Category: Private Investigators
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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.
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My Favorite Mysteries Set in National Parks and Wild Places
It’s the time of year when I’m dreaming of adventures in national parks. Here are four books that transport you to these beautiful spaces, via park rangers, a senior sleuth and a rank amateur, with the added spice of murder.
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Edgar Awards 2025: What Mystery Writers Selected as The Best
This year’s winners include a final outing for PI Maisie Dobbs and the story of an aspiring writer who finds her literary idol murdered the day after she gives him her manuscript.
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Welcome Back, Vic! The Tough Chicago PI Returns
The now middle-aged Warshawski is still reeling from her last case when she agrees to search for a missing young woman in Kansas — and then stumbles across another woman’s body. I loved book 22 in this series.
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And Now For Something Completely Different: PI Izzy Spellman
There’s rarely a murder in this mystery series, which focuses instead on a hilarious young PI working for her very dysfunctional family’s investigations agency. Quirky family dynamics and humor are the stars of these books.
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Murder Crossed Her Mind: A Series Keeps Getting Better
I feel no regrets about stopping a series if my interest lags. But this fourth book in the Pentecost & Parker mystery series, featuring a Nero Wolfe-like detective pair in 1940s New York, is every bit as good as the first, second and third.
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If You’re A Fan of Kinsey Millhone, Please Meet Cass Raines
Tough, headstrong, caring. Cass Raines is a no-nonsense Chicago cop turned PI who’s determined to right the wrongs she sees around her — and there are plenty. A past winner of the Sue Grafton Memorial Award.
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Holly: Stephen King Lets His Unusual Female PI Shine
It’s been a minute since I read a novel by Stephen King. I’d forgotten a) what a great storyteller he is and b) how gross he can get. You’ll need a strong stomach for this chilling tale of two academics gone very, very wrong.
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Celine: The Armani Sleuth with “the Underdog Bone”
At 69, Celine Watkins may qualify as a senior sleuth. But her experience – and shooting skill – are assets in this tale of families broken and, sometimes, reunited. A traditional mystery set in and around Yellowstone National Park.
FemaleSleuths.com 