Janice MacDonald is a Canadian author of mystery novels, textbooks, non-fiction titles, and stories for both children and adults. She is best known for writing seven novels featuring amateur sleuth Miranda “Randy” Craig. The Randy Craig Mysteries were the first detective series to be set in Edmonton, Alberta, where Janice lives and works. The last installment, The Eye of the Beholder, was published in October 2018. A lifelong fan and reviewer of mystery fiction, Janice wrote her MA thesis on the genre, long before popular culture studies were popular.
Janice has launched a new series of mysteries following the adventures of retired academic Imogene Durant. The first installment, Victor & Me in Paris, was published in November 2024 by Turnstone Press.
In recent years Janice has also concentrated on literary short fiction, essays, and creative non-fiction. Confederation Drive, a passion project about her trip across Canada on the 50th anniversary of Expo ’67 in Montreal, was released by Edmonton-based Monto Books in 2017.
She is also delighted to have won the Exporting Alberta Award and the Canadian’s Children’s Book Centres seal of approval for The Ghouls’ Night Out, her Hallowe’en chapter book for eager readers.