28 Mystery Series with a Lady Lead, Chosen By You

This riot recommendation of favorite mystery series with a lady lead is sponsored by Poisoned Pen Press, bringing you Thomas Kies’s Darkness Lane.

The newshound in reporter Geneva Chase spurs her to bad if not downright dangerous choices as two unrelated crimes unexpectedly collide. She is a very human protagonist who stumbles while striving. During the chilling end game she comes to the horrible realization that she’s in over her head. The second novel in the Geneva Chase Mystery Series, hurtles along at a breakneck speed where nothing is what it seems, and where art and reality collide in a terrifying climax.

I don’t think it’s any secret that we here at the Riot have a whole lot of love for Jessica Fletcher. Since yet another month has come and gone without Netflix restoring “Murder, She Wrote” to their catalog, we turned to you to help fill that void. We asked for your favorite mystery series with a lady lead, and you didn’t disappoint us. The following women are just some of the sleuthing dames Riot readers can’t get enough of:

Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody, Vicky Bliss, and Jacqueline Kirby

Kerry Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher

Elly Griffiths’ Ruth Galloway

Robin Stevens’ Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells

Steph Cha’s Juniper Song

Diane Mott Davidson’s Goldy Schulz

Cara Black’s Aimee Leduc

J. D. Robb’s Eve Dallas

Denise Mina’s Maureen O’Donnell

Lisa Gardener’s D. D. Warren

Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum

Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Milhone

Ian Hamilton’s Ava Lee

Sara Gran’s Claire DeWitt

Rachel Howzell Hall’s Eloise Norton

Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs

Tamar Myers’ Magdalena Yoder

M. C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin

Laurie R. King’s Kate Martinelli

Deanna Raybourn’s Lady Julia Grey

Alexander McCall Smith’s Precious Ramotswe

Kristi Belcamino’s Gia Santella

Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple

Elizabeth George’s Barbara Havers

Sara Paretsky’s V. I. Warshawski

Julie Smith’s Skip Langdon