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Women Sleuths

The past few years have shown an increase in the number of mysteries featuring a woman sleuth. She may be a police officer, a private detective, an office worker, a professor, an attorney, a nun, or even a librarian, but she is always tenacious and self-reliant. She may occasionally use her physical strength or a weapon in the course of her crime-solving; more often, she uses her intelligence, her expertise in a specific area, and her understanding of human nature to reach a solution. See also Retired Women Sleuths.

Titles are listed in the order in which they were published, through April May 2009

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* also available on CD

Susan Wittig Albert 

China Bayless is a Pecan Springs, Texas herb store owner and former attorney. Herb lore and a portrait of a modern small town being reshaped by big city refugees are important features of this series. 

  • Thyme of Death
  • Rosemary Remembered
  • Witches Bane
  • Rueful Death
  • Hangman's Root
  • Love Lies Bleeding
  • Chile Death
  • Lavender Lies
  • Mistletoe Man
  • Bloodroot
  • Indigo Dying
  • An Unthymely Death
  • A Dilly of a Death
  • Dead Man's Bones
  • Bleeding Hearts
  • Spanish Dagger
  • Nightshade
  • Wormwood

Tasha Alexander 

Lady Emily Ashton’s status in upper-crust Victorian London gives her access to the murmurings of society gossip and high-powered connections—both handy for this amateur detective.

  • And Only to Decieve
  • A Poisoned Season
  • A Fatal Waltz 

Boris Akunin 

In the remote nineteenth-century Russian countryside, Sister Pelagia uses methodical investigations to unravel tightly knotted mysteries. 

  • Sister Pelagia and the White Bulldog
  • Sister Pelagia and the Black Monk 

Mary Kay Andrews 

This humorous series features Eloise "Weezie" Foley, who forms her own antique business after a bitter divorce.

  • Savannah Blues
  • Savannah Breeze
  • Blue Christmas  

Sarah Andrews 

Em Hansen is an unemployed professional geologist, sometime FBI consultant, and part-time master's student. 

  • Tensleep
  • A Fall in Denver
  • Mother Nature
  • Only Flesh and Bones
  • Bone Hunter
  • An Eye for Gold
  • Fault Line
  • Killer Dust
  • Earth Colors
  • Dead Dry  

Nancy Atherton 

Lori Shepard relies on the supernatural skills of Aunt Dimity, her now-dead benefactor, to solve puzzles on both sides of the grave in this cozy series.   

  • Aunt Dimity’s Death
  • Aunt Dimity and the Duke
  • Aunt Dimity’s Good Deed
  • Aunt Dimity Digs In
  • Aunt Dimity’s Christmas
  • Aunt Dimity Beats the Devil
  • Aunt Dimity, Detective
  • Aunt Dimity Takes a Holiday
  • Aunt Dimity Snowbound
  • Aunt Dimity and the Next of Kin
  • Aunt Dimity and the Deep Blue Sea
  • Aunt Dimity Goes West
  • Aunt Dimity, Vampire Hunter
  • Aunt Dimity Slays the Dragon 

Lori Avocato 

Pauline Sokol leaves the nursing profession to become a fraud investigator for the Scarpello & Tonelli Insurance Company. 

  • A Dose of Murder
  • The Stiff and the Dead
  • One Dead Under the Cuckoo's Nest
  • Deap Sea Dead
  • Nip, Tuck, Dead
  • Dead on Arrival 

Deb Baker 

Gertie Johnson is a sixty-six-year-old grandmother who upholds the law in Michigan’s rural Upper Penisula.  

  • Murder Passes the Buck
  • Murder Grins and Bears It
  • Murder Talks Turkey  

Jo Bannister 

Single mother Brodie Ferrell starts her own search service, "Looking for Something?," in Dimmock, England. 

  • Echoes of Lies
  • True Witness
  • Reflections
  • The Depths of Solitude
  • Breaking Faith
  • Requiem for a Dealer
  • Flawed
  • Closer Still 

Linda Barnes 

Six-foot-one red-head Carlotta Carlyle, former Boston cop and sometimes cabbie, sets herself up as an independent private investigator ready to deal with anything from lost pets to grand larceny. 

  • A Trouble of Fools
  • The Snake Tattoo
  • Coyote
  • Steel Guitar
  • Snapshot
  • Hardware
  • Cold Case *
  • Flashpoint
  • The Big Dig
  • Deep Pockets
  • Heart of the World
  • Lie Down With the Devil  

Nevada Barr 

Anna Pigeon is a National Park Service Ranger. In each book, she has been assigned to a different national park, including one in Texas and one on Lake Superior. 

  • Track of the Cat
  • Superior Death
  • Ill Wind
  • Firestorm
  • Endangered Species
  • Blind Descent *
  • Liberty Falling *
  • Deep South *
  • Blood Lure *
  • Hunting Season *
  • Flashback *
  • High Country *
  • Hard Truth *
  • Winter Study *  

Stephanie Barron  

Stephanie Barron is the pseudonym of former C.I.A. intelligence analyst Francine Mathews. This mystery series features Jane Austen as detective in Regency England.  

  • Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor
  • Jane and the Man of the Cloth
  • Jane and the Wandering Eye
  • Jane and the Genius of the Place *
  • Jane and the Stillroom Maid *
  • Jane and the Ghosts of Netley
  • Jane and the Prisoner of Wool House
  • Jane and the Ghosts of Netley
  • Jane and His Lordship's Legacy
  • Jane and the Barque of Frailty 

Carrie Bebris 

Author Carrie Bebris was inspired to reimagine some of Jane Austen’s most enduring characters as amateur detectives in Regency England in her Mr. and Mrs. Darcy series. 

  • Pride and Prescience
  • Suspense and Sensibility
  • North by Northanger
  • The Matters at Mansfield 

Laurien Berenson 

Melanie Travis is a special education teacher, divorced mother, and new owner of a standard poodle. Aided by her Aunt Peg, Melanie enters the dog show world. These lighthearted adventures will charm dog fanciers and cozy fans.

  • A Pedigree to Die For
  • Underdog
  • Dog Eat Dog
  • Hair of the Dog
  • Watchdog
  • Hush Puppy
  • Unleashed
  • Once Bitten
  • Hot Dog
  • Best in Show
  • Jingle Bell Bark
  • Raining Cats & Dogs
  • Chow Down
  • Hounded to Death
  • Doggie Day Care Murder  

Ruth Birmingham 

Sonny Childs is the sharp-tongued lead private investigator for Peachtree Investigations in Atlanta, Georgia. 

  • Atlanta Graves
  • Fulton County Blues
  • Sweet Georgia
  • Blue Plate Special
  • Cold Trail
  • Feet of Clay

Cara Black 

The City of Light seems worlds away from the dark, crime-ridden corners of Paris where Aimee Leduc does her investigating in these fast-paced mysteries.   

  • Murder in the Marais
  • Murder in Belleville
  • Murder in the Sentier
  • Murder in the Bastille
  • Murder in Clichy
  • Murder in Montmarte
  • Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis
  • Murder in the Rue de Paradis
  • Murder in the Latin Quarter  

Eleanor Taylor Bland 

Marti MacAlister, mystery fiction's first black woman homicide detective, is a former Chicago cop who joins the suburban Lincoln Prairie police force after her husband dies. 

  • Dead Time
  • Slow Burn
  • Gone Quiet
  • Done Wrong
  • Keep Still
  • See No Evil
  • Scream in Silence
  • Whispers in the Dark
  • Windy City Dying
  • Fatal Remains
  • Shades of Black
  • Cold & Silent Dying
  • Dark & Deadly Deception
  • Suddenly A Stranger

Rhys Bowen 

In this early 20th-century series, Molly Murphy travels to New York, running away from Ireland and the accidental murder of a man who tried to rape her. In New York, Molly sets herself up as an apprentice to a private detective. 

  • Murphy's Law
  • Death of Riley
  • For the Love of Mike
  • In Like Flynn
  • Oh Danny Boy
  • In Dublin’s Fair City
  • Tell Me, Pretty Maiden 

Although Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie has a royal pedigree, her penniless state and extraordinary sleuthing knack puts her on the trail of murderers in 1920s England. 

  • Her Royal Spyness
  • A Royal Pain

Rita Mae Brown 

Merry Minor Herristeen (Harry), postmistress of Crizel, Virginia, is helped in investigations by Mrs. Murphy (her cat), Tee Tucker (her dog) and Pewter (a neighbor's cat). 

  • Wish You Were
  • Rest in Pieces
  • Murder at Monticello
  • Pay Dirt
  • Murder She Meowed
  • Murder on the Prowl
  • Cat on the Scent
  • Pawing through the Past
  • Claws and Effect
  • Catch as Cat Can *
  • Tail of the Tip-off
  • Whisker of Evil *
  • Cat's Eyebrows *
  • Sour Puss *
  • Puss ‘n Cahoots *
  • The Purrfect Murder *
  • Santa Clawed * 

In her seventies, Master of the Hunt Jane ‘Sister’ Arnold is still a feisty detective in murder-prone Virginia horse country.   

  • Outfoxed
  • Hotspur
  • Full Cry
  • The Hunt Ball
  • The Hounds and the Fury
  • The Tell-Tale Horse
  • Hounded to Death  

Fiona Buckley  

Set in 16th Century England these mysteries feature Ursula Blanchard, a young widow who is one Elizabeth I's Ladies of the Presence Chamber. An eye for suspicious dealings has gained her an additional income as a spy for the Queen.  

  • To Shield the Queen
  • The Doublet Affair
  • Queen's Ransom
  • To Ruin the Queen
  • Queen of Ambition
  • A Pawn for a Queen
  • The Fugitive Queen
  • The Siren Queen   

Jan Burke 

Irene Kelly is a news reporter in southern California and can't stay away from solving crimes. Detective Frank Harriman, Irene's on-again, off-again love interest has become an integral part of the series.

  • Goodnight, Irene
  • Sweet Dreams, Irene
  • Dear Irene
  • Remember Me, Irene
  • Hocus
  • Liar
  • Bones
  • Flight
  • Bloodlines
  • Kidnapped 

Dorothy Cannell 

Ellie Haskell, heiress and mother of twins, lives in England with her husband Ben, who she met through an escort service. 

  • The Thin Woman
  • Widow’s Club
  • Mum’s the Word
  • Femmes Fatal
  • How to Murder Your Mother-In-Law
  • How to Murder the Man of Your Dreams
  • The Spring Cleaning Murders
  • The Trouble With Harriet
  • Bridesmaids Revisited
  • God Save the Queen
  • The Importance of Being Ernestine
  • Withering Heights
  • Goodbye, Ms. Chips  

P. M. Carlson 

Martine "Marty" Hopkins is the deputy sheriff of quiet Nichols County in southern Indiana. She tries to find a balance between the demands of her job and her home life, which includes her husband and young daughter. 

  • Gravestone
  • Bloodstream
  • Deathwind
  • Crossfire  

Agatha Christie 

Miss Jane Marple, one of the finest women detectives, lives in St. Mary Mead. Her knowledge of the village and of human nature gives her the insight necessary to solve crimes. Tricky plots with dazzling solutions. 

  • The Murder at the Vicarage *
  • The Tuesday Club Murders *
  • The Body in the Library *
  • The Moving Finger
  • A Murder is Announced
  • Three Blind Mice
  • They Do It With Mirrors *
  • Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories
  • Pocket Full of Rye *
  • 4.50 From Paddington *
  • The Mirror Crack'd
  • A Caribbean Mystery *
  • At Bertram's Hotel *
  • Nemesis
  • Sleeping Murder   

Jill Churchill 

Her earlier series features Jane Jeffrey, a young suburban "Jane Marple" with kids, a dog and a busy life as a single mother.  

  • Grime and Punishment
  • Farewell to Yarns
  • Quiche Before Dying
  • The Class Menagerie
  • A Knife to Remember
  • From Here to Paternity
  • Silence of the Hams
  • War and Peas
  • Fear of Frying
  • The Merchant of Menace
  • A Groom with a View
  • Mulch Ado About Nothing
  • The House of Seven Mabels
  • Bell, Book and Scandal *
  • A Midsummer Night's Scream
  • The Accidental Florist 

Churchill's new series is set in the Hudson River Valley in the 1930's and stars a sister and brother team of inn owners, Lily and Robert Brewster. 

  • Anything Goes
  • In the Still of the Night
  • Someone to Watch Over Me
  • Love for Sale
  • It Had to Be You *
  • Who's Sorry Now   

Judy Clemens 

29-year-old Stella Crown runs a dairy farm in rural Pennsylvania. In her spare time, she rides Harley-Davidson motorcycles and solves the mysteries that arise in her small community. 

  • Till the Cows Come Home
  • Three Can Keep a Secret
  • To Thine Own Self Be True
  • The Day Will Come
  • Different Paths 

Margaret Coel 

Coel's Arapaho Indian Mystery series takes place on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming and features a Jesuit missionary named John Aloysius O'Malley and an Arapaho attorney named Vicky Holden. 

  • Eagle Catcher
  • Ghost Walker
  • Dream Stalker
  • Story Teller
  • Lost Bird *
  • Spirit Woman *
  • Thunder Keeper *
  • Shadow Dancer
  • Killing Raven
  • Wife of Moon
  • Eye on the Wolf
  • The Drowning Man
  • The Girl With the Braided Hair  

Susan Conant 

30-year-old Holly Winter is a feisty columnist for Dog's Life Magazine, living in Cambridge, MA. She stumbles across murder in the course of training and showing her Alaskan Malamute dogs. 

  • A New Leash on Death
  • Dead and Doggone
  • A Bite of Death
  • Paws Before Dying
  • Gone to the Dogs
  • Bloodlines
  • Ruffly Speaking
  • Black Ribbon
  • Stud Rites
  • Animal Appetite
  • The Barker Street Regulars
  • Evil Breeding
  • Creature Discomforts
  • The Wicked Flee
  • The Dogfather
  • Bride and Groom
  • Gaits of Heaven
  • All Shots 

Susan Conant has teamed up with her daughter, Jessica Conant-Park, to write a new culinary mystery series set in Brighton, MA, featuring twenty-something Chloe Carter. Carter is a food connoisseur, looking for the perfect dish and the perfect date, but finding murder along the way. 

  • Steamed
  • Simmer Down
  • Turn Up the Heat  

Beverly Connor 

Connor released the first book of a brand new series featuring forensic anthropologist Diane Fallon. As the new director of the River Trail Museum of Natural History in Georgia, Diane thought she had left forensics behind her until plot twists bring her back into the field. 

  • One Grave Too Many
  • Dead Guilty
  • Dead Secret
  • Dead Past
  • Dead Hunt  

Natasha Cooper  

Amateur sleuth Willow King leads a double life. Tues.-Thurs. she's a civil service administrator in London’s Dept. of Old Age Pensions; the rest of the week she works as romance author Cressida Woodruffe.  

  • A Common Death
  • Poison Flowers
  • Bloody Roses
  • Bitter Herbs
  • Rotten Apples
  • Drowning Pool
  • Sour Grapes  

As an offshoot of the King series, Cooper began a series with a slightly darker edge, featuring barrister Trish Maguire. 

  • Creeping Ivy
  • Fault Lines
  • Prey to All
  • Out of the Dark
  • A Place of Safety
  • Keep Me Alive
  • Gagged & Bound
  • Evil Is Done
  • A Poisoned Mind  

Patricia D. Cornwell 

Kay Scarpetta, Chief Medical Examiner in Virginia, is able to sort out answers from available forensic evidence. 

  • Postmortem *
  • Body of Evidence *
  • All that Remains *
  • Cruel and Unusual *
  • The Body Farm *
  • From Potter's Field *
  • Cause of Death *
  • Unnatural Exposure *
  • Point of Origin *
  • Scarpetta's Winter Table (short stories)
  • Black Notice *
  • Last Precinct *
  • Blow Fly *
  • Trace *
  • Predator *
  • At Risk *
  • Book of the Dead *
  • Scarpetta * 

Andy Brazil, a young reporter-turned-rookie, police chief Judy Hammer and her deputy, Virginia West battle the bad guys in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

  • Hornet's Nest *
  • Southern Cross *
  • Isle of Dogs *

Deborah Crombie 

Detective Sergeant Gemma James and Superintendent Duncan Kincaid are English police detectives. Gemma is a young divorced single mother and she develops a complicated relationship with Duncan. 

  • A Share in Death *
  • All Shall Be Well
  • Leave the Grave Green *
  • Mourn Not Your Dead *
  • Dreaming of the Bones
  • Kissed a Sad Goodbye
  • A Finer End
  • And Justice There is None *
  • Now May You Weep
  • In a Dark House *
  • Water Like a Stone *
  • Where Memories Lie *

Mary Daheim 

Former journalist Mary Daheim writes two mystery series, the first of which focuses on a Seattle bed and breakfast run by Judith McMonigle Flynn. 

  • Just Desserts
  • Fowl Prey
  • Holy Terrors
  • Dune to Death
  • Bantam of the Opera
  • Fit of Tempera
  • Major Vices
  • Murder, My Suite
  • Auntie Mayhem
  • Nutty as a Fruitcake
  • September Mourn
  • Wed and Buries
  • Snow Place to Die
  • Legs Benedict
  • Creeps Suzete
  • Streetcar Named Expire
  • Suture Self
  • Silver Scream
  • Hocus Croakus
  • This Old Souse
  • Dead Man Docking  

Ms. Daheim's other star is Emma Lord, a small-town newspaper owner-editor in Alpine, Washington. 

  • The Alpine Advocate
  • The Alpine Betrayal
  • The Alpine Christmas
  • The Alpine Decoy
  • The Alpine Escape
  • The Alpine Fury
  • The Alpine Gamble
  • The Alpine Hero
  • The Alpine Icon
  • The Alpine Journey
  • The Alpine Kindred
  • The Alpine Legacy
  • The Alpine Menace
  • The Alpine Nemesis
  • The Alpine Obituary
  • The Alpine Pursuit
  • The Alpine Quilt
  • The Alpine Recluse
  • The Alpine Scandal
  • The Alpine Traitor  

Jeanne Dams  

Hilda Johansson is a turn-of-the-century Swedish housemaid in South Bend, Indiana. 

  • Death in Lacquer Red *
  • A Red, White and Blue Murder *
  • Green Grow the Victims *
  • Silence is Golden *
  • Crimson Snow
  • Indigo Christmas   

Diane Mott Davidson 

Gertrude "Goldy" Bear is a caterer in Aspen Meadow, Colorado. Mouth-watering recipes and food descriptions are liberally mixed into the plot. She works closely with officer Tom Schulz; eventually they marry. 

  • Catering to Nobody *
  • Dying for Chocolate
  • Cereal Murders
  • The Last Suppers
  • Killer Pancake
  • The Main Corpse
  • The Grilling Season
  • Prime Cut *
  • Tough Cookie
  • Sticks and Scones
  • Chopping Spree
  • Double Shot *
  • Dark Tort *
  • Sweet Revenge *
  • Fatally Flaky *  

Carola Dunn 

These 1920's mysteries are a cozy look at post World War I Britain. The Honourable Daisy Dalrymple writes magazine features that frequently get her involved in murder.  

  • Death at Wentwate Court
  • The Winter Garden Mystery
  • Requiem for a Mezzo
  • Murder on the Flying Scotsman
  • Damsel in Distress
  • Dead in the Water
  • Styx and Stones
  • Rattle His Bones
  • To Davy Jones Below
  • The Case of the Murdered Muckraker
  • Mistletoe and Murder
  • Die Laughing
  • A Mournful Wedding
  • Fall of the Philanderer
  • Gunpowder Plot
  • Bloody Tower
  • Black Ship   

Kathy Lynn Emerson  

Set in the 16th century these historical mysteries feature Lady Susanna Appleton, an herbalist.  

  • Face Down in the Marrow Bone Pie
  • Face Down Upon an Herbal
  • Face Down Among the Winchester Geese
  • Face Down Beneath the Eleanor Cross
  • Face Down Under the Wych Elm
  • Face Down Before the Rebel Hooves
  • Face Down Across the Western Sea
  • Face Down Below the Banqueting House
  • Face Down Beside St. Anne’s Well
  • Face Down O’er the Border 

Emerson began a new series featuring Diana Spaulding, a descendant of Lady Susanna Appleton. Independence, stubbornness, and a taste for solving mysteries have remained through the generations. Set in the late 1800s, widowed Spaulding works as a journalist in New York City. 

  • Deadlier than the Pen
  • Fatal as a Fallen Woman
  • No Mortal Reason
  • Lethal Legend  

Janet Evanovich 

Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum tracks down bail jumpers in Trenton, New Jersey. Her bounty hunter pal Ranger often steps in to advise her and vice-cop Joe Morelli also joins in her cases. 

  • One for the Money *
  • Two for the Dough *
  • Three to Get Deadly *
  • Four to Score *
  • High Five *
  • Hot Six *
  • Seven Up *
  • Hard Eight *
  • To the Nines *
  • Ten Big Ones *
  • Eleven on Top *
  • Twelve Sharp
  • Lean Mean Thirteen *
  • Fearless Fourteen * 

Evanovich's new series follows Alexandra Barnaby, a tough, working-class woman from Baltimore who grew up helping her mechanic father and has never lost her passion for cars even though she now works as an insurance clerk. 

  • Metro Girl *
  • Motor Mouth  

Jerrilyn Farmer 

Madeline Bean takes on the daunting task of balancing her catering career with amateur sleuthing—all while making social functions for Los Angeles’ high and mighty flow smoothly. 

  • Sympathy For the Devil
  • Immaculate Reception
  • Killer Wedding
  • Dim Sum Dead
  • Mumbo Gumbo
  • Perfect Sax
  • The Flaming Luau of Death
  • Desperately Seeking Sushi 

Monica Ferris 

Written under one of Mary Monica Pulver's many pseudonyms, this series features Betsy Devonshire, owner of a needle and yarn store in Excelsior, Minnesota. Needlework enthusiasts will enjoy these handcraft-inspired cozies. 

  • Crewel World
  • Framed in Lace
  • A Stitch in Time
  • Unraveled Sleve
  • A Murderous Yarn
  • Hanging by a Thread
  • Cutwork
  • Crewel Yule
  • Embroidered Truths
  • Sins and Needles
  • Knitting Bones
  • Thai Die 

Under the name Margaret Frazer, Pulver writes about a medieval nun in Oxfordshire, England, named Sister Frevisse. 

  • Novice's Tale
  • Servant's Tale
  • Outlaw's Tale
  • Bishop's Tale
  • Boy's Tale
  • Murderer's Tale
  • Prioress' Tale
  • Maiden's Tale
  • Reeve's Tale
  • Squire's Tale
  • Clerk's Tale
  • Bastard's Tale
  • Hunter's Tale
  • Widow's Tale
  • Sempster's Tale
  • Traitor’s Tale
  • Apostate’s Tale  

Earlene Fowler  

Benni Harper is director of a folk art museum in mythical San Celina on California's central coast. Benni often clashes with police chief Gabe Ortiz, with whom she is also involved with romantically. 

  • Fools Puzzle
  • Irish Chain
  • Kansas Troubles
  • Goose in the Pond
  • Dove in the Window
  • Mariner's Compass
  • Seven Sisters
  • Arkansas Traveler
  • Steps to the Altar
  • Sunshine and Shadow
  • Broken Dishes
  • Delectable Mountains *
  • Tumbling Blocks * 

Ariana Franklin 

Vesuvia Adelia Rachel Ortese Aguilar did not want to leave her native Salerno for the chilly fens of uncivilized medieval England, but even a highly trained medical coroner cannot ignore King Henry II’s request for her detecting skills.   

  • Mistress of the Art of Death *
  • The Serpent’s Tale *
  • Grave Goods *

Hal Glatzer 

It’s hard for a female musician to find a job in the 1930s, no matter how well they play.  Katy Green goes on the road with a swing band, and uncovers murder along the way.   

  • Too Dead To Swing
  • A Fugue In Hell’s Kitchen
  • The Last Full Measure 

Roberta Gellis 

In 12th-century London, the Bishop of Winchester has made a most unusual pact with Magdalene la Batarde, a widow who rents from him the church's Old Priory Guesthouse next door. There she runs a quiet, elegant whorehouse. 

  • A Mortal Bane
  • A Personal Devil
  • Bone of Contention
  • Chains of Folly   

Dorothy Gilman 

Mrs. Emily Pollifax has been a widow for eight years; her grown children and grandchildren live far away. Bored with her garden club meetings, she concludes that it's time to do what she's always wanted to do: become a spy. Pragmatic and curious, with an unshakable knowledge of human nature, Mrs. Pollifax is a surprisingly successful secret agent. 

  • Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax *
  • The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax *
  • The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax *
  • A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax *
  • Mrs. Pollifax on Safari *
  • Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station *
  • Mrs. Pollifax and the Hong Kong Buddha *
  • Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle
  • Mrs. Pollifax and the Whirling Dervish *
  • Mrs. Pollifax and the Second Thief
  • Mrs. Pollifax Pursued
  • Mrs. Pollifax and the Lion Killer *
  • Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist *
  • Mrs. Pollifax, Unveiled *  

Countess Madame Karitska, with the powerful gift of clairvoyance, works with Detective Lieutenant Pruden to solve mysteries. 

  • The Clairvoyant Countess
  • Kaleidoscope  

Jacqueline Girdner 

Writing as Claire Daniels - Girdner has started a new series featuring Cally Lazar, an intuitive energy worker and recovering attorney. 

  • Body of Intuition
  • Strangled Intuition
  • Cruel and Unusual Intuition
  • Final Intuition   

Leslie Glass  

April Woo, a NYPD detective has an easier time dealing with the stresses of the job then she does dealing with her mother, Skinny Dragon.  

  • Burning Time
  • Hanging Time
  • Loving Time
  • Judging Time
  • Stealing Time
  • Tracking Time
  • Silent Bride
  • A Killing Gift
  • A Clean Kill   

Sue Grafton 

Kinsey Millhone, 32, twice divorced, ex-cop and ex-investigator for California Fidelity Insurance Company, is now a private investigator in Santa Rosa.  

  • A is for Alibi *
  • B is for Burglar *
  • C is for Corpse *
  • D is for Deadbeat *
  • E is for Evidence *
  • F is for Fugitive *
  • G is for Gumshoe *
  • H is for Homicide *
  • I is for Innocent *
  • J is for Judgment *
  • K is for Killer *
  • L is for Lawless *
  • M is for Malice *
  • N is for Noose *
  • O is for Outlaw *
  • P is for Peril *
  • Q is for Quarry *
  • R is for Ricochet *
  • S is for Silence *
  • T is for Trespass * 

Christine Green 

Kate Kinsella uses her experience as a London nurse to unravel medical mysteries. 

  • Deadly Errand
  • Deadly Admirer
  • Deadly Practice
  • Deadly Partners
  • Deadly Bond
  • Deadly Echo
  • Deadly Choice
  • Deadly Night
  • Deadly Web
  • Deadly Retreat  

Kerry Greenwood 

Set in the 1920s, this series follows Phryne Fisher, a woman who leaves London, England, for Melbourne, Australia to try and establish herself as a detective. 

  • Cocaine Blues
  • Flying Too High
  • Murder on the Ballarat Train
  • Death on the Victoria Dock
  • The Green Hill Murder
  • Blood and Circuses
  • Ruddy Gore
  • Urn Burial
  • Raisins and Almonds
  • Death Before Wicket
  • Murder in Montparnasse
  • Queen of Flowers
  • Away with the Fairies
  • The Castlemaine Murders
  • Death by Water
  • Murder in the Dark 

Corinna Chapman left her job as an accountant to open her own bakery, Earthly Delights, in an eccentric building in Melbourne, Australia.   

  • Earthly Delights
  • Heavenly Pleasures  

Carolyn Haines 

Sarah Booth Delaney is a Southern belle living in Zinnia, Mississippi, who unexpectedly finds herself in the position of private investigator. 

  • Them Bones
  • Buried Bones
  • Splintered Bones
  • Crossed Bones
  • Hallowed Bones *
  • Bones to Pick
  • Hambones
  • Wishbones

Denise Hamilton 

Eve Diamond is a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, who uncovers crime as she covers the news. 

  • The Jasmine Trade
  • Sugar Skull
  • Last Lullaby
  • Savage Garden
  • Prisoner of Memory

Lyn Hamilton  

These archaeological mysteries feature Toronto antiquities dealer, Lara McClintock. Each book takes her to a different area of the world.  

  • The Xibalba Murders
  • The Maltese Goddess
  • The Moche Warrior
  • The Celtic Riddle
  • The African Quest
  • The Etruscan Chimera
  • The Thai Amulet
  • The Magyar Venus
  • The Moai Murders
  • The Orkney Scroll
  • The Chinese Alchemist  

Karen Harper  

Many books feature an Elizabethan setting, only this one features Elizabeth I as the investigator.  

  • The Poyson Garden
  • The Tidal Poole
  • The Twylight Tower
  • The Queen's Cure
  • The Thorne Maze
  • The Queen's Christmas
  • The Fyre Mirror
  • The Fatal Fashione
  • The Hooded Hawke  

Charlaine Harris  

Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic southern waitress and her Vampire boyfriend, Bill, battle the supernatural as they solve mysteries. 

  • Dead Until Dark *
  • Living Dead in Dallas *
  • Club Dead *
  • Dead to the World *
  • Dead as a Doornail *
  • Definitely Dead *
  • All Together Dead *
  • From Dead to Worse *
  • Dead and Gone * 

Harper Connelly survived a lightning strike with an unusual ability to locate bodies and see how they died.   

  • Grave Sight
  • Grave Surprise
  • An Ice Cold Grave

Carolyn Hart 

Annie Laurance, owner of a mystery bookstore called Death on Demand, and Max Darling, independently wealthy private detective, join forces to solve murders on the island community of Browards Rock. 

  • Death on Demand *
  • Design for Murder
  • Something Wicked
  • Honeymoon with Murder *
  • Little Class on Murder
  • Deadly Valentine
  • Christie Caper
  • Southern Ghost
  • Mint Julep Murder
  • Yankee Doodle Dead *
  • White Elephant Dead *
  • Sugarplum Dead *
  • April Fool Dead
  • Engaged to Die *
  • Murder Walks the Plank *
  • Death of the Party *
  • Dead Days of Summer *  

Ellen Hart 

Jane Lawless is a Minneapolis restaurant owner and her friend is theatrical director Cordelia Thorn. Books include religious and psychological themes. 

  • Hallowed Murder
  • Vital Lies
  • Stage Fright
  • Killing Cure
  • Small Sacrifice
  • Faint Praise
  • Robber's Wine
  • Wicked Games
  • Hunting the Witch
  • Merchant of Venus
  • Immaculate Midnight
  • An Intimate Ghost
  • Iron Girl  

Sophie Greenway also lives and works in Minneapolis. She's a magazine editor, food critic and hotel owner. 

  • This Little Piggy Went to Murder
  • For Every Evil
  • The Oldest Sin
  • Murder in the Air
  • Slice and Dice
  • Dial M for Meat Loaf
  • Death on a Silver Platter
  • No Reservations Required   

Lynne Heitman 

Alex Shanahan is an airline manager who finds herself becoming an impromptu investigator when mystery crosses her way.  

  • Hard Landing
  • Tarmac
  • First Class Killing   

Lauren Henderson  

London sculptor Sam Jones is described as the reprobate hero's female counterpart, one who's capable of eating him for breakfast.  

  • Dead White Female
  • Black Rubber Dress
  • Freeze My Margarita
  • The Strawberry Tattoo
  • Chained
  • Pretty Boy

Joan Hess 

Arly Hanks is the first woman sheriff of her hometown, Maggody, Arkansas (population 852). Maggody seemed like a quiet place to recuperate from a disastrous marriage in New York City.  

  • Malice in Maggody
  • Mischief in Maggody
  • Much Ado in Maggody
  • Madness in Maggody
  • Mortal Remains in Maggody
  • Maggody in Manhattan
  • Little Town of Maggody
  • Martians in Maggody
  • Miracles in Maggody
  • Maggody Militia
  • Misery Loves Maggody *
  • Murder at Maggody.com *
  • Maggody and the Moonbeams
  • Muletrain to Maggody *
  • Malpractice in Maggody  

Claire Malloy is the owner of the Book Depot near Farber College. Claire and her teenage daughter Caron solve crimes in a lively and entertaining manner. 

  • Strangled Prose
  • The Murder at the Murder at Mimosa Inn
  • Dear Miss Demeanor
  • A Really Cute Corpse
  • A Diet to Die For
  • Roll Over and Play Dead
  • Death by the Light of the Moon
  • Poisoned Pins
  • Tickled to Death
  • Busy Bodies
  • Closely Akin to Murder
  • Holly, Jolly Murder
  • A Conventional Corpse
  • Out on a Limb
  • The Goodbye Body
  • Damsels in Distress
  • Mummy Dearest  

Lynn Hightower  

Lena Padget is a private investigator from Kentucky whose specialty is assisting women and children lost in the complications of the legal system. 

  • Satan's Lambs
  • Fortunes of the Dead
  • When Secrets Die   

Victoria Houston 

Lewellyn Ferris, a fly fishing wonder and the Chief of Police in Loon Lake, Wisconsin is featured in these mysteries. 

  • Dead Angler
  • Dead Creek
  • Dead Water
  • Dead Hot Mama
  • Dead Jitterbug
  • Dead Boogie
  • Dead Frenzy
  • Dead Madonna
  • Dead Hot Shot  

Maddy Hunter 

This Wisconsin author writes the "Passport to Peril" mysteries featuring Emily Andrew. 

  • Alpine for You
  • Top o' the Mournin'
  • Pasta Imperfect
  • Hula Done It?
  • G’Day to Die
  • Norway to Hide  

Roberta Isleib 

Cassie Burdette is a professional golfer who uncovers mysteries as she drives her way to the top. 

  • Six Strokes Under
  • Buried Lie
  • Putt to Death
  • Fairway to Heaven
  • Final Fore   

J.A. Jance  

Sheriff Joanna Brady, elected sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona after her husband is killed, is a single parent and an inexperienced police officer who learns on the job. 

  • Desert Heat
  • Tombstone Courage
  • Shoot, Don't Shoot
  • Dead To Rights
  • Skeleton Canyon
  • Rattlesnake Crossing
  • Outlaw Mountain
  • Devil's Claw *
  • Paradise Lost *
  • Partner in Crime *
  • Exit Wounds *
  • Dead Wrong *
  • Damage Control * 

Susan Kandel 

Biographer Cece Caruso is obsessed with two things:  vintage clothing and dead authors.  This cozy, high-spirited series set in Southern California gives Cece ample opportunity to research Los Angeles’ legendary past—and unravel some of its recent murders. 

  • I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason
  • Not a Girl Detective
  • Shamus in the Green Room
  • Christietown  

Faye Kellerman 

Rina Lazarus, a widow and a member of an orthodoc Jewish community, assists police detective Peter Decker in solving crimes. 

  • Ritual Bath
  • Sacred and Profane
  • Milk and Honey
  • Day of Atonement
  • False Prophet
  • Grievous Sin
  • Sanctuary
  • Justice
  • Prayers for the Dead
  • A Serpent's Tooth
  • Jupiter's Bones
  • Stalker *
  • Forgotten *
  • Stone Kiss *
  • Street Dreams *
  • The Burnt House *
  • The Mercedes Coffin *  

Laurie King 

Kate Martinelli finds herself with a promotion to detective in the San Francisco Police Department and needs to prove herself. 

  • A Grave Talent
  • To Play The Fool
  • With Child
  • Night Work *
  • Art of Detection * 

Mary Russell, first a teenage student of Sherlock Holmes and later his partner in solving crimes, reports on cases that the retired beekeeper Holmes takes on. 

  • Beekeeper's Apprentice
  • A Monstrous Regiment Of Women *
  • A Letter Of Mary
  • The Moor *
  • O Jerusalem *
  • Justice Hall *
  • The Game *
  • Locked Rooms *
  • The Language of Bees *  

J. A. Konrath 

Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels is a lieutenant on the Chicago Police Department, investigating homicides with her partner, Herb. A hard-boiled detective series with a humorous twist. 

  • Whiskey Sour *
  • Bloody Mary*
  • Rusty Nail *
  • Dirty Martini *
  • Fuzzy Navel

Harley Jane Kozak 

Wollie Shelley struggles to keep her "Good Gollie Miss Wollies" greeting card line afloat and finds herself caring for her mentally ill brother, participating in extreme dating adventures, and solving murder mysteries along the way. 

  • Dating Dead Men
  • Dating is Murder *
  • Dead Ex *  

Rochelle Majer Krich  

Krich's new series features Molly Blume, a true-crime writer in Los Angeles, California. 

  • Blues in the Night
  • Dream House
  • Grave Endings
  • Now You See Me   

Laura Lippman 

Tess Monaghan is a newspaper reporter turned P.I. in Baltimore, Maryland.  

  • Baltimore Blues *
  • Charm City *
  • Butchers Hill *
  • In Big Trouble *
  • The Sugar House
  • In a Strange City
  • The Last Place
  • By a Spider's Thread *
  • No Good Deeds *
  • Another Thing to Fall *  

Mary Logue 

Claire Watkins, a former Minneapolis police detective, is a widow trying to care for her ten-year-old daughter and act as deputy sheriff for the Pepin County Police Department in Fort St. Anoine, Wisconsin. 

  • Blood Country
  • Dark Coulee
  • Glare Ice
  • Bone Harvest *
  • Poison Heart
  • Maiden Rock
  • Point No Point  

Margaret Maron 

Lawyer and eventually Judge Deborah Knott lives in the tobacco country of Colleton County, North Carolina. She is part of a large Southern family and is at home with the rich landscape and people of the New South. 

  • Bootlegger's Daughter
  • Southern Discomfort
  • Shooting At Loons
  • Up Jumps the Devil
  • Killer Market
  • Home Fires
  • Storm Track
  • Uncommon Clay
  • Slow Dollar *
  • High Country Fall *
  • Rituals of the Season *
  • Winter’s Child *
  • Hard Row *
  • Death’s Half Acre *  

Nancy Martin 

Set in Philadelphia, this series follows three sisters, Nora, Emma, and Libby Blackbird, who are left with a two million dollar tax debt when their parents leave town. In need of money, Nora finds work at a Philadelphia newspaper and finds herself stumbling across mysterious murders. 

  • How to Murder a Millionaire
  • Dead Girls Don't Wear Diamonds
  • Some Like it Lethal
  • Cross Your Heart and Hope to Die
  • Have Your Cake and Kill Him Too
  • A Crazy Little Thing Called Death
  • Murder Melts in Your Mouth  

Michele Martinez 

Melanie Vargas is a young federal prosecutor in Manhattan, New York, who is trying to advance her career and spend time with her baby daughter. 

  • Most Wanted
  • The Finishing School
  • Cover-Up
  • Notorious  

Sujata Massey 

These mysteries set in modern Japan feature the first-person voice of 27-year-old Rei Shimura, a California raised Japanese American English teacher and antiques dealer.  

  • The Salaryman's Wife
  • Zen Attitude
  • The Flower Master
  • The Floating Girl
  • The Bride's Kimono
  • The Samurai's Daughter
  • The Pearl Diver
  • The Typhoon Lover
  • Girl In a Box
  • Shimura Trouble  

G. A. McKevett 

This Southern California series stars Detective Sergeant Savannah Reid, dropped from the San Carmelita Police Dept. for being overweight. The Georgia-born karate expert promptly sets up the Moonlight Detective Agency.  

  • Just Desserts
  • Bitter Sweets
  • Killer Calories
  • Cooked Goose
  • Sugar and Spite
  • Sour Grapes
  • Peaches and Screams
  • Death by Chocolate
  • Cereal Killer
  • Murder a la Mode
  • Corpse Suzette
  • Fat Free and Fatal
  • Poisoned Tarts  

Ann McMillan 

Narcissa Power, a young widow and Judah Daniel, a freedwoman who is also the local herbalist work together at the time of the Civil War in Virginia.  

  • Dead March
  • Angel Trumpet
  • Civil Blood
  • Chickahominy Fever   

Annette Meyers  

Smith and Wetzon are headhunters. That's Leslie Wetzon and Xenia Smith and they do their hunting on Wall Street.  

  • The Big Killing
  • Tender Death
  • The Deadliest Option
  • Blood on the Street
  • Murder: The Musucal
  • These Bones Were Made for Dancin'
  • The Groaning Board
  • Hedging  

Denise Mina 

Maureen O'Donnell lives in Glasgow, Scotland, and can't seem to find anything but trouble as she struggles with alcohol, relationships, memories of her abusive childhood, and murder. 

  • Garnethill
  • Exile
  • Resolution   

Camille Minichino 

Gloria Lamerino is a 50-something Italian-American physicist in Revere Beach, Massachusetts. Now retired from her position as a professor in Berkeley, she finds her time taken up with murder.  

  • The Hydrogen Murder
  • The Helium Murder
  • The Lithium Murder
  • The Beryllium Murder
  • The Boric Acid Murder
  • The Carbon Murder
  • The Nitrogen Murder   

Lisa Miscione 

Lydia Strong, a true crime author in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is featured.  

  • Angel Fire
  • The Darkness Gathers
  • Twice
  • Smoke    

Theresa Monsour 

Paris Murphy is a homicide detective in St. Paul, Minnesota, who finds herself tangled in messy relationships and harrowing murder cases. 

  • Clean Cut
  • Cold Blood
  • Dark House   

Marcia Muller 

Sharon McCone is a female private eye who bears little resemblance to Miss Jane Marple. This extensive series follows her through many changes in her life and work. 

  • Edwin of the Iron Shoes
  • The Cheshire Cat's Eye
  • Games to Keep the Dark Away
  • Leave a Message for Willie
  • There's Nothing to Be Afraid Of
  • Eye of the Storm
  • There's Something in a Sunday
  • The Shape of Dread
  • Trophies and Dead Things *
  • Where Echoes Live *
  • Pennies on a Dead Woman's Eyes
  • Wolf in the Shadows
  • Til the Butchers Cut Him Down
  • A Wild and Lonely Place *
  • The Broken Promise Land
  • Both Ends of the Night
  • While Other People Sleep *
  • A Walk Through the Fire
  • Listen to the Silence
  • Dead Midnight
  • The Dangerous Hour *
  • Vanishing Point *
  • The Ever-Running Man *
  • Burn Out *  

Sharan Newman 

These 12th century mysteries are set in France and follow a Saxon noblewoman, Catherine LeVendeur, who has a secret in her past.  

  • Death Comes as Epiphany
  • The Devil's Door
  • The Wandering Arm
  • Strong as Death
  • Cursed in the Blood
  • The Difficult Saint
  • To Wear the White Cloak
  • Heresy
  • The Outcast Dove
  • The Witch in the Well    

Katherine Hall Page 

Faith Sibley Fairchild is a minister's wife, a mother and an amateur sleuth. These are light but well-written mysteries. 

  • Body in the Belfry
  • Body in the Kelp
  • Body in the Bouillon
  • Body in the Vestibule
  • Body in the Cast
  • Body in the Basement
  • Body in the Bog
  • Body in the Fjord
  • Body in the Bookcase
  • Body in the Big Apple
  • Body in the Moonlight
  • Body in the Bonfire
  • Body in the Lighthouse
  • Body in the Attic
  • Body in the Snowdrift
  • Body in the Ivy
  • Body in the Gallery  

Sara Paretsky 

V. I. Warshawski is a lone wolf operator whose specialty is financial investigation, but whose cases all involve murder. 

  • Indemnity Only
  • Deadlock *
  • Killing Orders *
  • Bitter Medicine *
  • Blood Shot
  • Burn Marks
  • Guardian Angel
  • Tunnel Vision
  • Windy City Blues (short stories)
  • Hard Time
  • Total Recall *
  • Blacklist *
  • Fire Sale *  

Jill Paton Walsh 

Mystery author Paton Walsh garners comparisons to the great British authors of the past with her Imogen Quy (‘rhymes with why’) series.  Imogen’s occupation as a student nurse puts her in a valuable position to investigate murders among Cambridge’s scholarly haunts.   

  • The Wyndham Case
  • A Piece of Justice
  • Debts of Dishonor
  • The Bad Quarto  

Anne Perry 

Charlotte Ellison Pitt and her husband, Inspector Thomas Pitt of Scotland Yard, solve crimes in Victorian England using their special combination of observation and intuition.  

  • The Cater Street Hangman
  • Callander Square
  • Paragon Walk
  • Resurrection Row *
  • Rutland Place
  • Bluegate Fields
  • Death in Devil's Acre
  • Cardington Crescent
  • Silence in Hanover Close
  • Bethlehem Road
  • Highgate Rise
  • Belgrave Square
  • Farrier's Lane
  • The Hyde Park Headsman
  • Traitor's Gate
  • Pentecost Alley
  • Ashworth Hall
  • Brunswick Gardens
  • Bedford Square *
  • Halfmoon Street
  • Whitechapel Conspiracy
  • Southampton Row
  • Seven Dials
  • Long Spoon Lane *
  • Buckingham Palace Gardens *  

Elizabeth Peters 

Wealthy Victorian Englishwoman Amelia Peabody and her husband, archeologist Radcliffe Emerson, solve murders with a plot full of accurate Egyptian lore and history.  

  • Crocodile on the Sandbank *
  • The Curse of the Pharoahs *
  • The Mummy Case *
  • Lion in the Valley
  • The Deeds of the Disturber *
  • The Last Camel Died at Noon *
  • The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog
  • The Hippopotamus Pool
  • Seeing a Large Cat *
  • The Ape Who Guards the Balance
  • The Falcon at the Portal *
  • He Shall Thunder in the Sky
  • Lord of the Silent *
  • The Golden One *
  • Children of the Storm *
  • Amelia Peabody's Egypt: A Compendium to her Journals
  • Guardian of the Horizon *
  • Serpent on the Crown *
  • Tomb of the Golden Bird * 

Nancy Pickard 

Jenny Cain splits her time between running small-town foundations and solving crimes.   

  • Generous Death
  • Say No to Murder
  • No Body
  • Marriage Is Murder
  • Dead Crazy
  • Bum Steer
  • I. O. U.
  • But I Wouldn’t Want to Die There
  • Confession
  • Twilight 

Author Marie Lightfoot writes true-crime novels, but her research often turns up fresh bodies in these fast-paced mysteries.   

  • The Whole Truth
  • Ring of Truth
  • The Truth Hurts 

Kathy Reichs  

Like her fictional heroine, Dr. Temperance Brennan, Reichs serves as forensic anthropologist for the province of Quebec and commutes between Montreal and Charlotte, North Carolina.  

  • Deja Dead
  • Death du Jour *
  • Deadly Decisions *
  • Fatal Voyage *
  • Grave Secrets *
  • Bare Bones *
  • Monday Mourning *
  • Cross Bones *
  • Break No Bones * 
  • Bones to Ashes *
  • Devil’s Bones *
  • 206 Bones   

J. D. Robb

Robb (pseudonym of Nora Roberts) introduces readers to New York City in the near future, 2058 to be exact, as seen through the eyes of Eve Dallas, a detective with the New York City Police and Safety Department.  

  • Naked in Death *
  • Glory in Death *
  • Immortal in Death *
  • Rapture in Death
  • Ceremony in Death
  • Vengeance in Death
  • Holiday in Death
  • Conspiracy in Death
  • Witness in Death
  • Judgment in Death
  • Betrayal in Death
  • Silent Night (anthology)
  • Seduction in Death
  • Reunion in Death
  • Purity in Death
  • Remember When
  • Portrait in Death *
  • Imitation in Death *
  • Divided in Death *
  • Visions in Death *
  • Survivor in Death *
  • Origin in Death *
  • Midnight in Death *
  • Memory in Death *
  • Born in Death *
  • Innocent in Death *
  • Creation in Death *
  • Strangers in Death *
  • Salvation in Death *  

Gillian Roberts 

Amanda Pepper is a Philadelphia English teacher at Philly Prep. She has something going (she's never exactly sure what) with the reticent C. K. MacKenzie, a Philadelphia cop. 

  • Caught Dead in Philadelphia
  • Philly Stakes
  • I'd Rather Be in Philadelphia
  • With Friends Like These
  • How I Spent My Summer Vacation
  • In the Dead of Summer
  • The Mummer's Curse
  • The Bluest Blood
  • Adam and Evil
  • Helen Hath No Fury
  • Claire and Present Danger
  • Till the End of Tom
  • A Hole in Juan
  • All’s Well That Ends  

P. B. Ryan 

Irish immigrant Nell Sweeney is a governess to the wealthy Hewitt family in post-Civil War Boston. 

  • Still Life with Murder
  • Murder in a Mill Town
  • Death on Beacon Hill
  • Murder on Black Friday
  • Murder in the North End
  • A Bucket of Ashes  

Barbara Seranella  

Munch Mancini is a 1970s ex-drug addict and jailbird in Los Angeles, California. Working as a mechanic, she does what she can to keep out of trouble.  

  • No Human Involved
  • No Offense Intended
  • Unwanted Company
  • Unfinished Business
  • No Man Standing
  • Unpaid Dues
  • Unwilling Accomplice
  • Unacceptable Death  

Crisis management expert Charlotte Lyon uses her obsessive compulsive disorder to her advantage when faced with clearing up crimes.   

  • Deadman’s Switch

Judith Skillings 

Rebecca Moore is a Washington D.C. reporter with a passion for classic cars. Her investigative journalism experience and knowledge of automotives help her solve murders in this series.  

  • Dead End
  • Dangerous Curves
  • Driven to Murder   

Karin Slaughter 

Dr. Sara Linton is a pediatrician and the coroner in Grant County, Georgia in these dark mysteries.  

  • Blindsighted *
  • Kisscut *
  • A Faint Cold Fear
  • Indelible *
  • Faithless *
  • Beyond Reach *  

Alexander McCall Smith 

Mma Precious Ramotswe, owner of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency in Botswana, stars in this international cozy mystery series.  

  • No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency *
  • Tears of the Giraffe *
  • Morality for Beautiful Girls *
  • Kalahari Typing School for Men *
  • The Full Cupboard of Life *
  • In the Company of Cheerful Ladies *
  • Blue Shoes and Happiness *
  • The Good Husband of Zebra Drive *
  • The Miracle at Speedy Motors *
  • Tea Time for the Traditionally Built * 

As a lover of puzzles and the editor of ‘The Review of Applied Ethics,’ Isabel Dalhousie is a natural for tracking down mysteries in modern-day Edinburgh in Mc-Call Smith’s series of cozy mysteries.   

  • The Sunday Philosophy Club *
  • Friends, Lovers, Chocolate *
  • The Right Attitude to Rain *
  • The Careful Use of Complements *
  • The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday *  

Julie Smith 

Rebecca Schwartz is a professional attorney and an amateur sleuth in San Francisco. The daughter of a famous criminal lawyer, she is trying to make it on her own merit.  

  • Death Turns a Trick
  • The Sourdough Wars
  • Tourist Trap
  • Dead in the Water
  • Other People's Skeletons

Skip Langdon is a 6-ft. tall police detective in New Orleans, Louisiana

  • New Orleans Mourning
  • The Axeman's Jazz
  • Jazz Funeral
  • New Orleans Beat
  • House Of Blues
  • Kindness Of Strangers
  • Crescent City Kill
  • 82 Desire
  • Mean Woman Blues  

In 2001, Ms. Smith spun off a character introduced in 82 Desire. Talba Wallis is an African-American poet whose day job has her working as an apprentice private investigator. 

  • Louisiana Hotshot
  • Louisiana Bigshot
  • Louisiana Lament
  • P. I. On a Hot Tin Roof  

Julia Spencer-Fleming  

Clare Fergusson, newly-ordained Episcopal priest helps Russ Van Alystyne, Chief of Police in Millers Kill, New York. 

  • In the Bleak Midwinter
  • A Fountain Filled with Blood
  • Out of the Deep I Cry
  • To Darkess and to Death
  • All Mortal Flesh
  • I Shall Not Want  

Dana Stabenow 

Kate Shugak is a former investigator for the Anchorage district attorney's office and now lives in the Alaska bush. The series resonates with the exotic Alaskan landscape and the fiercely independent people who live there. 

  • A Cold Day for Murder *
  • A Fatal Thaw
  • Dead in the Water
  • A Cold-Blooded Business
  • Play with Fire
  • Blood Will Tell
  • Breakup
  • Killing Grounds
  • Hunter's Moon *
  • Midnight Come Again *
  • The Singing of the Dead
  • A Fine and Bitter Snow *
  • A Grave Denied *
  • A Taint in the Blood *
  • A Deeper Sleep *  

 

Sarah Strohmeyer


Meet Lehigh, Pennsylvania's own Bubbles Yablonsky - a tube-top-wearing, gum-snapping hairdresser-turned-gun-toting gumshoe.  

  • Bubbles Unbound
  • Bubbles in Trouble *
  • Bubbles Ablaze
  • Bubbles a Broad *
  • Bubbles Betrothed *
  • Bubbles All the Way *  

Denise Swanson 

Scumble River Mysteries featuring School Psychologist Skye Denison in Scumble River, Indiana.  

  • Murder of a Small-Town Honey
  • Murder of a Sweet Old Lady
  • Murder of a Sleeping Beauty
  • Murder of a Snake in the Grass
  • Murder of a Barbie and Ken
  • Murder of a Pink Elephant
  • Murder of a Smart Cookie
  • Murder of a Real Bad Boy
  • Murder of a Botoxed Blonde
  • Murder of a Chocolate Covered Cherry  

Virginia Swift 

Sally Adler is a tough-talking singer who comes home after 17 years to be a scholar of women's studies at the University of Wyoming.  

  • Brown-Eyed Girl
  • Bad Company
  • Bye, Bye, Bye
  • Hello Stranger   

Lou Jane Temple  

Temple's new culinary mystery series features Bridget Heaney, an Irish immigrant working as an assistant cook in Civil War era New York City. 

  • The Spice Box
  • Death du Jour   

Victoria Thompson 

These Gaslight Mysteries star Sarah Brandt, a midwife in turn-of-the-century New York City.  

  • Murder on Astor Place
  • Murder on St. Mark's Place
  • Murder on Gramercy Park
  • Murder on Washington Square
  • Murder on Mulberry Bend
  • Murder on Marble Row
  • Murder on Lenox Hill
  • Murder in Little Italy
  • Murder in Chinatown
  • Murder on Bank Street  

Aimee & David Thurlo 

Navajo F.B.I. agent Ella Clah returns to the Navajo Nation after the murder of her minister father to find her brother the medicine man the prime suspect.  

  • Blackening Song
  • Death Walker
  • Bad Medicine
  • Enemy Way
  • Shooting Chant
  • Red Mesa
  • Changing Woman
  • Tracking Bear
  • Plant Them Deep
  • Wind Spirit
  • White Thunder
  • Mourning Dove
  • Turquoise Girl
  • Coyote’s Wife 

Sister Agatha, a member of New Mexico's Our Lady of Home Monastery, relies on her past experiences as an investigative journalist to solve a murder within her cloistered community. 

  • Bad Faith
  • Thief in Retreat
  • Prey for a Miracle
  • False Witness
  • The Prodigal Nun  

P. J. Tracy 

P. J. Tracy is the pseudonym for a mother-daughter team who write this series featuring Grace MacBride. MacBride is the founder of a software company called Monkeewrench in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

  • Monkeewrench
  • Live Bait
  • Dead Run
  • Snow Blind   

Peter Tremayne  

Sister Fidelma is a 7th century Celtic sister and legal advocate in Kildare, Ireland.  

  • Absolution by Murder
  • Shroud for the Archbishop
  • Suffer Little Children
  • Subtle Serpent
  • Spider's Web
  • Valley of Shadow
  • Hemlock at Vespers (short stories)
  • The Monk Who Vanished
  • Act of Mercy
  • Our Lady of Darkness
  • Smoke in the Wind
  • Whispers of the Dead (short stories)
  • The Haunted Abbot
  • Badger's Moon
  • Leper's Ball
  • Whispers of the Dead
  • Master of Souls
  • A Prayer for the Damned
  • Dancing With Demons   

Elaine Viets 

Helen Hawthorne traded a lavish lifestyle to work in a boutique at minimum wage in Florida and is featured in the Dead End Job mysteries. 

  • Shop Till You Drop
  • Murder Between the Covers
  • Dying to Call You
  • Just Murdered
  • Murder Unleashed
  • Murder With Reservations
  • Clubbed to Death 

Viets' most recent series follows Josie Marcus, single mother and mystery shopper. 

  • Dying in Style
  • High Heels Are Murder
  • Accessory to Murder
  • Murder With All the Trimmings  

Kathryn Wall 

Bay Tanner, a former financial consultant, sets up a detective agency in Hilton Head, South Carolina.  

  • In for a Penny
  • And Not a Penny More
  • Perdition House
  • Judas Island
  • Resurrection Road
  • Bishop's Beach
  • Sanctuary Hill
  • The Mercy Oak
  • Covenant Hall 

Michelle Wan 

Mara Dunn teams with orchid expert Julian Wood to unravel old mysteries in the Dordogne region of France in this series by British author Wan. 

  • Deadly Slipper
  • The Orchid Shroud
  • A Twist of Orchids 

Betty Webb 

Lena Jones of Desert Investigations in Scottsdale, Arizona stars in this crisp new series.  

  • Desert Noir
  • Desert Wives
  • Desert Shadows
  • Desert Run
  • Desert Cut 

Gloria White 

Private eye and security specialist Ronnie Ventana is a tough character who finds herself in many scapes as she investigates crime in San Francisco. 

  • Murder on the Run
  • Money to Burn
  • Charged With Guilt
  • Sunset and Santiago
  • Death Notes
  • Cry Baby 

Kate White 

Bailey Weggins is a true crime writer for a New York women's magazine who turns sleuth in the glossy, high-fashion world.  

  • If Looks Could Kill *
  • A Body to Die For *
  • 'Til Death Do Us Part *
  • Over Her Dead Body *
  • Lethally Blond * 

Jacqueline Winspear 

After the loss of her mother forced her to enter service, and the death of her fiance in World War I, Maisie Dobbs knows the feeling of loss and alienation well.  Her investigations in 1920s and 30s London are tinged with the psychological wounds of the war and its aftermath. 

  • Maisie Dobbs * 
  • Birds of a Feather *
  • Pardonable Lies *
  • Messenger of Truth *
  • An Incomplete Revenge *
  • Among the Mad * 


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