A former staffer at The Washington Post, J.A. Jernay has discovered a compelling niche in publishing: the travel mystery.

And since every good mystery series needs a good hook — letters, numbers, baked goods, you name it — Jernay has chosen one that is near and dear to the hearts of many readers.

Foreign lands and gemstones.

Neither one is new, of course. Readers have been devouring stories about adventurous women since the 1800s, when the so-called “caged birds” broke free of Victorian domesticity to explore Egyptian pyramids, travel overland to India, or plunge into the Congo. And the search for a missing gemstone is one of the oldest plot devices in the world.

However, times have changed. The 21st-century adventurer faces a new set of challenges — alienation, questions of identity, shifted gender roles, radical new technology, globalization, and the strange contradictions of modern life.

Bringing twenty years of professional writing and editing experience to the series, Jernay plans to send her on exotic assignments for many years to come.

Send questions and comments to j.a.jernay@gmail.com.

NOTE: The Ainsley Walker Gemstone Travel Mystery series does not have to be read in chronological order. However, if you would like to do so, this is the sequence of titles:

1. The American Turquoise
2. The Uruguay Amethyst
3. The Argentina Rhodochrosite
4. The Puerto Rico Pearl
5. The Portugal Sapphire
6. The Spain Tourmaline
7. The Camino Crystal
8. The North Korea Onyx
9. The Mongolian Moonstone