Best Women in Mysteries and Fiction
Discover the best women in mysteries and fiction—from Kathy Reichs, Janet Evanovich, and Charlaine Harris to Laurie R. King, Lisa Scottoline, and Jacqueline Winspear. This curated list spotlights gripping crime thrillers, detective stories, and suspenseful reads, including standout titles like *Break No Bones*, *Twelve Sharp*, *Definitely Dead*, and *Maisie Dobbs*. Perfect for fans of strong female protagonists and page-turning mystery novels.
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Break No Bones
by Kathy Reichs
When Tempe Brennan finds a fresh skeleton among ancient bones, clues lead to a clinic where patients have gone missing and some have turned up dead. On top of this, Tempe's romantic life is in for a hiccup.
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The Art of Detection
by Laurie R. King
Philip Gilbert was no mere fan of Sherlock Holmes, but an expert in Holmes lore who owned a collector of priceless Holmsian memorabilia. Would another collector kill for it? Did they?
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Goodnight Nobody
by Jennifer Weiner
A young mother moves to a postcard-perfect Connecticut town where she unravels crime while her children are in nursery school. Investigating a death, she discovers disturbing truths.
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Blue Screen
by Robert B. Parker
Hired to protect a spoiled actress, Boston private investigator Sunny Randall teams up with chief of police Jesse Stone when the actress's sister is murdered, a partnership that reveals seedy complications behind the actress's lifestyle.
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The 5th Horseman
by James Patterson
When patients mysteriously take a turn for the worse at San Francisco Medical Center, Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer and the Women's Murder Club must face an unspeakable menace, possibly the most terrifying situation they have encountered.
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Twelve Sharp
by Janet Evanovich
Welcome to Trenton, New Jersey, where bounty hunter Stephanie Plum's life is about to implode in Janet Evanovich's wildest, hottest novel yet ! FIRST A STRANGER APPEARS While chasing down the usual cast of miscreants and weirdos Stephanie discovers that a crazed woman is stalking her. THEN THE STRANGER REVEALS HER SECRETS The woman dresses in black, carries a 9mm Glock, and has a bad attitude and a mysterious connection to dark and dangerous Carlos Manoso ...street name, Ranger. NEXT, SOMEBODY DIES The action turns deadly serious, and Stephanie goes from hunting skips to hunting a murderer. SOON, THE CHASE IS ON Ranger needs Stephanie for more reasons than he can say. And now, the two are working together to find a killer, rescue a missing child, and stop a lunatic from raising the body count. When Stephanie Plum and Ranger get too close for comfort, vice cop Joe Morelli (her on-again, off-again boyfriend) steps in. Will the ticking clock stop at the stroke of twelve, or will a stranger in the wind find a way to stop Stephanie Plum...forever? Filled with Janet Evanovich's trademark action, nonstop adventure, and sharp humor, Twelve Sharp shows why her novels have been called "hot stuff" (The New York Times), and Evanovich herself "the master" (San Francisco Examiner).
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Dark Tort
by Diane Mott Davidson
The New York Times bestselling author cooks up a knockout treat featuring the irrepressible caterer Goldy Schulz "I tripped over the body of Dusty Routt at half past ten on the night of October 19. . . ." Goldy Schulz has a lucrative new gig, preparing breakfasts and conference-room snacks for a local law firm. It's time-consuming, but Goldy is enjoying it -- until the night she arrives to find Dusty, the firm's paralegal, dead. The poor young woman also happened to be Goldy's friend and neighbor, and now Dusty's grieving mother begs Goldy to find out who murdered her daughter. Just because the police are on the case doesn't mean Goldy can't do a little snooping herself. While catering a party at the home of one of the firm's lawyers, she manages to overhear an incriminating conversation and ends up discovering a few clues in the kitchen. Before long, Goldy is knee-deep in suspects, one of whom is incredibly dangerous and very liable to cook Goldy's goose.
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Blue Shoes And Happiness
by Alexander McCall Smith
Precious Ramotswe and her assistant, Grace Makutsi, investigate local advice columnist Aunty Emang, who may be linked to trouble at a local medical clinic and the cobra that somehow ended up in Precious's office.
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Definitely Dead
by Charlaine Harris
Supernaturally gifted cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse heads for New Orleans, where she is forced to contend with her own family's dark legacy and a variety of potentially lethal characters.
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Predator
by Patricia Daniels Cornwell
Kay Scarpetta and her colleague Pete Marino investigate the case of a man killed by a shotgun blast to the chest, while a woman is trapped in an abandoned house in the South after being kidnapped by an unknown captor, and on Cape Cod, Kay's niece Lucy Farinelli begins to suspect that she has made a terrible mistake. 1,200,000 first printing.
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Midnight in Death
by J. D. Robb
A quartet of holiday stories of romance and suspense includes J.D. Robb's "Midnight in Death," Susan Plunkett's "Christmas Promises," Dee Holmes's "The Unexpected Gift," and Claire Cross's "A Berry Merry Christmas."
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Iron Orchid
by Stuart Woods
"Holly Barker, the sexy, no-nonsense former police chief from Orchid Beach, Florida, has been known to crack cases that even the FBI couldn't break. Now Lance Cabot, whom readers will remember from The Short Forever, makes Holly an offer she can't refuse: to join an elite intelligence unit hunting down terrorists on American soil. Their first prey, however, may turn out to be all-American." "Teddy Fay, the ex-CIA technology wizard introduced in Capital Crimes, apparently blew up his own airplane while being hotly pursued by the FBI and U.S. Navy pilots. But now a series of attacks on a new kind of victim - terrorists with diplomatic immunity - makes some in the government, up to and including the president of the United States, believe Teddy may be back. And Holly finds herself in the thick of the hunt."--BOOK JACKET.
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Killer Smile
by Lisa Scottoline
Everybody around lawyer Mary DiNunzio has decided she isn't allowed to be a Young Widow anymore, even though she didn't know there was an official cutoff. They're all trying to fix her up -- her South Philly Italian parents, her best friend Judy Carrier, even the office security guard. All Mary wants to do is immerse herself in a case everybody else calls "The History Channel", a pro bono representation of the Brandolini estate. The roots of the matter sink deep into the past, when Amadeo Brandolini emigrated to Philadelphia, started a family, and built up a small fishing business. At the outbreak of World War II, Brandolini was arrested by the FBI as part of a mass internment of Italian-Americans and was sent to a camp in Montana, where he eventually committed suicide. Now, more than sixty years later, his son's estate hires Mary to sue for reparations. Mary vows to vindicate Amadeo even though it won't be easy. With only a lock of hair, an old wallet, and a sheet of paper filled with odd doodles to go on, the tenacious lawyer begins to research the case but finds instead puzzling new questions. Someone doesn't want Mary to find the truth, and before long, her life is threatened. Suddenly, the quiet, squeaky-clean good girl who never left Mercer Street is risking life and limb to finger a killer and lay a beloved ghost to rest. New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline delivers a stunning new tale filled with witty dialogue, vibrant characters, and breakneck pacing, in which true-life history reinforces her hallmark themes of justice and family. As entertaining as it is poignant, Killer Smile is a surefire bestseller from a writer at the peak of her talents.
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Maisie Dobbs
by Jacqueline Winspear
She started as a maid in an aristocratic London household; studied her way into prestigious Girton College at Cambridge; then became a front-line nurse in World War I. There she found - and lost - an important part of herself. Now she has set up on her own as a private investigator, one who has learned that coincidences are meaningful. And Fate brings her a case that will force her to confront the ghost that has haunted her for over ten years. A welcome addition to the sleuthing scene' - Elizabeth George, author of I, Richard 'A rare treat for mystery fans' - Charles Todd'
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'Til Death Do Us Part
by Kate White
When her fellow bridesmaids die in a series of suspicious "accidents," writer-turned-sleuth Bailey Weggins endeavors to avoid becoming another victim while finding the killer before it is too late. 150,000 first printing.
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Visions in Death
by J. D. Robb
Detective Eve Dallas faces an unusual mystery. Is it possible for a computer virus to spread from machine to humans?
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Unlucky in Law
by Perri O'Shaughnessy
A New York Times Bestselling AuthorNina Reilly takes on the most dangerous and difficult case of her career in O'Shaughnessy's latest thriller. An ingenious blend of forensic science, history, and gripping suspense, Unlucky in Law pits the tough but compassionate attorney against the most unbeatable adversary of all: the law. Brilliantly imagined and compulsively readable, this is a beguiling mix of wrenching drama and gripping action.
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Missing Justice
by Alafair Burke
"The search for a missing judge leads...into a labyrinth of crime, corruption, and cover-ups,"....from the dustcover.
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Hancock Park
by Katherine V. Forrest
New from the Lambda Award winner and bestselling author of Sleeping Blues - another Kate Delafield mystery. It wasn't a typical call for detectives Kate Delafield and Joe Cameron. For one thing, the upscale neighbourhood of Hancock Park was more likely to be a stop on a bus tour of the stars' than a homicide scene. For another, everyone seemed too willing to point the detectives in the direction of Victoria Talbot's ex-husband. Now while the ex is on trial for his life, Kate must piece together a puzzle of secrets and lies before she can uncover the startling truth...'