An Unnatural Vice (2017) KJ Charles (Sins of the Cities) Set in England in 1872 Although we were introduced to Nathaniel in the previous book, my favorite character by far is Justin. Justin used innuendo and throaty moans in the same way he used stolen information and a fanatical level of planning: as weapons. What […]
An Unseen Attraction (2017) KJ Charles (Sins of the Cities) Set in London in 1873 The first book in the Sins of the City series. they said the eyes were the windows to the soul, and Clem didn’t feel comfortable peering into people’s windows. “Most people,” Clem said carefully, “most people think that I shouldn’t […]
A Dangerous Madness (2014) Michelle Diener (Regency London) Set in England in 1819. Phoebe Hillier has always done everything she was supposed to, following all the rules. But when the man to whom she was betrothed (and her father’s insistence) breaks their engagement, she seemingly has little to lose any more. Impotent rage, her old […]
Emperor’s Conspiracy(2012) Michelle Diener (Regency London) I reread the second book, so then I had to go back and reread the first book. “Em.” Lord Durnham watched as his sister ushered her children out the door in front of her with disbelief. “I don’t understand . . .” He caught Charlotte’s eye as she waited […]
Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener (Regency London) I needed to reread this as well. For her, what people ate, and how they ate, was just as interesting as the stories they told. This one is also about food. Her voice was as bitter as burned coffee, and just as dark. But in addition to […]
Waiting for the Flood (2018) Alexis Hall (Spires) I got into another funk–nothing was working for me. Everything was meh and nothing drew me in. So I dove back into a favorite, and (as happens every single time I reread this) was shocked by how good and how beautiful it is. Edwin repairs and restores […]
In a Treacherous Court (2011) Michelle Diener (Susanna Horenbout and John Parker) Set in England in 1525 Although this is fiction, it is based upon real historical characters. Few details are known about them, so aside from the bare details, this is fictional, although the time period is well-researched. Susanna Horenbout is sent by her […]
Lessons in Trust (2018) Charlie Cochrane (Cambridge Fellows) Set in England in 1908. It’s been a year since Jonty and Orlando were involved in a mystery, and Orlando wishes just a little they’d fine one Instead, they’re in London and–worse–got their in Jonty’s new prized possession. Jonty’s brand new Lagonda, or, as he told people […]
Lady Odelia’s Secret (2022) Jane Steen (Lady Helena Investigates) Set in England in 1882. I read the first book, Lady Helena Investigates, soon after it came out, and was disgruntled when there wasn’t a sequel. Until a couple weeks ago I stumbled across the second book in the series. HUZZAH! Lady Helena is a widow, […]
No Man’s Land: The Trailblazing Women Who Ran Britain’s Most Extraordinary Military Hospital During World War I (2020) Wendy Moore When the Great War broke out, two of the leading suffragettes, Louisa Garrett Anderson and Flora Murray, decide to open a hospital, in the own battle to prove women deserved the same rights as men. […]
In the Cards (2019) Celia Lake (Mysterious Charm) Set in England and Sicily in 1925 Yes, I still (badly) wants these books edited, but I am still reading. Explaining how they really were, that was more complicated. They’d made agreements, he and Galen, about when they’d share certain things, and when they wouldn’t. This is […]
Wards of the Roses (2019) Celia Lake (Mysterious Charm) Set in Wales & England in 1920 I still want these books to be edited. But the story and world building keep pulling me in. Kate Davies doesn’t want a return to war, but she would like the more interesting assignments she got while all the […]
An Agreement with the Soldier (2021) Sadie Bosque (Necessary Arrangements) Set in England in 1817. Miss Samantha Lewis twice had her coming seasons interrupted for periods of mourning. So she is quite old to be on the marriage mart despite her looks and her dowry. John Godfrey never expected to become the Baron of Ashbury. […]
A Sanctuary for Soulden (2021) J.A. Rock and Lisa Henry (The Lords of Bucknall Club) Set in an alternate England in the early 1800s. Philip Winthrop, Viscount Soulden is easily bored. But you wouldn’t guess that if you saw him out on the town, where he presents himself as a fop, concerned with little other […]
Magician’s Hoard (2019) Celia Lake (Mysterious Charm) Set in England in 1926. Pross has been a widow for six years, raising her daughter, running a small bookstore, and taking on the occasional research project. “What did you want from the Society, then? You seem to have most of it covered.” He looked up at her […]
Celtic Myths series (2021) A. L. Lester These are stories based upon various Celtic myths, shifted, twisted, and retold. Surfacing Again (2021) Lin (Malinda) is now spending her Christmas alone, after a blow-up with the friend with whom she was supposed to be vacationing with. The subtext was that she’d turned up on Lin’s doorstep […]
A Case for Christmas (2021) J.A. Rock and Lisa Henry (The Lords of Bucknall Club) Set in an alternate England during the Napoleonic Era. The only thing that makes this a fantasy is this bit: In 1783, the Marriage Act Amendment was introduced in England to allow marriages between same-sex couples. This was done to […]
Lessons in Seduction (2010) Charlie Cochrane (Cambridge Fellows) Set in England in 1907. Jonty and Orlando go undercover to investigate a possible murder! Jonty has to go as himself, since he and his family are too prominent for him to be unrecognized, but few people know Orlando on sight. “We thought the role of professional […]
Lessons in Temptation (2009) Charlie Cochrane (Cambridge Fellows) Set in England in 1907 Orlando is sent off to see if any of a collection of books being sold in Bath would be worth purchasing. Jonty takes the time as a vacation, and becomes involved in a production of Macbeth with an old friend. “I’ll definitely […]
Lessons in Power (2009) Charlie Cochrane (Cambridge Fellows) Set in England in 1907 Orlando is not best pleased when Matthew Ainslie visits–he and Jonty are settling into their new home–but is willing to listen to what the man wants. What he wants is for Orlando and Jonty to look into the murder of which his […]
Lessons in Discovery (2009) Charlie Cochrane (Cambridge Fellows) Set in England in 1906 Amnesia! An historical murder! Letters hidden for centuries! It’s been a year since Jonty and Orlando met, but they didn’t expect to spend their first anniversary in the infirmary, with Orlando suffering from a concussion and a complete loss of memory of […]
Lessons in Desire (2009) Charlie Cochrane (Cambridge Fellows) Set in England in 1906 Jonty and Orlando take a vacation! Murder ensues! That’s the summation, but it isn’t at all the feel of the story, just so you know. Unsurprisingly, Orlando has never taken a vacation. “It sounds delightful, Jonty,” Orlando said, with liar written plain […]
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels (2021) India Holton (Dangerous Damsels) Set in an alternate Victorian England. Cecilia Bassingwaite is a proper Victorian young lady, and she is also a member of the Wisteria Society crime sorority, and she flies around England drinking tea, blackmailing friends, and acquiring treasure by interesting means. Ned Lightbourne goes […]
Parker Pyne Investigates: A Short Story Collection (1934) Agatha Christie “The Case of the Middle-Aged Wife” was first published as “The Woman Concerned” in Woman’s Pictorial, 8 October 1932. “The Case of the Discontented Soldier” was first published in the USA as “The Soldier Who Wanted Danger” in Cosmopolitan, August 1932, then as “Adventure—By Request” […]
Lessons in Love (2008) Charlie Cochrane (Cambridge Fellows) Set in England in 1905. Jonty has returned to St Bride’s College as a fellow in English. He is immediately drawn to dark, silent, and grumpy mathematics fellow Orlando Coppersmith. The words aren’t used (because of the setting) but Orlando is very clearly demi. Orlando thought it […]
A Carriage of Misjustice (2020) Charlie Cochrane (Lindenshaw Mysteries) Alas, I am now all caught up with this series. Robin and Adam are newlyweds, but since it’s midterm, it’s back to work for both of them until they can take a proper honeymoon over summer break. Unfortunately, Robin is seconded to Hartwood to lead up […]
Death and the Joyful Woman (1961) Ellis Peters (The Felse Investigations) (T)hat was the sign – The Joyful Woman. Lovely, isn’t it? Goes right back to about 1600. Detective-Sergeant George Felse of the county CID is called back to the pub whose opening he’d attended just hours earlier, when the owner–businessman Alfred Armiger–is found dead, […]
Something Fabulous (2022) Alexis Hall (Something Fabulous) Set in Historical England. To be honest, I don’t think this is historical England as much as fantasy historical England. Which is fine, since as he says in the author’s note, almost everyone in the story is queer. Valentine Layton, the Duke of Malvern is expected to marry […]
The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Stories (2015) Ian Rankin ‘Dead and Buried’ © 2013 ‘Playback,’ ‘The Dean Curse,’ ‘Being Frank,’ ‘Concrete Evidence,’ ‘Seeing Things,’ ‘A Good Hanging,’ ‘Tit for Tat,’ ‘Not Provan,’ ‘Sunday,’ ‘Auld Lang Syne,’ ‘The Gentleman’s Club,’ ‘Monstrous Trumpet’ from A Good Hanging (And Other Short Stories, Featuring Inspector Rebus) © […]
The Missing Page (2022) Cat Sebastian (Page & Sommers) Set in England in 1948. It has only been a few months since James and Leo met during a murder case, but Leo is now claiming James “spare room” as his landing place when he is home from whatever missions he is sent out on. But […]
Old Sins (2019) Charlie Cochrane (The Lindenshaw Mysteries) I am thoroughly enjoying this cozy series. After a vacation, Robin and Adam are (mostly) ready to jump back into their jobs for the fall. Even if they keep putting off making definite plans for getting hitched. The real reason they were making no progress was the […]
Mr Warren’s Profession (2017) Sebastian Nothwell Set in England in 1891 I almost gave up on this book. The first dozen chapters dragged for me and I did a lot of skimming. I put the book down to do something and decided to give it one more chance to draw me in. I did continue, […]
Two Feet Under (2018) Charlie Cochrane (Lindenshaw Mysteries) Adam Matthews and Robin Bright are settling into their new jobs: Adam is deputy headmaster at a new school and Robin is Chief Inspector at Abbotston (the nick that had all the issues in the last book). When Robin is called out to a body found at […]
An Irregular Arrangement A. L. Lester (Border Magic) Set in England in 1920. This is a short story set in the Border Magic world. Tim and Flora are best friends who chose to get married to make things safer for Tim and his lover, Rupert. Val is finally twenty one and ready to leave their […]
The Postscript Murders (2021) Elly Griffiths (Harbinder Kaur) Apparently I don’t love mysteries written in the present tense. Primarily because sentences like this are jarring. There’s another man called either Brodie or Brady, Harbinder never does discover which it is. Can she see into the future that she will never learn his name? Which was […]
Jury of One (2016) Charlie Cochrane (Lindenshaw Mysteries) Inspector Robin Bright had been meant to be enjoying the weekend with his partner Adam Matthews, but a murder has him and his team called in while the Abbotston team tries to deal with a serial killer. It’s a cozy mystery, and just what I was in […]
A Marriage of Equals (2021) Elizabeth Rolls Set in England in 1804 TWs: Discussion of attempted rape, parental death, slavery, violence against women. Psyché Winthrop-Abeni may be the bastard daughter of a slave, but her father eventually sought to do right by her, bringing her to England and her freedom, where she eventually came to […]
Nearly a Lady (2016) Alissa Johnson (Haverston Family) Set in Scotland and England during the Regency. Lord Gideon Haverston and his brother are discovering the full duplicity of their step-mother, as his brother–the new Marquess–tries to straighten out the family finances. Their most disturbing discovery is a young woman who was supposed to be the […]
A Christmas Dance (2014) Alissa Johnson Set in historical England. William Renwick, Earl of Casslebury, always has a plan for everything. He was four-and-thirty, and it was time he did his duty to the title by producing an heir. Never mind he hadn’t expected to outlive two cousins and an older brother to inherit the […]
A Holiday By Gaslight (2018) Mimi Matthews Set in England in 1861 I love a good novella / short story. I have tremendous respect for an author who can build characters and an immersive story in under 200 pages. What I particularly liked about this story is Sophie has a complex relationship with her family, […]
Goblin Fruit (2019) Celia Lake (Mysterious Charm) Set in England in 1924 Lizzie has taken a job for the ministry, hoping it will allow her and her sister to survive–especially since her work during the war hadn’t helped her to get any other jobs. Carillon also does work for the ministry, and keeps a public […]
Unseen Academicals (2009) Terry Pratchett (Discworld) I’ve owned this book for years (as well as the following two) but I didn’t read. First, because I wasn’t reading a lot of fantasy. Then, because I knew there wouldn’t be any more Discworld books, and I wanted to save the reading of them. Which meant I never […]
A Marvellous Light (2021) Freya Marske (The Last Binding) Set in England prior to The Great War. Maybe 1906 or 1907. After his parents were killed ina car wreck, Robin Blyth has to pick up the pieces of the life they left him and his sister. “You don’t talk about your parents much.” “I am— […]
Outcrossing (2018) Celia Lake (Mysterious Charm) Set in alternate England in 1922. Rufus returned from The Great War unscathed, to a village that doesn’t understand why he returned when their sons and brothers and fathers didn’t. (T)hey found him even more suspicious and – just wrong, one of the wives had called him. “Nothing natural […]
The Nobleman’s Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks (2021) Mackenzi Lee (Montague Siblings) Nearly 20 years have passed since Monty (and then Felicity) fled England and their father. In the mean time, their younger brother has grown into an adult–but one with his own problems. Adrian has struggled with his mind his entire life, but after […]
The Murder Next Door (2021) Sarah Bell Set in England in 1912. Louisa is startled to discover their next door neighbor has been found dead–and the wife has disappeared with their young son. Ada saw Mrs Pierce hurry away from the house early in the morning, with a look of terror on her face. I […]
The Quid Pro Quo (2021) A.L. Lester (Bradfield Trilogy) Set in England in 1920 Walter met Sylvia when they were both working at the same hospital at Royaumont. They only got the worst cases here now… had done for a while, since the brass had worked out that the lady doctors had a better surgical […]
The Silver Mark (2019) Sarah Painter (Crow Investigations) This is the second book in the Crow Investigations series. Lydia is still trying to make a living as a private investigator, but right now is still only doing so because her uncle (head of the Crow family) lets her use the space above one of his […]
A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem (2020) Manda Collins (A Lady’s Guide) Set in England in 1865 Lady Katherine Bascomb inherited The Gazette after the death of her husband, and has come to thoroughly enjoy running it–including writing articles of her own. Two years ago, her husband, George, had been alive and making her […]
The Fog of War (2021) A.L. Lester (Bradfield Trilogy) Set in England in the summer of 1919. Dr Sylvia Marks returned to the village where her father had been the local doctor, after the end of the war and her time as a surgeon at Royaumont, where she was later joined by Walter, a nurse […]