The British have a real knack for crime. Nothing beats a gentle murder mystery set on the gloomy moors of Scotland or in a glittering country manor during a gala ball. If you’ve tracked down clues with Maisie Dobbs, Miss Marple or Flavia de Luce, you may enjoy these other cozy historical mystery series set in the U.K.
Lady Kiera Darby is no stranger to scandal. After her husband’s death, his strange and macabre obsession is exposed. He was an anatomist who dissected bodies in his basement and forced his young, artistic wife to illustrate his findings for the medical textbooks that made his reputation.
When a woman is found gruesomely murdered at her sister’s manor while she is visiting, Lady Darby is instantly suspected. She must use her hard-earned knowledge of death to clear her own name and find a ruthless killer. The Anatomist’s Wife by Anna Lee Huber is the first in a fascinating series set in 1830s Scotland.
Why did the appearance of the red-headed man at the ball cause Richard Montague to call off his wedding? It should have been a happy occasion — the young and beautiful Catherine and the respectable Mr. Montague surrounded by friends and family to celebrate their nuptials. But when a stranger interrupts their merrymaking, Mr. Montague immediately breaks off the engagement and disappears. Devastated, Catherine turns to her witty aunt Dido Kent to uncover the truth in Anna Dean’s Bellfield Hall.
For those who like their mysteries to keep calm and carry on, Susan Elia MacNeal’s Second World War mystery/thriller Mr. Churchill’s Secretary will hit the spot. Adventurous American Maggie Hope wants to do her bit for the war effort in London during the Blitz. Despite being a trained mathematician, she is instead relegated to being a typist and ends up serving the prime minister himself. Working at the heart of the war effort, she finds herself in a maelstrom of politics, intrigue and romance, and a plot to overthrow the government and plunge England into chaos.
Five years ago in Yorkshire, Joshua Braithwaite, the thoroughly unpleasant Master of the Mill in the small village of Bridgestead, ended his day of work, set off towards home and was never heard from again. Now, his daughter, Tabitha, is getting married and wants to know for certain what happened that dark evening. Widowed after the Great War, Kate Shackleton is at loose ends and so when Tabitha asks her to track down Braithwaite, she agrees. But can she succeed where the police have failed? And there are those in Bridgestead who will stop at nothing to keep secrets buried in Frances Brody’s Dying the Wool.
Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells are the founding (and only) members of the Wells and Wong secret detective agency at their boarding school. Thus far, their only case has been the mystery of their roommate’s missing tie. When Hazel goes to the gym to retrieve her sweater, she stumbles on the body of a teacher. But when she returns with the headmistress, the body is gone. Wells and Wong are on the case! Robin Stevens’ Murder Most
Unladylike is the first of a children’s series that is absolutely begging for the BBC treatment and is perfect for Agatha Christie fans of all ages.
Hunt down these mysteries and more at your local library.
--A Good Read is a column by Tri-City librarians that is published on Wednesdays. Corene Maret Brown works at Port Moody Public Library.
