The best mysteries starring unlikely female sleuths

If you love a good cosy mystery and characters that unfold gently over time, this book is a must-read. Here, we meet Mma Precious Ramotswe, the only lady private detective in Botswana, as she solves the everyday mysteries of the people of Gabarone. 

The series centres around her and her particular approach to solving mysteries—through relaxed conversation over cups of tea. The surrounding cast of characters play a critical role in making the series shine. Seeing Botswana through Mma Ramotswe’s eyes is both honest and heart-warming. She recognises its beauty and strengths while acknowledging where her country still has the opportunity to grow. 

Read this on a rainy day with a cup of tea (red bush tea, naturally). You won’t regret it.

Meet Perveen Mistry, the first female solicitor in 1921 Mumbai. In this book, she meets three widows who have inexplicably signed away their inheritance from their husband. As a lawyer, she’s curious. As a woman, she is the only person with legal training who is allowed to see them, since they practice purdah (where women stay secluded, only venturing out heavily veiled).

What follows is a murder mystery but through it, and through Perveen’s backstory, it is also an exploration of society’s expectations of women and the influence of the British in India. As an Indian, a woman, and a fan of a dead body (only within the pages of a book, I promise), there was much to love. 

Recommended if you like a historical, character-driven murder series. 

While I do love Miss Marple (if you don’t, I’m not sure we can be friends), I also love a good romp, which is exactly what this is. Our heroine Anne Beddingfield is in search of an adventure. Heading up to London, she finds herself investigating a murder involving mysterious clues, stolen diamonds, and the Secret Service. Her investigation quickly leads to a one-way passage on the Killmordan Castle, a liner heading for South Africa.

She soon finds herself mired deep in a complex intrigue but is bright, resourceful, and just foolhardy enough to be believable as a complete amateur who unravels it (with a touch of kidnapping along the way). 

Read this if you’re looking for a book where the author subverts expectations to deliver a punchy, action-packed adventure. 

Have you ever wondered how long it would take for a young woman who was stabbed three or four times, just under the breastbone, to die?

Elizabeth Best has. The book opens with her asking Joyce Meadowcroft, former nurse, this very question.

… And with that, we’re off. Welcome to the Thursday Murder Club, where four residents of Coopers Chase Retirement Village meet weekly to solve an unsolved murder. Each of them brings a lifetime of experience to the table (there’s a former spy, nurse, trade union leader and psychiatrist). They are easy to underestimate – particularly when Elizabeth and Joyce put on their best elderly lady impressions – but therein lies their greatest strength. 

Heads up: I stayed up all night finishing this book. Can’t say I didn’t warn you.

Dorothy L Sayers is most known for her amateur detective, Lord Peter Wimsey. In Gaudy Night, however, she hands the reins over to Harriet Vane, mystery writer and close friend of Lord Peter’s. Harriet is invited to her Alma Mater – Shrewsbury College, Oxford – and while there, is asked to investigate some recent poison pen messages and obscene vandalism. From there the mystery ramps up, eventually leading to an attack on Harriet herself.

Clues are dropped slowly throughout the book and the many threads are brought together satisfyingly at the end. Sayers also examines the challenges faced by the pioneers of women’s higher education, society’s expectations, and their own desire for independence. 

Also, if a slow-burn romance is your thing, I’d suggest starting with Strong Poison and Have His Carcass.