J.A. Jance

Judith ‘J.A.’ Jance is a prolific American author who has captivated readers with multiple mystery series. She doesn't just follow one detective but has created a number of distinct investigative worlds. For instance, one series centers on a retired Seattle police detective, while another follows an Arizona county sheriff.

The best place to start is the J.P. Beaumont series, the earliest of J.A. Jance's multi-book series: it opens with Until Proven Guilty (1985) and runs to 31 books across 1985–2026, ending with The Taken Ones (2026). J.A. Jance's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.

J.A. Jance has 138 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1984 and 2027. 126 of them belong to 6 named series — the largest being the J.P. Beaumont series with 31 books — and 12 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.

Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. J.A. Jance's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are J.P. Beaumont (1985–2026, 31 books), Walker Family Mysteries (1991–2023, 6 books) and Midnight Louie (1992–2016, 31 books), plus 2 more.

This guide splits J.A. Jance's 138 books into 6 named series and 12 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: J.P. Beaumont (31 books, 1985–2026); Midnight Louie (31 books, 1992–2016); Joanna Brady (24 books, 1993–2025); Ali Reynolds (23 books, 2005–2027); Walker Family Mysteries (6 books, 1991–2023), plus 1 further series.