She writes three series of novels, centering on retired Seattle Police Department Detective J. P. Beaumont, Arizona County Sheriff Joanna Brady, and former Los Angeles news anchor turned mystery solver Ali Reynolds.

Jance was born in Watertown, South Dakota,[2] and raised in Bisbee, Arizona (the setting for her Joanna Brady series of novels).

Before becoming an author, she worked as a school librarian on a Native American reservation (Tohono O'Odham), and as a teacher and insurance agent.

Jance attended University of Arizona, graduating with a bachelor's degree in education in 1966, then a master's in library science in 1970.

[3] In July 2018, The Strand Magazine gave Jance its Lifetime Achievement Award to recognize her contributions to the field of crime fiction.