About

I write historical crime fiction, culinary mysteries, Jane Austen pastiches, and a young adult suspense novel. I’m the former president of the Northern California Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America.

My crime-fiction series is set in 1930 San Francisco and published by Level Best Books. The bridges haven’t been built, the stock market has crashed, and crime doesn’t sleep. The first book in this series is Fog City, was nominated for a 2025 Shamus Award for Best First P.I. novel from the P.I. Writers of America and won the 2025 Macavity Award for Best Historical Mystery. The second book in the series, City Lights, was nominated for the 2026 Lefty Award for Best Historical Mystery. The third book in the series, The Crookedest Street in the World, will be published in June 2026.

The passion and frenzied pace characterizing the food scene in the 1980s are well documented in Ms. Johnson's first novel, Beat Until Stiff, which was nominated for an Agatha for Best First Novel and a Booksense pick. The second novel in this series, Roux Morgue, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. In addition, she has written a YA thriller set in a suburb of California where privilege meets murder, titled Swim Town, and two Austen pastiches: Pen and Prejudice and Resolution, which are modern adaptations of the original novels Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion, respectively.