P J. Parrish is actually two sisters – Kristy Montee and Kelly Montee – who decided to pool their life-long loves of writing by teaming up in 1995 to create the character of Louis Kincaid. Their collaboration is unique in that the sisters live in separate states (Kelly in Mississippi, Kristy in Florida) – which means hefty phone bills and a reliance on America On Line. The sisters were born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, each going their separate ways in college.

Kristy graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a teaching degree but went on to journalism, first as a police reporter and features editor for the Southfield and Birmingham Eccentric newspapers chain in suburban Detroit. After moving to South Florida in 1973, she served as reporter, editor and finally assistant managing editor for the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale. Drawing on a childhood love of ballet, she also served as the Sun-Sentinel’s dance critic for 18 years before leaving journalism in 1985 to write fulltime. She now lives in Fort Lauderdale with her husband, Daniel, who is a deputy managing editor with the Sentinel, and their seven cats. When not writing, Kristy keeps her hands busy trying to tame her jungle garden and her right brain busy by learning to play the piano.

After college at Northern Michigan University in the state’s remote upper peninsula, Kelly moved to Arizona and later settled in Laughlin, Nevada. She has worked in the gaming industry for the last 15 years – doing everything from tending bar to dealing blackjack. Several years ago, she moved to Philadelphia, Miss., where she became a manager in the human relations department of a Native-American casino. Recently, she relocated to the north of the state, just outside of Memphis. Playing out her lifelong interest in law enforcement (she wrote her first mystery at age 10 called "The Kill"), she is currently taking classes in criminology. She has two daughters, a son, and three grandchildren. Louis Kincaid was born of Kelly’s experiences in Mississippi and of her love of northern Michigan — where she plans to retire someday.

The sisters are currently at work on the third and fourth Louis Kincaid novels. They are also at work on a second series set in Las Vegas’s casino world featuring a female detective.