Are you a fan of historical mysteries? This has quickly become one of my favorite genres to read. It blends my two favorite sub-genres (historical fiction and mystery) together. I just finished reading a couple and wanted to share them with you. If historical mystery is your reading jam, you’ll want to read these.
The Secrets of Thistle Cottage: A gripping and emotional historical novel for 2021 by Kerry Barrett
The truth can be dangerous in the wrong hands…
1661, North Berwick, Scotland
One stormy night, healer Honor Seton and her daughter Alice are summoned to save the town lord's wife – but they're too late. A vengeful crusade against the Seton women leads to whispers of witchcraft all over town. Honor hopes her connections can protect them from unproven rumours and dangerous accusations – but is the truth finally catching up with them?
Present day, North Berwick, Scotland
After an explosive scandal lands her husband in prison, Tess Blyth flees Edinburgh to start afresh in Thistle Cottage. As she hides from the media’s unforgiving glare, Tess is intrigued by the shadowy stories of witchcraft surrounding the women who lived in the cottage centuries ago. But she quickly discovers modern-day witch hunts can be just as vicious: someone in town knows her secret – and they won’t let Tess forget it…
A hauntingly compelling timeslip novel from the author of The Girl in the Picture, perfect for fans of The Forgotten Village and The Witchfinder’s Sister.
The Lost Apothecary: A Novel by Sarah Penner
Named Most Anticipated of 2021 by Newsweek, Good Housekeeping, Hello! magazine, Oprah.com, Bustle, Popsugar, Betches, Sweet July, and GoodReads!
March 2021 Indie Next Pick and #1 LibraryReads Pick
“A bold, edgy, accomplished debut!” —Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network A forgotten history. A secret network of women. A legacy of poison and revenge. Welcome to The Lost Apothecary… Hidden in the depths of eighteenth-century London, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual kind of clientele. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well-disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives. But the apothecary’s fate is jeopardized when her newest patron, a precocious twelve-year-old, makes a fatal mistake, sparking a string of consequences that echo through the centuries. Meanwhile in present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, running from her own demons. When she stumbles upon a clue to the unsolved apothecary murders that haunted London two hundred years ago, her life collides with the apothecary’s in a stunning twist of fate—and not everyone will survive. With crackling suspense, unforgettable characters and searing insight, The Lost Apothecary is a subversive and intoxicating debut novel of secrets, vengeance and the remarkable ways women can save each other despite the barrier of time.
The Romanov Legacy: A Novel by Marilyn Baron
Melody, a young single mother, discovers she's descended from the last Tsar, Nicholas II. She becomes the best hope of a secret global society, Guardians of the Romanov Legacy, dedicated to restoring a Romanov to the throne of a New Russia. A diary and an heirloom necklace inherited from her murdered grandmother hold the key to her identity and to the location of the Tsar's lost shipment of gold. She must accept the sacrifices her birth demands and trust the machinations of the estranged father of her child. To refuse means turning her back on her heritage, her daughter's legacy, and the long line of her family's women who were keepers of the secret. Will her longing for true love have world-changing consequences?
Under a Gilded Moon: A Novel by Joy Jordan-Lake
“Crawdads meets the Crawleys…Threaded through with a meticulously researched, well-crafted mystery, this is historical fiction at its best.” —Fiona Davis, nationally bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue
From the bestselling author of A Tangled Mercy comes an enthralling novel of secrets, a tumultuous war of ideas, and murder as classes collide in the shadow of Biltmore House.
Biltmore House, a palatial mansion being built by the Vanderbilts, American “royalty,” is in its final stages of construction in North Carolina. The country’s grandest example of privilege, it symbolizes the aspirations of its owner and the dreams of a girl, just as driven, who lives in its shadow.
Kerry MacGregor’s future is derailed when, after two years in college in New York City, family obligations call her home to the beautiful Appalachians. She is determined to distance herself from the opulence she sees rising in the Blue Ridge Mountains, however close its reach. Her family’s land is among the last pieces required to complete the Biltmore Estate. But something more powerful than an ambitious Vanderbilt heir could change Kerry’s fate as, one by one, more outsiders descend on the changing landscape—a fugitive from Sicily, a reporter chasing a groundbreaking story, a debutante tainted by scandal, and a conservationist prepared to put anyone at risk to stoke the resentment of the locals.
As Kerry finds herself caught in a war between wealth and poverty, innocence and corruption, she must navigate not only her own pride and desperation to survive but also the temptations of fortune and the men who control it.
The Angel of Bishopsgate: Book One in the Darker Cities Trilogy by Eloise Reuben
A terrifying villain. A young woman desperate for answers. Danger and intrigue in Victorian London.
In 1848, Tessie and Finn struggle each day and dream of life far away in the New World, but when Tessie is attacked by an underworld figure known only as the Angel of Bishopsgate, her fight for survival has only just begun.
Separated from her beloved Finn, and oblivious to why the Angel wants her dead, her only clue points home to Dublin, and a past she thought would never find her.
Battling her way from the treacherous Old Nichol slums, and navigating the sparkling upper-classes, how will Tessie survive this game of cat-and-mouse with the city's most notorious villain?
The Forgotten Painting: A Historical Mystery Novella (The Jack Rogan Mysteries) by Gabriel Farago
***Gold Medal Winner at Readers' Favorite 2018 International Book Awards Contest in Fiction Short Story/Novella Category***
***Outstanding Novella 2018 IAN Book of the Year Awards***
When celebrated author Jack Rogan stumbles upon a hidden diary, he can’t resist investigating. Honouring the last wish of a dying friend, he is irresistibly drawn into a web of intriguing clues, hinting at a long forgotten treasure.
Joining forces with Cecilia Crawford, a glamorous New York journalist, and Tristan, a remarkable boy with psychic powers, Jack soon finds himself on a precarious journey of discovery, exposing dark secrets from a distant, violent time, when life was cheap and cruelty ruled without mercy. Will Rogan succeed? Can he find the forgotten treasure he has been searching for, or will it be lost forever, depriving the world of a masterpiece that belongs to all mankind? Author's Note: The Forgotten Painting is a novella, and as such, it is of course much shorter than my novels. That was one of the reasons I have chosen this genre as the vehicle to introduce new readers to my work. However, I hope it will also entertain existing readers and give them something new and exciting to explore and enjoy.
Do you have a historical mystery recommendation? Please comment below and I’ll add them to my e-reader.
Happy reading!
Mrs. N, book addict and historical mystery buff