We love a pulse-pounding crime read on its own: the mystery, the action, the thrill of—hopefully—solving the case and bringing the bad guys to justice. Now throw in an ass-kicking, name-taking female lead and we’re furiously adding to cart! That’s why we asked you for your favorite crime thrillers with badass female leads! You gave us a mix of standalone books and series to plow through. Thanks for badassifying our TBRs!
Barbed Wire Heart by Tess Sharpe
Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes
The In Death series by JD Robb
Follow Her Home by Steph Cha
Generation Loss by Elizabeth Hand
Hollywood Homicide by Kellye Garrett
The Jaguar Addams series by B.A. Chepaitis
The Kate Shugack series by Dana Stabenow
The Kay Scarpett series by Patricia Cornwell
Killing It by Asia Mackay
The Likeness by Tana French
The Lisbeth Salander books by Stieg Larsson and David Lagercrantz
The Mallory series by Carol O’Connell
Prime Suspect by Lynda La Plante
Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Trail of Echoes by Rachel Howell Hall
Queenpin by Megan Abbott
The V. I. Warshawsk books by Sara Paretsky