My Musings - Favorite Historical Mystery Series Pt 1

I will be sharing some historical mysteries loosely divided by era in today's and the next few week's posts.  I love historical mysteries and if you've been looking for a new series, or wanted to jump into this subcategory of mystery perhaps this will help.

Way Back Machine (Before 1811)

Crispin Guest Medieval Mysteries by Jeri Westerson starting with Veil of
Lies.  A disgraced knight earns a meager living as a private inquiry agent in 1383 London. There are 15 books in the series so far.  Review of Serpent in the Thorns  #2 (click here) 

and Troubled Bones #4 (click here).  I need to read more of this series, it is quite well done!

Chronicles of Brother Cadfael by Ellis Peters feature a Benedictine monk who was once a soldier, Cadfael, who aids the law by investigating and solving murders.  If you love history, definitely give these a try.  Cadfael is a layered character and the mysteries are just complex enough to keep you guessing.

Elizabethan Mystery series by Amanda Carmack set in 1558. Kate Haywood, a simple musician in the employ of a princess, will find herself involved in games of crowns as she sets out to solve the murder of the vindictive queen’s envoy.  Full of court intrigue. There are 6 books in the series. 

1) Murder at Hatfield House (click here)

2) Murder at Westminster Abbey (click here)

3) Murder in the Queen's Garden (click here)

4) Murder at the Queen's Masquerade

5) Murder at Whitehall (click here) 

6) Murder at Fountainbleu (click here)

Merlin Investigations by J.M.C. Blair are set in roughly the years 500-1500 

1 The Excalibur Murders

2 The Lancelot Murders

3 The Pendragon Murders (click here)

Regency 1811 - 1820

Lady Arianna series by Andrea Penrose  features Arianna Hadley, although a lady, her father was disgraced and died when she was 15 when she learned to survive with street smarts that she needs for investigating murders.  This is one of my favorites. 

1) Sweet Revenge (click here)

2) The Cocoa Conspiracy (click here)

3) Recipe for Treason (click here)

4) Smoke and Lies (click here)

5) A Question of Numbers

6) A Tangle of Serpents

7) A Swirl of Shadows

Wrexford & Sloan series by Andrea Penrose.  This series features  an unconventional scientist and a fearless female artist who team up to trap cold-hearted killers in London. Great characters and plots with historical detail and a dash of humor.  Another favorite.

1)  Murder on Swan Lake (click here) 

2)  Murder at Halfmoon Gate (click here) 

3)  Murder at Kensington Palace (click here) 

4)  Murder at Queen's Landing (click here)

5)  Murder at the Royal Botanical Gardens (click here)

6)  Murder at the Serpentine Bridge (due out in Sept 2022)

Captain Gabriel Lacey Regency mysteries by Ashley
Gardner features Cavalry captain Gabriel Lacey who returns to Regency London from the Napoleonic wars, burned out, fighting melancholia, his career ended, and struggling with his transition from a soldier's life to the civilian world. He finds new battles to wage in catching murderers.

1) The Hanover Square Affair (click here)

2) A Regimental Murder

3) The Glass House

4) The Sudbury School Murders

5) A Body in Berkeley Square

6) A Covent Garden Mystery

7) A Death in Norfolk

8) A Disappearance in Drury Lane

9) Murder in Grosvenor Square

10) The Thames River Murders

11) The Alexandria Affair

12) A Mystery at Carlton House

13) Murder in St. Giles

14) Death at Brighton Pavilon

15) The Custom House Murders

 

Sebastion St Cyr mysteries by C S Harris 

features Sebastian St. Cyr (Viscount Devlin) a veteran of the Peninsula wars with Napoleon and a nobleman who investigates murders-and who is going to argue with a Viscount that he can't? Grittier mystery, excellent characters, plot, and writing.

1. What Angels Fear 

2. When Gods Die 

3. Why Mermaids Sing 

4. Where Serpents Sleep 

5. What Remains of Heaven 

6. Where Shadows Dance (click here)

7. When Maidens Mourn (click here)

8. What Darkness Brings (click here)

9. Why Kings Confess (click here)

10. Who Buries the Dead (click here)

11. When Falcons Fall (click here)

12. Where the Dead Lie (click here)

13. Why Kill the Innocent 

14. Who Slays the Wicked 

15. Who Speaks for the Damned 

16. What the Devil Knows 

17. When Blood Lies 

-- Malcom & Suzanne Rannoch mysteries by Teresa Grant 

What happens when British Intelligence Agent Malcolm Rannoch marries a French woman amidst Napolean and the turmoil he is generating that breeds an atmosphere of intrigue and espionage with murder thrown in? You get this addictive series.

The order is a little confusing so this list should help: 

0.5) His Spanish Bride (novella)

0.6) London Interlude (novella)

1) Vienna Waltz

2) Imperial Scandal

3) The Paris Affair (click here)

3.5) The Paris Plot (novella)

4) Beneath a Silent Moon

5) The Berkeley Square Affair

6) The Mayfair Affair

6.5) Incident in Berkeley Square (novella)

7) London Gambit

8) Mission for a Queen

9) Daughter of the Game / Secrets of a Lady

10) The Mask of Night 

Atlas Catesby Mysteries by D.M. Quincy 

Atlas Catesby, youngest son of a Baron, finds he is quite good at solving murders when his chivalrous nature and strong sense of right and wrong see a woman being railroaded. To his surprise, the strong willed woman and he make an even better investigative team.  I love these characters and plots.

1) Murder in Mayfair (click here)

2) Murder in Bloomsbury (click here)

3) Murder at the Opera (click here)

Lily Adler Mysteries by Katharine Schellman features newly-widowed Lily Adler who is returning to a society that frowns on independent women after two years of mourning. She didn't expect her new life to include investigating murders, but she isn't opposed to it.

1) Body in the Garden (click here)

2) Silence in the Library (review coming this week)

3) Death at the Manor (coming August 2022)

I hope this provided a few ideas.  Be looking for the next listing that will include Victorian era mysteries.