Here are a half-dozen historical mysteries that may whet your appetite for even more crimes in other times:The Winter Thief: A Kamil Pasha Novel, by Jenny White. W. W. Norton & Company. Print Length: 400 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (4 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
Jenny White is a professor of anthropology at Boston University, specializing in Turkey. This is the third of her Kamil Pasha mysteries, following The Sultan's Seal and The Abyssinian Proof.
"The nineteenth-century Ottoman Empire, in the throes of political upheaval, again provides the vividly realized background for this third mystery featuring Special Prosecutor Kamil Pasha. White demonstrates her in-depth knowledge of Turkish history in a deftly plotted and clever tale of intrigue, duplicity, and violence. The disappearance of illegal firearms, an explosion, a bank heist, and a deadly fire are just the beginning of a case that demands all of Kamil’s personal and professional resources. When Vahid, the scheming and sadistic head of the secret police, discovers the presence of Armenian communists in the area, his actions lead to a bloody massacre and near war. As Kamil and the police attempt to squelch rumors of rebellion and expose the true criminals, threats carried out on his family and against his livelihood render this case personal..." - Jen Baker for Booklist.
A Darker God, by Barbara Cleverly. This is book three in the author's Laetitia Talbot series, following The Tomb of Zeus and Bright Hair About the Bone. Bantam. Print Length: 416 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (2 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Disabled.
"It’s 1928, and British archaeologist and amateur sleuth Letty has recently returned to Athens from a dig in Crete when her friend, mentor, and former lover Andrew Merriman is murdered, his stabbed body found during a rehearsal of Agamennon, which he translated from Aeschylus. The next day his sharp-tongued wife, Maud, who knew of her husband’s dalliances, also dies, presumably pushed from her home’s second-floor window, casting suspicion on actress Thetis Templeton, Maud’s visiting cousin and Andrew’s current lover. DCI Percy Montacute from Scotland Yard, an amateur actor newly posted to Athens, is present when Andrew’s body is discovered and heads the investigation, aided by Letty. In addition to bringing deductive reasoning to the case, Letty becomes an endangered player... A complex, well-plotted historical mystery enlivened by its feisty and more-than-modern protagonist." - Michele Leber for Booklist.
Veil of Lies: A Medieval Noir, by Jeri Westerson. Minotaur Books. Print Length: 288p. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (28 reviews). Kindle edition $9.17. Text-to-Speech: Enabled."Crispin Guest is a disgraced knight, stripped of his rank and his honor - but left with his life - for plotting against Richard II. Having lost his bethrothed, his friends, his patrons and his position in society. With no trade to support him and no family willing to acknowledge him, Crispin has turned to the one thing he still has - his wits - to scrape a living together on the mean streets of London. In 1383, Guest is called to the compound of a merchant - a reclusive mercer who suspects that his wife is being unfaithful and wants Guest to look into the matter. Not wishing to sully himself in such disgraceful, dishonorable business but in dire need of money, Guest agrees and discovers that the wife is indeed up to something, presumably nothing good. But when he comes to inform his client, he is found dead - murdered in a sealed room, locked from the inside." - Amazon.
The Last Illusion, by Rhys Bowen. This is book nine in the Molly Murphy series that began with Murphy's Law. Six of the nine books are available in Kindle editions. Minotaur Books. Print Length: 288 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (5 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"Irish immigrant and PI Molly Murphy is thrilled to have a ticket to the theater to see a trio of illusionists that are all the rage. Indeed, headlining is Harry Houdini, the most sensational of them all; he has just returned from entertaining European kings and queens for a brief run on Broadway. But before Houdini can even take the stage, the opening act goes horribly wrong and to the crowd's shock the illusionist saws into his assistant. In the aftermath, the stunned performer accuses Houdini of tampering with the equipment he keeps under lock and key. And he's not the only one critical of 'The King of Handcuffs'. Risking his life every night, Houdini has raised the stakes to such a perilous level that he's putting lesser acts out of business. With everyone on edge, Houdini's wife hires Molly to be part investigator/part bodyguard, but how can she protect a man who literally risks his life every night? And how is she going to uncover whether these masters of illusion are simply up to their tricks or if there truly is something much more treacherous going on..." - Amazon.
Bellfield Hall: Or, The Observations of Miss Dido Kent, by Anna Dean. Minotaur Books. Print Length: 304 p. Amazon customer rating: none yet. Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
"1805. An engagement party is taking place for Mr Richard Montague, son of wealthy landowner Sir Edgar Montague, and his fiancee Catherine. During a dance with his beloved, a strange thing happens: a man appears at Richard's shoulder and appears to communicate something to him without saying a word. Instantly breaking off the engagement, he rushes off to speak to his father, never to be seen again. Distraught with worry, Catherine sends for her spinster aunt, Miss Dido Kent, who has a penchant for solving mysteries. Catherine pleads with her to find her fiance and to discover the truth behind his disappearance. It's going to take a lot of logical thinking to untangle the complex threads of this multi-layered mystery, and Miss Dido Kent is just the woman to do it." - Amazon.
The Mapping of Love and Death, by Jacqueline Winspear. This is book seven in the Maisie Dobbs series. You may wish to start reading the series with the flagship offering: Maisie Dobbs. HarperCollins. Print Length: 352 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (30 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled."August 1914. Michael Clifton is mapping the land he has just purchased in California's beautiful Santa Ynez Valley, certain that oil lies beneath its surface. But as the young cartographer prepares to return home to Boston, war is declared in Europe. Michael - the youngest son of an expatriate Englishman - puts duty first and sails for his father's native country to serve in the British army. Three years later, he is listed among those missing in action.
April 1932. London psychologist and investigator Maisie Dobbs is retained by Michael's parents, who have recently learned that their son's remains have been unearthed in France. They want Maisie to find the unnamed nurse whose love letters were among Michael's belongings - a quest that takes Maisie back to her own bittersweet wartime love. Her inquiries, and the stunning discovery that Michael Clifton was murdered in his trench, unleash a web of intrigue and violence that threatens to engulf the soldier's family and even Maisie herself." - Amazon.
For additional information about Jacqueline Winspear and the indomitable Maisie Dobbs, visit the author's web site.
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