Susie Black's favorite books with female protagonists with jobs usually performed by men

Nothing much happens in Maggody, Arkansas, so Arly Hanks figures her job as the first female police chief will be a yawn. Life is so boring that the locals resorted to gobbling up every rumor of creatures from outer space invading their burg.

Give me an irreverent protagonist, dialogue dripping with sarcasm, and a zany plot that spits in the eye of society’s absurdity. I love the way life-long Arkansan Hess gleefully makes mincemeat of the hypocrisy of the caste hierarchy often found in small southern towns by reducing them to a parody of themselves.

I’m a happy camper when a Queen of Cozies like Hess pushes a mystery to the brink of merry madness—and then pushes it even farther.

I absolutely adore the hilarity of physical comedy. So, I was immediately drawn to the slapstick antics of calamitous Trenton, NJ, bounty hunter Stephanie Plum.

In Hot Six, a homicidal maniac has selected Stephanie as his next victim. Nothing tickles my funny bone more than a hapless heroine who stumbles and bumbles her way into and out of messes. I love that Stephanie never has to look for trouble…it always finds her.

I laughed out loud when Stephanie’s eccentric grandmother set up housekeeping in her granddaughter’s apartment at the same time that Stephanie adopted a dog with an eating disorder. I love the story’s frantic pace and the surreal spots Stephanie gets herself into. 

This is a breathless ocean adventure to Mexico, chock-full of international intrigue, a deadly hurricane, and a lovesick whale courting Civil Engineer Hetta Coffey’s yacht.

I laughed out loud at the hilarious antics of zany but lovable characters. Give me a madcap escapade featuring a macho rent-a-Captain with Lucy and Ethel as the crew, on a cruise where whatever could go wrong would go wrong.

I loved the snappy, spicier-than-hot salsa dialogue and snarky banter between sassy Hetta and Jan, her BFF. Add a plot that runs at a breakneck pace, and I bought myself a ticket for a rollercoaster-worthy wild ride that was more fun than whacking a piñata.  

Caroline Popov hits rock bottom and is thrown a lifeline when she lands a job at the Palm Oasis Casino. Mentored by the tribal chairman, Caroline works her way up and is promoted to the Night Hawk Casino general manager in the California high desert.

I cheered as Caroline didn’t let anyone push her around. If, like me, you’re curious about the real story behind the gaming industry, but a trip to a casino is not in your future, this story is right up your alley.

I was blown away by Industry pro-Bertoia’s physical description of the casino, the emotional atmosphere that permeates the place, and the characters who play and work there that were so spot on, I checked my wallet to make sure I didn’t lose a bucket of bucks at the Blackjack table.

Newly minted homicide detective Patricia is a flawed but believable protagonist who puts everything on the line when it counts the most.

Patricia won me over right from the beginning in this tightly written nail-biter that pulled at my heartstrings and never let go. I was moved by the compelling plot threads woven together by love, loss, courage, weakness, strength, the devastation of betrayal and trust, and a tragedy, the result of a misguided sense of responsibility.

Give me a parable of good versus evil that defines the best and worst in us, like A Matter of Motive, and I’ll stay up all night on the edge of my seat because I could never fall asleep until I found out what happened next.