Book description
An Encyclopedia of Leading Women Characters in Mystery Fiction, Volume
3: (1990-1999)Like other fictional characters, female sleuths may live
in the past or the future. They may represent current times with some
level of reality or shape their settings to suit an agenda. There are
audiences for both realism and escapism in the mystery novel. It is
interesting, however, to compare the fictional world of the mystery
sleuth with the world in which readers live. Of course, mystery readers
do not share one simplistic world. They live in urban, suburban, and
rural areas, as do the female heroines in the books they read. They may
choose a book because it has a familiar background or because it takes
them to places they long to visit. Readers may be rich or poor; young or
old; conservative or liberal. So are the heroines. What incredible
choices there are today in mystery series! This three-volume
encyclopedia of women characters in the mystery novel is like a gigantic
menu. Like a menu, the descriptions of the items that are provided are
subjective. Volume 3 of Mystery Women as currently updated adds an
additional 42 sleuths to the 500 plus who were covered in the initial
Volume 3. These are more recently discovered sleuths who were introduced
during the period from January 1, 1990 to December 31, 1999. This more
than doubles the number of sleuths introduced in the 1980s (298 of whom
were covered in Volume 2) and easily exceeded the 347 series (and some
outstanding individuals) described in Volume 1, which covered a 130-year
period from 1860-1979. It also includes updates on those individuals
covered in the first edition; changes in status, short reviews of books
published since the first edition through December 31, 2008. Colleen
Barnett, a retired Wisconsin attorney, moved to Minnesota after the
death of her husband John to be closer to other family members. Over the
years when she and John were raising their seven children, Colleen
worked as a volunteer coordinator, then a social work supervisor, and
finally, returned to law school to earn her degree. Subsequently she
practiced law, served as a mediator in custody suits, and as a lecturer
in American government at the University of Wisconsin-Richland.
Mysteries have always been her refuge and joy. She belongs to Sisters in
Crime and to a St. Paul mystery book club.
