I think 'strong, smart women' fits this particular trail (or theme). :-)

Once women were refused entrance to colleges of veterinary medicine, now, they outnumber the men. The Barefoot Veterinarian: "Tails" of a Semi-Rural Orange County Veterinarian, by Lorrie Boldrick, D.V.M. with Michael Boldrick, Ph.D. started out as a sort of 'as told to Mikey' story, but her son added so much to her book that he was made a co-author. Where she lived had much to do with the animals she saw, and Dr. Boldrick dealt with everything from pets (common and unusual), to zoo animals (including things like iguanas and snakes), and even the occasional marine animal. The title is true, she does prefer to be barefoot. Oh, and she has a history of fainting when around needles. (Anything more would be a spoiler). ;-)

Imagine working on an archeological dig and finding a tablet inscribed with what must be a written language. What does it say? There is no Rosetta stone for this, how might it be deciphered? It can be done, and how, and by whom is what The Riddle of the Labyrinth: the Quest to Crack an Ancient Code, by Margalit Fox, is all about. A three part story, part biography, part detective story, along with an explanation of how the symbols were deciphered, this is one of those non-fiction books that reads like a good fiction novel. Most of the work was done by Alice Kober, who was nearly overlooked when the final results were published, and the author worked hard to correct this error. The author herself is a linguist which probably helped in making this book so interesting.

And, for some great fictional mysteries with strong female characters:

From Jacqueline Winspear comes the newest Maisie Dobbs mystery, Leaving Everything Most Loved. This time the mystery is the unsolved murders of two Indian women. Soon, it appears they might be connected to a missing persons case that had stalled. There are changes coming for Maisie ... she is feeling a compelling urge to travel, her father has unexpected news, and her lover will soon be heading to Canada and has asked her to marry him. As with all her books, Winspear creates a wonderful feeling of the era. The first book is titled, simply, Maisie Dobbs.

This is the new book from Alan Bradley, author of the Flavia de Luce series (start with The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie) I recently read A Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust, and, as with the others in this series, enjoyed it. Flavia has been sent to a finishing school in Canada, far from home and on her own. A skeleton drops from the chimney in her room ... but the skull doesn't match the rest of the body.

Reading Hermit With Dog