Prime Suspect

Adelia Aguilar (Sleuth)

  

Ariana Franklin is the pen name of British author Diana Norman (pictured above). After writing a bunch of historical fiction and non-fiction, Diana turned to historical mysteries. This is when Ariana Franklin and her sleuth Adelia Aguilar were born.

Adelia Aguilar is a female pathologist living during the reign of Henry II of England. After four children are murdered in the medieval college town of Cambridge and with a religious war about to erupt between the Catholics and the Jews over the children's deaths, Henry begs his cousin, the King of Sicily, to send the best "master of the art of death" to solve the murders.

The Sicilian King sends Adelia. Since she's a woman who could easily be declared a witch in superstitious England, she is forced to act as an assistant to her true assistant and protector, Mansur, a Marsh Arab. Along the way, Adelia picks up a few travelers including Gyltha, an eel seller, and her urchin grandson, Ulf. Also, Adelia meets Sir Rowley Picot who charms Adelia and becomes very important to her. But you will have to read about it in the first book of the series Mistress of the Art of Deathto learn more about Adelia and all the interesting characters she meets in Medieval England.

The second book, The Serpent's Tale, finds Adelia trying to clear Eleanor of Aquitaine of the murder of her husband's (King Henry II) mistress, Rosamund Clifford. But instead of welcoming Adelia's help to clear her name, Eleanor promptly imprisons Adelia and her entourage in a nunnery!

After successfully resolving the murder in the second book, Adelia returns in Grave Goods. She is sent to Glastonbury after a fire has destroyed the beautiful Abbey and uncovered a pair of human skeletons. Could the skeletons possibly be King Arthur and Guinevere? Adelia must find out the truth before a Welsh rebellion threatens to topple King Henry II from the English throne.

The latest book in the series, A Murderous Procession, is released on April 1, 2010 in the US. King Henry II sends his daughter Joanna to Palermo to marry William II of Sicily. He needs someone he trusts to protect his daughter and to see her safely on her journey. Adelia is chosen for this onerous task and she doesn't like it one bit.

Ariana's books are fascinating. The historical details are interesting and at times astonishing. Ariana's grasp of the period allows us to explore the time period without feeling like we are reading a boring history text. The medical capabilities of the time are minutely explored. Ariana restricts herself to the medical knowledge that was available at the time. This helps keep the story rooted in it's time and keeps it from leaping into a fantasy world of CSI: Medieval England. Women were indeed educated as physicians in Sicily which at the time possessed the greatest medical training college in the Western World.

For readers who enjoy Ellis Peter's Brother Cadfael mysteries, Ariana Franklin's Adelia Aguilar novels are sure to delight.

To learn more about Adelia Aguilar and her creator, visit Ariana Franklin's Website.

  

Adelia Aguilar Novels

1. Mistress of the Art of Death (2007)
2. The Serpent's Tale (2008) aka The Death Maze
3. Grave Goods (2009) aka Relics of the Dead
4. A Murderous Procession (2010)

Publishers:

• Putnam, New York.

Sebastian St. Cyr (Sleuth)

 

C.S. Harris (aka Candice Proctor and C.S. Graham) writes a fun Regency era mystery with the dashing and mysterious Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin.

My favorite genre of mystery is historicals. This series is one of my favorites. Harris combines all the historical highlights of Regency England with the darker and raunchier aspects that make the era so fascinating. Harris, also, has a firm grasp on the intricacies of creating a mystery puzzle. The clues are well-hidden and each one is essential to undercovering the evildoer in an exciting and revealing climax.

The series starts off with What Angels Fear and it finds our sleuth, Devlin, accused of raping and murdering an "actress" who is also the mistress to the cream of the Ton. Devlin is forced to go on the lam to prove his innocence and find a murderer. Each book in the series also reveals parts of Devlin's backstory. And when the "Big Secret" is revealed, it is a doozy.

Harris also writes a Thriller series with Steven Harris, her husband, as C.S. Graham. Under her real name (Candice Proctor) she has written 7 Historical Romances. And if that isn't enough, she has a couple nonfiction titles under her belt.

More about C.S. Harris and Devlin at her website.

Sebastian St. Cyr Mysteries

1. What Angels Fear (2005)
2. When Gods Die (2006)
3. Why Mermaids Sing (2007)
4. Where Serpents Sleep (2008)
5. What Remains of Heaven (2009)

Publishers:

• Penguin Group, New York.

Bowen, Rhys (Author)

 

Rhys Bowen is the nom de plume Janet Quin-Harkin uses when writing her mystery series. Her most current mystery, The Last Illusion, was just published this month. It is the 9th novel in the Molly Murphy Mysteries.

The multiple award winning author writes three mystery series: 

The Molly Murphy Mysteries feature an independent, forthright Irish immigrant in turn of the century (20th) New York. She starts her own detective agency, a bold move for a woman at that time. She soon finds herself trying to navigate her way through every level of New York society in search of murderers and other villains. Each novel focuses on on familiar themes of the era: the plight of immigrants, horrible sweatshops, fraudulent spiritualists, and woman's suffrage, to name a few. Molly has an on-again, off-again relationship with a high society police detective named Daniel Sullivan that adds a touch of romance to the mysteries.

1. Murphy's Law (2001)
2. Death of Riley (2002)
3. For the Love of Mike (2003)
4. In Like Flynn (2005)
5. Oh Danny Boy (2006)
6. In Dublin's Fair City (2007)
7. Tell Me Pretty Maiden (2008)
8. In a Gilded Cage (2009)
9. The Last Illusion (2010)

The Constable Evans Mysteries take place in modern day Wales. The village of Llanfair is as picturesque as a village one could hope for in mysteries. Filled with oddballs, family feuds lasting generations, jealousies approaching the boiling point, a kind-hearted constable, Evan Evans, to solve the mysteries and a pretty school teacher, Bronwen Price, to steal Evan's heart. The mysteries are short and funny while at the same time deal with modern societal problems like drug abuse and arranged marriages. After writing 10 books in this series, it is currently in hiatus according to Rhys's website.

1. Evans Above (1997)
2. Evan Help Us (1998)
3. Evanly Choirs (1999)
4. Evan & Elle (2000)
5. Evan Can Wait (2001)
6. Evans to Betsy (2002)
7. Evan Only Knows (2003)
8. Evan's Gate (2004)
9. Evan Blessed (2005)
10. Evanly Bodies (2006)

The Royal Spyness Mysteries is Rhys's newest series. It features Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie Rannoch, a distant cousin to King George V of England. The year is 1932 and Lady Georgie (as she's known to friends and family) finds herself in London, penniless and without servants! But she is no shrinking violet. Lady Georgie comes up with a crazy plan to make money: Clean and prepare London townhomes for the aristocracy when then come to town for the Season. Her escapades are quickly discovered by Her Majesty Queen Mary (of Teck) who asks Lady Georgie to use her proximity to these aristocrats to solve some minor mysteries and squash any scandal. The mysteries poke fun at the mystery conventions while adding derring-do and romance to mix.

1. Her Royal Spyness Solves Her First Case (2007)
2. A Royal Pain (2008)
3. Royal Flush (2009)

You can read more about Rhys Bowen and her series at www.rhysbowen.com .

Publishers:

• Minotaur Books, Macmillan, New York.
• Berkley, Penguin Group, New York.

Penman, Sharon Kay (Author)

   

Sharon Kay Penman is a well-known historical novelist. But she took some time off to write an intelligent, fast-paced, and intriguing series set in England during the Middle Ages. The sleuth is Justin de Quincy, the illegitimate son of an English Bishop who now is the servant of the Queen Dowager Eleanor (Richard the Lionheart’s mother). Penman’s four Medieval Mysteries all involve court intrigue, cunning plots, and delicious deviousness. The period details of 12th Century Britain are authentic without being overdone, as some historical mysteries have a tendancy to be.

You can read more about Sharon and her novels at her website.

 

Justin de Quincy Mysteries

1. The Queen's Man (1996)
2. Cruel as the Grave (1998)
3. Dragon's Lair (2003)
4. Prince of Darkness (2005)

Publishers:

• Henry Holt and Company, Macmillan US, New York.
• Ballantine, Random House, New York.
• Fawcett, Random House, New York.
• Penguin, Random House, New York.
• Putnam, New York.

Thomas & Charlotte Pitt (Sleuths)

Anne Perry’s Thomas & Charlotte Pitt are a married couple living in Victorian London. Thomas was a detective for Scotland Yard before moving over to Special Branch. While Pitt is from a working class background, Charlotte comes from loftier heights which allows her and Thomas entry into aristocratic drawing rooms that Thomas would be otherwise barred. The Pitt’s maid helps with the lower classes, and Charlotte’s sister’s Aunt by marriage, Vespasia Cumming-Gould, helps with those personages that even Charlotte would call her betters. A wonderfully evocative Victorian Historical series. Highly recommended.

More on the novels at Anne Perry's website here.

     
  
Thomas & Charlotte Pitt Novels

1.The Cater Street Hangman (1979)
2.Callander Square (1980)
3.Paragon Walk (1981)
4.Resurrection Row (1981)
5.Bluegate Fields (1984)
6.Rutland Place (1983)
7.Death in Devil’s Acre (1985)
8.Cardington Crescent (1987)
9.Silence in Hanover Close (1988)
10.Bethlehem Road (1990)
11.Highgate Rise (1991)
12.Belgrave Square (1992)
13.Farrier’s Lane (1993)
14.The Hyde Park Headsman (1994)
15.Traitors Gate (1995)
16.Pentecost Alley (1996)
17.Ashworth Hall (1997)
18.Brunswick Gardens (1998)
19.Bedford Square (1999)
20.Half Moon Street (1998)
21.The Whitechapel Conspiracy (2001)
22.Southampton Row (2002)
23.Seven Dials (2003)
24.Long Spoon Lane (2005)
25.Buckingham Palace Gardens (2008)

Publishers:

• Random House, London.
• Random House, New York.