Crime Novels with Female Protagonists and Side-kicks

[Karen Tyrrell]

I'm looking for modern crime novels which have female protagonists and a female side kick.

I love to read fast-paced books by Katherine Howell, Marianne Delacourt and Janet Evanovich.

http://www.karentyrrell.com

[Beth Groundwater]

I'll recommend my new Rocky Mountain Outdoor Adventures series, the first book of which, DEADLY CURRENTS, was released in March. It features 27-year-old whitewater river ranger Mandy Tanner and her best friend, bartender Cynthia Abbott.

[Karen Tyrrell]

Hi Beth,

Thanks for your recommendation. Good luck with your new book ...Karen :))

 

[David DeLee]

I would recommend Tess Gerritsen's Rizzoli & Iles series.

Or...

Okay, shameless plug here, I have 4 short stories e-published with a bounty hunter named Grace deHaviland and her best friend sheriff's deputy, Suzie Jensen. A 5th is available in the Mystery Writers of America's anthology THE RICH AND THE DEAD, released this month.

Happy reading
David DeLee

[Karen Tyrrell]

Thanks David, for your recommendations.

Yes, I 've heard of Tess Gerritsen but have never read her novels.

Good luck with your set of short stories.

I'll put them on my reading list ...Karen :))

[David DeLee]

Karen,

Thanks for the friend request. Hope you enjoy the stories.

David DeLee

[I. J. Parker]

Not my thing, I'm afraid.  Somehow, I don't go for female-oriented books any longer.  But they do sell well.  Most buyers seem to be women.

[Karen Tyrrell]

Hi IJ,

I'm a multi-genre reader and a multi-genre writer. Just about all the books I read are written by female authors with a female main character/ protagonist .. crime, fantasy, historical mystery, fiction etc.

But I enjoy male authors such as Jeff Lindsay (Dexter) and Jeffrey Deaver.

Each to his own :))

[David DeLee]

Which reminds me, Jeffery Deaver has a series (2or 3 books so far) featuring a female lead, Kathryn Dance. She is a forensic kinesics expert (The study of non-verbal body language used in interviews and interrogations). The first one, I thought, was quite good.

 

And more of a thriller, I just finished FIRST DROP by Zoe Sharp featuring her female protection agent, i.e. bodyguard, Charlie Fox (a female even though she's named Charlie).

 

Neither has a female sidekick though, sorry.

 

Happy reading

David DeLee

[Karen Tyrrell]

Hi David,

Thanks for all your suggestions. My reading list is growing longer. LOL.:))

[Benjamin Sobieck]

I'm debating switching my WIP's protag to a female. I keep running into the same tired misogynistic tropes on various crime flash fiction sites, and something tells me it was for a reason.

[Karen Tyrrell]

Not sure what you mean. Are you changing your MC to a female YES? NO?

[Benjamin Sobieck]

I think I will change the MC in the WIP to a female. It works just as well. She'll be a farm-raised Dakotan returning to town after college.

 

What I meant by the "misogynistic tropes" is that I read a lot of crime flash fiction. Aside from a few exceptions, the females in them are a) something to take revenge upon through brutal physical violence, b) forced to do sexual favors in return for something else or c) boxed into the "annoying bitch" character.

 

I know this specific segment of fiction is a boy's club, but not every male in my day is a tough guy, just like every female isn't a doormat. Strong females, even if they're antagonists, are more than overdue in this genre. Shake things up a bit.

 

In my WIP, as in real life, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone farming the prairie who isn't tough as nails. It's time for a change up.