Jill Churchill (born Janice Young Brooks January 11, 1943 - July 12, 2023 in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

) was an American author, winner of the Agatha and

Macavity Award The Macavity Awards are a literary award for mystery writers. Nominated and voted upon annually by the members of the Mystery Readers International, the award is named for the " mystery cat" of T. S. Eliot's ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' ...

s for her first Jane Jeffry novel and featured in ''Great Women Mystery Writers'' (2007).

Biography

Churchill earned a degree in education from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

in 1965 and then studied at the

University of Missouri-Kansas City A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

before teaching in elementary school for some years. Between 1978 and 1992, she was book reviewer for the ''

Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and as ...

''. Now divorced, she lived in Kansas.

Writer

She had published several historical novels under her real name before introducing a new series in 1989. This mystery series follows Jane Jeffry, a widow with three children living in suburban Chicago. With her neighbor and best friend Shelley Nowack, she gets caught up in murder cases. These often involve Mel Van Dyne, a police detective introduced in the first novel. The novel titles are puns on literary works and reflect Jeffry's cozy domestic life which she leads between crime-solving capers. In 1999, Churchill began a new mystery series set during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, which features siblings Robert and Lily Brewster who live in New York. They've inherited a house from their great-uncle, which they run as a guest house to earn money.

Published books

Non-fiction

*''Kings and Queens: The Plantagenets of England'', as Janice Young Brooks (T. Nelson, 1975)– children's non-fiction,

Jane Jeffry series

* ''Grime and Punishment'' (1989) * ''A Farewell to Yarns'' (1991) * ''A Quiche Before Dying'' (1993) * ''The Class Menagerie'' (1994) * ''A Knife to Remember'' (1994) * ''From Here to Paternity'' (1995) * ''Silence of the Hams'' (1996) * ''War and Peas'' (1996) * ''Fear of Frying'' (1997) * ''The Merchant of Menace'' (1998) * ''A Groom With a View'' (1999) * ''Mulch Ado About Nothing'' (2000) * ''The House of Seven Mabels'' (2002) * ''Bell, Book, and Scandal'' (2003) * ''A Midsummer Night's Scream'' (2004) * ''The Accidental Florist'' (2007)

Grace and Favor series

* ''Anything Goes'' (1999) * ''In the Still of the Night'' (2000) * ''Someone to Watch Over Me'' (2001) * ''Love for Sale'' (2003) * ''It Had to Be You'' (2004) * ''Who's Sorry Now?'' (2005) * ''Smoke Gets in Your Eyes'' (2013)

Other fiction

As Janice Young Brooks

* ''In Love's Own Time'' (1977) * ''Forbidden Fires'' (1977) * ''Seventrees'' (1981) * ''Still the Mighty Waters'' (1983) * ''Our Lives, Our Fortunes'' (1984) * ''Glory'' (1985) * ''The Circling Years'' (1986) * ''Season of Desire'' (1986) * ''Crown Sable'' (1986) * ''Cinnamon Wharf'' (1988) * ''Guests of the Emperor'' (1990) * ''The Herron Heritage'' (1992)

As Amanda Singer

*''Ozark Legacy'' (1975)

As Valerie Vayle

*''Lady of Fire'' (1980) *''Seaflame'' (1980) *''Oriana'' (1981)

References

External links

* * (1975–1990) * (1988–2007) : Warning. Sources differ concerning which of the five other names is sometimes or consistently used for the publication of works written or co-written by Brooks. {{DEFAULTSORT:Churchill, Janice 1943 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists Agatha Award winners American mystery writers American women novelists Macavity Award winners Writers from Kansas City, Missouri University of Kansas alumni University of Missouri–Kansas City alumni Writers from Kansas Women mystery writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Novelists from Missouri