J.T. Ellison is a former White House staffer who moved to Nashville and began research on a passion, forensics and crime. She worked extensively with the Metro Nashville Police Department, and utilized these experiences to write her critically acclaimed debut novel, ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS.
Ellison was mentored by one of her literary heroes, best-selling author Lee Child. He offered great praise for the author of ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS.
Said Child: "J.T. paints the feel, the context, the background, with deft, subtle, unforced strokes. She develops nuance, character and plot effortlessly. She's got talent and self-confidence, a truly winning combination." She lists Child, John Sanford, John Connolly and Michael Connelly among her favorite authors.
Ellison's short stories have been widely published, including "Prodigal Me", a short featured in the anthology KILLER YEAR, edited by Lee Child, published by St. Martin's Minotaur.
She is the Friday columnist at Murderati.com and is a founding member of Killer Year, an organization promoting the best debut novelists of 2007. Her next novel in the Taylor Jackson series, 14, will be released in September, 2008.
Learn more at: jtellison.com
"With this debut thriller, Ellison puts her mentoring by Lee Child to good use. Ellison does a nice job of laying the groundwork and creating suspense. Equally well done are the refreshingly realistic procedural details."
Library Journal
"Ellison does a skillful job of capturing the city and its flavors, while taking the police procedural out of its usual New York/Los Angeles/Chicago big-city milieu and placing it in a mid-sized, vibrant Southern city. She's populated her novel with believable players, on both sides of the law."
BookPage
"Although Nashville is the site where all the action occurs in J.T. Ellison's strong mystery novel . . . the style, tone, careful thematic development and character interaction share many things with works set in other cities. [ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS] has the attention to detail, unexpected twists and puzzles that are vital to topflight crime fiction."
Nashville City Paper
"4 Stars!"
Romantic Times
"A terrific lead character, terrific suspense, terrific twists ... a completely convincing debut."
Lee Child, NY Times bestselling author of One Shot
"A taut, striking debut. Mystery fiction has a new name to watch."
John Connolly, NY Times bestselling author of
The Black Angel and The Book Of Lost Things
"J.T. Ellison's debut novel rocks! Darkly compelling and thoroughly chilling, with rich characterization and a well-layered plot, All The Pretty Girls is everything a great crime thriller should be."
Allison Brennan, NY Times bestselling
author of SEE NO EVIL
"Taylor Jackson is a fresh portrayal of a cop with a serial killer to catch. Creepy thrills from start to finish."
James O. Born, author of Burn Zone
"All The Pretty Girls is a spellbinding suspense novel and Tennessee has a new dark poet. JT Ellison's fast-paced, clever plotting yields a page-turner par excellence. A turbo-charged thrill ride of a debut."
Julia Spencer-Fleming, Edgar finalist and
author of ALL MORTAL FLESH
"Ellison hits the ground running with an electrifying debut. All The Pretty Girls is a masterful thriller, shockingly authentic and unputdownable. Fans of Sandford, Cornwell, and Reichs will relish every page."
JA Konrath, author of Dirty Martini
"An impressive debut that is rich not just in suspense but in the details. Fast-paced and creepily believable, Ellison's novel proves that there is still room in the genre for new authors and new cops. There's no novice showing in All The Pretty Girls. It's all gritty, grisly and a great read."
Internationally bestselling author, M.J. Rose
"J.T. Ellison bursts onto the thriller scene with a gripping story that you won't want to read close to bedtime. Ellison's talent is evident not only in her ability to create nail-biting suspense, but also in her vivid characters. Well-written and smart, All The Pretty Girlscould well put Ellison and Taylor Jackson on the track to become to Nashville what Laura Lippman and Tess Monaghan are to Baltimore."
Tasha Alexander, author of And Only To Deceive
"J.T. Ellison’s All The Pretty Girlsis mystery magic, a first-rate, creepy, hold-your-breath story of suspense… Homicide Lieutenant Taylor Jackson, Ellison’s clever/tough lady cop, moves around modern day Nashville with a confidence that makes you want more of her—but the story keeps you jumpy. You’ll grit your teeth every time she opens a door or crosses a dark parking lot. J.T. Ellison knows her stuff. She wraps white-knuckle moments in impeccable, seductive prose. She shows no mercy. If you have a weak heart, stay away from All The Pretty Girls."
Robert Fate – BABY SHARK
"A word of advice before you read J.T. Ellison's brilliant debut, All The Pretty Girls: keep the lights on. With a masterful hand, Ellison delivers a villain to make you quail, pitted against the thriller world's freshest new detective since Tess Gerritsen's Jane Rizzoli. Complex and sharp-tongued, Nashville's Taylor Jackson is destined to become an icon in crime fiction. With a deft command of the language and a refreshing respect for the delicate balance between killer, victim, and detective, Ellison is an original worth keeping an eye on."
Kristy Kiernan, author of CATCHING GENIUS