Six of the best police procedural book series with unforgettable female leads

As someone who enjoys both crime/thriller fiction and character-led fiction, I absolutely love a good police procedural. Not only do you get a complex, meaty crime to unravel, but you also get to know more about the officers working on those crimes. It’s a match made in heaven, and a format that I constantly find myself drawn to. Especially, it seems, if the lead character is a powerful female police officer.

Thankfully, there’s no shortage of police procedural series with female leads. The six here are just the tip of the iceberg, amongst my favourite recent discoveries. Of course, there are glaring omissions – Ann Cleeves’ Vera Stanhope, Jane Casey’s Maeve Kerrigan and Val McDermid’s Karen Pirie, just to name a few. But the six series I’ve chosen to highlight deserve their space in the spotlight.

Let me know your favourites by commenting below.

1. DI Rachel Harlow series by Elle Blair

• Book 1: In Deep Water
• Total books in the series: 1~
• Setting: Northumbria/Newcastle/international
• Next release: In Cold Blood, 11th March 2027

So far, there’s only one book in Elle Blair’s DI Rachel Harlow series, but In Deep Water has been one of my favourite reads of 2026 – and a debut for Blair, no less. Harlow is an instantly likeable character and a bit of an anti-hero: she’s foul-mouthed and far from perfect, and it makes her instantly human and relatable.

In Deep Water is set on a cruise ship, as Rachel is on holiday with her teenage children and her parents. A single parent and someone who’s just had a very hard time at work at Northumbria Police, she’s determined to let her hair down a bit. But quickly catching wind of a crime on board, it seems she can’t leave her detective inspector world too far behind her

It seems the second book, In Cold Bold, which releases in March 2027, is set back in Rachel’s home city of Newcastle – and by the sounds of it, the plot is going to be even more explosive and personal this time around. The series is off to an incredibly promising start for Blair, and I absolutely can’t wait to see what comes next.

2. DS Sue Wilmott series by G. D. Wright

• Book 1: After the Storm
• Total books in the series: 3~
• Setting: Coastal south England
• Next release: Before the Thunder, 17th June 2027

Unlike the other series in this list, Wright’s novels function perfectly well as singular novels. They’re much more about a specific crime than the police officers within them – but DS Sue Wilmott is still a key figure throughout the trio so far. She seems to become more prominent as the series goes along, and by book three – Against the Tide (read my review) – I felt like I knew much more about her, and can’t wait to see more.

Wright’s books are twisty, thrilling and will keep you hooked. They’re also surprisingly emotional, with family often at the centre of his crimes. The first book, After the Storm, asks the devastating question of what you’d do if your child was lost at sea while being looked after by a friend. It’s heartwrenching, brilliantly written and has a plot that will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading.

Wright hasn’t yet shared many details about his next book, Before the Thunder, which is set to release in June 2027, but given the track record he’s laid out for himself in the first three books, it’s safe to say we’re going to be to in for a treat. Maybe just have some tissues at the ready, because all three have made me cry so far.

3. Matilda Darke series by Michael Wood

• Book 1: For Reasons Unknown
• Total books in the series: 13~
• Setting: Sheffield
• Next release: First One to Die, 31st October 2026

One of the reasons I love police procedural books, Michael Wood’s Matilda Darke series is now thirteen books strong, with book 14 just a matter of days away. Sheffield-based DCI Darke has a difficult past; she’s lost loved ones and she’s struggled with it – but she’s buried her feelings into her work. She’s a complex but absolutely inspirational lead character, and even after spending 13 whole books with her (plus three separate novellas!) I still can’t get enough of her.

The fact that Wood has based the Matilda Darke series in my home county of South Yorkshire of course helps to connect me with it – knowing street names and locations where Matilda’s team turn up to work on cases gives an added personal depth to the proceedings. But even without that, this is an incredible series; while each book (usually) has a crime of its own to solve, the books share a heart based around Matilda’s team, and you’ll come to care for all of them in equal measure.

Be warned, though: Wood isn’t afraid to play rough, and “plot armour” is not a concept he believes in. This is a series that will shock and betray you time and again – but thanks to the twists, the excellent writing, the unbelievable crimes that you just can’t look away from and the characters that you come to love (if they survive…) – you can’t help but keep coming back. Well, I certainly can’t.

Read my review of Worse than Murder, the 13th book in the Matilda Darke series.

4. Kat and Lock series by Jo Callaghan

• Book 1: In the Blink of an Eye
• Total books in the series: 4 (complete)
• Setting: Midlands

The Kat and Lock series by Jo Callaghan is quite unlike any other police procedural I’ve read for one very important reason: one of its protagonists is an AI hologram. I know what you’re thinking – it sounds ridiculous. Initially, yes, I’d agree. But once you’ve given Callaghan’s quadrilogy a try – beginning with In the Blink of an Eye – you won’t be able to put it down.

It’s largely because the framing of the series makes it entirely believable. You see, DCS Kat Frank has been selected to lead a pilot program involving AIDE Lock (that stands for ‘Artificially Intelligent Detective Entity’) and, to begin with, she’s more sceptical than any of us. But often time, Lock proves his usefulness: he can search databases in a matter of seconds, he can analyse evidence instantly, and he can often spot links that his human counterparts cannot.

The four books of the series feature gripping cases alongside an overarching story of Kat and her team, along with a lot of pushback on the use of AI. Experiencing the world from Lock’s perspective is also fascinating – despite him being little more than a computer chip, it’s hard not to warm to him, as he’s been written with so much compassion and personality.

Given the current prevalence of AI, the Kat and Lock series might feel a little controversial, but it’s truly an eye-opening read, and although it’s entirely fiction, it does provide an insight into AI’s potential uses and the pros and cons of such applications.

5. Detective Liz Field series by Hannah Brennan

• Book 1: No Safe Place
• Total books in the series: 2~
• Setting: London
• Next release: No Good Reason, 19th November 2026

It’s the crimes at the heart of Hannah Brennan’s Detective Liz Field series that got me hooked. No Safe Place focuses on a study group of OCD patients, and a psychologist who has been left for dead. Book two, Nothing Left Behind (read my review), is about an old woman who frequently calls 999 to say she’s being threatened with being burnt alive – and when it finally happens, nobody can help her. It’s wrenching, but incrediblhy gripping – and at the heart of both stories is Detective Liz Field.

Like all good female leads, Liz Field is tough and takes no crap – but she’s soft on the inside, with plenty that makes her human and relatable. Her team also plays a big part in the two novels from Brennan so far, and getting to know more about them is just one of the reasons I’m excited to read No Good Reason when it lands next month.

The best thing, though? No Safe Place was a debut for Brennan – a book that secured her a place amongst my autobuy authors and a crime writer to watch out for. Her own experience of OCD greatly informed the plot of that first novel, and it’s that personal experience helps it to be a believable and accurate representation of the condition. The crimes on the other hand? They’re pure fiction – but what fiction it is.

6. DC Morgan series by Clare Mackintosh

• Book 1: The Last Party
• Total books in the series: 3 (complete)
• Setting: North Wales

Romance isn’t the key focus of Mackintosh’s DC Morgan series, but right from the start of The Last Party, I found myself rooting for the sparking relationship between our detective Ffion and fellow detective Leo Brady. It’s a series where the personal lives of the main characters deserve space to breathe, and you’ll love getting to know them just as much as you enjoy seeing them solve the crimes at hand.

This is a short series compared to some, tied up in three novels. The first, The Last Party, revolves around an exclusive lakeside estate of holiday homes, purchased as playgrounds for the wealthy. But when a well known figure turns up dead, it’s clear that owning a lakeside retreat isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. My personal favourite is probably book two, Game of Lies, which sees DC Morgan investigating a disappearance on the set of an upcoming reality TV show, being filmed in the Welsh mountains.

Ffion is a brilliant character; not just because she’s no-nonsense and good at her job, but because she’s complex, with a storied family life and some very dark secrets that you’ll learn about as you make your way through the trilogy. Ffion and Leo are both instantly likeable, and you’ll quickly find yourself warming to both of them – even if some of their acquaintances leave your insides squirming. But then, isn’t that the sign of any good book, if a character can make your skin crawl?