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Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Top Ten-ish Favorite Heroines From Mystery Series



This is a weekly event, hosted by The Broke and The Bookish, where bloggers relate their "top ten" of a certain topic.  This week's topic - Top Ten Favorite Heroines From Books.  Shockingly enough, I have selected my favorite heroines or protagonists or lead characters or whatever you want to call them from mystery or crime series.  All of these are from series that I have read virtually every book.  And I love them all.  Various reasons.  They are in random order for I could not possibly rate them from 1 to 10 (or rather 12, as I cheated).  I'll also share the first book in the series, just in case you'd like to try it.  Once a library staff member who shoved books into hands and said "Read this!", always a...you get it.

1. Kate Shugak - Native Alaskan ex-investigator for the DA's office in Anchorage.  Written by Dana Stabenow.  Kate lives on her homestead in the Alaskan wilderness with her fabulous dog/wolf Mutt.  Do not mess with these two ladies.  Seriously.  The first book is A Cold Day For Murder.

2. Gemma James - Detective Sergeant at Scotland Yard as the series begins.  Written by Deborah Crombie.  Gemma is the DS for Superintendent Duncan Kincaid.  She is really something else, intuitive, kind, a really good detective.  Such an asset to this series and her relationship with Duncan and the other characters is wonderful.  Don't miss this series.  The first book is A Share In Death.

3. Ruth Galloway - Holds a doctorate in forensic archeology.  Written by Elly Griffiths.  Ruth is the single mother of wee Kate, age 2.  Loves archaeological digs and solving mysteries that lurk in dark and dank places.  I've already talked about Ruth several times.  I am her biggest fan.  The first book is The Crossing Places.

4. Deborah Knott - District court judge in Colleton County, North Carolina.  Written by Margaret Maron.  Deborah is the daughter of one of the biggest bootlegger's in her state's history.  Has 11 brothers and too many relatives to count.  And stumbles over bodies.  A lot.  I've read this series for over 20 years and love each and every book.  The first book is The Bootlegger's Daughter.

5. Amelia Peabody - Self-taught Egyptologist in the Victorian era.  Written by the great and sadly late Elizabeth Peters.  Amelia has a irascible archaeologist husband named Emerson, a wonderful and naughty son named Ramses and lots of friends and co-workers.  She and her family have many adventures in Egypt of the late 19th and early 20th century.  A really witty series that begins with the classic Crocodile On A Sandbank.  I can't recommend the first book highly enough.

6. Eve Dallas - Homicide Lieutenant in New York City of the mid-21st century (2058 to begin).  Written by J. D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts).  Eve is smart, prickly, impatient, and she always solves the crime.  The futuristic bits are logical mostly, considering the first book was written 20 years ago.  There are now 40 books in this series.  Oh, and there is Rourke, billionaire Irish businessman/former criminal.  Eve gets him too.  Wow!  The first book is Naked in Death.

7. Daisy Dalrymple - Journalist in 1920's England.  Written by Carola Dunn.  And you may also address Daisy as The Honorable, as she is quite well born, if not flush with cash.  She uses her connections to begin a career writing articles about country manor houses.  It's just that people keep getting killed and Daisy is usually on the spot.  A series that may seem light, but has some wonderful info about the time period and England in general between the wars.  The first book is Death At Wentwater Court.

8. Lacey Flint - Detective Constable in London with an interesting back story.  Written by Sharon (S.J.) Bolton.  Lacey has many secrets and she has her own reasons for becoming a police officer.  There are now 4 books in this series and hopefully, there will be a lot more.  The first book was pretty much unputdownable for me.  It's called Now You See Me.

9. Mrs. Emily Pollifax - Senior citizen and spy for the CIA.  Written by the wonderful and unfortunately late Dorothy Gilman.  Mrs. Pollifax is a hoot.  After feeling like her life in retirement lacks a little something, she travels to CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia, asking for an application to become an agent.  And she is mistakenly sent on a mission.  Chaos ensues and Emily the Secret Agent is born.  This series is such a delight.  Don't miss it.  Funny as all get out.  The first one is The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax.

10. Kate Burkholder - Chief of Police in Painter's Mill, Ohio.  Written by Linda Castillo.  Kate was raised in an Amish family, but due to an event in her early teens, leaves home and eventually becomes a police officer.  She later returns as the Chief of Police.  She's smart and hardworking and very lonely.  She's estranged from her family.  And there are a lot of creepy crimes in Painter's Mill.  The first book is Sworn To Silence.

Extras:

11. Alafair Tucker - Farm and ranch wife and mother of 10 in early 20th century Oklahoma.  Written by Donis Casey.  Alafair is a busy woman.  Ten kids and lots of work to do.  She is practical and loving and really very smart about crime.  This series is a good window into life in the Midwest of the early 1900's.  Great descriptions and recipes.  And the characters are top notch, especially Alafair and the whole Tucker clan.  The first book is The Old Buzzard Had It Coming.

12. Lisbeth Salander - The famous "girl with the dragon tattoo", investigator and hacker extraordinaire,  Written by the late Stieg Larsson.  I've always been so sad that there were only 3 books in this series or trilogy as it came to be.  Lisbeth is a very odd person.  Rather amoral in our eyes, but not in hers.  Amazing investigative skills and do not hurt someone she is fond of or loves (as much as she can).  Truly.  Do. Not. Do. It.  The first book, as if you couldn't guess, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

OK, I'll stop now.  I could go on, but I won't.  There are lots of good books here.  Don't you want to get to know some of these heroines?  Sure you do!


46 comments:

  1. Great list, Kay! I'd probably be stumped over writing my answers to this topic because I don't think I could name so many heroines of this genre; most of the ones I read feature male protagonists. Of course I'd love reading female protagonists anytime; your list here definitely tells me that. :-)

    (Yes, I like Lacey Flint. I can't wait to see more developments between she and DI Mark Josebury!)

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    1. Oh, me too, Melody - about Lacey and Mark. When I decided to tackle this topic by using mystery series, I just started jotting down women I loved. And, of course, most of them or likely all have a male companion, co-worker, husband, whatnot. I just didn't list those as well. But I could. :-)

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  2. Yes, I want to get to know quite a few of these heroines! I hope to get back to Crombie's series and give Elly Griffith's books a try, too. Saving this list for future reference. Thanks!!

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    1. Les, yay! Always love contributing to your TBR list. LOL

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  3. I have only watched the movie of the girl with the dragon tattoo but the heroine was amazing
    MY TOP TEN TUESDA! <3

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    1. Yes, like most books and movies, the book is more detailed, but I thought the Swedish movies were really good and the one that Daniel Craig was in was pretty OK as well.

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  4. I love both Amelia Peabody and Deborah Knott. It's been awhile since I read a book in either of their series, but when I do, I get a kick out of these smart, feisty heroines!

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    1. Smart and feisty indeed. Especially Amelia. I love the relationship that she and Emerson have.

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  5. Lisbeth Salander is unforgettable. I read the trilogy, but seeing the movies (Swedish version) really cemented her image in my mind.

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    1. Oh, yes, I agree Catherine. I bought the Swedish movies so I could listen to them with the words dubbed in English instead of reading the screen. Although the violence seemed more vivid. Guess that's always the way.

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  6. Eve Dallas and Lisbeth Salander are characters memorable to me, too. Thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.

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    1. Eve - I've enjoyed how her character has softened a bit and grown through the series. Wish we could have known Lisbeth for longer to see what changes would have been made to her character.

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  7. Great list! I'd add Maeve Kerrigan from Jane Casey's series, as well.

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    1. Yes, Jenclair, I thought of Maeve, but since I've only read 2 books with her character, I decided I'd leave her out. And even so I went to 12. LOL

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  8. Yes! Amelia Peabody! (She made my list, too.) She's an amazing woman and a really wonderful role model too. And she has some of the most awesome adventures!

    My TTT

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    1. Yes, yes, yes! Can't you just see and hear her? And her parasol? LOL

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  9. Awesome list :) I really need to get started on Crossing Places.
    Cora @ Tea Party Princess

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    1. Thanks, Cora. Hope you do try The Crossing Places and enjoy it. I love to add to someone's TBR list. ;-)

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  10. Oh fantastic list! I love Gemma but I had forgotten about Kate Shugak, Deborah Knott and Amelia Peabody. I need to do a big reread of Amelia Peabody. It's been years since I've read any of her and I also really want to do a big Mrs. Pollifax read. One day that'll happen right? :) I have the Carola Dunn books and Elly Griffiths on my TBR but now I'll have to look for SJ Bolton and Linda Castillo. Great list! It's nice to find another mystery lover!

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    1. Katherine, you've definitely found a mystery lover. And I love contributing to someone else's TBR. By the way, the Amelia books and also Mrs. Pollifax are great on audio. Can't remember if you listen much, but you might try it.

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  11. I have only met a few of your heroines, but I have heard of all of them. Lisbeth Salander is a good one and would probably make my list if I had done one.

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    1. I really couldn't leave her out, Wendy. She was such an odd duck, but so memorable. I wish we would have had more adventures with her.

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  12. My kind of topic Kay! Love that you have included Ruth Galloway and Lacey Flint (such a brilliant name) although I would add Maeve Kerrigan too. You have successfully added Gemma James for my TBR :-)

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    1. Oh, Cleo, do pick up the Crombie books and meet Gemma and Duncan. That series has gotten better and better. And, yes, Jenclair mentioned Maeve in a comment above and I totally agree. But...I was already at 12. I could have gone to 20 very likely. LOL

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  13. These all sound like great leading ladies! I love women detectives; they are always so unapologetically brave and clever!
    Thanks for stopping by The Local Muse

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    1. I love women detectives too. Thanks for saying hello, Mallory!

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  14. I'm not a big mystery reader, so Lisbeth Salander is the only one on your list I've heard of! But, she's a winner!

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    1. I understand, Sarah. Lisbeth is a unique individual for sure. Only wish we had more books about her.

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  15. Oh, number nine sounds like a lot of fun. I've never heard of it before, but now I want to go and check it out. :)

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    1. Mrs. Pollifax is an older series, but it's a lot of fun!

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  16. I'd have to agree with most of these (the ones I've read) and I'll totally trust you on the ones I haven't read. And I'd like to add, any of Elizabeth Peters' heroines, not just Amelia. She wrote some wonderful wonderful heroines, like Jacqueline Kirby.

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    1. Belle, you're totally right about Jacqueline Kirby and others in Peters' books, Vicki Bliss, and her standalones. I could have probably listed 20 or 25 heroines. :-)

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  17. Amelia and Emily are two of my favorites!

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  18. Yes, love how you tweaked this prompt!

    I would add Nancy Drew and a couple of other amazing girl detectives.

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    1. Oh yes, Deb, I could have expanded this to 20 or 30 probably. LOL

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  19. I've only read a few of these, mostly the British ones - I'm so insular in my crime tastes! But I must add to the voices calling for Maeve Kerrigan to be added to the list! And where's Miss Marple?! ;)

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    1. I know about pretty much reading what you know or are familiar with. However, once I started reading British crime novels, I've had a hard time stopping. In fact, lately that's been a lot of what I've read. Yes, Miss Marple deserves a place and so does Maeve. I told someone above that I could have gone to 20 or 30 selections. Maybe I'll do an update at some point. LOL

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  20. I am glad you did this list. I wanted to do one, with a list of favorite female sleuths but I found that I don't have many favorite female sleuths. That bothers me, and I am going to read more of them to see if I can change that. Some of the ones you mentioned I have not tried. I had forgotten entirely about Emily Pollifax. I read all of those books but long ago.

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    1. Yes, I read my first Emily book a really long time ago. Some things are a little dated, but the humor, it's always there.

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  21. I actually only know Lisbeth Salander, but holy COW does Amelia Peabody sound amazing!! (...Look at me talking about characters as if they were alive haha) Actually a bunch of these heroines look really interesting, I'm going to have to look all these books up!

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    1. Oh, Amelia is a wonderful character. Especially in the first book. It's an older one, but a good one. And are you telling me characters are not alive? LOL

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  22. Kay I love these! You named some heroines I totally love (Ruth, Gemma and Lace) and that means I need to check out some of the other ladies you mention. Let's face it, a great character will keep me going back to the story time and time again.

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  23. Great list. The only one I've read is Emily Pollifax and I love her. Still have a few Mrs Pollifax books to get my hands on but she is always so inspiring! I want to be an international spy in my 60's!

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    1. I know - wouldn't it have been fun? At least the way she did it. I liked the first ones best. The one on safari and the one in China and the very first one.

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Thanks for stopping by! I am so happy to hear your thoughts and will respond as soon as I can. Happy Reading!