My Top Ten Female Detective Characters in Books include Eve Dallas, Alexandra Hargreaves, Jane Marple, Emily Pollifax, Joanna Brady, Anita Blake, Anna Pigeon, Kay Scarpetta, VI Warshawski, and Kinsey Millhone. These are in no particular order but I do read them and try to get every new book that comes out. Now the Jane Marple, Kinsey Millhone, and Emily Pollifax characters will not have any more books written about them as the authors have passed away. They did get me started reading when I was young and kept me interested in mysteries, female detectives in particular. It is a great genre to read and to write. We have some of the greatest female writers here in America today. They write about strong, intelligent, female characters in different when, where, or even doing whatever settings. Detectives come in all shapes, sizes, races, and types including police, private, and those who just solve mysteries on the side.
Miss Jane Marple
series was written by Dame Agatha Christie. I enjoyed the series and went to the library almost every month to pester the librarian to find each and every book in the series. Since it was so long ago I don’t remember most of the stories and hope to get them in the future to re-read them all. This type of story is called a “Cozy Mystery” in which, in this case at least, an elderly lady solves mysteries without any formal training or background. Miss Marple is a keen observer of human behavior with above-average intelligence and can put clues together. These stories are about ‘the mystery’ and do not have any romance or sexual content like their more contemporary examples. It is a great starter series for younger readers and those who like pure mystery. It could use a little modernization of terms but all in all, they are a great read. Click on the author’s picture to be taken to her ‘official’ website that is still going strong today.
Mrs. Emily Pollifax series
was written by Dorothy Gilman. This author passed away in 2012 and her last published work was in 2002. The Mrs. Pollifax series is still extremely popular today. Since she didn’t have her own website I created one for her in 1996. (I think) I have kept it going ever since. She even kindly sent me an autographed copy of her last book as a token of her appreciation. I have all of her books in paperback and/or hardback and love to re-read them every year. Her fans and I have finally gotten all of her Mrs. Pollifax and her adult novels converted over to eBooks. Anyway, the Mrs. Pollifax story centers around an older lady whose kids are grown, she is a widow and walks into CIA headquarters to inquire about becoming a spy. And strangely they accept her. She solves mysteries, thwarts bad guys, and travels around the world. She is a keen observer of human nature, takes karate lessons, and grows flowers in her off time. There is no sex in the series but a little romance every now and again. Excellent series for younger readers and those who enjoy a good-rated “G” book. Please give on the author’s picture to be taken to the fansite I created. Subscribe, Like, Share and Comment – that would be really nice.
Alexandra Hargreaves Series
is a new series that I am reading written by Claudia Hall Christian. Her character, Lieutenant Colonel Alexandra “The Fey” Hargreaves, is in the military, solves mysteries, has a family, and takes care of her friends. The storyline is excellent and has references to sex and romance but focuses on the relationships and mysteries to be solved. Ms. Hall enjoys serializing her fiction and allows the readers to read the stories online for free, one chapter at a time. But to truly enjoy this series we hope you will buy her books and read them from beginning to end. Currently, the first book in the series is being offered for FREE in eBook format on Amazon. There are some supernatural elements within the story but they only enhance it. The main character is a hard-working, intelligent, family-oriented, and loving person. She is highly skilled in various self-defense techniques, speaks several languages, and gathers followers with her courage and strong character. She can and does kick some serious butt when required. You will enjoy this series. Click on the author’s picture to be taken to her website.
Eve Dallas Series
is written by, and don’t you just love her books. Lieutenant Eve Dallas is a police detective in New York City but in the future from 2057 to 2062, so far. Nora Roberts is a very prolific writer and generally releases two books a year for this series on top of her other stories. I own almost every single copy of this series in hardback and/or paperback and almost all of them in eBook format. [I’m about 10 books behind] I usually re-read the entire series every year. Since there are over 50 books and short stories in the series now it takes a little while to read them all again. Dallas is a hard-working, smart, and intuitive cop who is addicted to real coffee and chocolate. Her Billionaire husband provides those things and more to keep her on her feet and kicking criminal butt. There is lots of romance and sexual content in all of Ms. Robb a.k.a. Robert’s stories and her readers agree that she writes it very well. This is a cop procedural story even with its futurist elements but it all comes down to solving the crimes and putting away the bad guys. Click on the author’s picture to be taken to the series website.
Joanna Brady series
is written by JA Jance. A contemporary writer who mostly creates three different series including this one. The main character, Joanna Brady, becomes the sheriff of a small county in Arizona after her husband is killed in action. She is good at her job now but had to take the required police training classes to become better and to keep her job. She is tough, hard-working, and starts the series out as a single, widowed mother. The series evolves and she finds romance. The storyline is pretty great with a terrific sense of place. Arizona is not the most hospitable of places to live and work and the author is fabulous with her descriptions of the area and her characters. I own the entire series except for the latest couple and hope to purchase the entire series in eBook format so I can read them all again. Please click on the author’s picture to be taken to her website.
Anita Blake series
is written by Laurell K. Hamilton. Ms. Blake is a U.S. Marshall and raises the dead on the side. This is a fantasy series about vampires, werewolves, and other creatures that the U.S. Marshall’s Service is now in charge of policing throughout the country. The author starts the series out with Anita Blake being just your average person who raises the dead for family members, lawyers, historians, etc. She was sometimes a bounty hunter and helped the local police on the side with preternatural beings. She is then grandfathered into the U.S. Marshall Service as a bounty hunter for their Preternatural Department and now hunts these creatures when they break the law. There is lots of romance and then more sexual content after the 5th book in the series. Just because you and your sweeties are considered otherworldly doesn’t mean you don’t have the same family, friends, and work problems as the rest of us. The author is very serious about her writing and does a lot of research into police procedures, weapons training, and other areas in her stories. All this extra training and research shows in her writing where she combines reality with fantasy and comes up with a most believable storyline. Please click on the author’s picture to be taken to her website.
Anna Pigeon series
is written by Nevada Barr. She once worked in some of our National Parks during the summer which spawned the series. It is about a Park Ranger, Anna Pigeon, who travels from National Park to National Park solving murder mysteries along the way. The author writes a very convincing storyline about our beautiful national parks and puts the main character in circumstances that force her to overcome people and nature problems as well. I was once told by a relative that Ms. Barr continues to stay in the National Parks that she is currently writing about and maybe a little demanding during her stays. Well, she writes a great psychological thriller mystery series. The character is a natural loner who enjoys her job and does it well. Can she help it that people are constantly getting killed where she is working? These stories have inspired my mom and me to travel in our RV and camping in our Florida State and National Parks along the way. Sadly, we only made it to one National Forest and one National Park both of which were close to our home base in Jacksonville. Oh well, maybe someday we will be able to hit the road again. Please click on the author’s picture to be taken to her website.
Kay Scarpetta
series is written by Patricia Cornwell a former Computer Analyst with the Richmond, Virginia Office of Medical Examiner, for reporter and now a successful author. Her stories are very detailed but keep you engaged with the storyline and you begin to care for the characters as they evolve or devolve depending on which one you favor. Kay Scarpetta is a Medical Examiner for Virginia at the beginning of the series but due to various criminal elements, she moves around to a couple of different places and even starts her own forensic lab. She is an extremely smart, hard-working, and somewhat hard-headed woman just trying to do the best job she can. This character experiences some pretty wicked criminals doesn’t have a great love track record and her friends and family have strange quirks themselves. Most of her books are pretty long but they do end up satisfying our curiosity and keep us going until the very end just to want more when the new book comes out. As with most writers, especially those who have become more renowned, Ms. Cornwell does extensive research on her subjects and their abilities and processes. It shows in her writing. This is another series I have fallen behind on recently. Now I will just have to buy all of the books in eBook format and re-read them again. Please click on the author’s picture to be taken to her website.
VI Warshawski series
is written by Sara Paretsky who was born and raised in Kansas but calls Chicago her home. She and her character share some similar traits with their cluttered life and appreciation for fine whiskey. Ms. Paretsky started the Sisters in Crime organization to help other female crime writers. The Victoria Warshawski series started in the 80s and was one of the first believable strong female private detective characters. I was hooked on the series before the talented Kathleen Turner played her in the movie of the same title. Loved the movie and thought Ms. Turner did a pretty good job with the character. She is a bold, hard-working, brass private investigator who grow up on Chicago’s Southside, a die-hard Cubs fan, and can kick some serious bad guys butt with her black belt in martial arts. She started as a Public Defender, had a short marriage but decided she liked her independence and became a PI. Her father was a Polish American Police Officer and her mother Italian Opera Singer. An interesting mix. There are some romantic encounters in some of the stories but for the most part, the writer just writes a really good, fast-paced story that keeps you hooked from beginning to end. I look forward to each new book in the series. Please click on the author’s picture to be taken to her website.
Kinsey Millhone
also known as the ABC murder series was written by Sue Grafton who had a home in Montecito, California, and another in Louisville, the city in which she was born and raised. The character is a private investigator in the fictional town of Santa Theresa, California on the Pacific. Millhone was a police officer for a couple of years, and then an insurance adjuster finally settled on becoming a PI because she likes her independence. Then is the fact that she doesn’t really work well with others or even likes to take orders. She does investigations for local insurance companies, some divorce cases, and sometimes gets roped into murder. I guess she forgets that even old murders can become new again if an investigation is started over. Ms. Grafton wrote her series in Alphabetical order. She started with A is for Alibi in 1982. Hmmm, here is another series I am going to have to buy in eBook format and re-read again. Anyway, to keep her character true the storyline stays in the 1980s which is kind of cool but also depressing in a way because, hey, we have such great tools for modern private detectives these days. Sadly, Ms. Grafton only made it to the letter “Y” before she passed. Still a very heady accomplishment. She was also one of the founding members of the Sister’s In Crime organization. The great news is someone is keeping her website and social media feeds updated and I know her fans really appreciate their efforts. Click on the author’s picture to be taken there now.
These are my Top Ten Favorite Female Detective Characters in Books and I am sure I am missing a couple because there are some really great ones out there. I love female mystery fiction and, other than James Patterson, I usually like only those written by women. If you have a female detective series I should try please tell me the name of the series, the author, and why below in the comments. You can always send me an email using my CONTACT US form.
