Masterfully written mystery sprinkled with real life historical events. ...
351591
Masterfully written mystery sprinkled with real life historical events.  The author gently pulls you in to embrace the characters and snares your attention to the very last page.  Looking forward to more books from this author.
2734226
Burns is one my favorite authors writing today. Her storytelling is vivid, her characters distinct, and her prose is polished. This is an intriguing and fascinating historical mystery:

An artist, a writer, a murder, a mysterious tome, a dissolving time, a crime, Arthurian legends, ancient saints books and bones. Burns prose drives and is sublime, with characters and settings that live on in your mind. This is an original historical mystery connecting the Age of Industry with the Age of Miracles.

The chapters alternate between the two time periods flawlessly and then magically reveal how the stories entwine at the end. The novel clacks along at a fast pace and is very atmospheric, allowing you to live each age. I really loved this book and the writing. Brava! And I can't wait for the next novel in the series! More please!
2791237
I am beginning to believe that Mrs. Tracksler can do no wrong at her writing desk. Her latest mystery is a masterful mix of Murder, Mayhem, love, & History. the author possesses the unique ability to thoroughly describe a scene, device and/or person in great enough detail as to allow the reader to form a total mental picture of it all using very little time or lengthy boring text.  She has the enjoyable talent as to keep you following several different plots and stories within the story and then bring them all to a sensational, albeit unforseen, conclusion, for which she also established a knack.  This mystery is yet another in a planned trilogy which follows the lives of an old Italian family and friends from Italy to the US. and onward to a successful melding into the fabric of our great nation.  I can hardly wait for the 3rd  in the series "Panis Angelicus," due out soon.  'Brava Signora! Brava!!'
4407658
I was surprised by how much I liked this book. I am not typically very interested in mystery novels, yet I was completely captivated by the drama surrounding the Malenfer family. Dealing with issues of curses, class, murder, and inheritance, Iain McChesney is successful at crafting a wonderful historical mystery. While "Murder at Malenfer" is a thoroughly engaging and enjoyable read, it is also remarkably well-written. Iain McChesney is clearly a very talented writer. While I do not think that the romantic relationship between Dermot and Simonne is very believable, and while I do have a few problems with the ending, I would absolutely recommend this novel to anyone who likes a good mystery or ghost story.
4279974
This is one of the better historical novels I have ever read. The wonderful character development, and mystery surrounding each one of these characters, draws you in immediately. I did not want this to end. I was glad when Lisa Kleypas came out with a sequel using Derek Craven as the lead character in it. He was a story unto himself. If you want a good romance and mystery thrown in to boot, I highly recommend this book.
614327
This excellent historical mystery takes place in 1879 San Francisco. A young widow supports herself as boarding house owner Annie Fuller, and as psychic Sibyl who gives personaly and financial advice to clients who will accept such as coming from the stars, when they wouldn't had they known her real identity. When one of her clients dies, supposedly by suicide, she knows his finances weren't in the shambles the police claim. When the police realize it was murder, they look to his family. Annie poses as a serving girl for the family to find the truth.

The author seamlessly puts the reader squarely in that time and place. While we are engrossed in the plot we notice the work involved to keep up a house, the attitudes of everyone toward a Chinese cook, Annie's belated realization of what her laundry girl does, and the problems of travel and communication in an earlier age.

Highly recommended to mystery and history readers.
179156
Kathleen Ernst has produced another stellar murder mystery against an educational backdrop highlighting Wisconsin history.  In this, her third Chloe Ellefson mystery, Chloe leaves the Eagle, Wisconsin setting of the Old World Wisconsin outdoor museum, where she works as a curator, to the Door County area to take on a project at an historic lighthouse. As a Wisconsin native, I've found the historical information extremely interesting and the mystery, itself, riveting.  There are plenty of twists to keep the reader engaged in the game of trying to solve the mystery, but enough hints to make it possible (though difficult!) to discover the truth.  Thoroughly enjoyable!
738363
This is a wonderful genre bending book...part mystery, part history. Written by Scotswoman Elizabeth MacIntosh, who wrote under the pen name Josephine Tey, it was first published in 1951. It is tragic that the author died in 1952 and was never to know the pleasure that this book would bring to generations of readers and that the Mystery Writers of America would ultimately rank it fourth among the one hundred best mysteries ever written.

The title of the book is derived from a historical source, as it is attributable to Sir Francis Bacon, "For truth is rightly named after the daughter of time, and not of authority." The book itself is not a traditional mystery but rather an application of deductive reasoning to an actual historical event. The event in question is the murder of the princes in the tower, sons of King Edward IV, allegedly by their uncle, Richard III, who eventually usurped the English throne after the death of his brother. It has been widely held that Richard III did, indeed, murder the two young princes, his nephews, in order to secure his claim to the throne.

The reader is introduced to Scotland Yard Inspector Alan Grant, who is hospitalized and recovering from injuries sustained in the line of duty. While convalescing, he becomes intrigued by a picture of a portrait of Richard III, a likeness with which he is unfamiliar. Grant is puzzled that someone with such a sensitive face could have been such a monster as to murder his two nephews in cold blood. So, our intrepid Inspector decides that he will reconsider the evidence upon which such a dastardly assumption has been based. With the help of an American researcher doing the necessary legwork, Grant compiles enough archival historical fact that incrementally helps him formulate a new theory as to who actually may have murdered the princes in the tower.

This analysis and reformulation is done as though it were being argued to a jury. Indeed, so persuasive is Inspector Grant through the application of some insightful deductive reasoning and clever dialogue that the reader comes away thinking that Grant has solved one of the most intriguing historical mysteries of all time. This is certainly an unusual book conceptually but one that succeeds brilliantly. It should appeal to those readers who enjoy having a mystery unraveled, as well as to those who harbor a love of English history. Bravo!
102281
Let me say, up front, that I am an author and I rarely write reviews for other authors' works, however, I just have to write this one. I know P.B. Ryan through social networking and a couple of author email loops but Still Life with Murder is the first of her novels that I have read. This is a wonderful historical mystery. I finished Still Life with Murder last night and immediately purchased the second book in the series.

The characters are extremely well fleshed-out, the plot twists terrific, the attention to historical detail is very impressive and Nell, the heroine, is totally amazing.  I couldn't put this book down...to the point I was ignoring my own work!

Congratulations, Patricia, and thanks for a great read!

Jill
363270
Oliver Potzch is quite a talented writer for he has here produced a fine historical mystery. The time is late January, early February 1672; the place primarily Munich and its environs.  The cast is a crew, with one exception, of well defined, believable people.  The exception? The doctors and other healers seem a bit too modern for the time, but their modernness is needed for the plot.  The mysteries involved  include finding who has been murdering , execution style,  many young women, who has and how have coins been counterfeited, and what happened to the prince's dog.  Obviously many things are going on in this book - even more than the mysteries - and Oliver Potzsch keeps all the plots moving with a sure hand. The villains are quite villainous and all members of the hangman's family contribute to the mystery's solution.  The pages turn quickly and interest never lags.

The Council of Twelve is the seventh in the Hangman's Daughter series.  It read easily as a stand alone book.  Highly recommended
3722094
I have read hundreds of historical mysteries and this one is top notch. Once I started it, I did not want to put it down. The main protagonists are Silvano, who has sought sanctuary in a Franciscan Friary after being accused of a murder he did not commit, and Chiara, who is forced to enter a neighboring convent because her family does not have the money for a dowry. The supporting characters are very interesting too. The lively plot could be described as Shakespeare meets Brother Cadfael. The fascinating details about color-making and fourteeenth century art brought back happy memories of my visit to the Basilica of St. Francis several years ago.
4290211
I really enjoyed this Historical Mystery.  Detective Inspector Tom Harper has three mysteries to solve and is also supporting his wife as she becomes more involved with the Suffragists.  The first mystery is to find the mother of a stillborn baby that was posted in the mail. In the rubble of the burned railway station the body of woman who was stabbed is found.  A few days later a young woman is raped at the station.  Are the mysteries related?  The author does a very good job with the setting, the back streets of Leeds at the turn of the century.  The story is also well researched with a nice blend of fiction and history.  I really liked the characters.  The mysteries were good and the solutions made sense.  Enjoy this exciting historical mystery.
3456781
This mystery laid the historic setting, first in India when the crime was first committed, then years later with Bess Crawford grown up and nursing during World War I. She travels where she is needed, near the front, in convoys, back in hospital, or on brief leaves, back in England. There's the missing (or dead) man accused of murder. She hears rumors, sees someone, chases down information at home and abroad. If the accused is really alive, is she in danger? Will the truth reflect on her fathers military reputation? Someone is trying to hide the truth in every way possible, including further murder.
A Question of Honor combines an engrossing mystery, gradually chased to the end, with historic accuracy reliving another time and place.
(This was a Christmas gift book. Thank you!)
575719
A page turner for sure and wonderfully written!  And so pleased the author also gave places to look up the historical actual facts this novel was based on.  A wonderful read!  Compelling and reaches your heart.
3010279
Lauren Willig's latest novel, The English Wife, is an engrossing Victorian era murder mystery with plenty of intrigue and is a perfect companion for a weekend trip or quiet evening. Quickly paced and peppered with a couple of well placed red herrings - it's a good choice for those who enjoy the historical fiction genre with a little bit of romance and mystery.

The plot of the book focuses on a murder mystery - when Janie Van Duyvel's brother and his wife are found dead on the grounds of their freshly built home on the Hudson River. At first glance the scene appears to have been set up as a murder/suicide, but as Janie delves deeper into what she knows about her brother and his wife, she finds herself questioning what she doesn't know. Secretly, she begins searching for the truth about the events of the evening, teaming up with a newspaper man with questionable morals and pretty eyes.

Willig's employment of a dual narrative keeps things interesting. and I found this mechanism to be an effective way to bring the reader into the mystery solving piece of the story, but also allowed the reader to become familiar with the story of the ill-fated Van Duyvel couple. To be honest, I was much more invested in the doomed couple's story than Janie's - overall their chapters seemed to be more intriguing, their characters and story more fleshed out.

Points to Ms. Willig for knowing exactly where to throw the reader off the scent - a couple of perfectly timed red herrings deterred me from being sure of what happened - and I was surprised by the outcome! Definitely a fun read that I would recommend to fans who enjoy lighter historical fiction.
805709
What a marvelous book. It is so intricately plotted and erudite and full of history. It teaches while entertaining on a grand scale. Agatha Christie meets Umberto Eco meets Rashomon -- remarkably, it even has a bit of Morris West's The Clowns of God in it. A book to be savored. No page turner; rather, a thought provoking historical novel set in 1663 England, just after the restoration.

While the plot of the book revolves around a murder, the mystery is the nature of truth itself. This book is exactly in my favored genre. Historical fiction mystery.

Finally, the ending is most satisfying. I had a great time living in the world that Pears created.
4739448
I'm a huge fan of historical mysteries so I hungrily gobbled this one up. Ms Flynn doesn't disappoint, not in storytelling, or in the development of wonderful characters and a sense of place. This book gives the reader the sights, smells, and feel of San Francisco in late 1899. It takes the reader from the dirtiest wharf dive to the most prestigious men's club in the city, and many places in-between. As the Volume I suggests, I certainly hope this is the beginning of what will certainly be a long running series. The main characters are intriguing and beguiling. When you turn the last page, you too, will want to read more of Atticus Riot and Bel. They may not be a match made in heaven, but in the hell that is turn of the century San Francisco, they both have reasons to keep certain things to themselves. I will eagerly await Volume 2 as I need to know what happens next to Atticus Riot and Bel