I have been a reader of mysteries about as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, while everyone else was reading Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, I was reading Encyclopedia Brown. Then I moved on to Nero Wolfe, Hercule Poirot, and Miss Marple. When those ran out, I had to find other authors.
One of those authors is Sue Grafton, creator of the Alphabet series. (Grafton was born April 24, 1940.) Readers were introduced to Kinsey Millhone, Grafton's heroine, in A is for Alibi in 1982. Kinsey is a spunky and quick-witted former police officer who is now a private investigator in fictional Santa Theresa, CA.
When Grafton first started with this series, there really wasn't another character like Kinsey. There had been female characters who starred in mysteries, but none of them had been of the hard-boiled detective vein. (Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski also debuted in 1982, and I will discuss her later).
Grafton started writing while in college, where she majored in English. She published her first book, Keziah Dane, in 1967, followed by The Lolly-Madonna War in 1969. While neither was a huge success, the rights to The Lolly-Madonna War were bought by MGM. Grafton co-wrote the screenplay. Although this led to other screenwriting opportunities, she found the process of group-writing too crazy for her.
And good thing for us that it did, because Grafton began pursuing her desire to write mysteries. If not for that, we wouldn't have Kinsey Millhone, who happens to be one of my favorite literary characters.
Here are some other female investigators written by a female authors. Enjoy!
-- V.I. Warshawski
Sara Paretsky introduced her series within a few months of Grafton's, so V.I. Warshawski and Kinsey Millhone have a bit in common. Vic, as she is known to her friends, became a private detective after a short stint as a public defender. She is a tough, fierce, and independent woman who usually takes on cases involving someone she knows. The stories are set in Chicago and reflect some of the rough history that the city has had. The first book in the series is Indemnity Only.
Tess Monaghan is the star of Laura Lippman's series. Tess is a former journalist turned detective who investigates crimes in Baltimore. This series offers witty dialogue, along with complex characters. They are fast-paced and use the neighborhoods of Baltimore as another character. Start with Baltimore Blues.
-- Maisie Dobbs
Maisie Dobbs, from author Jacqueline Winspear, is a bit of a departure to the others on this list. The series is set in post-World War I England. Maisie, who started out working as a servant but found her way to Cambridge, has started her own private detective agency. This series is a bit more of a "cozy" mystery, but there are still plenty of darker elements, which are revealed in flashbacks to Maisie's time as a battlefield nurse. The first book in the series is Maisie Dobbs.
This series, started in 1977, follows the investigative life of Sharon McCone. Written by Marcia Muller, this series is popular, although not as well-known as the others. Sharon, another independent and intelligent female private detective, works in San Francisco. While these may not be as fast-paced as other mysteries, the complex plots and fascinating secondary characters make up for that. Start with Edwin of the Iron Shoes.
-- Post by Tracy
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