#TopTenTuesday Reasons I Love…Historical Crime Mysteries

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

The rules are simple:

Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want. Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post. Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists. Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

This week’s topic is Reasons Why I Love [insert your favorite book title, genre, author, etc. here]. As regular followers of my blog will know, I love historical fiction and have a particular fondness for historical crime mysteries. Below you can find some of the reasons.

1. Obvious really, but you get all the elements of crime fiction – a crime (or crimes), an investigation, suspects, clues, a final reveal and maybe a few twists along the way – but with the addition of a historical setting.
2. The story is usually set against the background of actual historical events even if it departs on occasions from what really happened (or the order in which it happened) for the sake of the plot.
3. You can learn the same fascinating facts about how people lived that you would from reading a history book but with a gripping plot.
4. You are transported to a different period in time – the sights, sounds and usually smells!
5. It will commonly have a mix of real and fictional characters.  For example, no historical mystery set in Elizabethan times seems to be complete without an appearance by either a member of the Cecil family or Sir Francis Walsingham!
6. You are likely to come across some great, often unconventional (for the times), crime busting partnerships.  For example, Nicholas Shelby and Bianca Merton in S. W. Perry’s Jackdaw Mysteries series.
7. The author is forced to use their imagination to depict crime investigation and detection without the benefit of modern scientific techniques. No CSI-style DNA testing!
8. A different time period also brings other limitations that can enhance the plot: slower communication, more primitive means of transport, social constraints.
9. Although it’s great to experience the streets of Medieval or Elizabethan London, a historical crime mystery can also transport you to other geographical locations. Barcelona, Marrakech, New York anyone?
10. Finally, it’s surprising how much contemporary resonance there can be in a historical mystery.  For example, pestilence in a capital city with entertainment places closed down.  No, not now – Elizabethan London. Fake news used to spread misinformation? No, not now – pre-WW2 Germany.

I’m going to finish by sharing some of my favourite historical crime series. I’ve included only those where I’ve read more than one book in the series and listed only those titles I’ve read and reviewed. There may be (almost certainly are) other books in the series not shown that are still in my TBR pile or wishlist. Links from the titles will take you to my review.

The Tom Wilde series by Rory Clements (published by Zaffre)
Corpus Nucleus Nemesis  Hitler’s Secret

The Teifi Valley Coroner series by Alis Hawkins (published by The Dome Press)
None So Blind

The Justice Flanagan series by Paddy Hirsch (published by Corvus)
The Devil’s Half Mile Hudson’s Kill

The Gower Street Detective and Betty Church series by M. R. C. Kasasian (published by Head of Zeus)
Dark Dawn Over Steep House Betty Church & The Suffolk Vampire

The Nighthawk series by Jim Kelly (published by Allison & Busby)
The Great Darkness The Mathematical Bridge

The Gregor Reinhardt series by Luke McCallin (published by No Exit Press)
The Pale House The Ashes of Berlin

The Jackdaw Mysteries series by S W Perry (published by Corvus)
The Angel’s Mark The Serpent’s Mark The Saracen’s Mark

The Cornish Mysteries series by Katherine Stansfield (published by Allison & Busby)
The Magpie Tree The Mermaid’s Call

The Ingo Finch series by Jeff Dawson (published by Canelo)
No Ordinary Killing The Cold North Sea

Of course, there are plenty of other historical crime series I could recommend including those by C J Sansom, S J Parris, Philip Kerr and David Ashton. OK, I’ll stop now before I have you spending all your money…