New York Times bestselling author J.A. Jance Judith Ann Jance is an American author who wrote various mystery and thriller series, including the J.P. Beaumont series, the Joanna Brady books, the Ali Reynolds series, and the Walker Family series, followed by her latest Joanna Brady and Brandon Walker series which bring characters together from two of her popular mystery novels series.
Here is the list of the JA Jance books in order for each of the series the author has written.
New J.A. Jance Books
J.P. Beaumont Series in Order of Publication
- Until Proven Guilty (#1), 1985
- Injustice for All (#2), 1986
- Trial by Fury (#3), 1986
- Taking the Fifth (#4), 1988
- Improbable Cause (#5), 1987
- A More Perfect Union (#6), 1988
- Dismissed with Prejudice (#7), 1989
- Minor in Possession (#8), 1990
- Payment in Kind (#9), 1991
- Without Due Process (#10), 1992
- Failure to Appear (#11), 1993
- Lying in Wait (#12), 1994
- Name Withheld (#13), 1996
- Breach of Duty (#14), 1999
- Birds of Prey (#15), 2001
- Partner in Crime (#16), 2002
- Long Time Gone (#17), 2005
- Justice Denied (#18), 2007
- Fire and Ice (#19), 2009
- Betrayal of Trust (#20), 2011
- Ring in the Dead (#20.5), 2013
- Second Watch (#21), 2013
- Stand Down (#21.5), 2015
- Dance of the Bones (#22), 2015
- Still Dead (#22.5), 2017
- Proof of Life (#23), 2017
- Sins of the Fathers (#24), 2019
- Nothing to Lose (#25), 2022
Joanna Brady Series in Order of Publication
- Desert Heat, Paper (#1), 1993
- Tombstone Courage, Paper (#2), 1994
- Shoot Don’t Shoot (#3), 1995
- Dead to Rights (#4), 1996
- Skeleton Canyon (#5), 1997
- Rattlesnake Crossing (#6), 1998
- Outlaw Mountain (#7), 1999
- Devil’s Claw (#8), 2001
- Paradise Lost (#9), 2001
- Partner in Crime (#10), 2002
- Exit Wounds (#11), 2003
- Dead Wrong (#12), 2006
- Damage Control (#13), 2008
- Fire and Ice (#14), 2009
- Judgment Call (#15), 2012
- The Old Blue Line (#15.5), 2014 – novella
- Remains of Innocence (#16), 2014
- No Honor Among Thieves (#16.5), 2015
- Random Acts (#16.6), 2016
- Downfall (#17), 2016
- Field of Bones (#18), 2018
- Missing and Endangered (#19), 2021
Ali Reynolds Series in Order of Publication
- Edge of Evil (#1), 2005
- Web of Evil (#2), 2007
- Hand of Evil (#3), 2007
- Cruel Intent (#4), 2009
- Trial By Fire (#5), 2009
- Fatal Error (#6), 2011
- Left for Dead (#7), 2012
- Deadly Stakes #8), 2013
- Moving Target (#9), 2014
- A Last Goodbye (#9.5), 2014
- Cold Betrayal (#10), 2015
- No Honor Among Thieves (#10.5), 2015
- Clawback (#11), 2016
- Random Acts (#11.5), 2016
- Man Overboard (#12), 2017
- Duel To Death #13), 2018
- The A List (#14), 2019
- Credible Threat (#15), 2020
- Unfinished Business (#16), 2021
- Collateral Damage (#17), 2023
Walker Family Mysteries Series in Order of Publication
- Hour of the Hunter (#1), 1991
- Kiss of the Bees (#2), 1993
- Day of the Dead (#3), 2005
- Queen of the Night (#4), 2010
- Dance of the Bones (#5, J.P. Beaumont #22), 2015
Joanna Brady and Brandon Walker Series in Order of Publication
- Blessing of the Lost Girls (#1), 2023
Standalone J.A. Jance Books, Anthologies, and Collections in Order of Publication
- Partners in Crime, 1994
- Midnight Louie’s Pet Detectives, 1998 (with Dorothy Cannell, Nancy Pickard, and Ann Perry, Lilian Jackson Braun)
- Naked Came the Phoenix, 2001 (with Nevada Barr, Mary Jane Clark, Diana Gabaldon, Faye Kellerman, Laurie R King, Val McDermid, Pam and Mary O’Shaughnessy, Anne Perry, Nancy Pickard, J D Robb, Lisa Scottoline, Marcia Talley)
- The World’s Finest Mystery and Crime Stories, 2000
- Bark M for Murder, 2006 (with Lee Charles Kelley, Virginia Lanier, Chassie West)
- The Deadly Bride and 21 of the Year’s Finest Crime and Mystery Stories: Volume II, 2006
- No Rest for the Dead, 2011 (with Jeff Abbott, Lori Armstrong,David Baldacci,Sandra Brown, Thomas H Cook,Jeffery Deaver, Diana Gabaldon,Tess Gerritsen, Andrew F Gulli, Lamia Gulli,Peter James, Faye Kellerman,Raymond Khoury,John Lescroart,Jeff Lindsay, Gayle Lynds, Alexander McCall Smith, Phillip Margolin, Michael Palmer, T Jefferson Parker, Matthew Pearl,Kathy Reichs, Marcus Sakey,Jonathan Santlofer,Lisa Scottoline, R L Stine, Marcia Talley)
- Mystery Writers of America Presents Ice Cold: Tales of Intrigue from the Cold War, 2014
- MatchUp, 2017 (Lee Child, Sandra Brown, C. J. Box, Val Mcdermid, Peter James, Kathy Reichs, Diana Gabaldon, Steve Berry, Gayle Lynds, David Morrell, Karin Slaughter, Michael Koryta, Charlaine Harris, Andrew Gross, Lisa Jackson, John Sandford, Lara Adrian, Christopher Rice, Lisa Scottoline, Nelson DeMille, Eric Van Lustbader)
J.A. Jance Novellas and Short Stories in Order of Publication
- Taking the Veil, 2018(withEric Van Lustbader)
Poetry Collection by J.A. Jance in Order of Publication
- After the Fire, 2001
Nonfiction J.A. Jance Books in Order
- Writer in the Library: 41 Writers Reveal How They Use Libraries to Develop Their Skill, Craft & Careers, 2008
100 Stories Books in Order
- 100 Malicious Little Mysteries, 1981 (with Isaac Asimov, Martin Greenberg, John Lutz, Jack Ritchie, Bill Pronzini, Barry N. Malzberg, Michael Gilbert, Maxine O’Callaghan, , Michael Kurland, Lael Littke, Helen McCloy)
- 100 Dastardly Little Detective Stories, 1993 (with Charles Dickens, Martin Greenberg, O. Henry, Bill Pronzini, Jack London)
- 100 Ghastly Little Ghost Stories, 1993 (with Chet Williamson, Alan Brennert, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Marvin Kaye, Barry N. Malzberg, Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Fred Chappell)
- 100 Wild Little Weird Tales, 1994 (with Robert Bloch, Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Martin Greenberg, H.P. Lovecraft, Fritz Leiber, Lester del Rey, Murray Leinster, Clark Ashton Smith, Manly Wade Wellman)
- 100 Creepy Little Creature Stories, 1994 (with Edgar Allan Poe, Martin Greenberg, Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, E.F. Benson, Robert E. Weinberg)
- 100 Crooked Little Crime Stories, 1994 (with Martin Greenberg, Edgar Wallace, Alexandre Dumas)
- 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories, 1996 (with Martin Greenberg, Bill Pronzini, Fritz Leiber, Philip K. Dick, Harry Harrison, Robert E. Weinberg)
- 100 Sneaky Little Sleuth Stories, 1997 (with Marcia Muller, Jon L. Breen, Martin Greenberg, John Jakes, Chet Williamson, Barry N. Malzberg, Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, Michael Gilbert, Carolyn Wheat, Robert E. Weinberg, , C.J. Henderson, H.R.F. Keating, Francis M. Nevins Jr., Shelley Singer)
- 100 Menacing Little Murder Stories, 1998 (with Robert E. Weinberg, Fred Chappell, Thomas Ligotti)
- Crafty Cat Crimes, 2000 (with Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Ron Goulart, Larry Segriff, Barbara Paul, Max Allan Collins, Lloyd Biggle Jr., Jane Yolen, Bill Pronzini, Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, , Tracy Knight, Will Murray, Robert E. Weinberg, Gene DeWeese, Dorothy Cannell, , K.D. Wentworth)
- 100 Tiny Tales of Terror, 2014 (with Martin Greenberg, Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, Lucy Taylor, Robert E. Weinberg, Manly Wade Wellman)
J.A. Jance Biography – About the Author
New York Times bestselling author Judith Ann Jance (pen name J.A. Jance) was born in Watertown, South Dakota. As a child, she moved with her family to Bisbee, Arizona, where she grew up.
In 1962 she graduated from Bisbee High School, from where she received a scholarship allowing her to attend the University of Arizona. She graduated from here in 1966 with a degree in English and Secondary Education.
Before starting her writing career, JA Jancehad several jobs, including that of being school librarian on a Native American reservation, a teacher, and an insurance salesperson.
It was during her time of selling insurance that she started to write, in the middle of the night, as her day job and her kids wouldn’t give her much time to write during the day. Talk about ambition – which thankfully helped her push on so that she could finally realize her dream of a full-time writer – of successful books, nonetheless.
An interesting fact is that the J.A. Jance Joanna Brady book series is taking place in Arizona, the very place where the author grew up.
I totally admire this author. Over the years she realized that everything that happened to her, the good and the bad, could be used in her writing. Having lived with an alcoholic first husband shaped part of who she is now. The author’s words on this:
The eighteen years I spent while married to an alcoholic have helped shape the experience and character of Detective J. P. Beaumont. My experiences as a single parent have gone into the background for Joanna Brady.
show just how much she has learned over the years – and learned to put that experience to good use. I would dare to think that writing these books was also a cleansing experience for the author. Kudos to her.
The J.A. Jance books list currently includes 25 novels in the J.P. Beaumont series, 19 Joanna Brady novels, 164 in the Ali Reynolds series, 5 in the Walker Family series, not to mention all the novellas the author wrote in each of these series. Then JA Jance also wrote a book on poetry and several short story collections.
While the order of the books by J.A. Jance is pretty clear, you do need to pay attention to the fact that some of the books intersect between the various series (e.g. Partner in Crime is book #16 in the J.P. Beaumont series and #10 in the Joanna Brady book series). Whenever such a crossover happens, I will mention it in brackets next to the relevant book.
To read the J.A. Jance books in order, I suggest you startw wti the J. P. Beaument series, which started in 1985. As I mentioned above, the series will cross at some point, and it’s interesting to follow the main characters interacting to solve various crimes.
However, my favorite series of crime stories is the J.A. Jance Ali Reynolds series. I can somehow much more relate to Ali’s female character than with, say, Beaumont or Walker. The series started in 2006 with Edge of Evil, which was also the first book I’ve picked up in the series to read.
Ali is a40+ former TV journalist who is currently living in Sedona, Arizona. Her age greatly contributed to her being kicked out of her job since broadcasting executives wanted someone younger in her place, wanted a younger face on the TV to say the news.
So Ali goes home to her husband, a famous media mogul, only to realize that he also has replaced her in his life with a much younger female version. So finally she packs her bags and goes home to Sedona to pick up the broken pieces of her life once again, not to mention to help her friend’s family after learning that one of her best friends died.
I found it interesting to read about her starting her own blog. I don’t exactly remember whether in 2006 blogging was as big as it is now.
In Man Overboard, Ali Reynolds book #12, published in 2017, Ali is now more of an amateur private detective. She gets involved in a case where cybersecurity expert Roger McGeary falls down the balcony of a cruising yacht. The police don’t give much thought of his death, so Roger’s aunt, Julia, asks Ali, and Stuart Ramey, who is Roger’s childhood pal, to help find out what exactly happened with Roger.
The serial killer who targeted Roger is also after other people who have lost their parents to suicide. In this book, an AI (artificial intelligence) is used, sadly, for evil. When the killer targets Stuart as well, Ali, with the help of her company, High Noon Enterprises, has to stop the killer before it is too late for Stuart.
In The A List, we meet once again Ali, this time investigating a rather common theme in our modern times: the fraudulent activities of a doctor’s use of his own sperm for artificial insemination. This is a theme that has been touched upon several times ever since DNA has been used to research a person’s ancestry. Dr. Edward Gilchris used to be a rather popular doc who helped people with artificial insemination back when DNA procedures were not as known as now. It turns out that he actually used his own sperm as a donor for people without kids.
What nobody knew, however, was that he has a genetic kidney defect which has been passed down to some of the children he created using his own sperm. The story is really contemporary in theme, especially since these days practically everyone can find about their own ancestry from various online places with with a small cost and effort.
Looking back to the first Ali Reynolds books, it was interesting to see the author’s development of technology in her books. She initially started with Ali writing her first blog post. Now, we’re at cyberbullying and even at sophisticated AIs and genetic manipulation.
J.A Jance Awards
New York Times bestselling author J. A. Jance received or was nominated for the following awards:
- Dilys Awards Best Book nominee in 1992 for Hour of the Hunter
