Things are changing, or is it just me?
Those of you who read my first blog will know a bit about my reading habits over the years, and about the types of book and the authors I read.
I honestly cannot think of a female writer whose books I read prior to J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. This was not out of choice, they just didn’t write what I wanted to read.
Was it a coincidence that Rowling chose to present herself as a man in the guise of Robert Galbraith, was she trying to completely disguise herself or was she trying to break into, what I thought was a male dominated genre.
People will be saying that there have been women writing detective/ mystery/ police procedural books for years. Agatha Christie being a shinning example.
But over the last 2 or 3 years has anybody else noticed the emergence of some fantastic, British, female, Crime Thriller writers, and wow do they pack a punch.
In no particular order here are some of the women I have discovered in the last year or two.
Mari Hannah
Mari writes the Kate Daniels series. She is a DI in the North East and heads up a squad in the Major Investigations Team. Her stories are gritty; the descriptions of the characters and crime scenes are second to none. The violence in some of the scenes is breath taking and there is a no holds barred approach for the reader; but its not there as a gimmick, every act helps tell the story.
As with all good series there are back-stories to the characters that are always relevant to the main story, but also flow through the series linking them all, yet they are so well written each can be read as a stand alone
If you haven’t read any of these books yet you have missed a treat.
Mari Hannah can be found on Amazon or her own web site www.marihannah.com
Marnie Riches
Marnie is the author of a series of books, only two so far but more to come, in the George McKenzie series.
When The Girl That Wouldn’t Die was released reviewer’s started to compare it favourably with Stig Larson’s Millennium series. Well that is quite something to live up to so I downloaded it to read on my holiday. I wasn’t disappointed the book starts with a bang, in more ways than one. The main character, George McKenzie is a Cambridge exchange student living in the red light district of Amsterdam. Following what appears to be a terrorist explosion in the City she teams up with a local Police Inspector. The unlikely team unravel an amazing plot which twists and turns all the way to the end.
I was lucky enough to get a pre release copy of the second book in the series, The Girl Who Broke The Rules. It was one of the best sequels I have ever read. I find that some authors struggle with the second book, but just like Mari Hannah, Marnie Riches just got even better.
In these two books Marnie Riches tackles prostitution, drug use, and the human trafficking in a no holds barred manner.
I look forward to the next The Girl Who……..book and hope this turns into a long series.
Marnie Riches can be found on Amazon and also on her own web site www.marnieriches.com
Angela Marsons
Angela Marsons has written 2 books so far in the Detective Inspector Kim Stone series.
These books are set close to home; in fact they are set exactly where I live and the surrounding area. The Police Station Kim Stone works from; Halesowen in the West Midlands is my local station. So if ever I was going to notice any flamboyant exaggerations, unrealistic events or characters it was gong to be in these books. I didn’t.
Angela depicts the places and the people of the Black Country perfectly. The crimes she uses in the stories are all too realistic, and unfortunately common. The first book Silent Scream revolves around Child abuse at a Local Authority Children’s Home. The second book Silent Scream deals with the phycology of victims and how their vulnerability can be manipulated.
Angela also uses her characters back stories to enhance the main story and in the second book manages to introduce a nemesis to throw against DI Stone that shows a vulnerability, in the Police Office, that many writers attempt but few manage to convey.
Angela Marsons can be found on Amazon and at her own web site www.angelamarsons-book.com
I have singled out 3 women here because they have written my favourite books over the last 2 years but there are others who have also written brilliantly.
I find myself reading more books written by British women now than by any others.
I think of these Killer-Lady-Writers as a new breed of writer. They manage to combine the personal side of a character with the devastation they encounter better than the men used to.
Or is it todays society, do we as readers need more blood and guts to keep us engaged, and is it just coincidence that there are a lot of female writers coming through at the moment.
Carry on ladies.
nigeladamsbookworm 