Wonderful by Jill Barnett

The bridal season by Connie Brockway

Educating Caroline by Patricia Cabot

Mr. Impossible by Loretta Chase

Yours always by Gabriella Anderson

Step into darkness by Naomi Bellis

Beyond compare by Candace Camp

A woman scorned by Liz Carlyle

1930s

Someone to watch over me by Jill Churchill

Damned in paradise : a Nathan Heller novel by Max Allan Collins

1940s

Murder at the president's door : an Eleanor Roosevelt mystery by Elliott Roosevelt

Murder in the rue de Paradis by Cara Black

Mark of the lion by Suzanne M. Arruda

The siren queen : an Ursula Blanchard mystery at Queen Elizabeth I's court by Fiona Buckley

Dangerous practice by Clare Curzon

Beacon Street mourning : a Freemont Jones mystery by Dianne Day

Historical mysteries have become increasingly popular in the last decade. If you are a fan of historical fiction, and historical mystery stories in particular, you've read many of the well-known authors of this sub-genre: Steven Saylor, Anne Perry, Eliot Pattison, I. J. Parker, Lindsey Davis, John Maddox Robert, Margaret Frazer, and the list goes on, but have you read the works of:

Nefertiti: the book of the dead by Nick Drake

Critique of criminal reason by Michael Gregorio

The fifth servant by Kenneth Wishnia

Thirteenth night : a medieval mystery by Alan Gordon

A test of wills by Charles Todd

Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson

Like a good story? Travel back in time to read about young people from all times in history.

Catherine, called Birdy by Karen Cushman — (1290) Karen Cushman has written several books set in medieval England.  This one is about a thirteen-year-old girl who is not quite ready to be married off.  She has several adventures and records her thoughts in her diary.

Girl in a cage by Jane Yolen & Robert J.

Prague, 1592. A young girl has been brutally murdered and Christians and Jews will be pitted against each other in Edgar nominee, K. J. A. Wishnia's (aka Kenneth Wishnia) soon-to-be released, mystery The Fifth Servant.

Hilary Mantel’s historical novel set in 16th-century Britain has won the £50,000 ($79,400) Man Booker Prize for Fiction. Wolf Hall (Fourth Estate) is the story of Thomas Cromwell’s tumultuous rise in the Tudor court.

For several months now David Cole has been interviewing Canadian writers of crime, mystery, and/or suspense for Mystery Fanfare in his column Cool Canadian Crime. Cole recently interviewed Vicki Delany, a favorite of mine. Scare the Light Away Delany's debut novel was highly acclaimed when it was published in 2005.

Philippa Gregory has done it again! If you enjoyed The Other Boleyn Girl, you will enjoy her newest novel, The White Queen. It takes place earlier than the Tudors and has all the same great elements she is famous for romance, family "scheming" for power, and lots of insight to a period of history you may not have known about. Read it and enjoy!

In the Shadow of Gotham, Stefanie Pintoff's debut, won the first Minotaur Books/MWA Best First Crime Novel award. It's the Twentieth Century and crime detection has begun to take advantage of the new sciences available: fingerprints, profiling. Detective Simon Ziele has moved to Dobson, a small town in New York's Westchester county, a train-ride from New York City, following the tragic death of his fiance in the wreck of the steamship General Slocum in 1904. Ziele had been one of the NYC detectives called to scene to rescue survivors, but he was unable to save Rachel, his fiance.

March by Geraldine Brooks. From Louisa May Alcotts beloved classic Little Women, Geraldine Brooks has taken the character of the absent father, March, who has gone off to war, leaving his wife and daughters to make do in mean times. In her telling, March emerges as an idealistic chaplain in the little known backwaters of a war that will test his faith in himself and in the Union cause as he learns that his side, too, is capable of acts of barbarism and racism. As he recovers from a near mortal illness, he must reassemble his shattered mind and body and find a way to reconnect with a wife and daughters who have no idea of the ordeals he has been through. Pulitzer Prize Winner for Fiction (2006). Beginning August 26, you can pick up a copy of MARCH at the Adult Reference Desk.

Are you looking for someone new to read? Maybe a new mystery author? I'm hoping I'll find time to read at least one of these five titles this summer. Meredith Cole won the St. Martin's/Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Competition. Let us know what you think.

Angel's advocate by Mary Stanton

Bait by Nick Brownlee

Hangman blind by Cassandra Clark

              
Don't judge a book by it's cover' we're told, but what about it's title?  5 bestselling novels with titles that intrigued me enough to check them out:.

If you're a fan of Walter Mosley and enjoy stories featuring a 'real' private eye try...Loren D. Estleman, Robert J.

Looking for something new to read? These debut mysteries are get high marks from readers:

• Hangman Blind by Cassandra Clark
• Posed for Murder by Meredith Cole
• Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson by Lyndsay Faye
• Starvation Lake by Bryan Gruley
• Dog on It: A Chet and Bernie Mystery by Spencer Quinn.

If you like Historical Fiction, especially books by Diana Gabaldon, Geraldine Brooks, or Philippa Gregory, you might like these titles as well:

The Crimson Petal and the White by Michael Faber
The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor
Innocent Traitor: A Novel of Lady Jane Gray by Alison Weir
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

It's a little known fact that during World War II the government recruited women to fly 'non-combat' missions. 'Tis true. In Flygirl, Ida Mae, an African American so light skinned she can pass for 'white', manages to enlist and does dangerous flying missions in a world set against her being black and being a woman.

Did you know that today marks the founding anniversary of Jamestown, VA? Yep, on May 14, 1607 this first permanent English settlement in the U.S. was established. Why not commemorate the day with a great historical fiction book set in the Jamestown colony? We've got plenty to choose from!

Crime Through Time.  Have you tried these historical mystery series?

Thirteenth night : a medieval mystery by Alan Gordon

Cocaine blues : a Phryne Fisher mystery by Kerry Greenwood

A play of Isaac by Margaret Frazer

Sweet poison by David Roberts