Historical Mystery

The historical mystery or historical whodunit is a subgenre of two literary genres, historical fiction and mystery fiction. These works are set in a time period considered historical from the author's perspective, and the central plot involves the solving of a mystery or crime (usually murder). Though works combining these genres have existed since at least the early 1900s, many credit Ellis Peters's Cadfael Chronicles (1977-1994) for popularizing what would become known as the historical mystery. ...more

The Secret Lives of Murderers' Wives
Daughter of Egypt
The Dreadfuls
A Ghastly Catastrophe (Veronica Speedwell, #10)
Ruby Falls
The Star from Calcutta (Perveen Mistry, #5)
A Love Most Daring (Bow Street #3)
Heiress of Nowhere
A Day of Judgment (Inspector Ian Rutledge #25)
The Harvey Girl
Who Killed The Earl of Moran? (Casebook of Barnaby Adair #13)
Never Spar with a Viscount (Secret Society of Governess Spies, #3)
The Fourth Princess
The Heir of Whitestone
Enola Holmes and the Clanging Coffin (Enola Holmes #10)
When the Wolves Are Silent (Sebastian St. Cyr, #21)
The Last Secret of Lily Adams
The Murder at World's End (Stockingham & Pike, #1)
The Sicilian Inheritance
Last Twilight in Paris
A Ghastly Catastrophe (Veronica Speedwell, #10)
Homecoming
The Heir of Whitestone
Woman on Fire
The Lost Heiress: A Novel
The Predicament
The Missing Pages
Precipice
The Lost Masterpiece
The Museum Detective
My Lady Jane by Cynthia HandWitchfall by Victoria LambMary, Bloody Mary by Carolyn MeyerBeware, Princess Elizabeth by Carolyn MeyerElizabeth I by Kathryn Lasky
YA & Middle Grade Tudor Fiction
131 books — 51 voters
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha ChristieThe Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan DoyleAnd Then There Were None by Agatha ChristieIn the Lonely Hours by Shannon  MorganThe Body in the Library by Agatha Christie
Stately Home mysteries
216 books — 108 voters


What Angels Fear (Sebastian St. Cyr, #1)
A Curious Beginning (Veronica Speedwell, #1)
Silent in the Grave (Lady Julia Grey, #1)
Crocodile on the Sandbank (Amelia Peabody, #1)
Maisie Dobbs (Maisie Dobbs, #1)
And Only to Deceive (Lady Emily, #1)
The Anatomist's Wife (Lady Darby Mystery, #1)
A Study in Scarlet Women (Lady Sherlock, #1)
Silent in the Sanctuary (Lady Julia Grey, #2)
Mistress of the Art of Death (Mistress of the Art of Death, #1)
Her Royal Spyness (Her Royal Spyness Mysteries, #1)
Murder on Astor Place (Gaslight Mystery, #1)
The Beekeeper's Apprentice (Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes, #1)
Murder on Black Swan Lane (Wrexford & Sloane, #1)
When Gods Die (Sebastian St. Cyr, #2)

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Hugo Woolley
What do you mean, a goddess?” Alec questioned irritably. “She’s staggeringly beautiful, wonderful, a vision of …” He petered out when he saw Alec looking at him strangely. Father Joe stroked his beard in thought, nervously eyeing Alec and then casting his eyes to the fireplace. Alec was beginning to sense Father Joe was regretting coming to his flat. He was also thinking that he regretted having anything to do with the vicar. He was quite mad … possibly.
Hugo Woolley, The Wasp Trap

Meanwhile, Mabel waited outside the Prince of Wales Hotel on Lord Street. She'd perched her bony bottom on the pointed-top wall that ran alongside it, opposite the barbershop. She could smell the sweet, crisp freshness that came with springtime as the sun had finally managed to fight its way through the cloud cover. Unfortunately, though, it seemed that no matter where in this town she went, memories of her father haunted her. As she sat on the wall, her feet turned inwards and, with a dull numb ...more
Ida O'Flynn, The Distressing Case of a Young Married Woman

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History & Mystery A group to discuss, recommend, and explore the sub-genre of historical mysteries.
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