Author Topic: Who are your favorite kick-ass women of mystery (any genre)?  (Read 8212 times)

Becke Davis

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Who are your favorite kick-ass women of mystery (any genre)?
« on: February 02, 2020, 11:16:58 pm »
In 2019 I discovered one of the most kick-ass women I've come across in any form of mystery: Zoe Sharp's CHARLIE FOX.
https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/zoe-sharp/

David Baldacci's Atlee Pine isn't quite as tough as Charlie Fox, but she's pretty good at taking care of herself in a crisis:
https://www.davidbaldacci.com/landing-page/david-baldacci-atlee-pine-series/

Lisa Gardner's Detective D.D. Warren succeeds in a mainly mens' world: https://www.lisagardner.com/series/dd-warren/

Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone has emerged, undaunted, from over a dozen mysteries

V.I. Warshawski, Sara Paretsky's tough detective is not quite as minimalist as Lee Child's Jack Reacher, but she comes close. You wouldn't want to mess with her, or her small posse of friends.

Tess Gerritsen's Rizzoli and Isles are one of my favorite female crime-solving duos.

Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher is much more than a pretty face and a fashion plate, but you have to read the books to get a clear picture of her strengths.

Stieg Larssen's Lisbeth Salander is well-known to anyone who followed his GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO books.

This is just a few to get the conversation started. Who are your favorite kick-ass heroines? Do you like mysteries where females take the lead or do you prefer a crime-solving partnership of some sort?

 

dhaupt3

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Re: Who are your favorite kick-ass women of mystery (any genre)?
« Reply #1 on: February 04, 2020, 04:37:34 am »
Hey Becke those are some great choices I love DD Warren and what mystery lover doesn't love Kinsey but I'm also old school and happen to think Ms. Marple and Nancy Drew kick butt too.
Some of my favorite are Maggie Hope who is a WWII era spy, Deborarh Crombie's Gemma James
And then we've got the cozy faves like Teddy Bently from Betty Webb's The Gun Zoo mysteries, Ellery Adams' Olivia Limoges, Joanne Flukes Hannah Swenson, Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs and of course I could go on.
I am really drawn to women protagonists who want justice. Great article Becke thanks!
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Becke Davis

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Re: Who are your favorite kick-ass women of mystery (any genre)?
« Reply #2 on: February 04, 2020, 05:16:39 pm »
Hey Becke those are some great choices I love DD Warren and what mystery lover doesn't love Kinsey but I'm also old school and happen to think Ms. Marple and Nancy Drew kick butt too.
Some of my favorite are Maggie Hope who is a WWII era spy, Deborarh Crombie's Gemma James
And then we've got the cozy faves like Teddy Bently from Betty Webb's The Gun Zoo mysteries, Ellery Adams' Olivia Limoges, Joanne Flukes Hannah Swenson, Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs and of course I could go on.
I am really drawn to women protagonists who want justice. Great article Becke thanks!

Maggie Hope is definitely kickass. I'm a huge fan of Susan Elia McNeal's Maggie Hope books. I'm working my way back and forth through her book list.  I read THE PRISONER IN THE CASTLE first and I found the whole topic fascinating.  The next one I picked up was PRINCESS ELIZABETH'S SPY. I now have all of her books, except her new one - THE KING'S JUSTICE - goes on sale February 25.

And I'm currently reading Deborah Crombie's latest, A BITTER FEAST. I've read all of her books and have most of them in hardcover. While Gemma is brilliant, I think of her as a mother as much as a detective. That shouldn't keep her from being kickass, so my apologies to Gemma and Duncan for not giving credit where credit is due.

dhaupt3

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Re: Who are your favorite kick-ass women of mystery (any genre)?
« Reply #3 on: February 04, 2020, 07:06:33 pm »
Hey Becke those are some great choices I love DD Warren and what mystery lover doesn't love Kinsey but I'm also old school and happen to think Ms. Marple and Nancy Drew kick butt too.
Some of my favorite are Maggie Hope who is a WWII era spy, Deborarh Crombie's Gemma James
And then we've got the cozy faves like Teddy Bently from Betty Webb's The Gun Zoo mysteries, Ellery Adams' Olivia Limoges, Joanne Flukes Hannah Swenson, Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs and of course I could go on.
I am really drawn to women protagonists who want justice. Great article Becke thanks!

Maggie Hope is definitely kickass. I'm a huge fan of Susan Elia McNeal's Maggie Hope books. I'm working my way back and forth through her book list.  I read THE PRISONER IN THE CASTLE first and I found the whole topic fascinating.  The next one I picked up was PRINCESS ELIZABETH'S SPY. I now have all of her books, except her new one - THE KING'S JUSTICE - goes on sale February 25.

And I'm currently reading Deborah Crombie's latest, A BITTER FEAST. I've read all of her books and have most of them in hardcover. While Gemma is brilliant, I think of her as a mother as much as a detective. That shouldn't keep her from being kickass, so my apologies to Gemma and Duncan for not giving credit where credit is due.

I need to catch up on Crombie's series I'm behind too many books don't you know
And I want to go to the beginning of the Maggie Hope series
dhaupt3

Kate Stine, Editor

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Re: Who are your favorite kick-ass women of mystery (any genre)?
« Reply #4 on: February 13, 2020, 02:26:25 pm »
Thomas Perry's Jane Whitefield is definitely a kickass character. Her specialty is helping people in trouble disappear. Some of the middle books in the series (RUNNER, in particlar) are formulaic but Jane is always an interesting person to watch. Her Seneca heritage is often a part of the background and provides her the impetus for her work.

Becke Davis

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Re: Who are your favorite kick-ass women of mystery (any genre)?
« Reply #5 on: February 14, 2020, 12:34:07 am »
Thomas Perry's Jane Whitefield is definitely a kickass character. Her specialty is helping people in trouble disappear. Some of the middle books in the series (RUNNER, in particlar) are formulaic but Jane is always an interesting person to watch. Her Seneca heritage is often a part of the background and provides her the impetus for her work.

Uh oh. Another series I haven't read yet. I will look for RUNNER and others in this series!