Binge worthy series and good reads

If you’re searching for stories about women who defy expectations and prove that age is no barrier to ambition, success, adventure, or romance, then this list is for you. Whether you’re looking for gritty crime saga, warm and witty love stories, or thrilling dramas, these stories celebrate women who are strong and completely unforgettable.

Brilliant female-led dramas that display women over fifty solving crimes, breaking barriers, making their case, and proving that age can be an advantage.

United Kingdom & Ireland

Vera (2011–present)

• Based on: Vera Stanhope series by Ann Cleeves.
• Series Overview: A slow-burning detective series following DCI Vera Stanhope as she unravels deeply layered cases in Northumberland.
• Character: DCI Vera Stanhope (Brenda Blethyn)
  • Vera is blunt, brilliant, and unpretentious, often underestimated due to her scruffy appearance. Her keen mind and deep sense of justice make her one of the UK’s most formidable detectives.

Inspector Ellis (October 2024 – present)

• Series Overview: A new British detective series featuring an experienced, tough-as-nails female inspector solving high-profile cases.
• Character: Inspector Ellis (Sharon D Clarke)
  • A dedicated investigator with a sharp mind and a reputation for solving cases others can’t. She navigates personal and professional challenges while taking on complex criminal investigations.

Happy Valley (2014–2023)

• Series Overview: A gritty crime drama set in Yorkshire, following a tough, emotionally complex police sergeant balancing violent cases and personal tragedy.
• Character: Sergeant Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire)
  • Hardened by life’s struggles, Catherine is fearless, sharp, and fiercely protective of her family.

Harry Wild (2022–present)

• Series Overview: A fun, Irish-set detective drama about a retired literature professor who unexpectedly finds herself solving crimes.
• Character: Harriet “Harry” Wild (Jane Seymour)
  • A brilliant woman with a literary mind, Harry refuses to fade into retirement and uses her keen intellect to solve cases while making time to enjoy life.

Rosemary & Thyme (2003–2006)

• Series Overview: A delightful mystery series following two women solving murders while working as gardeners.
• Characters:
  • Rosemary Boxer (Felicity Kendal) – A keen horticulturist with an academic background, Rosemary is observant and logical.
  • Laura Thyme (Pam Ferris) – A former police officer, Laura is warm, down-to-earth, and fearless in her investigations.

France

Murder in Provence (2022–present)

• Based on: Verlaque and Bonnet series by M.L. Longworth.
• Series Overview: A magistrate and his law-professor partner solve murders in the scenic French countryside.
• Character: Marine Bonnet (Nancy Carroll)
  • Sophisticated, sharp, and insightful, Marine plays a key role in cracking cases with her magistrate partner.

Candice Renoir (2013–present)

• Series Overview: A crime drama about a single mother returning to police work after a long hiatus.
• Character: Candice Renoir (Cécile Bois)
  • Smart, underestimated, and always one step ahead, Candice juggles motherhood with her investigative skills.

Tandem (2016–present)

• Series Overview: A procedural drama about a divorced couple forced to work together in a police unit.
• Character: Léa Soler (Astrid Veillon)
  • A skilled detective balancing her job and a complicated relationship with her ex-husband and colleague.

Balthazar (2018–2023)

• Series Overview: A forensics-based crime drama following an eccentric pathologist and his police counterpart.
• Character: Hélène Bach (Hélène de Fougerolles)
  • Intelligent, pragmatic, and highly driven, Hélène is an essential force in her field.

United States

Bridgerton (2020 – present)

• Based on: The Bridgerton Series by Julia Quinn
• Series Overview: a lavish historical romance series with witty dialogue, sumptuous settings, and a diverse cast. The series explores themes of passion, duty, and the pursuit of happiness in a rigid social hierarchy.
• Character: Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh)
• As one of the most influential figures in the ton, she thrives on pushing boundaries, mentoring young women, and exposing the absurdities of the aristocracy’s rules. Fiercely independent, she refuses to be confined by societal expectations and uses her wealth, wit, and wisdom to shape the world around her.

The Good Fight (2017–2022)

• Series Overview: A legal drama following a seasoned attorney rebuilding her career after a scandal.
• Character: Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski)
  • Sophisticated, sharp, and unapologetically bold, Diane remains a force in the legal world.

Mare of Easttown (2021)

• Series Overview: A small-town detective investigates a shocking murder while grappling with personal demons.
• Character: Mare Sheehan (Kate Winslet)
  • Mare is gritty, deeply flawed, and utterly devoted to her community.

How to Get Away with Murder (2014–2020)

• Series Overview: A legal thriller following a brilliant yet morally complex lawyer and professor who becomes entangled in real-life murders.
• Character: Annalise Keating (Viola Davis)
  • Annalise is powerful, enigmatic, and deeply flawed. As a top defense attorney, she manipulates the law and helps her students to survive deadly situations.

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Books published in the last 50 years featuring older women leading full lives.  These books celebrate love, reinvention, sensuality, and self-discovery later in life.

Almost Moon (2007) – Alice Sebold

📍 Genre: Psychological Fiction | Character: Helen Knightly

• A woman in midlife makes an impulsive, devastating decision that forces her to reexamine her past.
• Character Profile: Helen is deeply complex, struggling with unresolved trauma, desire, and identity. Her actions challenge readers to consider the nuances of family, love, and regret.

Becoming Crone (2021) – Lydia M. Hawke

📍 Genre: Fantasy Horror | Character: Claire Emerson

• A woman is given a magical pendant on her 60^th birthday and becomes a reluctant heroine in the battle against the forces of dark magic.
• Character Profile: After a lifetime as a wife, mother and grandmother, Claire Emerson finds herself divorced and searching for purpose. So, when her sixtieth birthday brings a cranky gargoyle, an annoyingly sexy wolf shifter, and an unknown magical calling, she thinks she’s losing the only thing she has left: her sanity.

The Change (2022) – Kirsten Miller

📍 Genre: Supernatural Mystery | Characters: Three women

• Three menopausal women develop supernatural powers and use them to solve murders and right societal wrongs.
• Character Profiles: Each woman is at a crossroads—one embracing her newfound strength, one seeking revenge, and one discovering a life she never imagined. Their transformation is about reclaiming power, pleasure, and purpose.

The Forever Summer (2017) – Jamie Brenner

📍 Genre: Contemporary Fiction | Character: Marin Bishop

• A woman embarks on a journey to uncover family secrets and finds unexpected romance.
• Character Profile: Marin is practical and disciplined, but when her life is turned upside down, she embraces adventure. Her journey is one of self-discovery, proving that it’s never too late to redefine happiness.

The Invisible Husband of Frick Island (2021) – Colleen Oakley

📍 Genre: Contemporary Fiction | Character: Piper Parrish

• A woman continues to act as if her late husband is alive, drawing the curiosity of a journalist.
• Character Profile: Piper is a mix of resilience and whimsy, refusing to conform to others’ expectations of grief. She chooses love on her own terms, even if it defies reality.

The Joy Luck Club (1993) – Amy Tan

📍 Genre: Romance Drams | Character: Suyuan Woo

• This novel interweaves the stories of four Chinese American immigrant families in San Francisco who start a club known as the Joy Luck Club. The book explores the complex relationships between the mothers and their American-born daughters.
• Character Profile: Suyuan Woo, the founder of the Joy Luck Club, is a resilient woman who fled China during wartime. In her fifties, she embodies hope and determination, striving to instill these values in her daughter while coping with past traumas and cultural divides.

The Lost Art of Mixing (2013) – Erica Bauermeister

📍 Genre: Contemporary Fiction | Character: Lillian

• A restaurant owner in Seattle weaves together the lives of customers and friends, helping them heal through food and connection.
• Character Profile: Lillian is nurturing, intuitive, and deeply passionate about her craft. While she’s been burned by love, she remains open to the possibility of romance, proving that life’s second half can be just as rich as the first.

Olive, Again (2019) – Elizabeth Strout

📍 Genre: Literary Fiction | Character: Olive Kitteridge

• The sequel to Olive Kitteridge follows Olive navigating love, aging, and connection in small-town Maine.
• Character Profile: Olive is gruff, deeply introspective, and surprisingly romantic in her later years. She’s proof that love, in all its messy and tender forms, doesn’t fade with age.

The Price of Salt (1952, republished as Carol in 1990) – Patricia Highsmith

📍 Genre: LGBTQ+ Romance | Character: Carol Aird

• A groundbreaking love story between an older woman going through a difficult divorce and a younger aspiring photographer.
• Character Profile: Carol is elegant, sophisticated, and constrained by societal expectations, but she refuses to deny her love for Therese. Her journey is about embracing authenticity, regardless of the cost.

The Red Hat Club (2003) – Haywood Smith

📍 Genre: Women’s Fiction | Character: A group of Southern women

• A group of lifelong friends support each other through scandal, reinvention, and second chances at love.
• Character Profile: These women are fun-loving, sassy, and fiercely loyal, proving that friendship and passion don’t fade with age.
  
  

The Secret Life of Violet Grant (2014) – Beatriz Williams

📍 Genre: Historical Fiction | Character: Violet Grant

• A modern woman uncovers the hidden past of her unconventional great-aunt, who led a passionate and scandalous life.
• Character Profile: Violet is fiercely intelligent, unconventional, and unapologetically ahead of her time. Her romances are marked by both danger and desire, proving that she lives life on her own terms.

 The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (2017) – Taylor Jenkins Reid

📍 Genre: Historical Fiction | Character: Evelyn Hugo,

• A retired Hollywood icon recounts the great loves and sacrifices of her life.
• Character Profile: Evelyn is an expert strategist who controls her narrative with precision. She loves deeply, but she also knows how to survive in an industry that values youth over substance. Her ultimate love story defies conventions.

The Shell Seekers (1987) – Rosamunde Pilcher

📍 Genre: Family Saga | Character: Penelope Keeling

• An aging woman reflects on her life and romances while deciding the fate of a prized painting.
• Character Profile: Penelope is independent and romantic, treasuring experiences over wealth. She fiercely protects her personal freedom, valuing love, and art above material success.

The Thursday Murder Club (2020) – Richard Osman

📍 Genre: Cozy Mystery | Character: Elizabeth

• A group of retirees solves cold cases, proving that life after retirement is anything but boring.
• Character Profile: Elizabeth is witty, incredibly sharp, and not to be underestimated. A former spy, she brings wisdom and charm to every investigation—and isn’t above a little romantic intrigue.

The Widows of Malabar Hill (2018) – Sujata Massey

📍 Genre: Historical Mystery | Character: Perveen Mistry

• India’s first female lawyer investigates a mysterious case involving widowed women in 1920s Mumbai (Bombay).
• Character Profile: Perveen is groundbreaking, intelligent, and independent in an era when women weren’t meant to be either. Though she has endured personal hardship, her passion for justice and her evolving romantic life makes her a compelling heroine.

Wild Seed (1980) – Octavia Butler

📍 Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror | Character: Anyanwu, immortal

• This science fiction novel explores the complex relationship between two immortals: Anyanwu, a shape-shifting healer, and Doro, a ruthless being who consumes others to survive. Their interactions span centuries, delving into themes of power, identity, and survival.
• Character Profile: Anyanwu is a resilient African woman over fifty with the ability to heal and transform her body. Her deep connection to life and morality often clashes with Doro’s manipulative nature. Her journey reflects endurance, adaptability, and the pursuit of autonomy.

Women in Sunlight (2018) – Frances Mayes

📍 Genre: Contemporary Fiction | Characters: Three women

• Three American women move to Tuscany, embracing passion, art, and romance in a sun-drenched adventure.
• Character Profiles: These women are fearless in their desire for reinvention. They embrace life’s beauty, art, and love, proving that new beginnings can happen at any age.

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