The Summer of the Danes (1991) Ellis Peters Set in Wales in 1144. This story is quite different from others in this series. Like the first, it is set in Wales, but instead of a peaceful search for a saint, there is a possibility of a fight between brothers and then invasion (by the Danes […]
The Potter’s Field (1989) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1143. The war between King Stephen and Empress Maud continues, and raiders have attacked East Anglia, sending the residents and the local Benedictines fleeing. The novice Sulien Blount is sent back to Shrewsbury both to escape the raiders and to consider whether he truly wants […]
The Heretic’s Apprentice (1989) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1143. William of Lythwood has returned from his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in a coffin. He died of illness on his return home, and his attendant Elave has brought his body back to his family. However, a visiting cleric raises doubts as to whether […]
The Confession of Brother Haluin (1988) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1143. Brother Haluin came to the abbey as a novice, and as a brother did penance beyond what it was believed he owed. But there are some born to do penance by nature. Maybe they, lift the load for some of us who […]
The Hermit of Eyton Forest (1987) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1142. The 14th Brother Cadfael book sees the Civil War still causing problems, and sees further reversals between the two contestants for the throne. Back at the Abbey, Cadfael has a new helper, another young novice. “Yes, I should think he might do […]
The Rose Rent (1986) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1142. The 13th Brother Cadfael mystery revolves around a property that had been donated to the Abbey by a widow, with an unusual stipulation. One white rose from that bush in her old garden, to be delivered to her on the day of Saint Winifred’s […]
The Raven in the Foregate (1986) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1141. The 12th Brother Cadfael mystery finds a new priest come to the local parish–a priest sent by bishop Henry of Winchester. Although he is educated and pious, it soon becomes clear that he is not well suited to being a parish priest. […]
An Excellent Mystery (1985) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1141. The town of Winchester has been destroyed in the war between Maud and Stephen, and the people–as well as the Benedictine brothers and nuns–have scattered across the country to wherever they can find refuge. Two monks arrive at the Abbey of Saint Peter and […]
The Pilgrim of Hate (1984) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1141 The 10th Brother Cadfael novel finds the Abbey preparing for the celebration of Saint Winifred, and pilgrims arriving in hopes of a miracle. This celebration is a reprieve from the civil war that has been tearing up the country for three years. I […]
Dead Man’s Ransom (1984) Ellis Peters Set in England and Wales in 1141. The civil war continues to tear through England, reaching back towards Shrewsbury, where Hugh and the local sheriff are sent off to fight against the Earls of Chester and Lincoln as well as a marauder from Wales. When the sheriff is taken, […]
The Devil’s Novice (1983) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1140. The 8th Brother Cadfael mystery beings with a discussion of taking on of two oblates–youth given by their father’s to the abbey. One youth is an infant, the other an older teen. It’s a reminder of just how different things were that the idea […]
The Sanctuary Sparrow (1983) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1140. The seventh Brother Cadfael mystery begins with a mob howling for the blood of a young man chased into the abbey, seeking sanctuary. They claim a man has been killed, and want vengeance. The abbot holds no truck with violence in the sanctuary, and […]
The Virgin in the Ice (1982) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1139. It is winter, and along the border with Wales, this time can be deadly, especially for the poor or travelers caught unaware. When bandits leave a Benedictine brother for dead in the cold, Brother Cadfael is called to come help, due to […]
The Leper of Saint Giles (1981) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1139. I found I hadn’t purchased book four, so I skipped to book five of the Brother Cadfael series. Brother Mark has gone to Saint Giles, to minister to the lepers there, and Brother Cadfael misses his former assistant, but does get to […]
Monk’s Hood (1980) Ellis Peters
One Corpse Too Many (1979) Ellis Peters Set in England in 1138. I enjoyed the second book as much as–if not more than–the first. Civil War is come to Shrewsbury as Maud and Stephen battle for the throne of England. (I actually had to go back and peruse She-Wolves, to see is Maud was mentioned […]
A Morbid Taste for Bones (1977) Ellis Peters Set in England and Wales in ~1137. I picked this up on sale–and by accident. I’d confused Ellis Peters with Peter Tremayne (whose real name was Peter Berresford Ellis, so it’s not that ridiculous of a mistake) and so picked up a bunch of these books when […]
A Stranger in Mayfair (2010) Charles Finch Set in England in ~1867. The story begins with Charles and Lady Jane ending their Honeymoon on the continent, and returning to London where Charles will begin his political career and the two adjust to married life. As with the previous book, my favorite parts were the historical […]
The Fleet Street Murders (2009) Charles Finch Set in England in 1867. Two prominent journalists are discovered murdered, and the link between the two is the trial and execution of a traitor. Meanwhile, Charles has decided to stand for Parliament–for an area he’d never previously even visited, because that was politics at that time. We […]
The September Society (2008) Charles Finch Set in England in 1866 This is the second Charles Lennox mystery; I’d picked up much of the series on sale as ebooks, so since I’d read the first (and second) books years ago, I felt okay picking up the series here. I also remembered that I wasn’t enamored […]
A Vigil of Spies (2008) Candace Robb Set in England in 1373 Archbishop Thoresby of York is dying. He has lived far longer than most people in his time and place, and now he finishing all the little things left undone in the time he has left. Perhaps he was a foolish old man, but […]
The Guilt of Innocents (2006) Candace Robb Set in England in 1372 A river pilot falls into a the Ouse during a skirmish with students (male) from the Minster School. When pulled from the river he is found to have cuts that start bleeding just as head of a competing and rival school comes into […]
The Cross-Legged Knight (2006) Candace Robb Set in England in 1371. Lucie has been recovering from a fall that caused her to lose the baby she was carrying, and as she recovers she struggles not only with a darkness that has fallen upon her, as well as Owen’s protectiveness, which makes her feel worse. Lucie […]
A Spy for the Redeemer (2002) Candace Robb Set in Wales and Yoak in 1371. Owen has not yet left Wales. He is finishing his mission for the Duke of Lancaster and making sure his father-in-laws tomb is finished, but he is also wondering what would change if he chose to stay and fight for […]
A Gift of Sanctuary (1998) Candace Robb Set in Wales in 1371. Owen Archer finds himself accompanying his father-in-law on a pilgrimage to Wales. ‘Age brings many blessings,’ Michaelo said. ‘And much humiliation,’ Sir Robert retorted. Owen and Geoffery Chaucer are on a secret mission to determine whether a Welsh upstart (Owain Lawgoch, or Owain […]
Rivers of London: Night Witch (2016) by Ben Aaronovitch, Andrew Cartmel, Lee Sullivan, Luis Guerrero You get an alternative cover, because this is WAY more awesome than any of the actual covers. If it isn’t obvious, this story focuses a good deal upon Varvara Sidorovna Tamonina, the Russian Night Witch captured by Peter and Thomas […]
The Riddle of St. Leonard’s (1997) Candace Robb Set in England in 1369 The plague has again come to England, although not as severe as the previous two outbreaks, it still strikes fear into everyone, as they attempt to find ways to protect themselves. Aromatic fires burned everywhere to ward off the pestilence, creating a […]
The King’s Bishop (1996) Candace Robb Set in England in 1367 Sir William of Wyndesore’s page is found in the icy moat of Windsor Castle, and although the death doesn’t look natural, the page is hurriedly buried, even though many blame Ned Townley, Lancaster’s spy, who fought with him the night before. Owen is sent […]
The Nun’s Tale (1995) Candace Robb Set in England in 1366. This is the first Owen Archer book I read, many years ago, and I have forgotten how very unlikable the nun of the title was. (T)here is yet something else— something that frightens her. She was given the last rites in Beverley. She fears […]
The Lady Chapel (1994) Candace Robb Set England in 1365. The second Owen Archer mystery finds Owen and Lucie married–her now the Apothecary and him her apprentice. When a mercer (a trader in textiles) is murdered and his had left in the room of his business partner, Archbishop Thoresby sends Owen to search out why […]
The Apothecary Rose (1993) Candace Robb Set in England 1363 I picked up random books from this series years ago, and then got frustrated because I couldn’t find more books in the series, and so forgot about it. Then I saw the series pop up on an eBook sale on Amazon, and grabbed the first […]
A Matter of Magic (2010): Mairelon the Magician (1991) and The Magician’s Ward (1997) Patricia C. Wrede Kim has been living on the streets, hiding the fact she’s a girl, and living by her wits as best she can. When she is offered a small fortune to check out the wagon of a traveling magician, […]
To Charm a Naughty Countess (2014) Theresa Romain Set in England in 1816 I wanted to love this story. Instead, I just liked it, despite often feeling irritated at times. Michael Layward, the Duke of Wyverne has learned that his estate is out of money, and no one is willing to extend him credit any […]
As Death Draws Near (2016) Anna Lee Huber Set in England and Ireland in 1831 Lady Kiera Darby and Sebastian Gage are honeymooning in Keswick when he receives orders from his father to go to Ireland to investigate the death of a nun, who happened to have been the niece of Wellington. They decided to […]
A Gift for Guile (2016) Alissa Johnson Set in London in 1872 This is the second book in the Thief-Takers series, and follows the second sister, Esther, and the private investigator, Samuel Brass. Esther has sneaked into London, and is caught at underground by the Samuel Brass, who ruins the meeting she was getting ready […]
Your Scandalous Ways (2008) Loretta Chase Set in Venice in 1820 Francesca Bonnard is probably the most successful whore in Venice, perhaps even Italy. After a scandalous divorce, she fled to the continent and remade herself in one of the most sought after courtesans in Italy. “Ah, yes,” he said. “Your position. A divorcée.” “Divorziata […]
Lady of the Ashes (2013) Christine Trent Set in London in 1861 Violet Morgan is the wife of an undertaker who has joined her husband in his job, because she discovered she is very good at it. However, over time her husband’s obsession with the United States beings to cause problems for their marriage, as […]
The Mystery Woman (2013) Amanda Quick Beatrice Lockwood fled the Academy of the Occult after the death of her mentor, Roland Fleming. She now is employed as an agent by Flint & Marsh. Joshua Gage had been an agent for the Crown, before his injury in the line of duty, and he doesn’t believe in […]
Dinner Most Deadly (2015) Sheri Cobb South Set in London in ~1808 OK. I’m done. Which is too bad, because I really liked the mysteries. But I despise cliff-hanger endings, and two in a row are my limit. Lady Fieldhurst has returned from Scotland blue-deviled, so her friend Emily Dunnington has a dinner party to […]
Family Plot (2014) Sheri Cobb South Set in Scotland ~1808 Lady Fieldhurst has once again embarrassed her in-laws, and so she is sent to the country with the sons of the new Lord Fieldhurst. (The boys who discovered they were now bastards, as their father was a bigamist, yet still allowed to inherit the viscountcy.) […]
The Dark Side of The Road (2015) Simon R. Green I have an off-and-on relationship with Simon Green’s stories. Some I love very much (Nightside) while others, I just can’t get into (The Secret Histories). But finding it on sale, I decided to give this new book a try. Ishmael Jones lives under the radar, […]
A Dead Bore (2008) Sheri Cobb South Set in Yorkshire in ~1808 Wanting to escape the family of her murdered husband (and the scandal attached to those events) Lady Fieldhurst accepts an invitation to Yorkshire. However, soon after her arrival, the local rector is killed in a fire during a terrible storm, and circumstances lead […]
In Milady’s Chamber (2006) Sheri Cobb South Set in London in ~1808 Lady Fieldhurst finally decides to take a lover, however, she receives the unpleasant surprise of her husband in her bedroom–murdered. John Pickett, a new Bow Street Runner, is assigned to the case, although Mr. Colquhoun, his Magistrate, has misgivings about giving a murder […]
Witches of Lychford (2015) Paul Cornell I thoroughly enjoyed London Falling, and so ordered both the sequel, and also this unrelated short story, when I saw them. However, London Falling was a very complicated story that required my attention to keep things straight, so I put off reading The Severed Streets and this short story, […]
London Gambit (2016) Tracy Grant Set in London June 1818 In the Malcolm & Suzanne Rannoch timeline, this book does not go back into the past, but continues to follow events after the short story Incident in Berkeley Square. Teddy Craven, David’s oldest nephew and ward, has fled Harrow, because he can no longer handle […]
A Pressing Engagement (2016) Anna Lee Huber Set in Edinburgh, Scotland in April 1831 This short story is Lady Darby’s wedding to Sebastian Gage. Except it isn’t really a short story, as much as it would truly be an excerpt from either the end of the previous book or the start of the upcoming book. […]
A Talent for Trickery (2015) Alissa Johnson Set in England in 1872 I somehow missed writing this one up last month, so here it is now. I am not sure about the accuracy of the term “Gentleman Thief Taker” since the thief-takers were replaced by Bow Street in the mid 1700s, and Bow Street was […]
A Body in Berkeley Square (2005/2011) Ashley Gardner Set in London in April 1817 The 5th Captain Lacey mystery finds Gabriel Lacey investigating the murder of a young man with whom his former colonel was seen arguing at a ball. Because Lacey has been at odds with Brandon ever since Brandon attempted to have Lacey […]
The Sudbury School Murders (2005/2011) Ashley Gardner Set in England in March 1817 The 4th Captain Lacey mystery finds Gabriel Lacey working as a secretary for Everard Rutledge at the Sudsbury School–a school for the sounds of the wealthy–but not titled. Lacey is somewhat distressed to discover he was hired because of his ability to […]
The Glass House (2004/2011) Ashley Gardner London, January 1817 The third Captain Lacey mystery finds him again embroiled in mystery, when a young blonde is found in the river, and the Bow Street runner called to the scene wants Lacey to see if she is his upstairs neighbor. Again, I cannot decide if I like […]