Jan Burke, an award-winning mystery writer, holds the distinction of being the first woman novelist to win the Ellery Queen Mystery Readers' Award. She was also awarded an Edgar for her Novel, Bones. Her popular mystery series features the newspaper writer Irene Kelly, who lives and works in Southern California. Burke was born in Texas. With her family she moved to Southern California when she was a young girl. She attended California State University, Long Beach, earning a degree in history. After graduating, she worked for several years as a manager of a manufacturing plant. Her first novel, Goodnight Irene, was written during those years. Goodnight Irene was well received and the Irene… Kelly series has grown in popularity with each subsequent novel. Other notable works from the series are Dear Irene and Hocus. Her works include Bloodlines, Kidnapped, The Messenger, and Disturbance.