J.J. Cagney writes twisty mysteries and thrillers packed with secrets, suspense, and characters you can’t help but root for—even when they’re running for their lives. She’s the award-winning author of A Pilgrimage to Death, named to Kirkus Reviews’ 100 Best Books of 2018, a National Indie Excellence Awards winner, and a Goodreads Best Mysteries favorite. Kirkus Reviews called her novel An Artifact of Death—a Publishers Weekly quarterfinalist for the BookLife Award—“an exhilarating entry in a thoroughly enjoyable series.”
Before diving into full-time storytelling, Cagney wrangled elite athletes as a marketing director and championed authors as a literary agent. These days, she lives in northern New Mexico with her family, two dogs, and an unreasonable number of fish. Her next release, See Jane Run, a high-stakes cat-and-mouse thriller set in Yellowstone, arrives from City Owl Press in August 2026.