Crime and mystery: women sleuths

A Greenwich Village PI and her pit bull hunt down killers in these three smart, witty mysteries from a Shamus Award winner.

A private eye infiltrates a health spa in this witty crime novel from the CWA Silver Dagger Award-winning author of The Birth of Venus Dead carp floating in the Jacuzzi isn't the latest youth and beauty elixir for the elite patrons of Castle Dean spa, and owner Olivia Marchant is desperate to find the culprit before she loses all her clients.

A PI signs on as bodyguard to a spoiled teenager-but the simple job explodes in murder in this crime novel from a CWA Silver Dagger Award-winning author Chaperoning a rebellious teenager around London isn't how private eye Hannah Wolfe planned to spend the weekend.

A missing-persons case isn't what it seems in this page-turning thriller from CWA Silver Dagger Award-winning author Sarah Dunant Tough-talking PI Hannah Wolfe takes whatever cases she can get.

Accused of murdering her child, a suspected sufferer of Munchausen syndrome by proxy seeks help from Southern private eye Lena Padget, in this riveting thriller.

Southern PI Lena Padget's hunt for a missing coed leads her into a deadly mystery born in the fires of the ATF's Branch Davidian siege in Waco, Texas.

A fearless female private investigator in the South takes on a satanic cult that practices human sacrifice in this gripping Shamus Award-winning mystery.

The first three Miss Silver Mysteries introduce the British governess-turned-sleuth and a "e;timelessly charming"e; series (Charlotte MacLeod).

An innocent English governess goes on the lam with a detective hot on her heels in this thrilling mystery by the author of the Miss Silver novels.

A man survives a shipwreck-only to finds his memory wiped clean and a stranger at his bedside claiming to be his wife The Alice Arden was bound for Scotland until she hit a nasty current and was smashed to bits on the rocky cliffs off the coast of Sussex.

It's a recipe for disaster when Chloe Carter takes a job working for a cookbook writer-and plunges into a sizzling stew of malice and murder If you can't take the heat .

Boston foodie and amateur detective Chloe Carter has enough on her plate without someone dying on a reality TV show after dining on her chef boyfriend's lamb le poison Chloe Carter is ready for her fifteen minutes of vicarious fame.

Foodie and sometimes sleuth Chloe Carter smells something fishy when a waitress from a popular new Boston restaurant turns up dead in a seafood delivery truck Having an executive chef boyfriend guarantees Chloe Carter the best table at Simmer, Boston's hottest new restaurant, any night of the week.

An "e;appealing heroine"e; and her chef boyfriend take on a case of murder by food processor in this Boston-set culinary mystery.

Chloe Carter's Internet date commits the ultimate gastronomic faux pas: He dies before dessertEver in search of the perfect meal and the perfect man twenty-something grad student and food connoisseur Chloe Carter draws the line at speed dating.

Cincinnati homicide detective and single mother Sonora Blair puts everything on the line as she battles to find justice after a multiple-murder home invasionAt a house at the end of a cul-de-sac in the Cincinnati suburbs, widowed Police Specialist Sonora Blair and her partner, Sam Delarosa, discover the bodies of Carl Stinnet and two children.

No killer goes unpunished in this strikingly original thriller set in Kentucky horse country and featuring Cincinnati homicide detective Sonora BlairA fifteen-year-old girl and her horse have vanished from the local stable, leaving behind a splintered fence, a discarded riding boot, and blood a lot of blood.

This edge-of-the-seat thriller from Shamus Award-winning author Lynn Hightower plunges Cincinnati homicide detective Sonora Blair into a case with a high-profile suspect-and a chilling link to an unsolved murderThere are times when Sonora Blair hates being a cop for instance, the day distraught husband and father of two Butch Winchell walks into the Cincinnati PD to report his wife missing.

A New York Times Notable Book: Cincinnati homicide detective Sonora Blair hunts a serial killer who's playing with fire in Shamus Award-winning author Lynn Hightower's chilling thrillerA single mother of two children and a police specialist with the Cincinnati Homicide Division, Sonora Blair is still awake in the middle of the night when the call comes in.

An investigative reporter hired to expose corruption at the highest levels of the government uncovers a chilling link to World War II in this expertly crafted thriller As investigative reporter for the Sunday Herald's high-profile "e;Exposure"e; column, Julia Hamilton exposes everything from corruption in high places to the mutilation and murder of five-year-old twin sisters in a small Welsh village.

The wife of a prominent British politician returns to Ireland to find her missing half-brother-and plunges into a hotbed of political unrest and murder The wife of an important British Cabinet minister, Claire Fraser lives the kind of life that fills the society pages.

Available for the first time in one volume: three delectably puzzling mystery stories-including the Anthony Award-winning story "e;Lucky Penny"e;-starring the inimitable taxi-driving Boston private investigator Carlotta CarlyleSix-foot-tall, redheaded ex-cop and Boston-based private eye Carlotta Carlyle is "e;the genuine article: a straightforward, funny, thoroughly American mystery heroine"e; (New York Post).

Hired to find a missing novelist, Boston private investigator Carlotta Carlyle gets tangled up in a cutthroat political campaignSix-foot-tall, redheaded ex-cop and Boston-based private eye Carlotta Carlyle is "e;the genuine article: a straightforward, funny, thoroughly American mystery heroine"e; (New York Post).

Private investigator Carlotta Carlyle's moonlighting job as a taxi driver turns into the most dangerous, high-octane case of her careerSix-foot-tall, redheaded ex-cop and Boston-based private eye Carlotta Carlyle is "e;the genuine article: a straightforward, funny, thoroughly American mystery heroine"e; (New York Post).

The award-winning author's Boston PI returns in a mystery "e;destined to secure Barnes' position in the hotshot ranks of detective fiction"e; (Arizona Republic).

A Boston PI tries to help a musician friend-and find a murderer-in this "e;gripping"e; mystery by an Anthony Award-winning author (Publishers Weekly).

The Boston PI and part-time cabbie is out to stop a serial killer targeting illegal immigrants in this "e;chilling and charming tale"e; (Cosmopolitan).

Hailed by Sue Grafton as "e;a true original,"e; ex-cop turned private eye Carlotta Carlyle risks her neck in Boston's Combat Zone for two very different clientsSix-foot-tall, redheaded ex-cop and Boston-based private eye Carlotta Carlyle is "e;the genuine article: a straightforward, funny, thoroughly American mystery heroine"e; (New York Post).

Detoxing turns deadly when Hollywood agent Charlie Greene vows to prove that her troubled friend is no killer Agreeing to accompany her old friend Maggie to San Diego's exclusive Marina del Sol spa is a no-brainer for harried Hollywood agent and single mom Charlie Greene.

Reluctant psychic Charlie Greene is called on to solve the case when a horror-film director gets the ax-and Charlie's mother is the prime suspect Between doing lunches, making deals, and being a full-time single mom, Hollywood literary agent and part-time psychic Charlie Greene doesn't have time to solve crimes.

West Coast literary agent Charlie Greene is on the case when an unexplained murder baffles the local cops-and brings out Charlie's blossoming psychic gifts Raising a fast-maturing teenage daughter, keeping up with the mortgage payments, and trying to launch a successful Hollywood career would be difficult for anyone.

Hollywood agent Charlie Greene gets tangled up in a world of holistic intervention, out-of-body experiences, and murder in this thrilling paranormal mysteryHollywood literary agent and single mother Charlie Greene heads out of town to fog-bound Moot Point, Oregon, to meet a client, reclusive New Age author Jack Monroe.

After an aging musician becomes the chief suspect in a murder investigation, only her former pupil can save herSara Selkirk lives one of the most complicated lives in Bath.

The town of Bath has taken on a new melody: murderThe elegant but sedate city of Bath might not be an obvious place for an international musician to settle down, but Sara Selkirk finds herself drawn back to the town.

When a world-renowned cellist stumbles across the still-warm body of a museum director in the natural pools, the entire town of Bath takes noticeLife has been difficult for cellist Sara Selkirk.

A dog trainer-turned-PI and her pit bull go after a killer-with a little help from a courageous dachshund-in this mystery by a Shamus Award winner.

In the highest-profile case of her career, Cass defends her ex-lover in federal court in this Edgar Award-nominated legal thrillerIt's hard not to be charmed by Matt Riordan.

Two gut-wrenching cases draw Cass into mortal dangerIn her many years as a defense attorney, Cass Jameson has represented every kind of client male and female, good and evil, rich and poor.

When her client is murdered, Cass must defend a man she loathesIn the last three months, Cass Jameson has made eleven appearances in Brooklyn family court, helping a secretary named Linda battle her ex-husband, Brad, for custody of their daughter.

Wracked by guilt, Cass searches for a young mother's killerOn the western edge of Staten Island, not far from the city dump, lies a watery patch of earth known as Fresh Kills.

To save her brother, Cass must put a cop killer behind barsIn 1982, Jan Gebhardt was smuggling illegal immigrants across the Canadian border when a federal agent got in her way.

Edgar Award Finalist: Her lover murdered, a Brooklyn defense attorney faces an eye-opening mystery.

In this crime fiction masterwork from CWA Gold Dagger winner Peter Dickinson, a dying old woman determined to solve a family mystery before the end of her life finds herself reopening doors into a dark and very dangerous pastOnce a talented photographer, Rachel Matson is now old, paralyzed, bedridden, and dying yet her wits remain as sharp as a well-stropped straight razor.

Winner of the Shamus Award for Best First PI Novel: In the first book of Carol Lea Benjamin's acclaimed mystery series, Greenwich Village PI Rachel Alexander and her loyal pit bull must find a killer and a missing show dog Divorced dog trainer turned private-eye Rachel Alexander and her canine assistant Dash short for Dashiell are hired by a man named Dennis Keaton to investigate the hit-and-run death of his friend and neighbor Clifford Cole, whose body was found on an isolated Christopher Street pier.

The path to enlightenment is fraught with danger when Greenwich Village PI Rachel Alexander and her pit bull, Dash, investigate the death of a tai chi practitioner Did she jump or was she pushed?

Someone is killing off the great dog trainers of the world-and it's up to PI Rachel Alexander and her pit bull, Dash, to collar the murdererRachel has just been hired as undercover security at a dog-training symposium at a posh Manhattan hotel.

In this mystery from CWA Gold Dagger winner Peter Dickinson, a landlady discovers a corpse beneath her crowded London boardinghouseA sturdy young woman with a knack for home repair and a practical sense of Marxism, Lydia is renovating her London townhouse while her husband finishes law school.

In this mystery from CWA Gold Dagger winner Peter Dickinson, a landlady discovers a corpse beneath her crowded London boardinghouseA sturdy young woman with a knack for home repair and a practical sense of Marxism, Lydia is renovating her London townhouse while her husband finishes law school.

Reporter-turned-television executive Robin Hudson is living it up at New York's legendary Chelsea Hotel-until murder gets her down in award-winning author Sparkle Hayter's dazzling comic mysteryAfter a neighbor's electric wall-hanging short-circuits and sets Robin Hudson's East Village apartment building on fire, the TV newswoman and her cat are forced to temporarily relocate.

When TV newswoman Robin Hudson launches an investigation into how far men have evolved, she confronts her most unusual murder case yet in this mystery that the San Diego Union-Tribune hailed as "e;offbeat and outrageously funny,"e; by award-winning author Sparkle Hayter With her new executive status at All New Network, reporter Robin Hudson is experiencing a testosterone high from bossing around her macho male coworkers.