Top 10 Tuesday: Mysteries with Women Detectives
A new Tuesday, a new prompt for Top 10 Tuesday. This week the prompt is a freebie - a topic of my choice. Wonder what I can come up with? Freebies are fun weeks to explore the other blogs because SO many great books show up. Thanks to Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl for hosting another week of Top Ten Tuesday. I enjoy participating each week for a couple reasons. I'm a compulsive list maker and love a good list. And, I love a connection with other readers as I wander their book blogs.
Since I love mysteries and thrillers, I decided to share books with some of my favorite female lead characters in law enforcement - maybe detective, or FBI, etc. There are some wonderful, strong women that aren't victims - or if they were a victim, they show how you can overcome and move on.
Alias Emma by Ava Glass
Published Aug 2022; 272 pages
Emma Makepeace is a new agent and her first job is to get an innocent man across London over the course of one night, while Russians and their agents are trying to kill them both. Fast paced and a badass of an agent!
Long Bright River by Liz Moore
Published 2020; 482 pages
Mickey is a single mom beat cop whose sister is a drug addict. When Mickey's sister goes missing, she becomes obsessed with finding her amid a rise of murders in her area. So though there is a bit of a mystery, it's mostly about the sisters and their fraught past and current relationship.
City of the Lost #1 Rockton by Kelley Armstrong
Published 2016; 471 pages
Casey is one of my favorite female law enforcement characters. She's smart and persistent and not afraid to take risks. She moves to this off-the-grid village in the Canadian wilderness and solves case after case.
The Likeness #2 Dublin Murder Squad by Tana French
Published 2008; 466 pages
All of the Dublin Murder Squad stories are good; this is one of my favorites. There are some characters in common, but the focal character changes from book to book making them pretty easy standalones. In this one, detective Cassie transfers out of the Murder Squad, but when a murder occurs and the woman is basically her double and using a name she used undercover years ago, she's drawn into the case and goes undercover again. Excellent story.
A Killer's Wife by Victor Methos
Published 2020; 361 pages
Law enforcement from a little different angle: a woman prosecutor's husband goes to prison for committing brutal murders. Years later more murders are occurring in the same way so she has to collaborate with her ex-husband in order to try to save herself and her daughter.
A Curious Beginning #1 by Deanna Raybourn
Published 2015; 339 pages
Veronica is not officially in law enforcement. She is officially snoopy and assertive and nosy and clever. She manages to get into major scrapes and yet solve crimes. Set in Victorian London, Victoria's escapades are delightful, twisted, and worthy of being included in "law enforcement".
Celine by Peter Heller
Published 2017; 334 pages
Another 'edge of law enforcement' woman, Celine is a 68-year old private eye who is excellent at finding missing people - better than the FBI. This is a delightful suspenseful story about a woman of privilege and of a certain age who travels to Yellowstone with her partner to find a missing dad. Loosely based on the author's mother.
A Rip Through Time #1 by Kelley Armstrong
Published 2022; 342 pages
A duplicate author, but a completely different type of story. Set in Edinburgh, Scotland, Mallory is a detective in the present day but accidentally travels back to 1869 where she assumes the persona of a housemaid. For an early version of a coroner. Trying to disguise her knowledge of police work and investigating, Mallory attempts to help solve a series of murders. Such a good start to a fun new series.
My Sister's Grave #1 Crosswhite by Robert Dugoni
Published 2014; 410 pages
This is a favorite series written by a local author (Tacoma, WA) and features detective Tracy Crosswhite. Tracy becomes a detective in Seattle, in part, to try to solve her sister's murder from years ago. And, you guessed it, finds secrets galore!
Black Coral #1 UIU by Andrew Mayne
Published 2021; 413 pages
The Florida Underwater Investigation Unit is head by another badass female law enforcement character, Sloan. A van is found in a pond with four dead teenagers reported missing 30 years ago. Sloan is a single mother of a teen, smart, strong woman but with uncertainties about raising her daughter. A complex story but not hard to follow.
There are all sorts of women characters represented here in various aspects of law enforcement. Some are part of a series, some are standalone. From Victorian Scotland to underwater investigations in Florida, from an off-the-grid town in Canada to a mature PI in Yellowstone. Most are almost-cozy mysteries where the crime is not particularly graphic (if I'm remembering correctly), and the story is about the personalities and investigation. Is there one here that you've been meaning to read?
I'm looking forward to the books or topics other bloggers are going to cover today!
