Two Old Women: An Alaskan Legend of Betrayal, Courage, and Survival by Velma Wallis Harper Perennial; 1993.
This is an excellent presentation of one of the many oral traditional stories of the Alaskan Athabascan people. (There are also Athabascan peoples in the Southwest, the Navajo and the Apache.) It speaks of the harsh [...]

The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
Anchor Books; 1-4000-3477-9
This is a unique look at a number of interesting premises. Firstly, McCall Smith’s main character is female, and the narrative point of view includes her thoughts. Secondly, this particular detective agency is located in Botswana; not your typical detecting local. [...]

Warrior Woman  by Peter Aleshire.  St. Martin’s Press: 0-312-24408-8
In the introduction of his work, Aleshire begins boldly “The stories of Geronimo, Crazy Horse, and Custer pale beside the tale of another warrior -  one who fought relentlessly, successfully, and against all odds almost continuously for forty years.  This warrior fought longer then Geronimo or Crazy [...]

The King of Terrors by Michael McLean –
available online at: http://www.whispersofthemuse.org/Lit/Literary.htm
(just scroll down to “Literary Longs” and it is linked chapter by chapter.)

San Miguel, a small mountain town in northern New Mexico, is the site of the Catholic University of St. Michael. The University has been plagued for two years by a bizarre stalker, [...]

Larger than Death by Lynne Murray, St Martin’s Minotaur; 0-312-97277-6
A woman must be a warrior when her body moves from the voluptuous to the Reubenesque; culturally we do not approve of or accept those who are not rail thin and muscular.  Josephine Fuller, the unrepentant sleuth mentioned above, is full figured, proud, and not afraid [...]

The Jupiter Myth by Lindsey Davis.  Warner Books, 2003.  0892967773
Marcus Didius Falco, informer for the Roman Emperor Vespasian, is stuck in Britannia.  Having been sent by Vespasian, he remains (much against his will) to allow his wife (morally and legally above his touch, but a woman tends to get what she wants) to visit her [...]

Polly Perks wanted to rescue her brother from the enemy army in the civil war that was taking place, so she masquerades as a young man and joins a regiment of lads.  The other lads either want to rescue someone too, or were trying to escape from some horrible way of life like being beaten [...]

The Last Amazon Book One: Seadragon is one of the best historical fiction novels written in the last few years.  Starting with the ancient Greek warrior women – the Amazons – Leigh Michaels uses the history of warrior women to develop a stirring portrait of semi-nomadic life on the Eruasian steppes in the 5th century [...]