Winter seems to be the time to crank out mysteries, and if you're up for a little armchair travel (the past is a different country, after all), then I have some suggestions for you.
Going in chronological order, we first have The Proud Sinner by Priscilla Royal. Set in the late 13th century, we find Prioress Eleanor stranded in her priory by winter weather with a contingent of abbots on their way to meet the papal legate. Poison soon takes its toll on her guests, and it's up to Eleanor to sort her true suspicions from the red herrings.
Set about a hundred years later, Paul Doherty's Pilgrimage Of Murder: A Medieval Mystery Set In 14th Century London finds our protagonist, Brother Athelstan, preparing for a pilgrimage to Canterbury. The Great Revolt has been crushed, but perhaps not all the rebels have been caught and faced the king's justice. Before he can leave, Athelstan has to deal with a triple murder made more delicate by the fact that one of the victims is part of the Secret Chancery. There's also the matter of an assassin who calls himself Azrael, the Angel of Death, who keeps sending messages to Athelstan, but why?
Taking place in the waning days of Henry VIII, Bianca Goddard is about to celebrate her friends' nuptials in Mary Lawrence's Death At St. Vedast. However, things go badly. First, the body of a pregnant woman is found beneath the bell tower of the local church where the marriage is to take place. Then the bride drops dead at the wedding feast and the groom is suspected of murder. Finding no trace of poison, Bianca has to use her knowledge of alchemy to find the culprit and exonerate her friend.
While taking place several hundred years later than the beloved series, fans of Peter Tremain's Sister Fidelma will find much to like in An Unjust Judge: A Mystery Set In 16th Century Ireland by Cora Harrison. First of all, the protagonist is Mara, a Brehon of Burren, a kingdom of Ireland. This time, she's investigating the murder of a judge in a nearby kingdom who was notorious for his harsh and arbitrary sentences. While looking at five young men who received such treatment from the dead judge, Mara has to also consider other victims of the magistrate who were not part of his court room.
Christopher Marlowe is one of the most fascinating individuals of the Elizabethan era who was not Queen Elizabeth herself. In The English Agent, Phillip Depoy imagines his secret work for the crown. In 1583, Marlowe has developed a reputation as a rogue, but he also aspires to be a poet and playwright. After the opening night of his first play descends into chaos, Marlowe is more than happy to be assigned by the queen's spymaster to foil a plot on the life of the king of the Netherlands. He has a only a few days to unravel the scheme and uncover the agents behind it, or England loses one of her few allies and risks war with Spain.
Of course, there is the mighty Sherlock Holmes. Lindsay Faye tries her hand at the prototype of the modern detective in The Whole Art of Detection. This is a collection of short stories that span the consulting detective's career as well as the author's, who is a long-time fan. This collection also contains two new stories never previously published.
A Death in the Dales by Frances Brody takes place between the wars in the English countryside. Kate Shackleton has decided to join her niece, Harriet, for some rest and relaxation away from Leeds. Harriet befriends a local girl whose brother is missing, which leads Kate to uncover quite a viper's nest of old crimes and scandal. This complex heroine and fast-paced tale is good for fans of Jacqueline Winspear and M.C. Beaton.
Most of these tales take place in England, but other places have their mysteries too. Tell us about them in the comments.
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