Basing their analysis on a detailed bibliography of more than 2,280 books featuring 522 characters of American mystery fiction, the authors explore how the female detective has changed over 100 years evolving into an activist fighting contemporary social ills. The novels' content were analyzed using four major dimensions: social characteristics of the protagonist-age, marital status and sexual preference, class, religion, ethnicity, race and health; the roles played by the sleuth-wife, mother, homemaker, career; social networks-lovers, friends, family; relevant social issues including prejudice, discrimination, abortion, rape and domestic violence.
