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"  Crime, thrillers, and mysteries are generally thought of as genres written by and for men, most likely because they&amp;#039;re so violent. You might think of the Stephen King novel you had to hide under the covers as a kid, or the James Patterson books that fly off the shelves at the airport, or the sadistic trilogies from Scandinavian authors whose names you inevitably pronounce incorrectly. But in fact, some research shows that female readers are more drawn to non-fiction crime books than male readers are. I&amp;#039;m a data point from that study: I love true crime and crime novels so much that my husband refers to my bedtime reading as &amp;quot;Jess&amp;#039;s murder books.&amp;quot; Related: The 8 Books by Women Authors That Changed Our Lives Though James Patterson might be the one getting 17-book deals for millions, some of the best writers of crime, thrillers, and mysteries have been women. Here are some of the best examples of these genres from the past century that will keep you reading past your bedtime (and possibly unable to sleep forever).  And then There Were None, Agatha Christie (1943) Ten people come to an island off the coast of England under false pretenses. They find a copy of the gothic nursery rhyme &amp;quot;Ten Little Soldiers&amp;quot; on the wall of the house where they&amp;#039;re staying, and at dinner, they notice 10 figurines on the table. When one of the guests dies in violent and mysterious circumstances\u2014as they do one by one\u2014a figurine goes missing or is broken. This wonderfully structured and gripping thriller is one of the bestselling books of all time. Though previous titles of the book are completely racist by today&amp;#039;s standards (and have been rightfully jettisoned) the plot remains fresh. Related: 15 Books That Changed Women Forever  The Talented Mr. Ripley, Patricia Highsmith (1955) The New York Times has described Highsmith&amp;#039;s novels as &amp;quot;hypnotic and amoral,&amp;quot; and the anti-hero of The Talented Mr. Ripley is precisely that. Tom Ripley is a shape-shifting grifter who has no problems murdering and then taking over a wealthy man&amp;#039;s identity to further his own agenda and fortunes. Highsmith used Ripley as a character in several novels, but this is the first and most famous (you&amp;#039;ve probably already seen the fantastic film version starring Matt Damon as the smarmy Ripley). The Talented Mr. Ripley should win a prize for most creative objects used to bludgeon people to death.  The Haunting of Hill House, Shirley Jackson (1959) Best known for her dark, suspenseful short story &amp;quot;The Lottery,&amp;quot; Shirley Jackson&amp;#039;s novel The Haunting of Hill House shouldn&amp;#039;t get short shrift. It&amp;#039;s a macabre ghost story about people who stay in a New England mansion (the eponymous Hill House) seeking proof of the supernatural. Without spoiling it, I will say this book is as much a psychological mystery as it is a story about poltergeists, and the exploration of female madness at the heart of the novel is what makes it worth reading more than 50 years after its publication.  Duplicate Keys, Jane Smiley (1984) I&amp;#039;m a sucker for stories that take place in gritty, romantic, pre-gentrification Manhattan, and Smiley&amp;#039;s mystery about the deaths of a pair of failing rock stars, as told by one of their close female friends, is a wonderful exploration of the late &amp;#039;70s in New York, back when a librarian could afford a classic 6 on the Upper West Side all by herself. The end is genuinely shocking, and the portrait of friendship, creative ambition, and broken romance has a wonderful classic rock n&amp;#039; roll patina.  The Corpse Had a Familiar Face, Edna Buchanan (1987) Buchanan covered the crime beat for the Miami Herald when Miami was the most dangerous city in America, and she won a Pulitzer Prize for her work. This book is about her experiences as a reporter. Come for her hair-raising tales of cocaine rings and sex crimes, and stay for her hilariously matter-of-fact tone. It contains one of the most droll, infamous newspaper article leads ever written. This true crime gem is also a great look at what it was like to be a no-nonsense, ass-kicking woman in a heavily male industry.  Because It Is Bitter, And Because It Is My Heart, Joyce Carol Oates (1990) Oates is a master of the gothic mystery, and this novel begins with the body of a teenager getting pulled out of a river. Like many of her books, this novel takes place in upstate New York\u2014where Oates grew up\u2014in the &amp;#039;50s and &amp;#039;60s, and it explores race and class without being heavy handed or pedantic about it. Again, without spoiling too much, I will say that Oates allows for a level of moral ambiguity that would make some novels unsatisfying, but in her masterful hands, works beautifully.  The Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992) There must be something in the water around Bennington, Vermont that inspires women to write dark, twisty novels\u2014Tartt is a graduate of Bennington, and Shirley Jackson lived in the area. The Secret History is about a group of classics students at the fictional Hampden College (modeled after Bennington) who commit a terrible crime while attempting to experience an ancient rite of passage. Though this novel is over 500 pages it can, nay, should, be read in one long, glorious weekend gulp.  Everything She Ever Wanted, Ann Rule (1992) Ann Rule is America&amp;#039;s undisputed true crime queen. She is a former Seattle policewoman who has written over 30 books and thousands of articles. I&amp;#039;ve read many of her books, but this one is my favorite. It&amp;#039;s about a southern belle named Pat Allanson. She&amp;#039;s almost a parody of a southern belle, to the extent that she dressed up as Scarlett O&amp;#039;Hara for her wedding. Her beauty and her graceful manners masked the beating heart of a murderous sociopath who destroys everything and everyone in her path. It ain&amp;#039;t literature, but it sure is entertaining.  Die, My Love: A True Story of Revenge, Murder and Two Texas Sisters, Kathryn Casey (2007) Kathryn Casey is another true crime writer in the Ann Rule mode, though her writing is slightly more highbrow\u2014it has appeared in Texas Monthly, which has some of the best long form crime writing around. Casey tells the story of Piper Rountree, a pretty blond who became deranged in the aftermath of her divorce and murdered her ex-husband in order to gain custody of their children. Casey is an excellent reporter, and shows how a comely University of Texas coed could go from artsy sprite to murderous ex in a little more than a decade.  Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn (2012) There&amp;#039;s a reason Gone Girl has been on the fiction bestseller list for years: It is a riveting and surprisingly funny thriller. Nick Dunne&amp;#039;s wife Amy has gone missing. It looks like Nick killed her\u2014he was having an affair with a younger woman and he recently increased his wife&amp;#039;s insurance policy\u2014but all is not what it seems. The perspective switches between Nick&amp;#039;s narration and pages from Amy&amp;#039;s diary, and you learn that they&amp;#039;re both unreliable narrators. Even so, the story they&amp;#039;re telling in parallel is one you won&amp;#039;t be able to put down. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/culture/books/news/a15357/best-thrillers-crime-books-by-women-writers/>