Janice Elva MacDonald (born 1959 in Banff, Alberta) is a Canadian writer of literary and mystery novels, textbooks, non-fiction, and stories for both adults and children. She is best known as the creator of a series of comic academic mystery novels featuring reluctant amateur sleuth Miranda "Randy" Craig, all of which are set in Edmonton, Alberta. The latest of these, The Eye of the Beholder: A Randy Craig Mystery, released in October 2018 and a local #1 Bestseller, sees Randy and her long-time boyfriend Steve Browning finally tying the knot, only to become entangled in a mystery tied to the Edmonton visual arts scene while on their honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Another Margaret: A Randy Craig Mystery, released in September 2015, followed Miranda to a reunion of her fellow graduate school students and resurrects a mystery involving a Canadian literary figure who has been long-believed dead; the novel incorporates all events from the long out-of-print 1994 book The Next Margaret as part of a much-expanded story. The Roar of the Crowd: A Randy Craig Mystery was released on July 10, 2014, with a plot involving the Edmonton theatre scene, including the Freewill Shakespeare Festival and the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival, and it went on to be nominated for the David Award for Best Mystery Novel at the 2015 Deadly Ink Conference and featured as a recommended read in both the 2015 Edmonton Travel Guide and the 2015 Avenue Magazine Summer Reading Guide. Condemned to Repeat: A Randy Craig Mystery, was published on June 15, 2013, and involves a series of deadly events connected to Alberta historic sites, including Rutherford House, Fort Edmonton Park, and the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village; it debuted in the top spot on the Edmonton Journal's bestseller list on June 21, 2013 and went on to be shortlisted for the Mary Scorer Award for Best Book by a Manitoba Publisher at the 2013 Manitoba Book Awards as well as the David Award for Best Mystery Novel at the 2014 Deadly Ink Conference. Hang Down Your Head: A Randy Craig Mystery, was published in November 2011 and features "cameo" appearances by several real-life folk musicians, as well as a corpse discovered at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival. The book was a hit in MacDonald's home city and spent more than six months on the Edmonton Journal's Top 10 list. The book and its author were profiled on CBC Radio, CityTV's Breakfast Television show, in the Edmonton Journal, and in the Edmonton Examiner. A January 2012 cover story in Edmonton Woman Magazine and a half-hour interview on the CKUA Radio Network's ArtBeat program, looked more extensively at the entire mystery series.