What Cozy Mysteries Have Strong Female Characters?

The best cozy mystery books are absolutely full of strong female characters. Women who are nosy, brave, funny, and brilliant at solving murders. If you want cozy mystery books starring women who take no nonsense, you are SO spoiled for choice.

Why Women Make the Best Cozy Mystery Detectives

There is something wonderful about a female amateur detective in a cozy mystery.

She has a full life already - a pub to run, a bakery to manage, a WI meeting to get to - and somehow still finds time to solve a crime before the police can.

She is observant. She is persistent. And she notices things everyone else has completely missed.

In my Bob and Shirley cozy mystery series, Shirley is very much that woman. She is the landlady of The Pig and Pickle pub in Great Oakley, and she has zero patience for nonsense. When a body turns up in the village, she is not waiting around for the police to sort it out. She and her husband Bob are on the case. Shirley is usually several steps ahead.

The whole series is free on Kindle Unlimited, so you can get started straight away.

Cozy Mystery Books With Brilliant Female Leads

Here are some of my favourite murder mystery books starring women I absolutely love.

M.C. Beaton - the Agatha Raisin Series

Agatha Raisin is one of the great female characters in cozy mystery books. She is a retired PR executive who moves to the Cotswolds and immediately starts finding bodies.

She is not warm and cuddly. She is prickly, competitive, a bit vain, and absolutely brilliant. I adore her.

If you are looking for book club books with a female character who sparks debate, Agatha Raisin is your woman.

Faith Martin - the Hillary Greene Series

DI Hillary Greene is a wonderful female detective in this brilliant British cozy mystery series. She is a police officer navigating office politics and murder in equal measure.

Very, very satisfying for readers who like a bit of procedure with their cosy.

Many of these are Kindle Unlimited books, which makes binge-reading very easy indeed.

Janet Evanovich - the Stephanie Plum Series

If you want your strong female character with a side of absolute chaos, Stephanie Plum is for you. She is a New Jersey bounty hunter who cannot park a car without it exploding.

The murder mystery books in this series are funny, fast, and very, very addictive.

These are brilliant book club books because everyone has an opinion on Ranger versus Morelli. (It is Ranger. That is the correct answer and I will not be taking questions.)

Richard Osman - the Thursday Murder Club Series

Joyce, Penny, Ron and Elizabeth are four friends in a retirement village who solve cold cases together. The women in these cozy mystery books are SO sharp and funny.

Joyce's diary sections are particularly brilliant.

Wonderful book club books if you want something to make you laugh and cry a little bit.

My Own Favourite - Shirley from Bob and Shirley

I may be slightly biased here, but Shirley is my favourite strong female character in cozy mystery books.

She runs a pub with her husband Bob. She has a very complicated relationship with the village postmistress. And she absolutely refuses to let a murder go unsolved on her patch.

The Bob and Shirley series is free on Kindle Unlimited. It is set in the fictional English village of Great Oakley, where murders happen with alarming frequency and the real ale is very, very good.

FAQ

What makes a strong female character in a cozy mystery?

A strong female character in cozy mystery books does not have to be tough in the traditional sense. She is smart, observant, determined, and not easily put off. She often has a full life of her own - a job, a family, a community - and solves crimes alongside all of that. Characters like Agatha Raisin, Shirley from Bob and Shirley, and Stephanie Plum are strong in very different ways, which is what makes cozy mystery books so varied and brilliant.

Are there cozy mysteries with older female characters?

Lots of them. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman has older women at its heart. The Agatha Raisin series features a woman in her fifties who is absolutely magnificent. And Shirley from my Bob and Shirley series is very much a woman of a certain age who has zero time for nonsense. Cozy mystery books are wonderfully inclusive about age.

Are cozy mystery books with strong female leads available on Kindle Unlimited?

Many are. The Bob and Shirley series is completely free on Kindle Unlimited, as are many Faith Martin books. Kindle Unlimited books are brilliant for discovering new cozy mystery authors - you can try several before deciding on your favourites. Very, very good value.

What are the best cozy mystery books for book clubs?

The Thursday Murder Club is a popular book club pick because there is a lot to talk about. The Agatha Raisin series is great for book clubs because Agatha herself is so divisive (in the best way). And the Bob and Shirley series makes a lovely book club choice because the dual first-person voices - Bob's chapters versus Shirley's chapters - give you a lot to compare and discuss.

Suzy xx