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Solve for History: Historical Mysteries
As we have established, I read a LOT, and my taste in genres is totally all over the place. Ever so often, I get into a specific mood and only read a certain genre or style of book - lately it’s been historical mysteries! It combines two of my favourite genres (history and mystery) so it’s no wonder that the combination brings me so much joy. I’ve rounded up a list of some of the ones that I’ve been going back to time and time again (yes, pun intended) along with some current obsessions. They bounce around in terms of time period and type of detective, but I like to think there’s a little something for everyone in each of them! Take a look:
Mistress of the Art of Death
By: Ariana Franklin (Mistress of the Art of Death Mysteries)
If any of you babes and bombshells are a fan of the show Bones, this series is basically the 12th century version: Adelia is a fully trained doctor and medical examiner at a time when women were mostly viewed as property. When children start dying under mysterious circumstances in England, the king sends to Italy for an expert in the art of death from the best medical school in the world - what he doesn’t realize is that he’s not getting a master in the art of death, but a mistress. She’s a true badass, and has very little patience for those that underestimate her and her abilities. She struggles to adjust to life in a completely different social structure than she’s used to, while also trying to solve a series of horrible murders. This series, and the first book in particular is one of my favourites: it’s well-written, the mystery takes some unraveling as all the best ones do, and there’s just something about Adelia that I love!
To Shield The Queen
By: Fiona Buckley (Ursula Blanchard Mysteries)
Skipping forward a few centuries, Fiona Buckley brings us the Ursula Blanchard mysteries set in the court of Elizabeth I. Ursula is a young widow who secured a position at court in order to support her young daughter. She quickly finds that she’s taken into the confidence of some of the big players at court as her talent for intrigue is revealed, including the Queen herself. Smartly written, and very accurate to the period, you find yourself rooting for Ursula as she wades her way through the politics of court life and some equally dangerous situations. She’s not a perfect heroine, she makes mistakes and struggles to find a balance between her loyalties, but that only makes her more relatable! Plus the mysteries are always intriguing and leave you guessing til the last few chapters.
What Angels Fear
By: C.S. Harris (Sebastian St. Cyr Mysteries)
Set in during the reign of Mad King George, this series finds a not quite respectable nobleman playing detective - Sebastian St. Cyr doesn’t like to play by society’s rules and that lands him at the top of the suspect list when a young woman is found raped and murdered in Westminster Abbey. To clear his name, Sebastian uses the skills he developed during the Napoleonic Wars, as well as his own brilliant mind to try to figure out who killed her, and who’s trying to frame him. All of this while navigating complicated family relationships and developing some mortal enemies, but who hasn’t held someone at gunpoint in pursuit of the truth? There’s something compelling about Sebastian as a character, and the mysteries have all the twists and turns you could hope for - including some major ones in his personal life!
The Cater Street Hangman
By: Anne Perry (Thomas and Charlotte Pitt Mysteries)
Anne Perry is a powerhouse in the historical mystery genre: not only does she have this series, but also another which similarly boasts upwards of thirty novels - impressive! The Cater Street Hangman is the first in the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt mysteries, which is set in London during the Victorian era, and brings together the two main characters under fairly awful circumstances. A series of murders has occurred in the high society district of Cater Street, leaving police detectives baffled. Beyond the fact that the victims are found along Cater Street, they all have been killed the same way and are all young women, they have no clues. As the murders get closer and closer to home, Charlotte finds herself caught up in the investigation and drawn towards Thomas Pitt, the detective in charge, much to the irritation of her family. My favourite part of the series is how Charlotte and Thomas work together, combining their skills and resources to solve cases that seem too complicated to be solved - and it’s very rare across almost 30 books that I’ve been able to get the solution before the end!
Cocaine Blues
By: Kerry Greenwood (Phryne Fisher Mysteries)
This series is my current obsession - I’ve read pretty much all 20 books (I’m on the 19th) in the past two months, which sounds insane I know but they’re pretty quick reads! The series centres on the Hon. Miss Phryne Fisher, the unconventional daughter of an aristocratic English family. Fed up with her family’s attempt to make her respectable and marry her off, and having discovered she had the mind for deduction, she is sent to Australia to find out whether a woman is being poisoned by her husband. She makes an impression on Melbourne from the moment she steps off the boat, befriending socialist cab drivers, a female pioneer in the medical field, not to mention the mayor and all of Melbourne high society. She doesn’t play by the social rules of the 20s and that’s only partly what makes her such a badass - if you’re looking for interesting, out of the box mysteries with a strong, likeable female heroine who takes no bullshit from anyone, and want a glimpse at what Melbourne might have looked like in the aftermath of WWI? This is the series for you! As a bonus, they’ve made a show out of the series and it’s available on Netflix.
There are so many more historical mystery series out there that I love - this is just a snippet! What do you think babes? What are some of your favourites?
Happy reading babes!