9 Marvelous Mysteries Starring Women Sleuths

	Title	Author	More by the Author
1.	The Whole Enchilada	Diane Mott Davidson	Catering to Nobody	Dying for Chocolate
2.	Breaking Point	Allison Brennan	Notorious	Compulsion
3.	Center Stage	Denise Grover Swank	Act Two	Call Back
4.	A Curious Beginning	Deanna Raybourn	A Perilous Undertaking	A Treacherous Curse
5.	First Grave on the Right	Darynda Jones	Second Grave on the Left	Third Grave Dead Ahead
6.	Miss Frost Solves A Cold Case	Kristen Painter	Miss Frost Ices The Imp	Miss Frost Saves The Sandman
7.	Special Topics in Calamity Physics	Marisha Pessl	Neverworld Wake	Night Film
8.	Bubbles Unbound	Sarah Strohmeyer	Bubbles in Trouble	Bubbles Ablaze
9.	To Live and Die in Dixie	Mary Kay Andrews	The Weekenders	The High Tide Club

The Mysteries of Agatha Christie

Known as the "Queen of Crime," Agatha Christie wrote a number of best-selling books that have endured the test of time. Here are a few of her most notable works:

Women Crime Authors Discuss Their Experiences

In Depth

Dating back to the days of Agatha Christie, women have been writing enthralling mysteries for decades. So it's no surprise that a wide selection of these thrilling books feature female protagonists. In no particular order, here are nine amazing mystery novels starring women sleuths.

#1: "The Whole Enchilada" by Diane Mott Davidson. Goldy Schulz is a caterer who is praised for the quality of the meals she prepares. After catering for a birthday party where her friend Holly is a guest, things turn into a nightmare. The latter dies and Goldy suspects that it is because of the food she served. The protagonist learns that her friend's death was caused by drug overdose. To make the case more complicated, another colleague who looks like Goldy gets stabbed. When she herself survives an attack right outside her house, it becomes clear that she is the real target of the killer. Now, she needs to find the culprit before it's too late.

#2. "Breaking Point" by Allison Brennan. Officer Bella Caruso has one purpose in life: to save young women from injustice, drugs, and any type of abuse. She is a victim of domestic violence herself, and she will not let other girls experience what she has been through. When she receives a mission to save a girl from a prostitution ring, she goes beyond the scope of her duty. She goes undercover and probes deep into the dangerous world of human trafficking.

Officer Bella Caruso has one purpose in life: to save young women from injustice, drugs, and any type of abuse.

#3: "Center Stage" by Denise Grover Swank. Magnolia Steele had bad experiences in her hometown of Franklin, Tennessee. So she moved away and searched for her dream elsewhere. Now, she is living in the city without a job or money. Her circumstances force her to go back to her roots and help her mother in their catering business. While serving food at an event, she gets into a fight with an old foe, who is found dead a few minutes later. For obvious reasons, Magnolia is the number one suspect. To clear her name, she needs to uncover the truth and expose the killer as soon as possible.

#4. "A Curious Beginning" by Deanna Raybourn. Veronica Speedwell is a celebrated scientist who is often invited to conventions around the world. After her aunt dies, she enjoys her newfound freedom by taking a vacation in a foreign land. Just as she is about to leave, a break-in ensues where an assailant tries to abduct her. She escapes with the help of a German baron. The latter takes her to Stoker, an ill-tempered natural historian. The baron has knowledge that he wants to pass on to the protagonist, but before he can, he is mysteriously murdered. Now, Veronica and Stoker must team up to get to the bottom of everything.

#5: "First Grave on the Right" by Darynda Jones. Charley Davidson is a part-time private investigator who has a third eye. She can see dead people and convince them to go toward the light. However, spirits that come from those who died tragically are hard to persuade. They usually demand justice for their deaths by showing Charley who their killers are. As if things are not weird enough for her, she starts having a nightmare of a scary entity. The problem is that the "thing" that hunts her in her dreams may not be dead after all. The protagonist needs to find out who he really is, to prevent him from spreading danger to the world of the living.

She can see dead people and convince them to go toward the light.

#6: "Miss Frost Solves A Cold Case" by Kristen Painter. Jayne Frost is a young woman who is popular for a lot of reasons. Aside from being Santa Claus' niece, she is also a winter elf, an heir to the Winter Throne, and a private investigator in her own right. Her father instructs her to find the truth behind the missing workers at Santa's Workshop toy store in Nocturne Falls. There, she encounters different people and unusual things. As she investigates further, she finds herself in a dangerous situation where her magical powers may not be enough to save her life.

#7: "Special Topics in Calamity Physics" by Marisha Pessl. Blue Van Meer is a young student who moves to Stockton, North Carolina during her senior year of high school. There, she meets and befriends film teacher Hannah Schneider, who belongs to an elite group of girls called the Bluebloods. Blue is accepted into the group and invited to camp out with them. While camping, strange things happen. Fellow members Jade and Leulah say that they are being followed by someone. In the evening, they find Hannah hanging on a tree, lifeless. The lead character needs to uncover the truth behind the bizarre death before the killer strikes again.

#8: "Bubbles Unbound" by Sarah Strohmeyer. Bubbles Yablonsky isn't exactly having a stellar experience in school. As a college student, she is nearly flunking all of her courses. As a mother, she is struggling to support her daughter. In her job as a freelance reporter, she is determined to prove her sleazy ex-husband wrong. One day, she stumbles upon a dead body. She incriminates a rich, drunken socialite who is her main suspect. Little does she know that the socialite's husband is one of the most powerful men in town. The antagonists do everything to give Bubbles a hard time while she investigates the case of the dead woman.

Bubbles Yablonsky isn't exactly having a stellar experience in school.

#9: "To Live and Die in Dixie" by Mary Kay Andrews. Callahan Garrity is the best private investigator in the city. As part of the Atlanta Police force, she takes on different kinds of cases and resolves them with ease. But when a notorious local antique dealer named Elliot Littlefield taps her services, she is in for a wild ride. For the first time in her career, she is perplexed with the strangeness of the case. She is tasked with reclaiming a Civil War diary. In her new mission, she encounters many challenges, including finding a dead woman's body, escaping the threats of right-wing extremists, and competing against other antique collectors.