Women of a certain
age have been starring in mysteries for nearly a century, but
the proliferation of this genre reached new significance as we
neared the end of the twentieth century. During the past
fifteen years, no less than 30 new senior women sleuths began
solving murders and acquiring fans.
Several creators of these appealing older ladies were already
established in the world of mystery writing when they introduced
their senior female protagonist.
Carolyn Hart first presented her senior female protagonist, retired
reporter turned amateur sleuth, Henrie O, in 1993. Hart's
popular Death on Demand series, starring bookstore owner
Annie Laurance, had debuted six years earlier. It is still
selling successfully today with Annie and husband Max Darling
(their relationship developed during the series) now sharing sleuthing
skills. Their latest episode is the recently released "White
Elephant Dead."
"I wrote Death on Demand, my first book in the series set in a
mystery bookstore, because I wanted to remember wonderful mysteries,
to tell everyone about these important books," said Hart in her
letter to her readers on the home page of her Web
site.
Hart honors this pledge in "The Christie Caper,"
a classic puzzle novel set at a convention in honor of the one
hundredth birthday of Agatha Christie. She also pays homage
to several writers of the Golden Age in "A Little Class on
Murder." In this fun-filled adventure, Annie teaches
a class on three of the great mystery writers: Agatha Christie,
Dorothy Sayers and Mary Roberts Rinehart.
Hart's senior sleuth, Henrietta (Henrie O) O'Dwyer Collins
takes on her first case in the book, "Dead Man's Island."
While chatting about her new protagonist, Hart said, "Henrie O
is my response to those who think women over 60 are fluffy and
feeble little old ladies. We need positive images of aging
and to tear down stereotypes people might have. Society has a
tendency to dismiss anyone over 45 or 50 as not germane or worthy
of respect. Women must be valued not only when young and beautiful
but when they age. I wanted a character that didn't have to pretend.
There are more seasons to life than summer. It is the autumn years
that I am depicting in the Henrie O mysteries."
"Death on the River Walk" is Henrie O's fifth and latest
adventure.
M.C. Beaton is another author of some consequence whose senior
woman sleuth made her first appearance in the recent past. The
Beaton nom de plume is one of many used by Marion Chesney,
a prolific writer of historical romances produced under her own
name and several other pseudonyms. In 1980, Chesney began writing
mysteries under the name M.C. Beaton. Her first series featured
Hamish Macbeth, a village constable in the highlands of Scotland
(Chesney's native country). This series continues today,
with title number sixteen, "A Highland Christmas," appearing
in bookstores just in time for the 1999 holidays.
Agatha Raisin, Beaton's senior woman sleuth, first appeared in
1992 in Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death. Beaton describes
her Agatha as "a stocky middle-aged woman with good legs, a round
face and small bear-like eyes which looked suspiciously out at
the world. Her hair had always been her pride, thick and brown
and glossy."
To this, an Amazon.com reviewer adds the following: "That
description, which could also fit Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie,
tells us almost everything we need to know about Agatha Raisin,
M.C. Beaton's smartly updated Miss Marple, who does most of her
amateur sleuthing amidst the glowing stone villages of England's
Cotswold district. Cozy without being the least bit cute, Beaton's
books about this tough little Raisin cookie are well-made and
smoothly oiled entertainment machines, working unexpected changes
on familiar turf."
As with most of her writing, Beaton has been quite prolific with
her Agatha Raisin series, producing ten titles in eight years.
The most recent is Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam scheduled
for publication in June, 2000.
Another mystery writer
who may surprise you as having a senior woman protagonist is Joyce
Christmas. Perhaps best-known for her Lady Margaret Priam
series, Christmas has also penned, to date, a four book series
featuring retired Connecticut office manager Betty Trenka.
Says reviewer Harriet Klausner about the latest Joyce Christmas
senior sleuth title: "The fourth Betty Trenka cozy is a
warm New England tale that fans of the Jessica Fletcher series
will enjoy. Like the previous three tales, 'Mood to Murder,' is
a character-driven story. Betty remains an intriguing individual
whose philosophy on the whims of life is the key to her essence
and the overall plot of the novel. The secondary characters add
a husky New England flavor to the mix. Though the story line is
entertaining, there is little action until the climax. As with
her Lady Priam mysteries, Joyce Christmas provides a gift to those
readers who enjoy a serene cozy."
The senior sleuths discussed here are only three of over 30 characters
awaiting your light reading enjoyment. If you haven't yet
discovered any of these delightful ladies, do start soon.
The motto of the readers of the women of a certain age can easily
be, "so many books, so little time."
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