Jim Hougan (born Jimmy Edwards in Brooklyn), is an American writer.
Hougan's mother was a model and father a paratrooper. His mother and he moved to Reno, Nevada, where his mother found work at a casino. Later the family moved to Los Angeles, California where Jim's mother married a Norwegian whereupon Jimmy Edwards became a Hougan (u is silent) and acquired four siblings.The family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma and then to Racine, Wisconsin, where Hougan attended Horlick High School. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, Hougan made a name for himself in journalism.Hougan was also a private investigator before writing his nonfiction novels which often center around the greater Washington, D.C. area.
Hougan authored three nonfiction books Decadence, Spooks, and Secret Agenda. These works have considered social turmoil, American intelligence workings, and Watergate. Hougan also authored seven novels. Having met his future wife Carolyn Johnson while studying philosophy in Freedom, Fate and Choice, Hougan went on to publish fictional works co-authored with Carolyn Hougan under the pseudonym John Case.