Where are the women?

[Elizabeth Zelvin]

I usually back away from controversy, but I'm shaking my head over the discussion over in the Forum about must-read authors. In 48 posts so far, counting my last one, only Sandra Scoppettone and I have dared to ask "Where are the women?" and "Where are the traditional mysteries?" And so far nobody has so much as commented on the fact that the heirs of Hammett and Chandler hold up only half the sky. I haven't felt so invisible since way back near the beginning of the women's movement. Wondering what I'll get with this post. Support? Hostility? Silence?

[Christa Faust]

Right here. Well, one of them anyway.

If we're talking about the hard stuff, how about Megan Abbott or Sara Gran's DOPE? Or if you want to go old school, try Dorothy B. Hughes or Helen Nielson.

However, I gotta be honest. Most of my favorite authors are men. What can I say? The kind of books I go for are rarely written by women. (Although I'm doing my best to change that fact.)

On the other hand, I also don't make any kind of claim that my personal taste is right for everyone. Just because a particular style doesn't lift my skirt, doesn't mean it isn't any good. That's why "must read" lists are always tricky and controversial, especially in a genre as polarized as this one.

I do think the phrasing of Toni's original post asking for must reads not just in general mystery but "mystery/thriller/noir" that lead to the manly, hardboiled slant in the replies.

[Tribe]

Uhm, I don't get it.