J.G. Macdonald

J.G. Macdonald is the mystery-writing pen name of children's author Janice Garden Macdonald. A former bookseller, library representative, and award-winning short story writer, she writes the Jane Dougherty Route 66 mystery series—stories soaked in nostalgia, danger, and the occasional glowing beverage.

Winner of the Zoetrope: All-Story Short Fiction Prize, judged by Joyce Carol Oates, for her short story (and later book) The Plainness of My Fall, she brings a wry sense of humor and a love of eccentric characters to every page.

Her debut novel, Atomic Sunset, won the 2025 Literary Global Book Award (Fiction–Humor), was a finalist in the 2025 American Writing Awards (Fiction–Satire), and won the 2026 Indie Book Award (Humor).

Two Hours to Bedlam is the second novel in the Jane Dougherty Route 66 mystery series—where the towns are dusty, the drinks are fizzy, and the truth is never quite what it seems.