Jill Elizabeth Nelson Books In Order

Publication Order of To Catch A Thief Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Jill Elizabeth Nelson is an award-winning American writer of inspirational and romantic suspense stories. She is particularly famous for writing the To Catch A Thief series of novels. Additionally, Nelson has penned several standalone novels in her career. She has also contributed to several omnibus collections in collaboration with multiple authors such as Hannah Alexander, Annalee Urban, Dana Mentink, Shirlee McCoy, Jodie Bailey, Mary Alford, Darlene Turner, Virginia Vaughan, Debby Giusti, Lynn Huggins Blackburn, etc. Nelson says that she writers what interests her as a reader, which includes stories of adventure mixed with romance, faith, and humor. Other than writing novels, she has also worked as a teacher of creative writing.

Author Nelson is also a well-known speaker for writers groups, church and civic groups, library associations, and conferences. As a teacher, she always strives to bring delightful moments in the life of her students by making them learn new skills of writing. Author Nelson holds a graduate degree in creative writing and literature from Southwest State University located in Marshall, Minnesota. For three years, she has served as a senior reviewer for the Bookclub magazine run by Romantic Times. Nelson is an active member of several writers’ groups such as the Christian Authors Network, American Christian Fiction Writers, and Christian Writers Group. In 2004, Nelson was chosen to serve as a judge for the Christy Award in the category of romance.

Nelson has been married to her loving husband for 35 years. Since 2000, she and her husband have been undertaking short term missions in Thailand. Her children have grown up and are now living their own lives. They have given her lovely grandchildren with whom she likes to spend her spare time. When Nelson is not busy with her writing works, she likes to keep herself busy with being a mission worker, wife, and mother/grandmother. Nelson claims that her journey as a writer has taken her to many different directions. She has walked the roads of columnist, poet, journalist, storyteller, book reviewer, and essayist. Her current path of novel writing is the one that she has coveted for numerous years.

The To Catch A Thief book series written by author Jill Elizabeth Nelson is comprised of four books released between 2006 and 2009. Each book of this series features the lead protagonist in the role of Desiree Jacobs. She is depicted as a security expert, who strives to protect the legacy and reputation of her father. Other essential characters created by Nelson in the novels include Tony Lucano, Hiram Jacobs, Maxine Webb, and several others. Nelson has set the stories in Boston, New Mexico, and a few other places. The debut book of the series is entitled ‘Reluctant Burglar’. It was released by the Multnomah Books publication in 2006. The book opens by showing that Desiree Jacobs has a great interest in art. She runs the security company founded by her father that has a high reputation internationally. Also, Desiree’s father has taught her everything known to him about art.

The things that she has learned from him the most are integrity, faith, and honor. And Desiree would do anything to uphold these values. But, a special agent named Tony Lucano is determined to destroy the good name of her father and when Desiree starts hating him, she expects that God will not punish her for this innocent mistake. Tony knows that Desiree’s father is an art thief, but he is unable to figure out where Desiree is a clever accomplice of an innocent victim. Later, Desiree’s father gets murdered. And along with the company, she gets entitled to a hidden container that contains many stolen paintings.

Desiree is unable to digest the fact that her father was an art thief. She fears that if this news goes out, it would lead to the destruction of her family business, loss of jobs, and cause embarrassment to international museums that have putting clever forgeries up for display. Desiree is determined to find out the reason for her father’s decision to turn into a criminal before the unimaginable happens. In doing so, she does not fear facing multiple cutthroat art thieves. Desiree also doesn’t mind asking for the help of the man who she distrusts the most. With danger coming up at every turn, Desiree Jacobs puts all her trust in God to help her walk the right path and overcome every danger.

The second installment of this series is called ‘Reluctant Runaway’. It was also published by the Multnomah publication in 2007. Initially, it is mentioned that Desiree Jacobs wishes to live her life peacefully as a museum security expert without falling into any kind of danger. But, when she learns that one of her friends has landed in trouble, she could not prevent herself from coming forward to help her. Her overprotective boyfriend, Tony Lucano, tries to persuade her from doing so, but she does not listen to him. When Tony and Desiree arrive at a restaurant for a date, they come across Maxine Webb. Maxine explains everything about her troubles and asks for Desiree’s help in coming out of the dangerous situation.

As Desiree begins looking into the matter, she finds herself being chased by a number of villains. She wonders if Maxine’s niece has been abducted or she has run away. Her mind also makes her wonder if the girl has fallen victim to a ritual or she is still alive. Later, one of the ongoing investigations of FBI agent Tony Lucano collides with the investigation being carried out by Desiree to help her friend. Subsequently, both of them are thrown into a darker and sinister path. They keep thwarting unseen forces from Desiree’s beloved hometown of Boston to New Mexico’s mountain desert. In the end, they succeed in saving a young woman and her infant son from an evil villain. This book received tremendous support from readers across the globe. They showered their love on it just like the previous book and helped it to become widely successful. Author Nelson received lots of praise from readers as well as critics for her excellent work. She received rave reviews from many noted reviewers and too many motivating comments. All these factors led to the worldwide success of the book. The motivation enabled Nelson to write two more novels based on Desiree Jacobs before moving on to write other books of her writing career.

One Response to “Jill Elizabeth Nelson”

1. Alice: 8 months ago

   So wild intense can’t stop reading love it

   Reply