JON LAND is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 65 books known mostly for his critically acclaimed, award winning thrillers. Most prominent among those are the eleven titles in his Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong series that began in 2009 with Strong Enough to Die through 2020’s Strong from the Heart.
Jon has also taken over two of the most iconic series in mystery-thriller fiction, having written six titles in the MURDER, SHE WROTE series, based on the popular TV show, and two in the CAPITAL CRIMES series, originally conceived by Margaret Truman. Additionally, Jon has teamed with multiple New York Times bestselling author Heather Graham on a bestselling sci-fi series, the first of which, The Rising, was published by Forge in January of 2017. It was followed by Blood Moon in November of 2022, contin-uing the story of two intrepid teenagers who are all that stands between the world and total annihilation, in what Reader’s Digest called “Better than Stranger Things.” His latest thriller series, written with fellow author Jeff Ayers under the pseudonym A. J. Landau, debuted on February 27, 2024 with Leave No Trace from Minotaur, which the Los Angeles Tribune called, “A searing, seminal masterpiece that cries instant classic in its certain march up the bestseller lists.” The series continued in April of 2025 with the equally well-received Cold Burn.
Jon’s award-wining nonfiction titles include the Boston Globe bestselling Betrayal (2011), winner of the 2011 International Book Award in True Crime. August 2024 saw publication of White Robes and Broken Badges, a true story about a former army sniper who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan twice over a ten-year span. Published by Har-per Collins, the book went on to become a #1 bestseller and won the 2025 International Book Award for both General Nonfiction and Narrative Nonfiction.
He also wrote the film Dirty Deeds, a teen comedy that follows the exploits of a high school senior attempting to complete ten impossible dares in a single night. The film (starring Milo Ventimiglia, Zoe Saldana, and Charles Durning) opened in theaters Oc-tober of 2005, followed by a DVD release in January of 2006.
Jon is a 1979 graduate of Brown University, lives in Providence, Rhode Island and in 2019 received the Association of Rhode Island Authors Legacy Award for his lifetime of literary achievements.