If you love mystery and historical fiction, this list of the best historical mystery series is for you.
It is no secret that I love to read mysteries and historical fiction. Today’s list of the best historical mystery series combines my love of both.
I love cozy mysteries, but I also love mystery authors like Louise Penny. Historical mysteries have become a new favorite as well.
What is a historical mystery?
I have heard some people say that a historical mystery is a historical fiction book with a mystery, but historical mysteries are a subgenre of the mystery genre.
The best definition is a mystery with a historical setting.
They mix mystery and history.
Historical mysteries contain a mystery or a crime that is solved but also historical facts like historical fiction does.
Over the years I have read quite a few historical mysteries and historical mystery series. Today I am sharing my favorites.
Best Historical Mysteries
Click on the title of the book or book series for a more detailed review.
I am continuing to read historical mysteries, so I will update this list occasionally. If you love mystery series, be sure to save or bookmark this list.
A Gilded Newport Mystery by Alyssa Maxwell. Murder at the Elms is the first book in a twelve-book series. I love this mystery series set in Rhode Island during the Gilded Age.
Emma Cross, a second cousin of Cornelius Vanderbilt, is a reporter who often finds herself helping to solve a murder.
I have read all but the most recent book in this series.
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear. Masie Dobbs is set in Post WWI England. Masie, who was a nurse during WWII, returns to England and decides to become a private investigator.
There are eighteen books in the Maise Dobbs series. It starts after WWI and continues through WWII.
I have read the first two books in this series and own several others. This is a series I look forward to slowly reading.
Charles Lenox by Charles Finch. This is one of my favorite mystery series. It is set in Victorian England. Charles Lenox is a gentleman, but he is the second-born son who must find work.
There are fourteen books in this series. I have read all but the two latest ones.
Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen. Her Royal Spyness is an eighteen-book mystery series. Her Royal Spyness is set in 1932, England.
Even though Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie is 34th in line for the English throne, she is broke. She leaves Scotland and heads to London to make her own way and make enough money to live on her own. When her brother is accused of murder, she helps clear his name.
I have only read book one in this series, so I can’t review the whole series, but I enjoyed the first book enough that I plan to read more.
A Traitor In Whitehall by Julia Kelly. This book is the first book in the series. The next book is coming out later this year. It is a historical mystery set during WWII.
Evelyne Redfern worked at a munitions factory in London during WWII. When one of her father’s old friends finds Evelyne again, he offers her a job as a secretary working in Winston Churchill’s cabinet war rooms.
When another one of the secretaries was murdered, Evelyne was the one who found the body. She does not think the authorities are taking the case seriously enough and becomes an amateur detective to help solve the murder.
She joins David, a minister aide who is really working to discover who is selling government secrets to solve the case. I loved this book and can’t wait to read book two.
A Useful Woman: A Rosalind Thorne Mystery by Darcie Wilde. This mystery series is set in 19th Century England. Rosalind Thorne is the daughter of a baronet. When her father abandons the family, she is forced to make her own way of assisting London society’s most influential women.
When someone she knows is found dead in a London ballroom, she uses her connections to help solve the murder.
I have read books one and two in this series and enjoyed them.
The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear. This book is set in post WWII England. Elinor, who is a former spy, is trying to lead a quiet life in the country, but her neighbors need her help she takes up her spy work once again.
This seems like it might be a series, but it also might just be one stand-alone book. I really liked this one, so I hope it becomes a series.
The Sweetness At the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. This is book one if the Flavia de Luce series. I read book one and really enjoyed it. Book two is on my to be read list.
Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart. This book series is part mystery and part western.
It is based on the story of the first female sheriff in the U.S. I have read all but the last book or two in this series. It is a fun mystery series because some humor and history are mixed in with the mystery.
Grantchester by James Runcie. If you love the PBS British series Granchester, this is the series for you. The series is based on these books.
I am currently reading the first book and am enjoying it. Each chapter is about a different crime, which makes the chapters long, but I have found it easy to pick up and read.
So far, I think the series has followed the book fairly well.
Billy Boyle by James R. Benn. This is the first book in a WWII mystery series. It was published in 2006. The nineteenth book in the series comes out later this year. I am reading the first book in the series and really enjoying it.
Billy Boyle is an American from Boston who was sent to England to work for Dwight D. Eisenhower. Eisenhower wants him to work as his investigator. Book one has him working with the British Allies to catch a spy. This one is not really factual because I don’t think Dwight Eisenhower’s nephew worked as a spy for him, but besides that, I like the WWII historical aspect of this book.
What is your favorite historical mystery book?