Historical Mystery Lovers discussion
2023 - Settings Challenge
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QNPoohBear's Settings Challenge
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Level: Bachelor of HistoryBook 1:
The Secret of the Lost Pearls
Completed: Jan. 14
Setting: Regency England
Another excellent mystery. It's a darker version of a Pride and Prejudice sequel.
Level:> Bachelor of HistoryBook 2:
Murder in the Drawing Room
Completed: Jan. 22
Victorian England
This was the best one yet. The mystery has a lot of twists and turns and kept me reading well into the night. Some of the situations and dialogue still sound New York to me and not quite so British. The history is focused on the lack of rights for women at that time. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.
Level: Bachelor of HistoryBook 3: Murder at the Savoy
Category: Early 20th-century (late 1920s England)
This series keeps getting better. This one was free from major typos and style errors and the mystery was pretty good. I figured it out as the last clue was dropped. I prefer Ginger's Journal and reading about her wartime experiences but the mysteries are fun.
Level: Bachelor of HistoryBook 4: A Fashionable Fatality
Category: Early 20th-century (1920s England)
This is another excellent adventure. While I've read and seen several mysteries featuring Coco Chanel, this was the best of them all. The mystery kept me guessing until very late at night and I never figured out whodunit. It was impossible to guess everything. The cozy part of the story is also well done with not too much fashion for this fashion-hating reader and not too much baby in keeping with the times. There was enough to learn about Coco Chanel and her revolutionary fashions (which I find ugly!). Then there's the development of the characters and their plotlines.
read March 6, 2023
Oh, QN this is the one area where you and I will have to differ! LOL Although it can be overdone, (as was somewhat in this book, I'll admit 8-), I love hearing about the fashion of the times, because IMO that helps to set the "sense of time and place" for a historical mystery. Way back in the day, I even write a series of articles for the Historical Mystery Appreciation Society newsletter on the use of costume in historical mysteries, and how they made the story more realistic for me. But yeah, I can see as in other things, too much description goes a very long way to take a reader out of the story.
I love fashion history from pre-1920s. Regency, Victorian and Edwardian are my thing. Coco Chanel doesn't do it for me. Plus she was such an unlikable person I wanted someone to murder her or have her be the murderer.
Ah, gotcha, then. Well, there is that LOL. Too bad this wasn't an alternative history plot line, eh?
Level: Bachelor of HistoryBook 5: The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency
Category: British Empire 1911 Scotland
I didn't love this one. It had way too many plots and way too much going on. It would make a nice collection of novellas though. The Scottish setting was a little different but not too different from England since the Prime Minister also governed Scotland.
Level: Bachelor of HistoryBook 6: Louisa and the Crystal Gazer
Category: Antebellum America (1850s Boston)
I couldn't put it down even though I figured out whodunit pretty quickly. I wasn't totally sure though. The period details were done well and I feel inspired to grab my copy of The Literary Trail of Greater Boston: A Tour of Sites in Boston, Cambridge, and Concord and go follow in Louisa's footsteps. It's too bad this series got cancelled after 3 books.
Level: Bachelor of HistoryBook 7: A Newlywed’s Guide to Fortune and Murder
Category: Victorian England (1900)
Completed July 12, 2023
I just love this series! I love how Fran and George are partners and help each other. It was fun to have Hetty and her friend get involved as well as Fiona. The mystery was really good. For once I didn't figure it out until the very end. Like Fran, I went back and forth on a certain suspect and just wasn't sure. There were some good twists.
Level: Bachelor of HistoryBook: 8
Murder at the Elms
Completed: Sept. 11
Gilded Age Ameeica
I really enjoyed this mystery. As always, the visit to Newport was fun and full of local color but the mystery had so many twists and turns I need to read it again to keep up.
Level:Bachelor of HistoryBook: 9
The Solace of Stars: A Hanneke Bauer Mystery
completed: Oct. 6th
Antebellum America
This story is so full of historical details and a good, solid plot. The motive was a little weak for me and another mystery turned out rather lame but overall, I really enjoyed it.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Level: Bachelor of HistoryBook: 10
Jane and the Final Mystery
Completed: December 8th
Category: Regency England
For me, not as interesting as some of the previous books but I always enjoyed sleuthing with Jane and really wished the author could have found some way to continue the series! It ends on a hopeful note, thankfully, and I didn't cry buckets.
Bachelor of History Complete There are still a few weeks left and many more books to read before then. I think they're all 1920s set though.
QNPoohBear wrote: "Bachelor of History Complete There are still a few weeks left and many more books to read before then. I think they're all 1920s set though."
Congratulations!!
I may have time to squeak in something different from the maybe list. It's gotten too cold to walk to the library now but on the plus side, if I have a ride, I can bring home more books!
I'm trying to squeak in a few last books.Level: Masters'
Book: 11
Victorian San Francisco Stories
"Dandy Detects" is the only true mystery but "Mr. Wong Rights a Wrong" also has a mystery.
Completed: December 27th
Category: Gilded Age America
I liked these stories, especially the first and last. I enjoyed learning more about Annie's past and how she came to be Madame Sybil. I enjoyed Mr. Wong Rights a Wrong enough to want it to be a full length novel. I had to go and do some research afterwards.
Level: Masters'Book: 12
Murder at Keyhaven Castle
Completed: Dec. 28th
Category:Edwardian England
The mystery wasn't too difficult to figure out and there was too much horsey stuff for me but I like Stella and Lyndy. (view spoiler) There were a couple of historical inaccuracies though including the one thing that drives Stella's father- seeing the inside of Mrs. Astor's ballroom. Her 400 Club list only included people 3 generations removed from the initial fortune, she has moved since then and is retired from society living with dementia. Stella would know that. She's been to Newport, which also means she's been on a boat before more than once! The only way to Newport was by ferry boat before 1940.
Closing this one out with a Masters of History and 13 books in 7 categories. I read more but didn't count them for the challenge.Level: Masters'
Book: 13
Saddled with Death: An historical cozy mystery
Completed: Dec. 29th
Category: British Empire (1870s Australia)
The Australian bush setting was different and there was a lot of detail about domestic life. The mystery wasn't too difficult to solve but it ended up a bit more ambiguous than I expected. Emma is a likable character though her friends, the Macdonalds, are not so much.
Mod
Historical Mystery Lovers
Books mentioned in this topic
Saddled with Death: An historical cozy mystery (other topics)Saddled with Death: An historical cozy mystery (other topics)
Murder at Keyhaven Castle (other topics)
Murder at Keyhaven Castle (other topics)
Victorian San Francisco Stories (other topics)
More...
Level #2: Master of History - 10 to 15 books in at least 5 categories
Level #3: Doctor of History - 15 to 20 books in at least 10 categories
Level #4: History with Honors - 20+ books in all categories
CATEGORIES:
- Ancient Egypt
- Ancient Greece
- Roman Empire
- Early Japan
- Shogunate Japan
- Medieval England
- Medieval Europe
- Tudor / Stuart England
- 16th-17th Century Europe
- Georgian England
- Regency England
- Victorian England
- Edwardian England
- Colonial America
- Antebellum America
- American Civil War
- Gilded Age America
- British Empire (any century, countries other than England)
- 19th Century Europe
- Early 20th Century
Books:
Regency
The Secret of the Lost Pearls
Jane and the Final Mystery
Antebellum America
Louisa and the Crystal Gazer
The Solace of Stars: A Hanneke Bauer Mystery
Victorian England
Murder in the Drawing Room
A Sinister Revenge
Gilded Age America
Murder at the Elms
Victorian San Francisco Stories
Edwardian England
A Newlywed’s Guide to Fortune and Murder
Murder at Keyhaven Castle
Early 20th-century
Murder at the Savoy
A Fashionable Fatality
British Empire
Saddled with Death: An historical cozy mystery