For a noir-tinged option, VI Warshawski by Sara Paretsky. Starting in the 80s, her arc reflects the changing social and political landscape of Chicago. She ages, gets more battered, but her passion for justice for the underdog never wavers. It's a great portrait of endurance.
Stephanie Plum by Janet Evanovich is a comedic take, but there is a slight arc amidst the chaos. She stumbles into bounty hunting and, over 30+ books, gains a shred of competence (though not much). The real arc is in her eternal love triangle and her evolving, hilarious relationships with her family and sidekick Lula. It's static by design, but the familiarity is the point.
You want a truly long arc? Look at Jessica Fletcher from 'Murder, She Wrote'. Across decades of books (and the TV show), she goes from a recently widowed schoolteacher to a globally famous mystery writer and amateur sleuth. The sheer volume of stories creates a comforting, steady evolution of her character as a fixture in Cabot Cove and beyond.
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I laughed. Cold. Not happening.
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Her relationship with her own intuition is a huge part of the journey. Many female sleuths start by having their 'gut feelings' dismissed. A key development is her learning to trust and articulate that intuition, to back it up with evidence, and to wield it as a respected tool. It's the integration of the subjective and objective. Later development might even see her questioning her intuition when it's proven wrong, learning to refine it without abandoning it. This internal dance between instinct and reason is a core psychological thread that can run through dozens of books, always offering new shades of self-awareness.
Does it have to be a series? Some of the best one-offs really nail the psychological aspect because the author can go all-in on a single character's breakdown. A series sometimes has to preserve the status quo. That said, a good series lets you see the cumulative toll, which is its own kind of powerful suspense. I'm torn on which format does it better.
What about V.I. Warshawski? Sara Paretsky's series is foundational for a reason. Vic starts tough and independent, but over decades of novels, you see her confront aging, political shifts in Chicago, the erosion of certain ideals, and the deepening of her friendships and community ties.
Her relationship with her 'found family' like Mr. Contreras and her dogs isn't static; it's a core part of her stability. The series shows how a principled, often lonely person navigates a world that doesn't make it easy, and how those principles get tested and refined over a long career. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.