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J.A. Jance

Biography

J.A. Jance

J.A. Jance is the New York Times bestselling author of the Ali Reynolds series, the J.P. Beaumont series and the Joanna Brady series, as well as five Southwestern thrillers featuring the Walker family. Born in South Dakota and raised in Bisbee, Arizona, Jance lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington.

J.A. Jance

Books by J.A. Jance

by J.A. Jance - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

After spending 20 years behind bars, Frank Muñoz, a disgraced former cop, is out on parole and focused on just one thing: revenge. For Ali Reynolds, the first Christmas without her father is riddled with grief and uncertainty. And with her husband and founding partner of High Noon Enterprises, B. Simpson, preoccupied by an upcoming New Year’s trip to London, she is ready for a break. But when Stu Ramey barges into her home with grave news about a suspicious accident on the highway to Phoenix involving B.’s car, things reach a breaking point. At the hospital, a groggy, post-op B. insists that Ali take his place at a ransomware conference in London as troubles brimming around High Noon come to light. Who would go to such lengths to cut the tech company from the picture?

by J.A. Jance - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Years ago, when he was a homicide detective with the Seattle PD, J. P. Beaumont’s partner, Sue Danielson, was murdered. Volatile and angry, Danielson’s ex-husband came after her in her home. With nowhere else to turn, Jared, Sue’s teenage son, frantically called Beau for help. As Beau rushed to the scene, he urged Jared to grab his younger brother and flee the house. In the end, Beau’s plea and Jared’s quick action saved the two boys from their father’s murderous rage. Now, almost 20 years later, Jared reappears in Beau’s life seeking his help once again --- his younger brother, Chris, is missing. Beau encounters a tangled web of family secrets in which a killer with nothing to lose is waiting to take another life.

by J.A. Jance - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Mateo Vega, a one-time employee of Ali Reynolds’ husband, B. Simpson, has spent the last 16 years of his life behind bars. According to the courts, he murdered his girlfriend. But Mateo knows that her real killer is still on the loose. After Mateo is granted parole, Stu Ramey of High Noon Enterprises asks him to work for B. once again. Just as Mateo starts his new job, though, a deadbeat tenant who is in arrears has just fled, and tech expert Cami Lee has gone missing. As Ali races to both find a connection between the two disappearances and help Mateo clear his name with the help of PI J.P. Beaumont, tragedy strikes in her personal life, and she must thread the needle between good and evil before it’s too late.

by J.A. Jance - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Years after her son’s fatal overdose, grieving mother Rachel Higgins learns that his addiction may have grown out of damage suffered at the hands of a pedophile priest while he was in high school. Looking for vengeance, she targets the Catholic Church’s most visible local figure, Archbishop Francis Gillespie. When the archbishop begins receiving anonymous threats, he turns to his friends, Ali Reynolds and her husband, B. Simpson. With B. out of the country, it’s up to Ali to track down the source of the threats. When a shooter assassinates the archbishop’s driver and leaves the priest himself severely injured, Ali forms an uneasy alliance with a Phoenix homicide cop in hopes of preventing another attack. But Ali doesn’t realize that the killer has become not only more unhinged but also more determined to take out his or her target.

by J.A. Jance - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

When Jennifer Brady returns to Northern Arizona University for her sophomore year, she quickly becomes a big sister to her new roommate, Beth Rankin, a brilliant yet sheltered 16-year-old freshman. For a homeschooled Beth, college is her first taste of both freedom and unfettered access to the internet, and Jenny is concerned that she’s too naïve and rebellious for her own good. Her worries are well-founded because one day Beth vanishes, prompting Jenny to alert campus authorities, local police and her mom, Sheriff Joanna Brady --- who calls in a favor. Beth is found, but Jenny’s concern has unwittingly put her in the crosshairs of a criminal bent on revenge.

by J.A. Jance - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Former Seattle homicide cop J. P. Beaumont is learning to enjoy the new realities of retirement: doing morning crossword puzzles by a roaring fireplace, playing frisbee with his new dog, having quiet lunches with his still-working wife. But then his past comes calling. When a long-ago acquaintance, Alan Dale, shows up on Beau’s doorstep with a newborn infant in hand and asking for help locating his missing daughter, Beau finds himself faced with an investigation that will turn his own life upside down by dragging his none-too-stellar past onto a roller-coaster ride that may well derail his serene present. It turns out that, even in retirement, murder is still the name of J. P. Beaumont’s game.

by J.A. Jance - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

More than 10 years after the abrupt end of her high-profile broadcasting career, Ali Reynolds has made a good life for herself in her hometown of Sedona, Arizona. But the death of an old friend brings Ali back to the last story she ever reported: a feel-good human interest piece about a young man in need of a kidney to save his life, which quickly spiraled into a medical mismanagement scandal that landed a prestigious local doctor in prison for murder. Years may have passed, but Dr. Edward Gilchrist has not forgotten those responsible for his downfall --- certainly not Ali Reynolds, who exposed his dirty deeds to the world. Life without parole won’t stop him from getting his revenge.

by J.A. Jance - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

This time, Sheriff Joanna Brady may expect to see her maternity leave through to completion, but the world has other plans when a serial homicide case surfaces in her beloved Cochise County. Rather than staying home with her newborn and losing herself in the cold cases to be found in her father’s long-unread diaries, Joanna finds herself overseeing a complex investigation involving multiple jurisdictions.

by J.A. Jance - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

After taking down the man responsible for his best friend’s death, Stuart Ramey thinks the case is finally closed. That is, until Stu finds himself left with a multimillion dollar fortune in Bitcoin in a desperate bid by Frigg, a rogue A.I. program created by the killer, to keep itself from being fully deactivated. To sort out his situation and take Frigg down for good, Stu enlists the help of Ali Reynolds and the rest of his cyber security colleagues at High Noon Enterprises. But they are not the only ones who know about Frigg’s existence. Graciella Miramar is the right-hand woman to El Pescado, the leader of a dangerous drug cartel, and she’ll do anything to get her hands on that program.

by J.A. Jance - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

When his longtime nemesis, retired Seattle crime reporter Maxwell Cole, dies in what’s officially deemed to be an accidental fire, the retired J. P. Beaumont is astonished to be dragged into the investigation at the request of none other than the deceased victim himself. Caught up in a situation where old actions and grudges can hold dangerous consequences in the present, Beau is forced to operate outside the familiar world of law enforcement. While seeking justice for his frenemy and healing for a long-fractured family, he comes face to face with an implacable enemy who has spent decades hiding in plain sight.

written by J.A. Jance, read by Karen Ziemba - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

After taking down the man responsible for his best friend’s death, Stuart Ramey thinks the case is finally closed. That is, until Stu finds himself left with a multimillion dollar fortune in Bitcoin in a desperate bid by Frigg, a rogue A.I. program created by the killer, to keep itself from being fully deactivated. To sort out his situation and take Frigg down for good, Stu enlists the help of Ali Reynolds and the rest of his cyber security colleagues at High Noon Enterprises. But they are not the only ones who know about Frigg’s existence. Graciella Miramar is the right-hand woman to El Pescado, the leader of a dangerous drug cartel, and she’ll do anything to get her hands on that program.

by J.A. Jance - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Cybersecurity expert Roger McGeary finally has his life back on track after years of struggling with depression. But when he falls from the balcony of his suite on an all-expenses-paid cruise, the police quickly dismiss it as “death by misadventure,” a vague phrase leaving much to interpretation. Unsatisfied, Roger’s tough-as-nails aunt, Julia Miller, is determined to find answers and closure. By contacting Roger’s childhood friend, Stuart Ramey, to help her solve the mystery of his fate, Julia unwittingly sets up a collision course with a serial killer. Stuart, his sidekick Cami Lee, and journalist turned amateur sleuth Ali Reynolds put the full resources of cutting-edge online security firm High Noon Enterprises into learning the truth about Roger’s death.

by J.A. Jance - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

With a baby on the way, sudden deaths in the family from which to recover, a re-election campaign looming, and a daughter heading off for college, Cochise County Sheriff Joanna Brady has her hands full when a puzzling new case hits her department. Two women have fallen to their deaths from a small nearby peak, referred to by Bisbee locals as Geronimo. What’s the connection between these two ladies? Is this a case of murder/suicide, or is it a double homicide? And if someone else is responsible, is it possible that the perpetrator may be on the hunt for another victim?

written by J.A. Jance, read by Karen Ziemba - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Roger McGeary, a brilliant software engineer, has gifted himself with an upscale cruise in honor of his 40th birthday. When he falls to his death from the balcony of his stateroom suite, the incident is quickly declared a suicide. Only his maiden aunt, a tough-as-nails woman who runs a race horse refuge, refuses to take “case closed” for an answer and turns to Ali Reynolds at High Noon Enterprises to look into the situation.

by J.A. Jance - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

When Ali Reynolds’ parents lose their life savings to a Ponzi scheme, her father goes to confront his longtime friend and financial advisor, only to stumble into the scene of a bloody double homicide. With her father suddenly a prime suspect, Ali and her husband work to clear her father’s name, while at the same time seeking justice for her parents as well as the scheme’s other suddenly impoverished victims, one of whom is a stone cold killer.

by J.A. Jance - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Amos Warren, a prospector, was gunned down years ago, and Sheriff Brandon Walker made the arrest in the case. Now retired, he is called in when the alleged killer, John Lassiter, refuses to accept a plea deal and demands that Brandon find the "real" killer. Upon discovering that there are links between Lassiter’s case and an unsolved case in Seattle, he comes to J.P. Beaumont for help. Those two cases suddenly become hot when two young boys from the reservation, one of them with close ties to the Walker family, go missing.

by J.A. Jance - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Ali Reynolds’ longtime friend and Taser-carrying nun, Sister Anselm, rushes to the bedside of a young pregnant woman hospitalized for severe injuries after she was hit by a car on a deserted Arizona highway. The girl had been running away from The Family, a polygamous cult with no patience for those who try to leave its ranks. Something about her strikes a chord in Sister Anselm, reminding her of a case she worked years before when another young girl wasn’t so lucky.

by J.A. Jance - Fiction, Mystery

When cleaning out the house of her dying mother, Liza Machett discovers a fortune in hundred-dollar bills. Tracing the money’s origins will take Liza on a journey that will end in Cochise County, where Sheriff Joanna Brady is embroiled in a personal mystery of her own. A man she considers a family friend is found dead at the bottom of a hole in a limestone cavern near Bisbee. Are the two disparate cases connected?

by J.A. Jance - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Lance Tucker, an incarcerated juvenile offender doing time for expertly hacking into the San Leandro School District’s computer system, has been set on fire and severely burned. B. Simpson, Ali Reynolds’s fiancé and the man who helped put Lance in jail, feels obligated to get to the bottom of what really happened. Meanwhile, in England, Ali investigates the decades-old murder of Leland Brooks’ father, which Leland himself was once suspected of committing.

by J.A. Jance - Nonfiction

Before she found fame as a bestselling mystery author, Judith Jance was married to an alcoholic. For years she channeled her pain into words, composing the poems in this moving volume. In searing and direct language, AFTER THE FIRE chronicles the collapse of Jance's marriage under the weight of her husband's addiction --- and her own unwitting denial and co-dependence while she struggled to find herself.

by J.A. Jance - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

SECOND WATCH shows Seattle investigator J. P. Beaumont taking some time off to get knee replacement surgery. But instead of taking his mind off work, the operation plunges him into one of the most perplexing mysteries he's ever faced. His past collides with his present in a story that explores loss and heartbreak, duty and honor, and, most importantly, the staggering cost of war and the debts we owe those who served in the Vietnam War, and those in uniform today.

by J.A. Jance - Fiction, Mystery

Police academy-trained former reporter Ali Reynolds is contacted to investigate the grisly murder of a gold-digging divorcee on behalf of Lynn Martinson, who is accused of the crime. Ali is simultaneously drawn to the case of A.J. Sanders, a frightened teen with secrets of his own. When the body of an ex-con is discovered near the first crime scene, Ali struggles to determine if A.J. and Lynn’s cases are related.

by J.A. Jance - Mystery, Thriller, Women's Fiction

When her daughter, Jenny, stumbles across the body of her murdered high school principal, Cochise County Sheriff Joanna Brady is caught in the difficult middle between being an officer of the law and a mother. The search for justice will lead to her own door, and will reveal secrets no parent wants to hear. Joanna will be forced to face the possibility that her perfect daughter may shockingly be more –and less- than she seems.

by J.A. Jance - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Ali Reynolds investigates two shocking cases of victims brutally left for dead --- Santa Cruz County deputy sheriff Jose Reyes, Ali’s classmate from the Arizona Police Academy, and an unidentified young woman presumed to be an illegal border crosser.

by J.A. Jance - Fiction, Mystery

Trying to solve a devastating crime involving troubled teens leads J.P. Beaumont, an investigator for the Washington Attorney General's Special Homicide squad, into a dark and deadly conspiracy that reaches deep into the halls of state government.

by J.A. Jance - Fiction, Mystery

Richard Lowensdale, a cyber-sociopath, has left a trail of broken hearts in his virtual wake. When he is viciously murdered, the women he once victimized are considered suspects, and Ali Reynolds investigates.