Best Fictional Female Detectives, part 2

Television–

Veronica Mars of Neptune - the mash-up of teen angst and Film Noir was pitch perfect when Kristen Bell (whom I adore) took the lead.

Jessica Fletcher in Murder She Wrote.  Mysteries don’t get much cozier than the ones of Cabot Cove.  Angela Lansbury gave her  warmth and smarts.

Brenda Johnson in The Closer.  The brilliant but troubled deputy chief who always gets the confession.  Eight seasons in, she’s less eccentric but not by much.

Daphne and Velma of Scooby-Doo – the fashionable Daphne and the clever Velma solve wacky mysteries with Fred, Shaggy and Scooby. People have their favorite but the two women make a good pair.

Beckett in Castle – Her character has certainly grown from the gruff detective to the warmer but  still level-headed partner.  Stana Katic makes her a delight to watch.

Honorable Mentions –

Tuppence of Tommy & Tuppence.  A kind U.K. version of Nick and Nora Charles.

Dr. Temperance Brennan on Bones.  I don’t watch this show much but the show’s fans love her.

L.  Anita Van Buren of Law & Order.  I’m very fond of this actress and she always lends her charm to any role she takes.

Another List–

Wikipedia

How I feel about the last scene of the Chuck finale

Chuck finale (spoilers)

SPOILERS

I’m just so upset I can’t not….

…

PIPA (the bill) and Piglet (me)

OK. *gulp*

So, I am a U.S. citizen.  I vote.  I pay my taxes.  I use my turn indicator at 4-way stops when no one is around.  I give blood (not germane but virtuous).

All my life, I have been a Piglet.  For the most part, I feel small and squeaky.  To this day, when I have politely-worded arguments, I feel trembly.

Politics are full of Heffalumps and Tiggers.  Neither type seems to enjoy quietness and small days as much I do.  I leave the blustering and the bouncing to them.

There are all kinds of big threats to liberty to protest.  But there are Christopher Robins and Rabbits who very capably Know What to Do in These Cases.

In my case, there are very little and mostly silent things to do:  giving of small monies and helping Winnie the Pooh fix things up and bringing to notice those whose pain has not been noticed.

While I don’t have much of a voice, it’s due to temperament.  It’s not due to anyone forcing me to be quiet, to not be there.

I think that’s why the PIPA and SOPA issue upsets me so.

I don’t like rich and powerful Heffalumps telling other forest creatures to shush.  I don’t think the Tiggers are the only voices which should be heard.  I don’t think the practical Rabbits and benign Christopher Robins should be sent out of the forest and barbed wire wound around the tree trunks shutting them out.

I especially think us Piglets should be let to poke about in the Hundred Acre Wood.  We are small and of no importance but we have a right to be here.

I have, for the first time in my life, contacted my senator.  My voice definitely squeaked but I said my say.

If you are a Piglet too, please step up and please speak up.

Because if we can’t speak, we can’t speak for anyone who has been hushed.

Related articles

• SOPA/PIPA Protests Bring the Web to a Halt (mossandfog.com)
• SOPA/PIPA Battle Rages: Tell Congress We Will Not Accept Censorship (mountainrepublic.net)
• SOPA & PIPA – The internet strikes back! (vgarmada.wordpress.com)

Best Fictional Female Detectives, part 1

This list of detectives could be argued with.  In fact, I encourage it because I’d like to be introduced to more like these fine sleuths.

Movies–

Clarice Starling from Silence of the Lambs.  Smart, tough, and determined to find out the truth even if she attracts the attention of the psychotic Hannibal Lector.

Marge Gunderson from Fargo.  You can’t much more girl power than the notably pregnant and clear-minded Marge.

Nora Charles of the Thin Man series.  I adore Myrna Loy to pieces.  As Mrs. Charles, she’s half of the best eccentric and happily married detective couple ever.

Books–

Nancy Drew – she of the titian hair in the endlessly and rightly  revised book series. I remember loving the illustrations on the covers of Mystery of the Lilac Inn and Ringmaster’s Secret especially.  I think she’s actually at her best in the computer game series made by Her Interactive.  Cheerful, fearless, and relentless, Nancy is a force to be reckoned with.

Jane Marple of the quintessential cozy mysteries by Agatha Christie.  Miss Marple is a magical crone who unerringly knows who is guilty and how to prevent more harm being done.  My favorite Marple actress was Joan Hickerson.

Precious Ramotswe of the Ladies’ Detective Agency.  Love the books by Alexander McCall Smith and loved the TV version with Jill Scott as the lead and the delightful supporting performance by Anika Noni Rose (also in Princess and the Frog and Dreamgirls).

Mrs. Emily Pollyfax  is about the senior spy written by Dorothy Gilman.  The author became cynical as the series went along but the early books are charming. (thanks Rose Kat for the correction)

Neil Hamel of New Mexico by Judith Van Gieso.  A hard boiled detective wandering the mean streets of New Mexico.  I lived near Albuquerque when I discovered this series and liked Neil and her much younger boyfriend quite a bit.

Honorable Mentions –

Thursday Next of the Eyre Affair.  I liked Jasper Fforde’s literary-centric world but it was too rarefied for me.  I am open to another attempt if anyone would make a case for it.

Stephanie Plum of the numbered mysteries (One for the Money, etc) written by Janet Evanovich.  Irreverent bounty hunter solves mysteries.

Kinsey Millhone of the Alphabetic Murders by Sue Grafton.  I never read past the first book of her lengthy series.  However, I know people who love it.

Elizabeth McPherson.  I love Sharyn McCrumb a lot but I think I prefer her non genre books better.

Related articles

• Disney Acquires Untitled Female Detective Pitch (collider.com)
• Miss Marple’s Great Granddaughter (millicentandcarlafran.wordpress.com)
• Why Miss Marple Matters* (icametorun.com)

Book Log for 2011

books I read last year…

Adult Fiction

1. Blonde with a Wand by Vicki Lewis Thompson (fun, I want to find the others)
2. Forbidden Rose by Joanna Bourne (good series, best of the lot)
3. Tales of the Black  Widowers by Isaac Asimov (disappointed)
4. Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen (excellent)
5. Nightseer by Laurell K. Hamilton (I forget how good her early stuff is)
6. Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris (still loving series)
7. Fired Up by Jayne Krentz
8. Good Girls Do by Cathie Linz (enjoyable)
9. My Lord and Spymaster by Joanna Bourne

Graphic Novels

1. Lone Goat and Kid by Stan Sakai (excellent)
2. Tramps Like Us vol. 11 by Yayoi Ogawa (addictive)
3. Skim by Mariko Tamaki (found the teacher utterly distasteful)
4. Prince Needs a Princess  by Barbara McMahon & Reiko Kishida (so bad! I loved it!)
5. Old Man’s Cave by Jeff Smith
6. Kilala Princess vol. 4 (adored it but I think there are no more)
7. Shinobi Life vol. 3 by Shoko Konami (really like this series)
8. Janes in Love by Cecil Castellucci
9. Tramps Like Us vol. 10 by Yayoi Ogawa
10. Ghost Circles by Jeff Smith
11. Fullmetal Alchemist vol. 1 by Hiromu Arakawa

Young Adult Fiction

1. Hunger Games by Susanne Collins (clearly I much enjoyed it)
2. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
3. Beet Fields by Gary Paulsen
4. Kissing Coffins by Ellen Schreiber
5. Night of the Living Rerun by Arthur Byron

Nonfiction

1. Totally Charmed: Demons, Whitelighters And the Power of Three (Smart Pop series)
2. Got Issues Much by Randi Reisfeld (hilariously dated but well meaning)
3. Joy of Writing Sex by Elizabeth Benedict (philosophical)
4. Serenity Found by Jane Espenson  (Joss Whedon’s Firefly & Serenity)
5. Tough Guide to Fantasy Land by Diana Wynne Jones  (satirical guide book to fantasy cliches)
6. Teenage Guy’s Survival Guide by Jeremy Daldry
7. Deal With It (from Scarleteen.com)