An AAR Gift Guide: Romantic Mysteries
AAR is running a series of blog posts on books we love which you might want to give as gifts. These books may be recent or classic, reviewed or unreviewed, digital or print – the only rule is that they can’t be out of print entirely. In this column, we’ve collected suggestions for romantic mysteries.
Maggie: The Bess Crawford Series by Charles Todd (Book 1: A Duty to the Dead) Not every book is fabulous in this series but the majority are. Bess is a nurse during WWI who solves mysterious events surrounding her patients. Bess’s own love life is unfurling slowly but almost all of her books contain a secondary love story between her patient and the lovelorn guy or gal who has been waiting in the wings for them. A grown up (and much better written) version of the Cherry Ames books.
LinnieGayl: My absolute favorite mystery series is the Amelia Peabody mystery series by Elizabeth Peters (the first book is Crocodile on the Sandbank was my A review application for AAR). At the heart of the series is Amelia and Emerson (who becomes her husband at the end of the first book). But it’s also filled with romantic pairings of numerous other characters. The books are funny, definitely romantic, and are set (with a few exceptions) in Egypt primarily in the early 1900s.
Lynn: Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers still tops my all-time favorite list. Sayers wrote several books featuring Harriet Vane and Lord Peter Wimsey,but this one is the most deeply romantic of them. It’s also unusual in that the mystery plot revolves around a crime other than murder. Featuring intelligent writing and a budding relationship of equals, this book is a real treat.
I also admire the Clare Fergusson/Chief Russ Van Alstyne series from Julia Spencer-Fleming (the first book is In the Bleak Midwinter). Each book features a complete mystery, but it’s worth reading the series in order so as to appreciate the growth and change in the relationship between Russ and Clare. They start off somewhat opposed to one another, but then…well, things change. There are some moral complications involved in how they deal with their attraction to one another because Russ is married, Clare is an Episcopal priest subject to church discipline, and then the two are almost a generation apart in age. Not only is this an entertaining series, but there’s much food for thought here as well.
Dabney: For me, before there was romance, there was mystery. From the time I was 17 until I was 45, I read more mysteries than any other sort of book. Many of my favorites have a romantic slant, but, in the interest of brevity, I’ll name just a few.
If you’ve never read Margaret Lawrence‘s series set in 1780’s America, do. The four books books, Hearts and Bones (nominated for the Edgar and the Agatha Awards), Blood Red Roses, The Burning Bride, and The Iceweaver are all stellar. Hannah Trevor is a midwife in rural Maine. She has an illegitimate daughter by Daniel Josselyn who is one of three men suspected in the murder of a young mother in the first book. Hannah works to not only clear Daniel–to whom she doesn’t speak–but to save her daughter from indentured servitude. The time period, after Independence but before any real government was in place, was horrific for many. Hannah tells the story with wisdom and sorrow. The first three books are Hannah’s and Daniels’ story. The fourth is that of their daughter. The last is my least favorite but the first three are books I’ve read again and again.
I love Alice Hoffman‘s early works. Turtle Moon combines romance, magical realism, and murder and, while not quite as strong as Illumination Night, is a sexy page turner.
Other recommendations from the staff:
Lee: Deanna Rayborn’s Lady Julia Grey novels. (The first book is Silent in the Grave.)
Caz: The Lady Darby books by Anna Lee Huber. (The first book The Anatomist’s Wife.)
Anne: Not a book, but how about a do-it-yourself murder mystery party game?
Caroline Russomanno
I love the Charles Finch series about a Victorian upper class amateur detective, Charles Lenox. There is a romance, lots of period details…more emphasis on why than how in terms of death.
There is a marvelous series by Rebecca Pawel set in Spain at the end of the Civil War. The first one is Death of a Nationalist. Hero and heroine are from opposite sides, and both are people of honesty and integrity.
I second the “”Daisy Dalrympole”” series by Carola Dunn and add the “”Her Royal Spyness”” series by Rhys Bowen for historical romantic mysteries. For a contemporary romantic mystery I would recommend Victoria Laurie’s “”Psychic Eye”” and “”Ghost Hunter”” mysteries and Diane Kelly’s “”Tara Holloway”” series.
I really need to re-read the Amelia Peabody series in order. It has two lovely romances threading through the books, one between Amelia and her husband, the other being their son Ramses’. Speaking of Ramses – from the moment he toddles onto the scene as a very precocious baby to when he is a very swoon-worthy man – I love him.
Second the Lady Darby Series by Anna Lee Huber. They are excellent. I tend to consume them in sitting.
I really like the Deanna Raybourn Lady Julia series and feel optimistic too that her new Veronica Speedwell series will hold up equally well given the strength of the first novel, _A Curious Beginning._
While not exactly a “”series,”” I love the mystery/romances from Simone St. James, and I see that she has a new one coming out this spring, _Lost Among the Living_.
I still have not yet read a Lucinda Brant Alec Halsey mystery but plan to do that. The Amelia Peabody series sounds really good too!
I second the Dorothy L Sayers suggestions. To follow the growth of the relationship between Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane start with Strong Poison, then Have His Carcass, Gaudy Night and finally Busman’s Honeymoon where Peter solves a murder mystery on his honeymoon (as one does). I love to reread them as ebooks so I can flick across and check out the literary, Latin and French quotes. It sounds off- putting but is all part of the fun, for example, there is a wonderful explanation on the Internet of the significance of the Latin words used in the marriage proposal at the end of Gaudy Night. It is truly romantic. Another set of murder mysteries grounded in historical scholarship are the Brother Cadfael stories by Ellis Peters. Start with A Morbid Taste for Bones where a group of Benedictine brothers from the Shrewsbury Abbey go across to Wales to dig up the bones of a Welsh Saint and there is a murder (and two romances) for Brother Cadfael to sort out. The books are set against the civil war between Empress Matilda (Maud) and King Steven and full of historical events, everyday life in the 12th century, sly humour and insight into the medieval mind. Delightful.
(Raises hand timidly)
My series of Regency-set mysteries featuring Bow Street Runner John Pickett have gotten good press here at AAR (reviews of the books range from B to B+) and elsewhere. They have a romance thread, and they’re PG-rated– suitable for your teenage daughter as well as your grandmother. ;-)
The most recent two are still in hardcover, so they’re more expensive; on the other hand, they look more impressive for gift-giving.
I second the John Pickett books – I found the one I read lovely and definitely suitable for a wide-range of ages. And for my mother, who absolutely hates explicit sex in books!
Thanks, Melanie! In their review of the latest book, Kirkus called John Pickett and Julia, Lady Fieldhurst “”a duo who really are made for each other.”” I was happy! :-)
Anne Cleeland’s Acton and Doyle’s series, contemporary in Scotland Yard (three books so far, the first is Murder in Thrall).
Not exactly romances but there is a love story: the Ariana Franklin (pen name for Diana Norman) medieval series about Adelia, the mistress of the art of death. After Norman’s death, her daughter completed her last manuscript.
I too read and liked the Margaret Lawrence books, but it would be a stretch to say I enjoyed them as they are very bleak. As I read them I could feel the cold of a Maine winter in the era before central heating, and it’s not just the setting that is cold. They are completely engrossing, however, and I too recommend them, even as I wish that a bit more joy and light would come into Hannah and Daniel’s lives.
The Nell Sweeney series by P.B. Ryan is also good, especially the first books in the series. They take place in the Boston area shortly after the American Civil War. The author decided to end the series, but I would have been happy to continue reading about Nell and Will.
The David Roberts series about Lord Edward Corinth (the younger brother of a duke) and Verity Browne, a journalist. Takes place between WWI and II, so lots of intrigue both local in the UK and with Germany and Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Liked that even when he argues with her (and at times her views are definitely foolish or ignorant) he respects her and her intelligence. She’s not TSTL, however, and learns from her mistakes. He’s also not perfect, but I very much liked them together. These may not be available in bookstores in the US but are certainly available online. Like lots of these series, it’s best to read in order to get not only the mystery but the developing relationship.
Lots of good choices here and I’ve read most. One series I’d recommend for fans of Julia Spencer-Fleming’s Clare Ferguson books is Elly Griffiths series featuring forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway. Ruth is a great character, down-to-earth and intelligent and just a little annoyed by people (my kind of gal). As the series progresses she has a complicated relationship similar to Clare’s. I’ll say no more, but I do recommend the books – first in the series is CROSSING PLACES.
Also, for the Deanna Raybourn fans, her new book, A CURIOUS BEGINNING, first in a new series featuring Veronica Speedwell and the mysterious Stoker. Veronica and Stoker reminded me of Amelia Peabody and her Emerson with their bickering and snark (and the chemistry!).
And one more, the Tai Randolph series by Tina Whittle. Tai inherits a gun shop/confederate memorabilia shop in Atlanta from an uncle and in DANGEROUS EDGE OF THINGS find a murdered woman in her brother’s driveway. In the course of her investigation she meets Trey Seaver, “”field agent for Phoenix, an exclusive corporate security firm hired to investigate the crime. Trey is fearless, focused, and — much to Tai’s dismay — utterly impervious to bribes, threats and clever deceptions. Still in recovery from the car accident that left him cognitively and emotionally damaged, Trey has constructed a world of certainty and routine.”” I love the relationship that forms between these two and progresses through the books.
I adore the Julia Spencer-Fleming books so I’m wishlisting the Griffith books right now. Thanks for the rec! :)
I thought I’d included Lucinda Brant’s Alec Halsey mysteries on my list – they just keep getting better and better!
My mom loves mysteries. She suggested a couple:
Jeanne Dams – the Hilda Johansson series. A Swedish turn of the century maid who keeps company with (at the beginning of the series) an Irish fireman near Notre Dame.
She also writes a series about an older woman who ends up marrying a former Scotland Yard bigwig.
Corolla Dunn – Daisy Dalrympole. An “”honorable”” who makes her own living as a writer in London after WWI and who is involved with (and eventually marries) a Scotland Yard detective.
“”A grown up (and much better written) version of the Cherry Ames books””- this caught my interest because I was a devoted Cherry Ames fan- still have some of my books. I will look into this series.
I definitely second @Yuri’s recommendation of the C. S. Harris’ series.
Totally agree re the Clare Ferguson series and just read my first Sayers which was great – I’m thinking of getting the set for Mum for Christmas.
I also really like C.S Harris’s mysteries starting with What Angels Fear (although don’t get too attached to the first love interest).