Mysteries by J.G.Macdonald

Route 66 Detour

You may know me from my children’s books — stories about brave kids, curious animals, and the occasional talking lizard.

But here’s something else I write…

Mysteries for grown-ups.

Not the overly serious kind of grown-ups, mind you — the kind who still believe in odd coincidences, roadside attractions, government cover-ups, and maybe even aliens hiding somewhere out in the canyon.

Atomic Sunset is the first Jane Dougherty mystery, set in a fictional town along Route 66 where the sunsets glow a little too brightly, the Fizzy Pop fizzes a little too loud, and the motel parking lot may or may not contain a dead body.

It’s a mystery filled with desert weirdness, small-town secrets, offbeat humor, and the feeling that something strange is waiting just around the next bend in the highway.

The second book, Two Hours to Bedlam, follows photographer Jane Dougherty to another isolated desert town while housesitting for her eccentric cousin. Naturally, things spiral into government shenanigans, suspicious deaths, strange locals, and absolute chaos.

Coming July 2026, Rustwater brings Jane to a fading desert town where invisible trains rumble beneath the dam, silent film stars refuse to stay forgotten, and strange objects keep falling from the Mojave sky.

Awards & Recognition

Atomic Sunset
Winner — 2026 Indies Today Book Awards (Fiction–Humor)
Winner — 2025 Literary Global Book Awards (Fiction–Humor)
Finalist — 2025 American Writing Awards (Fiction–Satire)

Two Hours to Bedlam
Winner — 2026 PenCraft Award (Humor)

You explore the books here: FIND ME!

Stay curious.