Works by
Jan Burke
(Writer)

Novels

Irene Kelly Mystery Series
(Investigative newspaper reporter.)

• Goodnight, Irene (1993) -- Nominated 1994 Anthony Award for Best First Novel
  For thirty-five years the identity of the dismembered woman found under the Las Piernas pier has remained a mystery. What secret did she take to her grave? Southern California reporter Irene Kelly has uncovered a maze of forensic records and confidential files that suggest a motive far more sinister than anyone imagined. The discovery has brought her close to Detective Frank Harriman, and closer still to exposing a killer who will resort to anything to keep his secrets buried -- and Irene silenced forever.

• Sweet Dreams, Irene (1994)
  Irene Kelly is a reporter with a fierce integrity. Detective Frank Harriman is her lover and friend. Now they're both about to be plunged into political hellfire when a ruthless politician rocks a race for district attorney with a stunning allegation: his opponent's son is in the clutches of a satanic cult. The charge takes a fatal turn when a local woman is brutally murdered, and the grisly crime scene bears unholy implications. Tracking the clues takes Irene behind the closed doors of an isolated home for troubled youths, where obscuring the truth is only part of a stranger's diabolic game. To win it, Irene will have the devil to pay.

• Dear Irene, (1995)
  When a strange letter signed "Thanatos" -- the ancient Greek name for death -- lands on Irene Kelly's desk, the intrepid reporter doesn't think much of it; she gets crazy mail all the time. A less cryptic message is sent when a body turns up the next morning. As more letters roll in, the death toll mounts...and Irene fears that her mysterious pen pal has cast her in his own private Greek tragedy as Cassandra, the seer whom others refused to believe. It's the killer's dream to challenge Irene to follow his ancient blueprint for murder. It's his ultimate desire to make her face the inevitable -- that she is the next to die.

• Remember Me, Irene (1996)
  I'm not who I used to be....The remark, whispered by a stranger on the street to Irene Kelly, becomes all the more unnerving when the newswoman realizes she knows the man. He's Lucas Monroe, her former college instructor who had looked forward to a brilliant future. Now he's a derelict in hiding, an unlikely suspect in blackmail and murder. What happened to Monroe's life strikes Irene as bizarre. But it's what happens to him in death that fills her with dread. Her long-lost mentor is found murdered, and whatever the picturesque town of Las Piernas is hiding has made some people very rich, very guilty, and very dangerous.

• Hocus (1997) -- Nominated 1997 Agatha Award for Best Novel; Nominated 1997 Macavity Award for Best Novel; Nominated 1998 Barry Award for Best Novel
  For reporter Irene Kelly it's a terrifying investigation -- because it's so personal. Her husband, Detective Frank Harriman, has been kidnapped by terrorists who call themselves Hocus -- deadly manipulators who give Irene three days to meet their demands before killing their hostage. But Irene's biggest shock is yet to come -- as she uncovers her husband's history, and learns of a horrific crime committed a decade earlier. As seconds slip away, Irene willingly steps into a trap set by two madmen with a score to settle. And when she does, someone is going to pay for the sins of the past.

• Liar (1998) -- Nominated 1998 Agatha Award for Best Novel; Nominated 1998 Macavity Award for Best Novel
  Investigative reporting has its hazards, but trouble hits home for Irene Kelly when her estranged aunt is murdered--and Irene becomes the leading suspect. With the police hot on her trail, Irene sets out to find cousin Travis, her dead aunt's son, convinced he's the next target.
  
  But when Irene finds Travis, a camper-driving children's storyteller with suspiciously deep pockets, things blow up--literally. It takes several brushes with death, staying one step ahead of the law, and a few not-so-sweet reunions for Irene to untangle a complex web of family secrets and long-held grudges, and discover just who is killing off the Kelly clan--and why.

• Bones (2000) -- Winner 1999 Edgar Award for Best Novel; Nominated 2000 Anthony Award for Best Novel
  What really happened to Julia Sayre? She disappeared four years ago. A young mother of two, Sayre was more than a news story to reporter Irene Kelly. When Sayre's family sought Irene's help, the search became a personal mission--and a fruitless one. Despite Irene's best efforts, only one person knew where to find Sayre: her killer. Now, years later, one of the most notorious criminals on death row is willing to talk. Condemned for unimaginable acts of torture and murder, Nick Parrish is plea bargaining for a life sentence--by leading Irene and a select group of officials to the secluded mountain grave of his victim. Soon, in the dark isolation of the Sierra Nevadas, they will discover what really happened. But Parrish's most terrifying secret is yet to come. And he's saving it just for Irene...

• Bloodlines (2005) -- Nominated 2006 Anthony Award for Best Novel; Nominated 2006 Barry Award for Best Novel
  Sweeping across decades, Burke masterfully unearths a cold case that is far from closed while introducing an intrepid novice reporter, Irene Kelly, learning the ropes from her mentor, Conn O'Connor. From the late fifties, when a bloodstained car is buried on a farm and a wealthy family disappears at sea . . . to the seventies, when Irene makes shocking connections and brashly tracks a killer from the past . . . to today, when new threats and deadly surprises are closing in on the veteran journalist and her husband, Frank Harriman, Bloodlines follows a fascinating labyrinth of lives, loves, sins, and secrets -- with the irrepressible Irene Kelly at its core.

• Kidnapped (2006)

• Flight (2001) -- Nominated 2002 Anthony Award for Best Novel
  Edgar Award-winning author Jan Burke, acclaimed for her Irene Kelly novels, hits the ground running with a harrowing thriller featuring homicide detective Frank Harriman. When the wreckage of a small plane belonging to a Las Piernas Police Department detective who disappeared a decade ago is discovered in the San Bernardino Mountains, an emotional and disturbing triple-homicide case is reopened with a vengeance. Was the pilot a sellout who murdered a key witness? Alone, following his instincts, Frank traces the path of his predecessor to uncover the truth -- and comes face-to-face with a madman whose killing intent has just taken off.

• Nine (2002) -- Nominated 2003 Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel
  Los Angeles County Homicide Detective Alex Brandon lives to bring killers to justice -- but when unknown assailants begin systematically killing off the FBI's Most Wanted suspects, Alex sees no cause for celebration. The vigilante slayings eerily echo the work of a serial killer from a decade ago, and convince Alex that "the Exterminators," as a grateful public has dubbed them, are more ruthless and sadistic than their victims. As the attacks mount, it is the ninth target that pulls Alex into a case that is quickly spiraling into deadly territory -- where justice is no longer enough.

• Eighteen (2003)
  USA Today bestselling author Jan Burke delivers chills, suspense, shockers, and sharp wit in eighteen works of short fiction sure to satisfy longtime fans and newcomers alike. This positively addictive anthology is full of surprises -- a patchwork of settings and characters not soon forgotten, and mysterious twists and revelations not quickly shaken!

• Irreconcilable Differences: 20 Mystery Stories (1999), Lia Matera, ed.
  Includes works by Amanda Cross, Bill Pronzini, Edna Buchanan, Jan Burke, Jeffrey Deaver, Jeremiah F. Healy, John Lutz, Joyce Carol Oates, Judith Kelman, Julie Smit, Laurie R. King, Marcia Muller, Margaret Maron, and Sarah Lovett

• Writing Mysteries: A Handbook by the Mystery Writers of America (2002) by Barry Zeman, Jan Burke, and Sue Grafton, eds. -- Nominated 2002 Agatha Award for Best Non-fiction
  Writing mystery fiction can be a special kind of puzzle. In this new, revised edition of the Mystery Writers of America classic, Sue Grafton weaves the experience of today's top mystery authors into a comprehensive mystery writing "how-to." Writers will learn how to piece a perfect mystery together and create realistic stories that are taut, immediate and fraught with tension.
  The book's contributors include a "who's who" of the mystery writing elite: Faye and Jonathan Kellerman on conducting accurate research; Michael Connelly on mastering characterization; Tony Hillerman on writing without an outline; Lawrence Block on overcoming writer's block; Sara Paretsky on creating successful series characters; Tess Gerritson on writing the medical thriller; Ann Rule on the art of writing true crime. And many more!