J. A. Jance is an American mystery author best known for long-running crime series rooted in Arizona and the Pacific Northwest. Her debut, Until Proven Guilty, introduced Seattle detective J. P. Beaumont, whose investigations and personal struggles helped establish... her reputation for character-driven police fiction. She later created Joanna Brady, a widowed Arizona sheriff balancing law enforcement, motherhood, grief, and public duty, and Ali Reynolds, a former television journalist drawn into cases involving murder, technology, and hidden corruption. Jance’s work is known for strong recurring protagonists, regional atmosphere, steady procedural plotting, and attention to how crime affects families and communities. Readers return to her for accessible mysteries, evolving series arcs, and investigators whose personal lives matter as much as the cases they solve.
