My first subgenre is Tart Noir, a new detective genre derived from the hard boiled or noir stories which  began in the early twentieth centuries with Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade, and Raymond Chandler's Phillip Marlowe and continues to this day in the works of Michael Connolly ( Harry Bosch) and James Lee Burke (Dave Robichaux). Like their male counterparts, tart noir heroines are tough and tender, possessed of fierce morality and a deep sense of compassion for the underdog. These stories also contain a fair amount of violence, sex and deep cynicism. One of the major authors is Lauren Henderson who wrote Dead White Female , Too Many Blondes and a host of other  mysteries featuring tough lady Sam Jones.   Probably the most well-known tart noir heroine is Steig Larsson's Lisbeth Salander, although his work could not be classified as tart noir -- it is just too complex and well written.I also think Janet Evanovich's number series is humorous tart noir.I did not find a website completely dedicated to this genre but I found a great description and history at this site http://www.crimeculture.com/21stC/TartNoir.html. The appeal of this fiction is self-evident -particularly for the female reader- fast moving plots featuring powerful women caught up in the action of pursuing criminals and dishing out justice..

My second subgenre is Paranormal Romance, a wild and sexy plunge into the intimate relationships of vampires, werewolves, succubi, you name it -- if it is immortal and feeds upon strange food then it can be included here.  These works are basically romances ( as born out by the cover art -- young men with bared chests, some in kilts -- because paranormal men look basically like very young men with fabulous physiques).  They pursue various ladies of the paranormal persuasion -- strong young ladies who take a whole lot  of  persuasion in the form of terrific sex before they can finally be claimed as mates . Sometimes the ladies are physically stronger than the men, sometimes weaker, but the paranormal heros are completely subjugated by them because of  genetic predestination. Everybody has his own true and eternal mate and once you find her, you'd better corral her because there will not be another.Kresley Cole is one of the major writers of this genre -- her Immortals after Dark series presents the adventures of any number of immortal lovers chasing each other throughout the major cities of the world only to find endless passion in each other's arms  (or whatever passes for arms)-- sometimes, the possibility of offspring is  introduced ( naturally born offspring are hard come by in this world since most of these lovers are mismatched by species -- for some reason vampires keep falling in love with amazons and werewolves with fairies - opposites attract very strongly here and that makes conception a little tricky -- sort of like mating cats and dogs.) Conventional morality also reigns supreme despite the violence and hanky pank that occurs in the books. J. R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood is also a popular choice. Cynthia Eden also writes hot paranormal romance. Some of her books include a little mystery and detective work but that plot element never threatens to overwhelm the lovin'. The website http://www.vampiresrealm.com/ contains some excellent information and recommendations for lovers of this creepy romance.

My final subgenre is Urban Fantasy, there are paranormals here but the plot lines are a little stronger -- less smooching and more storyline. The setting is contemporary urban environment. Probably the best example of this type of story is the Twilight series -- girl meets and loves and ultimately bears child for vampire but in the meantime,important choices are made, friends and relatives are saved from destruction, anti-abortion and pro-marriage messages are sent, etc, etc. So lots and lots goes on before during and after the highly anticipated virgin bedding. Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series and Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse are more current examples of this subgenre. It is interesting to note that these books, as well as the other subgenre books I have written about, are usually produced in series -- which leads me to suspect that they are not all that difficult to write -- the authors absolutely produce masses of them -- chock full of strange creatures coexisting with us pitiable humans, living by dark and mysterious laws of the lore  and finding solutions to some of our most difficult problems. Shall we say, then, that they all provide  adolescents and over-stressed ladies escape from the dreariness, routine and obligations of our mundane lives. http://urbanfantasyland.net/about-u/ looks like an excellent fansite with lists of books and authors and some reviews.

I found sites for these books via google -- none of them had blogs, but I noticed that for both Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance there were active groups, recommendatiosn,etc. on Goodreads and Amazon both of which offer excited and breathless five star reviews as well as a plethora of criticism and snarking on these types of books.

My first cross genre book is Veil of Lies by Jeri Westernson which is described as a medieval noir - a cross between historical fiction and noir mystery which is shelved in the mystery area of our system. Her protagonist is Crispin Guest, a detective with the personality and methods of the noir heroes of Chandler and Hammett, in a detailed and authentic medieval setting.

My second suggestion are the Sister Fidelma mysteries of Peter Tremayne, again historical mysteries set in medieval Ireland. These are complex and scholarly mysteries, drawing deeply on Irish history and folklore and the Catholic religion. We go back in to the time when women were extremely powerful in society -- Sister Fidelma is a judge who is called to solve crimes and pass judgement on the criminals. A lot of Gaelic is used in these books and the mysteries being solved are historical and complex -- they are challenging.