Retired Women Sleuths

Death (usually) takes even the most stalwart of women sleuths off the case.  Listed below are titles featuring female detectives which no longer have titles actively written or whose authors have written the final chapter in the lives of their characters. 

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 
• Rock Bottom

M. C. Beaton

Cranky eccentric Agatha Raisin investigates crime in her cozy but strangely murder-prone Cotswald village. 

• Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death
• Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet
• Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener
• Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley
• Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage
• Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist
• Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Doubt
• Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham
• Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden
• Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam
• Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell
• Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came
• Agatha Raisin and the Case of the Curious Curate
• Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House
• The Deadly Dance
• The Perfect Paragon
• Love, Lies and Liquor
• Kissing Christmas Goodbye
• A Spoonful of Poison
• There Goes the Bride
• Busy Body
• As the Pig Turns
• Hiss and Hers
• Something Borrowed, Someone Dead
• The Blood of an Englishman
• Dishing the Dirt
• Pushing Up Daisies 
• The Witches' Tree
• The Dead Ringer
• Beating About the Bush
• Hot to Trot

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.  (Series ended in 1976.)

• 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
• A Pocket Full of Rye 
• 4.50 From Paddington 
• The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side
• A Caribbean Mystery 
• At Bertram's Hotel 
• Nemesis 
• Sleeping Murder 

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.  (Series ended in 2010.) 

• Mistress of the Art of Death 
• The Serpent’s Tale 
• Grave Goods 
• A Murderous Procession 

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.  (Series ended in 2000.)

• 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.  (Series ended in 2002.)

• The Clairvoyant Countess
• Kaleidoscope  

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.  (series ended in 2006)

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

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.  (Series ended in 2017.)

• 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 
• U is for Undertow 
• V is for Vengeance 
• W is for Wasted 
• X 
• Y is for Yesterday 

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 

Lyn Hamilton  

These archaeological mysteries feature Toronto antiquities dealer, Lara McClintock. Each book takes her to a different area of the world.  (Series ended in 2007.)

• 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 

Charlaine Harris  

Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic southern waitress and her Vampire boyfriend, Bill, battle the supernatural as they solve mysteries.  (Series ended in 2013.)

• 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 
• Dead in the Family 
• Dead Reckoning 
• Deadlocked 
• Dead Ever After 
• After Dead

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 
• Merry Wives of 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 
• Deader Homes and Gardens 
• Murder as a Second Language
• Pride v. Prejudice

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.  (Series ended in 2010.)

• Crocodile on the Sandbank 
• The Curse of the Pharaohs 
• 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 
• A River in the Sky