Paretsky is much more hardboiled in characterization and
situations, but
in my opinion V.I. Varshawski never came together as a
character. The
plots aren't as good as Grafton's, but her action scenes are
usually
powerful. I don't think Paretsky has fulfilled the great
hopes raised by
her first couple of books.
Among current female authors I have read, I especially like
Teri White,
Sandra Scopettone, and Nancy Pickard. White is hardboiled (or
noir...),
and the other two are not but write mysteries that are rich
in
psychology and observation of the human animal. Another good
hardboiled
writer is Julie Smith. Her "Axeman's Jazz" is a fine novel
set in New
Orleans. I have been disappointed time after time with Marcia
Muller - I
find very little to enjoy in her books and I definitely don't
like
McCone. The introduction of "issues" into her mysteries is
particularly
irksome. It's possible and even likely that there are virtues
I'm
overlooking.
The way I see it, Leigh Brackett stands head over shoulders
above every
other female mystery writer I've read with the exception of
Patricia
Highsmith (and maybe Dorothy Hugues and Josephine Tey, but
Hughes was
not always hardboiled, and Tey was not hardboiled though she
could be
dark enough). I recently read Brackett's "An eye for an eye",
a fine
dark suspense novel without an ounce of drippiness despite
the
possibilities of the central situation.
Regards, and apologies for the length of this.
MT
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