Female Detectives

Whether in film, TV, or books, female detectives have always intrigued me. I cut my teeth on Nancy Drew, graduated to V.I. Warshawski, Kinsey Malone, Miss Marple, and Eve Dallas. Each fictional detective has qualities that engage the reader and make her/him come back for more. By far my favorite is Stephanie Plum. She is inept, at times, and often falls into solving a mystery. The humor makes me keep reading the books.

Nora Charles, played in film by Myrna Loy, was savvy, witty, and oh-so-smart. Laura Holt (Stephanie Zimbalist) led Remington Steele on a merry chase, solved crimes, and let him take the credit for her work. Too bad equal opportunity hadn’t hit detective shows back in the 80s. Still, she did look great in that fedora. Maddie Hayes (Cybill Shepherd) teamed up with a young Bruce Willis on Moonlighting. Great dialogue made that show a hit. Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) gave mystery writers hope that they, too, might solve real crimes.

But what about real life? When Allan Pinkerton hired Kate Warne in 1856, she became America’s first female detective. Smart guy, that Allan Pinkerton. I have to admit when I watched “The Pinkertons” on television, I was surprised at the female investigator. To find out she was a real person makes the show that much more interesting.

When I wrote The Case of the Bygone Brother, I modeled Alex O’Hara on the conglomeration of fictional female detectives. She is klutzy (like Stephanie Plum), a wise-acre (like V.I. Warshawski), a sleuth (like Nancy Drew), add in tenacity (like Miss Marple and Jessica Fletcher). Best of all, she has a romantic interest in Nick Palzetti—like Eve Dallas’ Roarke and Laura Holt’s Remington Steele.

Alex will be up to her old tricks in The Case of the Fabulous Fiancé, which will be available in mid-October.

Who are your favorite detectives?

Sleuths

On the nightly news, we’re bombarded by murder stories. Senseless, accidental, or deliberate. News reporters ask the questions we want to know. How? Why? Who? Once the last question is answered, we want justice for the victim.

But sometimes, despite the best efforts of the police, the case goes unsolved. While that happens in real life, in fiction we want, no, demand that every crime be solved. On TV, it’s solved in an hour. More like forty-four minutes if you take out the commercials. In a novel, we get three hundred pages or more.

The death of actor James Garner this weekend reminded me of his show The Rockford Files. No hard-boiled detective there. While I loved him as Maverick (actually, I had a mad teenage crush on him), his easy-going persona as Jim Rockford seemed like a perfect fit for the actor. The humor made the show even more appealing. Like Castle. It’s no coincidence that both shows were created by Stephen J. Cannell.

On television, in movies and books, each sleuth has/had his own style. Sam Spade, played brilliantly by tough-guy Humphrey Bogart. Columbo, seemingly bumbling, yet sharply observant. Castle, the smart-ass yet loving father and long-suffering son. Who reads Raymond Chandler and doesn’t think of Robert Mitchum as Phillip Marlowe? Then there’s the miscast of the decade—Tom Cruise as Lee Child’s 6’5” 230 pound Jack Reacher.

Where are the women sleuths?

I cut my teeth on Nancy Drew. I under appreciated Miss Marple and Jessica Fletcher because of their age. Now that I’m their age (sort of) I’ve changed my mind. While I enjoyed reading V.I. Warshawski and Kinsey Millhone, I love female duos like Cagney & Lacey and Rizzoli & Isles. Then there’s Stephanie Plum. ROTFLOL Actually, lying in bed reading and trying to hold in laughter so the bed shaking doesn’t wake Hubs.

A new girl will join the others next month. Alex O’Hara. Not as young as Nancy but not as old as Agatha or Jessica, Alex inherited a detective agency when her dad and his partner retired. Making it alone as a female P.I. in a small, lakeshore resort town is no easy task. Until a femme fatale straight out of a Dashiell Hammett book comes calling—no, begging for help finding her missing brother.

Here’s a look at the cover, created perfectly by Rebel Ink Designs.

 

Who's your favorite detective?