A month-long trip to England during her college years introduced Jo to the joys of Things British. Since then she's been lured back nearly a dozen times, and lived there during her professional folksinging stint.  A true Anglophile, Jo wanted to create a mystery series that featured British traditions as the back bone of the plot, while combining the information of an English police procedural and the intimacy of a cozy.  The result is her Taylor & Graham mysteries, featuring a CID team of the Derbyshire Constabulary.
Jo's friend, police detective Paul Hornung, co-authors some of her books, contributing plot ideas and writing chapters from a particular character's POV. This collaboration has strengthened the novels by giving a male street cop's viewpoint to the female detective's predominant narrative.  Their first collaboration -- "Horns of a Dilemma" – is based on the custom of Turning the Devil's Stone, a one ton boulder lying in the church yard.  "The Coffin Watchers" uses the custom of Watching the Church Porch, an odd tradition of looking for the spirits of the village’s inhabitants to march past the church, a seen spirit signaling that person’s death.  The McLaren Case mysteries feature ex-cop Michael McLaren who quit his job over a terrible injustice done to a friend.  As “Siren Song” opens, it is one year later and McLaren is lured into investigating a cold case of murder.
Jo founded the Greater St. Louis Chapter of Sisters in Crime, serving as its first president.  She shares her St. Louis home with three cats - Dickens, Chaucer, and Tennyson.

Her L&L Dreamspell Books and Anthologies:

The McLaren Case Mystery Series:

Siren Song
Swan Song
Torch Song
Hit Song

The Taylor and Graham Mystery Series:

Death of an Ordinary Guy
Sainted Murder
On the Twelfth Night of Christmas
Pearls Before Swine
Horns of a Dilemma - with Paul Hornung
The Coffin Watchers - with Paul Hornung
A Terrible Enemy
A Well Dressed Corpse
False Step - with Paul Hornung

Cider, Swords & Straw - Cookbook

Mystery of the Green Mist – Mystery Anthology – Featuring "Crumbling Cottage" by Jo A Hiestand
PMS - Poison Murder Satisfaction – Mystery anthology – Featuring "Cross Purposes" by Jo A Hiestand
Mysteries Dreams and Darkness – Mystery Anthology – Featuring "Now You See It, Now You Don't" by Jo A Hiestand