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Looking for your next great read?
From cozy to noir, let’s find a strong female sleuth to suit your reading mood.
LATEST REVIEWS
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The March Sisters Struggle to Solve The Murder of Their Beloved Beth
I adored this thoroughly modern take on Little Women, featuring the March sisters as amateur sleuths uncovering who killed their beloved Beth. This propulsively written tale grapples with current issues, like social media.
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Agatha Christie’s Housekeeper Stars in this Inventive Series
An unconventional housekeeper to Agatha Christie, who served with her in wartime, solves mysteries in and around the novelist’s home in the English countryside in the 1930s. It’s a series worthy of the Christie references.
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One Author, Two Cozy Mystery Series I’m Loving Now
Author Debra Sennefelder’s two series, which feature a food blogger and a consignment store owner, are a well-written respite from the daily barrage of horrendous news out of our nation’s capital. Learn to rest, not quit.
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Family Matters: A Veteran Author Pens a Cozy with Heart
This fun read pairs a fiery grandmother with her wayward granddaughter as they hunt a killer — and a tortoise — in a blazing hot retirement community. Along the way, some family secrets are laid bare.
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An Archaeologist Contends With An Unbelievable Discovery in this Fast-Moving Tale
Ancient stories and modern politics mix in this series debut about a Pakistani archaeologist faced with the find of a lifetime. But how it is related to her missing niece?
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Chicago’s First Female PI Will Bicycle Right Into Your Heart
An unconventional young PI fights sexism, homophobia, a surly younger brother and a brutal gang lord in turn-of-the-century Chicago in Rob Osler’s second quozy, or queer cozy, mystery series. It’s a winner.
popular picks
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Edgar Awards 2026: What Mystery Writers Selected as The Best
This year’s winners include an unofficial “problem-solver” in Silicon Valley and a zealous journalist pursuing a fugitive who confessed to killing nine people as a teen. Links to winners, nominees.
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Agatha Award Winners 2026: Celebrating Traditional Mysteries
This year’s winners include an historical mystery where Agatha Christie isn’t the author but a suspect, and Dorothy Sayers’ assistant must prove her innocence. Links to winners, nominees.
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Left Coast Crime Awards 2026: Some Familiar Winners
Two 2026 winners are repeats from last year for their most recent novels featuring female protagonists. See the results of this year’s first big mystery awards for work in 2025.
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Anthony Awards 2025: New Categories Added
Female sleuths again swept this annual awards contest, which included new categories such as best cozy/humorous, best historical and best paranormal. Need help adding to your TBR list?
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New York Times: Best Mysteries (and Other Books) Since 2000
Here’s a gift link to the interactive database of the NYT’s best and notable books by year and genre. Check out the picks for the best 21 mysteries of the past two decades.
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My GOAT Female Sleuths … So Far There’s Four
My list of the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) female sleuths so far: V.I. Warshawski, Kinsey Millhone, Tess Monoghan and Ruth Galloway. Who’s on your GOAT list?
writing practice
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Becoming a Writer: Getting Over That Imposter Feeling
I had a career based on words but never considered myself a “real” writer. It’s time to recover writing as a practice for everyone, and not the domain of an elite few.
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