Mystery Book Club: After Grafton - The Rise of the Female Detective

For the spring semester, Carole Shmurak will be leading a five part series on the theme After Grafton: The Rise of the Female Detective. After Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Milhone and Sara Paretsky’s V.I. Warshawski made their sensational debuts in 1982, publishers – and readers – eagerly sought out female detectives. These women are judges, lawyers, teachers, housekeepers, and taxi-drivers  — and for better or worse, they have lovers, nieces and nephews, mothers and fathers, sisters and lots of brothers, all of whom complicate their lives

For the month of January, we will be reading Steel Guitar by Linda Barnes.

They say you meet all kinds when you're driving a hack. That's certainly the case for Boston PI Carlotta Carlyle, who gets an unexpected fare while moonlighting behind the wheel. It's singer Dee Willis, Carlotta's ex-friend and former band mate, who stole Carlotta's man before clawing her way up the charts.

Carole B. Shmurak, Professor Emerita at Central Connecticut State University, is the author of eleven books, including four mysteries featuring professor/sleuth Susan Lombardi: Deadmistress, Death by Committee, Death at Hilliard High, and Most Likely to Murder. As Carroll Thomas, she co-authored the Matty Trescott novels, one of which (Ring Out Wild Bells) was nominated for the Agatha Award for Best Young Adult Mystery. Carole leads monthly mystery groups at the Simsbury, Southington, and Wallingford libraries. Visit her website carole-books.com