Reading right now:

   

            “No Place to Die” by Clare Donoghue. This is the second in Donoghue’s terrific new series with Senior Detective Jane Bennett and Detective Inspector Mike Lockyer. In this second in the series, the wife of a retired London cop reports her husband missing and a girl’s body is found under a park. It seems she was buried alive. As the investigations proceed, clues point to the two cases being connected.

On hold right now:

            “Badlands” by C. J. Box. This stand-along novel centers around a small North Dakota town where a new female deputy sheriff, Cassie Dewell, finds herself facing a boom in crime which seems to be sparked by an influx of oil money which brings a demand for drugs pushed by gangs. To make things worse, someone is taunting her by leaving body parts around the city.

                       

Other mysterious things:

            Women have always played a large role in cozy mysteries, but more and more they are taking over as cops, private investigators, lawyers, forensic investigators, FBI agents, and other professional roles in all mainstream mysteries. There are many books with female FBI agents such as Alex Kava's books. J. T. Ellison’s character is an FBI consultant. Linda Castillo’s main character is Police Chief Kate Burkholder. Some of the most famous female professionals appear in books written by Tess Gerritsen, Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich, Lisa Gardner, and Jacqueline Winspear. Even TV shows and movies are picking up on the trend with “Prime Suspect” being one of the best TV has had to offer.