constable named Evan Evans. She is also author of the Boyfriend Club series for young adults featuring four freshmen girls in Alta Mesa High School (Arizona): Roni, Ginger, Justine, and Karen.

Personal life

Quin-Harkin graduated from the University of London in 1963. She moved to the United States when she married John Quin-Harkin. She is the parent of four children. She now divides her time between

Marin County, California Marin County is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and ...

, and Arizona.

Works as Janet Quin-Harkin

* ''Peter Penny's Dance'' (

Dial Press The Dial Press was a publishing house founded in 1923 by Lincoln MacVeagh. The Dial Press shared a building with ''The Dial'' and Scofield Thayer worked with both. The first imprint was issued in 1924. Authors included Elizabeth Bowen, W. R. Bu ...

, 1976), picture book illustrated by Anita Lobel * ''Benjamin's Balloon'' ( Parents Magazine, 1978), p.b. ill. Robert Censoni * ''Septimus Bean and his Amazing Machine'' (Parents, 1979), p.b. illus. Art Cumings * ''Magic Growing Powder'' (Parents, 1980), p.b. ill. Art Cumings * ''Ten-boy summer'' (

Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. ...

, 1982), Sweet Dreams Romance * ''Helpful Hattie'' ( Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1983), 58 pp., ill. Susanna Natti * ''Wanted—date for Saturday night'' (1985) * ''My Best Enemy'' (Bantam, 1987), Sweet Dreams Romance * ''The boy next door'' (Bantam, 1995), Love Stories 4 * ''Who do you love?'' (Bantam, 1996), Love Stories 13 * ''Torn apart'' (Bantam, 1999), Love Stories 18 * ''Love potion'' ( Avon Flare, 1999), Enchanted Hearts 4,

Works as Rhys Bowen

Constable Evan Evans series

# ''Evans Above'' (1997) # ''Evan Help Us'' (1998) # ''Evanly Choirs'' (1999) # ''Evan and Elle'' (2000) # ''Evan Can Wait'' (2001) # ''Evans to Betsy'' (2002) # ''Evan Only Knows'' (2003) # ''Evan's Gate'' (2004) # ''Evan Blessed'' (2005) # ''Evanly Bodies'' (2006)

Lady Georgiana "Georgie" series

# ''Her Royal Spyness'' (2007) # ''A Royal Pain'' (2008) # ''Royal Flush'' (2009) # ''Royal Blood'' (2010) # ''Naughty in Nice'' (2011) # ''The Twelve Clues of Christmas'' (2012) # ''Heirs and Graces'' (2013) # ''Queen of Hearts ''(2014) # '' Malice at the Palace'' (2015) # '' Crowned and Dangerous'' (2016) # '' On Her Majesty’s Frightfully Secret Service'' (2017) # '' Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding'' (2018) # ''Love and Death Among the Cheetahs'' (2019) # ''The Last Mrs. Summers'' (2020) # ''God Rest Ye, Royal Gentlemen'' (2021) # ''Peril in Paris'' (November 2022)

Lady Georgiana short stories

* ''Masked Ball at Broxley Manor'' (2012)

Molly Murphy series

# ''Murphy's Law'' (2001) # ''Death of Riley'' (2002) # '' For the Love of Mike'' (2003) # ''In Like Flynn'' (2005) # ''Oh Danny Boy'' (2006) # ''In Dublin's Fair City'' (2007) # ''Tell Me, Pretty Maiden'' (2008) # ''In a Gilded Cage'' (2009) # ''The Last Illusion'' (2010) # ''Bless the Bride'' (2011) # ''Hush Now, Don't You Cry'' (2012) # ''The Family Way'' (2013) # ''City of Darkness and Light'' (2014) # ''The Edge of Dreams'' (2015) # ''Away in a Manger'' (2015) # ''Time of Fog and Fire'' (2016) # ''The Ghost of Christmas Past'' (2017) # ''Wild Irish Rose'' (March 2022)

Molly Murphy short stories

* ''The Amersham Rubies'' (2011) * ''The Face in the Mirror'' (2013) * ''Through the Window'' (2014)

World War I novels

* ''The Victory Garden'' (2019)

World War II novels

* ''In Farleigh Field'' (2017) * ''The Tuscan Child'' (2018) * ''The Venice Sketchbook '' (2021) * “Where the Sky Begins”

Anthologies and collections

Honors

* 2000 "The Seal of the Confessional" – finalist, Agatha and Anthony Awards * 2001 ''Murphy's Law'' –

Agatha Award The Agatha Awards, named for Agatha Christie, are literary awards for mystery and crime writers who write in the traditional mystery subgenre: "books typified by the works of Agatha Christie . . . loosely defined as mysteries that contain no expli ...

for Best Novel * 2002 ''Death of Riley'' – finalist, Agatha Award for Best Novel * 2004 "Doppelganger" – finalist, Anthony Award for best short story * 2007 "Oh Danny Boy'' - Macavity Award Sue Feder Memorial Award for Best Historical Novel * 2008 "Please Watch Your Step" - Macavity Award for best short story * 2009 "A Royal Pain - Macavity Award Sue Feder Memorial Award for Best Historical Novel * 2011 ''Naughty in Nice'' – Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel * 2017 ''In Farleigh Field'' - Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel, Left Coast Crime Lefty Award (Bruce Alexander Memorial Award for Best Historical Mystery), Macavity Award Sue Feder Memorial Award for Best Historical Novel

References

External links

*
Interview by Claire E. White
''The Internet Writing Journal'' (writerswrite.com/journal), 2001 *
Rhys Bowen
(pseudonym) at LC Authorities, with 39 records, an
Bowen at WorldCat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quin-Harkin, Janet British children's writers English mystery writers Living people Anthony Award winners Macavity Award winners Agatha Award winners 1941 births People from Bath, Somerset Writers from San Francisco Alumni of the University of London Women mystery writers Writers of historical mysteries 20th-century English novelists 20th-century British women writers 21st-century English novelists 21st-century British women writers