In a lush garden in Seattle, near her snoozing dachshunds, sits a grandmother who’s plotting murder. But, as with any good mystery, all is not as it seems. She’s J.A. Jance, and she’s sold more than 21 million books about life’s darker side.
Beginning in 1985 with her first novel, “Until Proven Guilty,” up through this year’s “Missing and Endangered,” Jance has published more than 70 books featuring her three series protagonists: old-school Seattle Police Detective J.P. Beaumont, widowed Arizona Sheriff Joanna Brady and L.A. newscaster-turned-crime-investigator Ali Reynolds.
Jance is the final speaker, on Monday, March 22, in this year’s virtual Nick Linn Lecture Series, sponsored by the Friends of the Library of Collier County.
Last modified on Wed 20 Jan 2021 08.33 EST
Traditionally, Burns Night ,which takes place on 25 January, celebrates the life and work of the poet Robert Burns. With Covid restrictions in place, the usual gatherings full of poetry, revelry and haggis will have to be curtailed, but it is still a convenient excuse to drink whisky on a weeknight.
Traditional . haggis, neeps, tatties and whisky. Photograph: Getty Images/iStockphoto
Whisky is, of course, more than just a drink: it is an ingredient, and a versatile one at that. A lot of people would tell you whisky should never be mixed with anything but water, but they probably don’t buy the kind of whisky I buy. I am happy as long as it meets the basic legal requirements allowing them to put the word “whisky” on the label, right under the word Sainsbury’s.