The women in these private investigator stories are independent and self-reliant but still feminine. The stories tend to be fast-paced, harder edged, and told in the first person narrative.

The following is a list of authors who fit into this category. The first title in each series is given.

Linda Barnes
Carlotta Carlyle, Boston PI
Trouble of Fools

Liza Cody
Anna Lee, British PI
Dupe

Janet Dawson
Jeri Howard, Oakland CA PI
Kindred Crimes

Sarah Dunant
Hannah Wolfe, British PI
Birth Marks

Susan Dunlap
Kiernan O’Shaughnessy, Former Medical Examiner PI
Pious Deception

Selma Eichler
Desiree Shapiro, Manhattan PI
Murder Can Kill Your Social Life

Janet Evanovich
Stephanie Plum, Bounty Hunter PI
One for the Money

Carolina Garcia-Aguilera
Lupe Solano, Miami PI
Bloody Waters

Sue Grafton
Kinsey Millhone, California PI
“A” is for Alibi

Linda Grant
Catherine Saylor, San Franciso PI
Random Access Murder

Lesley Grant-Adamson
Laura Flynn, PI
Too Many Questions

Marian J.A. Jackson
Miss Abigail Patience Danforth, “World’s First Female Consulting Detective”
The Punjat’s Ruby

P.D.James
Cordelia Gray, British Woman Detective
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman

Marne Davis Kellogg
Lily Bennett, Ex-policewoman PI–Wyoming
Bad Manners

Karen Kijewski
Kat Colorado, Sacramento PI
Katwalk

Laura Lippman
Tess Monaghan, Ex-reporter PI
Baltimore Blues

Val McDermid
Kate Brannigan, Manchester, England PI
Dead Beat

Marcia Muller
Sharon McCone, San Franciso PI,”Founding Mother of the Female Hard-boiled PI”
Edwin of the Iron Shoes

Katy Munger
Casey Jones, Ex-convict PI–NC
Legwork

Lillian O’Donnell
Gwen Rammadge, PI
A Wreath for the Bride

Sara Paretsky
V.I. Warshawski, Chicago, PI
Indemnity Only

Robert B. Parker
Sunny Randall, Boston, Ex-Policewoman PI
Family Honor

Chris Rogers
Dixie Flanagan, Bounty Hunter–Houston, TX
Bitch Factor

Sandra Scoppettone
Lauren Laurano, Greenwich Village PI
Everything You Have Is Mine

Michelle Spring
Laura Principal, Former British Sociology Professor turned PI
Every Breath You Take

Dana Stabenow
Kate Shugak, Former DA Investigator turned PI
Cold Day for Murder

Dorothy Sucher
Sabrina Swift, A Nero Wolfe-like female PI
Dead Men Don’t Give Seminars

Elizabeth Atwood Taylor
Maggie Elliott, San Francisco PI
Cable Car Murder

Kathy Hogan Trocheck
Julia Callahan Garrity, Atlanta not-so-retired PI
Every Crooked Nanny

Judith Van Gieson
Neil Hamel, New Mexico PI
North of the Border

Stella Whitelaw
Lacey Jordan
Pray and Die

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