Good Mystery books?

Question

I'm kind of looking for books taking place in anywhere between the 1700s and 1950's.

By the way I've already read all the Sherlock Holmes, most too Agatha Christie’s (Miss Marple, Priot)

Discriptions of it would help a lot

Answer 1

1600–1700: Colonial Period
Mystery Authors with Historical Characters
Bruce Alexander
Lillian De La Torre
Dale Furutani
Robert Lee Hall
Keith Heller
Ross King
Deryn Lake
Janet Laurence
Margaret Lawrence
Edward Marston
Maan Myers
Charles O'Brien
Laura Joh Rowland

1800s
Regency (1811-1901)
Victorian (1837-1901)
Mystery Authors with Historical Characters
Mary Jo Adamson
Lawrence Alexander
Susan Wittig Albert
Stephanie Barron
Carrie Bebris
Jack Bickham
Michelle Black
Rhys Bowen
Rick Boyer
Emily Brightwell
Kate Bryan
Carole Bugge
Caleb Carr
Philip J. Carraher
Dianne Day
William L. DeAndrea
Carole Nelson Douglas
Arthur Conan Doyle
Loren D. Estleman
Quinn Fawcett
John Gardner
John Gray
Barbara Hambly
Peter J. Heck
Maureen Jennings
Peter King
Alanna Knight
Mary Kruger
David Liss
Peter Lovesey
Edward Marston
Mardi Oakley Medawar
Brent Monahan
Miriam Grace Monfredo
Amy Myers
Robin Paige
Owen Parry
Paula Paul
Anne Perry
Bill Pronzini
G. S. Rowe
Kate Ross
P. B. Ryan
Walter Satterthwait
Randall Silvis
Troy Soos
Daniel Stashower
Rosemary Stevens
Shirley Tallman
Victoria Thompson
M. J. Trow
Wayne Worceste

1900s: Edwardian Period
Mystery Authors with Historical Characters
Karen Rose Cercone
Marion Chesney
Jeanne M. Dams
Dianne Day
Kate Kingsbury
Gillian Linscott
William Marshall
Arthur Morrison
William J. Palmer
Michael Pearce
Victoria Thompson

1910s
Mystery Authors with Historical Characters
Laurie R. King

1920s
Authors with Historical Characters
Jill Churchill
Carola Dunn
Michael Gilbert
Kerry Greenwood
Michael Kilian
Edward Maston
Catriona McPherson
Walter Satterthwait

1930s
Mystery Authors with Historical Characters
Harold Adams
James Anderson
Alan Furst
Steven Philip Jones
William F. Nolan
Rebecca Pawel
David Roberts
Dorothy & Sidney Rosen
Robert Skinner
Neville Steed
James Garcia Woods

1940s
Mystery Authors with Historical Characters
George Baxt
Curt Colbert
Brian Cooper
Thomas Rendell Curran
A. E. Eddenden
Terence Faherty
John Gardner
Hal Glatzer
Jack Higgins
Cathie John
Stuart Kaminsky
Ken Kuhlken
Elliot Roosevelt
Sandra Scoppettone
Edith Skom

1950s
Mystery Authors with Historical Characters
Jack Bludis
Kathleen Hills
Ken Kuhlken
George P. Pelecanos
Andrew Taylor

Answer 2

I recommend these authors:

1. Gaston Leroux - stories take place in the late 1800s

The Mystery of the Yellow Room - the first "locked room" mystery in which the victim has locked herself inside a room and is assaulted. The only way in or out is the door that is broken down by those who hear her screams. Who did it and how?

The Phantom of the Opera - much better and eerier than any musical or film version. Well worth the read.

2. Elizabeth Peters - her Amelia Peabody mystery series takes place in Egypt between 1880 and the early 1920s. The novels recount the recurring adventures of a family of British archaeologists amidst the historical events, prominent people and great discoveries of the period You can start with any title in the series since there is enough exposition to bring the new reader up to speed. I began with He Will Thunder in the Sky, which takes place at the beginning of WWI and has a plot mixing mystery with espionnage. The first title in the series is Crocodile on the Sandbank.

3. Carole Nelson Douglas - her Irene Adler series takes place in the mid 1800s. Irene was referred to as "that woman" by Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, and Douglas has expanded the character, who encounters historical figures as she investigates crimes. The first title in the series is Good Night, Mr. Holmes.

4. Victoria Thompson - her Gaslight mystery series takes place in New York City around the turn of the 20th century. The recurring character is widow Sarah Brandt, whose own husband was murdered. You'll see NYC high society, city locales and a wide range of NY citizens as they were around 1900. The first title in the series is Murder on Astor Place.

Answer 3

I would also suggest tales by Edgar Allan Poe - after all, he is considered the father of the mystery novel.

Or for a modern-ish rethinking of Poe, author Harold Schechter has a series of books featuring Poe (and other period characters; Davy Crocket, PT Barnum, Kit Carson, Louisa May Alcott, etc) as a protagonist in a series of mysteries that resemble or inspire Poes literary works. There are four books so far in the series and I have found them to be quite enjoyable.

Nevermore (1999)
The Hum Bug (2001)
The Mask of Red Death (2004)
The Tell-Tale Corpse (2006)

Answer 4

Nice to see someone else has read all of Sherlock Holmes {starting to think it was just me!}


The Moonstone - Wilkie Collins
considered by many to be the first great detective novel in English.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moonstone

The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woman_in_White_%28novel%29

The Murders in the Rue Morgue - Edgar Allan Poe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Murders_in_the_Rue_Morgue

Answer 5

THE RULE OF FOUR by Ian Caldwell

THE GOLD BUG by Edgar Allen Poe

THE MURDERS OF THE RUE MORGUE by Edgar Allen Poe

Answer 6

try reading Edgard Alan Poe...he's a very good author and his book "the golden beetle" is very good!