[treadlightly]

I love these intelligent characters - a sarcastic and humourous inner dialogue with funny quips and jests, often cast alongside a capable male character that doesn't quite know how to handle her at first. Gets into hilarious situations. Common in the mystery genre perhaps but not necessarily.

I'm looking for further recommendations of books/series with these character types. Ones I've enjoyed so far are:

Amelia Peabody by Elizabeth Peters
Claire in Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Alexia Tarabotti in the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger
Lady Julia Grey by Deanna Raybourn
Mary Russell by Laurie King (less humourous than the others)

I'm sure there is an American equivalent but I can't come up with any examples. Stephanie Plum is close but she lacks that extra bite of sarcasm (and maybe a bit of intelligence).