Crime In Another Time: 17 Historical Mystery Books

This is one of those books that feels like it’s breaking the mold because we rarely get this voice in this genre. We start in 1826 with Frannie Langton, a formerly enslaved Jamaican woman and current London servant, in prison awaiting trial for the murders of her employers. But Langton can’t offer much of way of her innocence or guilt to the reader seeing as she has no memory of the night in question. What we can learn to start though is her life, from Jamaica to London, and certainly somewhere something will unlock a memory or clue…The U.S. hardcover edition will forever be one of my favorite cover images.

(TW: abuse/ rape/ suicide — this trigger warning list may be incomplete)

Not many books will take you to 1800, Joseon Korean dynastic kingdom — at least not historical mysteries that I’ve come by. Seol was orphaned as a child and recently sent by her older sister to the capital to find her older brother’s grave, while being trained as a police damo — which is basically an indentured servant to the Capital Police Bureau. But Inspector Han forms a friendship with her and helps teach her how to solve cases until the murder of a woman makes Seol question if Han is involved…

(TW: past suicides mentioned, detail/ mentions public groping/ torture/ past child murder mentioned)

If you like Acorn murder mystery shows and “forbidden” romance subplots — the woman’s family warns him that he isn’t allowed to be with her because of their culture — this is a great historical mystery. Captain Jim Agnihotri, son of an Indian mother and British father, starts the book recovering in a military hospital in 1892, Bombay. It’s there that he reads Sherlock Holmes and also the real case about two young women who fell from a university’s clock tower. With his new love of Holmes, and a plea from the women’s family, he decides to set out and investigate — disguises sometimes included.

(TW: case believed suicide at first/ mentions domestic abuse, no detail/ child marriages, slavery/ child death)

Set along 1970s Red River, one side in Minnesota and one side in North Dakota, this is where we meet Renee “Cash” Blackbear, a 19-year-old Chippewa woman. When she was 3, Sheriff Wheaton took her from a car accident and always kept an eye out for her. She made herself independent as soon as she could, learning to work the farms doing the jobs assigned to men. Now Sheriff Wheaton has a dead man and asks for Cash’s help. As she keeps hustling people in pool, working, and fighting her way through a difficult life, she’ll also have to watch for her own safety when she starts asking too many questions. This is a great series for fans of character driven mysteries.

(TW: alcoholism/ past suicidal thoughts briefly mentioned, detail/ past child abuse)

We get to follow SuLin, a teen girl who was educated thanks to her aunt after being orphaned young and having a limp from contracting Polio, in 1936 Singapore. Wanting to avoid being married off, she instead looks to find a way to work: enter a nanny being murdered and there being an open position. Now SuLin finds herself not only trying to care for the girl in her charge, but also navigating upstairs, downstairs, and racial politics. Plus, there’s the matter of solving that pesky murder in the Governor’s House, which Chief Inspector Thomas LeFroy is in charge of. If you’re looking for a great start to a mystery series with a smart, perceptive, and kind lead, this is your book.

(TW: suicide)

Traveling back almost 60 years to Argentina, here’s a look at a moment in history not often discussed. Told in past and present chapters, we get to know Vera Kelly: her tumultuous relationship with her mother; being recruited by the CIA; and pretending to be a student in Buenos Aires to get information on campus radicals. This first book, while ending with a bang, is mostly a historical book about a now spy that slowly reveals her past to you. The sequel, Vera Kelly Is Not A Mystery, transitions Vera Kelly from the world of a CIA spy into being a PI. Kelly is a great addition to a genre that has mostly been straight men.

(TW: suicide/ homophobia / child abuse)

If you think a book could not possibly be both a romance novel and a Civil War spy novel, Alyssa Cole is here to prove you wrong. Seriously, this book will have you feeling all hot under the collar one moment and then on the edge of your seat the next as we follow two undercover agents. Elle Burns is a spy for the Union Army with a photographic memory, posing as a slave, and Malcolm McCall is a detective for Pinkerton’s Secret Service. It’s such a layered and great read filled with conflict not just from the war and time period but also internally in the characters and between each other.

If you like a series where characters evolve professionally and personally, here’s one set in Calcutta (British ruled in 1919) following Captain Sam Wyndham, a former Scotland Yard detective and increasingly through the series Sergeant Banerjee, one of the only Indians in the CID. The series starts with Wyndham leaving behind his previous life and moving to Calcutta, but he’s brought his Opium addiction with him, which he needs to keep in check in order to solve the murder of a British official. I love watching Wyndham and Banerjee throughout the series not only solving crimes but also navigating the time period, their relationship, and growing as people.

Fictional serial killer: Check! Amateur Sleuth: Check! Harlem Renaissance: Check! Set in Harlem, 1926 Louise Lloyd would like to no longer be known as the teen who escaped a kidnapping, while freeing other girls with herself. At 26 she works at a cafe, lives in a boardinghouse, and spends as much time as she can dancing in a speakeasy. But after a fight with an officer, a detective offers her no trouble if she’ll help him investigate the current murders of Black girls. As much as she does not want to, she is forced to, and ends up putting herself in danger. I really enjoyed Louise’s character — no rose colored glasses for her — and I look forward to the sequel in 2022.

(TW: attempted rape/ kidnapping/ homophobia)

Is this series ALWAYS on my lists? Yes! Lady Sherlock is my favorite Sherlock. From watching her become Sherlock (after literally imploding her societal standing), to her friendship with Mrs. Watson, to the slow-burn love story, to the mystery solving, the adventures, and ALL the dessert eating, everything about this series is a complete delight. Every year during fall I treat myself to a new addition to the series. Bonus: the audiobook narrator, Kate Reading, is also delightful.

A perfect read for fans of Sherry Thomas’s Lady Sherlock is Veronica Speedwell. You get the mystery, adventures, slow-burn love story, family drama, and a lot of laughs set in London in the 1880s. The pairing of a cheerful woman, Veronica Speedwell (a lepidopterist), and a total grump, Stoker (a natural historian), could not be more perfect. Enjoy marathoning this delightful series, and Raybourn’s fantastic humor.

I’m a huge fan of seeing the legal system throughout history and in countries outside of the U.S., so I always look forward to following Perveen Mistry. Set in early 1920s Bombay, Perveen works as a solicitor for her father, being the first women in this role. The series starts with us getting to know her backstory, which is slowly revealed between the case: three widows appear to be giving away what was left to them in a will, and Perveen thinks there may be something wrong. Since the three widows live in purdah, Perveen being the only woman solicitor makes her the only person who can go see them to make sure everything is fine. I adore Perveen and her smart, thoughtful, caring manner and how Perveen is always aware that her actions can impact any female lawyers coming up behind her.

(TW: domestic abuse/ girl death — this trigger warning list may be incomplete)