This is the fifth and final installment of the “PERIOD MYSTERIES” or MYSTERY SERIES THAT TAKE PLACE IN DIFFERENT PERIODS OF TIME or “HISTORICAL MYSTERIES” theme. This list is comprised of the Cozy Mystery Site’s authors whose last names begin with R-W:
Deanna Raybourn: Raybourn writes the Lady Julia Grey Mystery Series which is set in Victorian England.
Fay Risner: Risner’s Amazing Gracie Mystery Series is set in early 1900s Iowa…
Candace Robb: Robb has used her graduate work in Medieval Studies to write both the Owen Archer Mystery Series and the Margaret Kerr Mystery Series, both set in the Great Britain of many years ago.
David Roberts: The Lord Edward Corinth Mystery Series takes place in London and teams an aristocrat with a journalist who solve their way through more than one 1930’s mystery.
Caroline Roe (aka Medora Sale): Roe holds her PhD in Medieval Studies and writes the Isaac from Girona Mystery Series which features a blind doctor in mid 1300s Spain.
Elliot Roosevelt: Both of Roosevelt’s series take place in Washington, DC. The Eleanor Roosevelt Mystery Series takes place during the 1940s and the Blackjack Endicott Mystery Series takes place during the 1930s.
Kate Ross: 1820s London is the setting for the Julian Kestrel Mystery Series.
P. B. Ryan: Ryan’s Gilded Age Mystery Series has a governess from Ireland who sleuths in post-Civil War Boston.
C. J. Sansom: 16th century England is the setting for his Matthew Shardlake Mystery Series.
Walter Satterthwait: The Pinkerton Mystery Series takes place during the 1920s. The main sleuth is Detective Phil Beaumont of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency .
Sandra Scoppettone: The Faye Quick Mystery Series takes place in New York during the 1940s. Faye is a tough private investigator in a (1940s) world not quite ready for women in tough roles.
Kate Sedley: Sedley writes the Roger the Chapman Mystery Series which features a Chapman (peddler) who lives in Medieval England.
Maggie Sefton: Sefton writes the Widow and the Rogue Mystery Series. It takes place in 1890s Washington, D.C. and features a young widow who is also a clairvoyant and an English investor.
Sarah R. Shaber: Shaber writes the Louise Pearlie Mystery Series which is set during the 1940s in Washington, DC. The sleuth works for the agency which eventually led to the CIA.
Catherine Shaw: Shaw writes the Vanessa Duncan Cambridge Mystery Series which features a teacher in Cambridge during the late 1800s.
Nicola Slade: Slade writes a British, historical series: the Charlotte Richmond Investigates Mystery Series which is set during Victorian times.
Joanna Campbell Slan: Slan writes the Jane Eyre Chronicles Mystery Series, which features Charlotte Brontë’s Jane in mid 1800s England.
Rosemary Stevens (aka Rosemary Martin): The Beau Brummel Mystery Series takes place during the Regency period (1790-1820) in London, with Beau being a fashion expert, and also a sleuth.
Diane A. S. Stuckart: Leonardo da Vincy Mystery Series takes place during the late 1400s in Italy.
Shirley Tallman (aka Erin Ross): Sarah Woolson Mystery Series – Sarah Woolson is an attorney in 1880s San Francisco.
Robert Tanenbaum: His Butch Karp & Marlene Ciampi Mystery Series takes place in New York during the far-out 1970s…
Sarah Stewart Taylor: Taylor writes the Sweeney St. George Mystery Series which features a professor of history… with a special emphasis on funerary art.
Lou Jane Temple: The Spice Box Historical Mystery Series has its first book set in New York during the Civil and the second book of the series is set France during the Revolution…
Victoria Thompson: The Gaslight Mystery Series is set in the early 1900s in New York and features Sarah Brandt, a midwife.
Charles Todd: A mother & son writing duo (Caroline and Charles Todd) write the Ian Reuledge Mystery Series which features a WW I shell-shocked veteran working at Scotland Yard…
Marilyn Todd: The Roman Murder Mystery Series is set in Ancient Rome and features Claudia Seferius, a vineyard owner who happens to be a very strong woman.
Peter Tremayne: The Sister Fidelma Mystery Series features a 7th century nun in Ireland.
Christine Trent: Florence Nightingale Mystery Series – Florence is a nurse in England during the 1850s.
Nicola Upson: The Josephine Tey Mystery Series is based on the “real life” author Scotland Yard’s Alan Grant Mystery Series, set in the 1930s.
Radha Vatsal: Kitty Weeks Mystery Series – Kitty is a journalist in New York during the 1910s.
S. S. Van Dine: The Philo Vance Mystery Series takes place during the early 1900s…
Robert (Hans) van Gulik: The Judge Dee Mystery Series is a series that features a judge magistrate in China during the 7th century…
Ashley Weaver: The Amory Ames Mystery Series features a wealthy, young woman in 1930s Britain.
Lauren Willig: Pink Carnation Mystery Series – Eloise Kelly is a Cambridge (Massachusetts) Ph.D. candidate, writing her dissertation on Napoleonic era spies.
Jacqueline Winspear: The Maisie Dobbs Mystery Series features Maisie, an early 20th century psychologist/sleuth in England.
Nancy Means Wright: The Mary Wollstonecraft Mystery Series features Mary, an English governess in 18th Century Ireland. (Mary was a real person.)
Patricia Wynn: The Blue Satan Mystery Series is set in England during the 1700s. The Blue Satan is an aristocratic highwayman, and the series also features a lady-in-waiting.
♦To access more Cozy Mysteries by Theme click on this link.♦
Katrinka says
Yay! Cozy mysteries! What a great idea! Agatha Christie, Dorothy Gilman, Jessica Fletcher (what a classy lady . . . she’s still an inspiration to me even as her real self of Angela Lansbury). I just discovered your website and I’m elated! Thank you!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Hi Katrinka!
I’m glad you found the site…. You’re not alone enjoying Jessica Fletcher AND Angela Lansbury!
Leigh says
What a great site to find! Like you, I keep finding new historical mysteries but I seem to read the books in the wrong order as they are often hard to find at the library or at bookstores – and here I thought EVERYbody liked medieval mysteries! ;-> Your lists – in order!- are very helpful as it is sometimes difficult to figure out which book came first or goes where in the order. Thank you!
Also, if you DO like medieval mysteries, you should read the Roger the Chapman series by Kate Sedley – I didn’t see her listed under authors on your site but her Chapman series is quite good – not as good as Margaret Frazer, Ellis Peters, etc. but still a good read. Sedley has at least a dozen books in the series and even has a brand new one out called “The Green Man”. I thought I had read them all, but without the benefit of your list(s) I recently found 3 that I somehow missed (and of course they are in the middle of the series!) but I will still read them as Roger the Chapman is
entertaining. FYI, if you want to read the series, “Death & the Chapman” is the 1st book and then “The Plymouth Cloak” – that will at least you started in the right order. If you want the full list, I think I have it worked out in the right order now, so let me know & I will send it to you.
Keep up the good work!
Leigh 🙂
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thank you so much, Leigh, for the Kate Sedley recommendation. I have added her to one of my lists of authors to post. She does, indeed look interesting.
I know how frustrating it is to read a book thinking that you are reading it in the correct order… So, I’m glad that the lists are helpful to you.
Thanks, again, for the Kate Sedley recommendation!
Kathy says
Do you have Lynda Robinson listed anywhere? Her sleuth is Lord Meren, the Eyes & Ears of King Tut. He solves mysteries with the help of his adopted son, Kysen, & the members Royal Charioteers.
Reading this series has really brought home the fact the Egyptians really belived in all their gods. I watch all types of history shows but never got how dependant they were on their beliefs.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Kathy…
You know what they say about great minds!?! What a small world! >>>
Lynda S. Robinson is actually one of the next “batch” of authors I have on (one of) my “Authors To Post” list (s).
[Since I actually work a little behind what I post, her page should be up in a little while.]
Laya says
How about Steven Saylor’s Roma Sub Rosa mysteries featuring Gordianus the Finder? It’s set in Rome at the time of the Caesars, and features Gordianus the Finder, who interacts with some real historical characters such as Sulla, Marcus Tullius Cicero, Marcus Crassus and Catilina.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thanks, Laya, for telling us about Steven Saylor.
Ellen says
Re: Historical mysteries
Does John Maddox Roberts and his SPQR mysteries count as cozies? They take place during the Roman republic and into the Empire.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
I’m sorry, Ellen, I’m not familiar with John Maddox Roberts.
Gay P says
I don’t see Patricia Wentworth on your list of historical authors. She wrote about Miss Silver as the detective. She reminds me of Miss Marple. She is very interesting.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Gay, I am not including all of the authors who wrote current mystery books at the time of their writing. I felt that if I did, the list of historical mysteries would be way too long.
Tam says
Thank you for compiling such a thorough list of historical cozies and including their time period. I’m just getting started writing cozy mysteries set in turn-of-the-century San Francisco, so I’m looking specifically for cozies during that time period. This was so helpful!
Tam
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Tam, you’re welcome. Good luck with your turn-of-the-century San Francisco Cozy Mystery.
Susan* says
Mel Starr. ‘The Chronicles of Hugh de Singleton, Surgeon.’
Set in Fourteenth Century Oxford. The main character is a surgeon and bailiff. Definitely one for the medieval fans.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan*, thanks for telling us about Mel Starr‘s historical Chronicles of Hugh de Singleton, Surgeon series.
Sherrell says
Help! I recall reading two medieval mysteries regarding a young man who hightails it out of Venice (or Florence) due to having offended a powerful nobleman, traveling the Silk Road to China where he gets involved in all sorts of palace intrigue.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Sherrell, I’m sorry but I don’t recognize the book you’re looking for. Hopefully another Cozy Mystery reader will.
Richard says
If historical mysteries for kid readers are appropriate for your list, I’ve really enjoyed the “Enola Holmes” series by Nancy Springer. The setting is Victorian London and the protagonist is Sherlock Holmes’ 14-year-old sister Enola.
Richard says
Another good series for kids, again if kids’ books are appropriate to this site, is the “Al Capone At Alcatraz” series by Gennifer Choldenko. It’s set on and around the island prison in the 1930’s. The children of corrections officers find themselves playing sleuth. These books are not pure mysteries, as they have plenty of coming-of-age subplots and often read less like mysteries and more like adventure stories. Still, the mystery elements are certainly central to the books.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Richard, I have added all three of these children’s authors/series (Gennifer Choldenko: Al Capone Mystery Series, Nancy Springer: Enola Holmes Mystery Series, & Sheila Turnage: Mo & Dale Mystery Series) to the Mystery Books for Pre-Teens page.