When a local teenager discovers a severed body washed up on the shore of a small town in Alaska, Cara Kennedy is on the case. A detective from Anchorage, she has her own motives for investigating the possible murder in this isolated place, which can be accessed only by a tunnel.

This list of staff favorites, featuring female detectives from bestselling books as well as indie authors, is hard to top. We all love great detectives, no matter who they are and where they hail from.

Discover the full and fascinating range of female crime fighters from books—as suggested to MASTERPIECE on PBS by mystery experts.

Some of which have surpassed their colleagues and shown immense strength in the face of danger. Over the years in crime dramas and film, there have been more than a handful of rememberable female characters that have reimagined the role of a detective and cop.

The Detective Lottie Parker Series, by Patricia Gibney. Having lost her beloved husband to cancer, Detective Inspector Lottie Parker is now a single mother with three teenage children. She also has to contend with a domineering mother and a not-so-nice boss.