James Swain (born June 7, 1956) is an American crime fiction author and magician. Swain has written at more than fifteen fiction and non-fiction books. Many have been translated into twelve languages. He has used two main characters in most of his crime related and mystery books. These are Tony Valentine, a private eye and Jack Carpenter, an ex-cop turned child rescuer. Swain is lesser known for his "Magic" non-fiction books which are self-published. Swain's recent books have been declared "Mysteries of the Year" by Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews.