In a recent NYT Book Review podcast , Charels McGrath discussed the popularity of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy. One of his conclusions? Success fuels itself. Although this is self-evident, I think it’s hard to for readers’ advisors to truly accept that something is popular simply because it’s popular. But look at Amazon.com’s “Customers Who Bought This Also Bought These Items” feature. Did people buy The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest and Cutting for Stone because of their overlapping appeal characteristics? No, they bought them because they’re popular.
But that doesn’t mean that as librarians we can’t use a book’s popularity to draw attention to other books in a genre or with a strong geographical setting or any other similarity we find. In March, I shared ideas for Larsson read-alikes based on setting. Today I want to remind you of other socially conscious female crime solvers you can hand sell when Lisbeth Salander’s exploits aren’t on the shelf.
Contents Under Pressure by Edna Buchanan
Half-Cuban, Miami crime reporter Britt Montero digs into the death of a popular African-American football player who dies during an unexplained high-speed chase with the cops.
The Mermaids Singing by Val McDermid
McDermid won the Gold Dagger award for Best Crime Novel of the Year for this series opener. Detective Inspector Carol Jordan and criminal profiler Dr. Tony Hill search for “Handy Andy,” a serial killer who tortures his male victims before letting them die.
Edwin of the Iron Shoes by Marcia Muller
This 1977 mystery introduces series heroine Sharon McCone, a San Francisco private investigator/staff investigator for a Legal Services co-op who won’t let the cops make her back down when she checks out the murder of a local antiques dealer.
A Grave Talent by Laurie R. King
San Francisco Police Detecitve Kate Martinelli is added to the team investigating the murders of three little girls as an attempt to “soften” the department’s image to worried mothers following the story in the press. Softness isn’t Kate’s strong suit.
Mallory’s Oracle by Carol O’Connell
When her adoptive father is murdered, street kid-turned-cop Kathleen Mallory vows to find the person who killed the man whose family brought her in an turned her life around.
Indemnity Only by Sara Paretsky
One of the first hard-boiled female P.I.s, Chicago’s V.I. Warshawski is hired, ostensibly, to find a missing girlfriend for a client’s son. What she finds instead is a murdered boyfriend and ties to the mob.
none
