1. Rachel Savernake series by Martin Edwards—Set in 1930s London, this series stars the intrepid daughter of a well-known hanging judge who has an uncanny knack for solving the murders that stump Scotland Yard. Convinced Rachel is more than she seems, journalist Jacob Flint follows the amateur sleuth hoping to discover the secrets behind her sleuthing success.

2. Lady Julia Grey series by Deanna Raybourn—When the titular heroine and private inquiry agent Nicholas Brisbane are brought together by the murder of Julia's husband, it becomes apparent that they make a good investigating team. Mysteries ensue. I believe this series is set in Victorian England.

3. Maggie Hope series by Susan Ella MacNeal—When Winston Churchill becomes prime minister in 1940, Maggie Hope is hired to be his secretary. Brilliant but overlooked because of her gender, Maggie's new position opens her up to an exciting array of unimaginable opportunities, including tantalizing mysteries begging to be solved.

4. Baskerville Hall series by Ali Standish—The first installment of this brand-new middle-grade series won't be available for a few more weeks, but I've got an ARC I'm excited to read. It imagines what might have happened if a young Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was recognized for his deductive brilliance and invited to attend a special school for gifted children. Spoiler alert: he and his schoolmates (including a boy named Jimmie Moriarty) find all kinds of mysteries to explore. 

5. Louise Falk series by Liz Freeland—It's 1913 and 20-year-old Louise Falk has traded her Pennsylvania upbringing for the bright lights of New York City. Solving a murder that happened in her Greenwich Village apartment proves she has an aptitude for investigation. Soon, she's moving all over the city to sniff out criminals. 

6. Verity Kent series by Anna Lee Huber—In post-World War I England, grieving widow Verity Kent is pulled into a mystery surrounding the death of her husband. Solving that one leads her to reluctantly take on more cases to help family and friends.

7. The Brontë Sisters series by Bella Ellis—Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë are smart, creative, and plucky women who are eager to use their talents for endeavors beyond keeping house. When a neighbor's disappearance leads them to launch their own amateur investigation, they realize that they make a fine team of detectors—even society frowns on them doing something so unladlylike.

8. Murder Most Unladylike series by Robin Stevens—This middle-grade series is set in an English boarding school in the 1930s. It stars Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong, who set up a secret detective agency to investigate crimes among their friends and classmates.

9. Mrs. Jefferies series by Emily Brightwell—Another series set in Victorian England (I just can't resist!), this one just sounds delightful. Mrs. Jefferies is the eagle-eyed housekeeper of a prominent Scotland Yard inspector. Her insights are the real key to his success as an investigator. 

10. Victorian Book Club series by Callie Hutton—Set in Bath, England, in the 1890s, this series stars a female mystery author who solves real-life mysteries along with the members of her book club.

Phew! There you go, ten historical mystery series I already adore and ten I want to read (and adore). Which others would you recommend? What did you do for your genre freebie list today? I'd love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog. I also reply to the comments you leave here.

Happy TTT! 

1.  Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah—This is cheating a little because I'm actually just about done with this novel.  Someone (was it you?) mentioned last week how much they liked this one and while reorganizing some books in my office area, I came across my copy.  When I started the book, I thought I knew exactly where the plot was going.  Now, I'm not so sure ... I'm a Hannah fan and The Winter Garden shows why.  It's engaging, interesting, surprising, and enjoyable.


2.  Death in Kew Gardens by Jennifer Ashley—I enjoy Ashley's upstairs/downstairs mysteries starring Kat Holloway, the most sought-after cook in Victorian London.  I'm going to be reading #4, Murder in the East End, soon for a blog tour, but I need to read this one—the third installment in the series—first.


3.  Murder in the East End by Jennifer Ashley—When Kat hears that children are going missing from a local foundling hospital and that their nurse has been murdered, she can't stay away from the intriguing case.  Can the cook find the killer before she becomes his/her next victim?


4.  The Children's Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin (available January 12, 2021)—I read David Laskin's fascinating non-fiction book about this horrifying tragedy not long ago.  I'm interested to see how the story is told in a novel.  I've got an e-ARC of this one, which sounds intriguing but sad (of course).


5.  Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards (available October 6, 2020)—This YA thriller is about Mira, who is desperate to get home for the holidays.  When her flight is canceled at the last minute, she's forced to rely on the generosity of another passenger, who offers Mira a seat in the car she and a few others are renting.  As the weather worsens, she finds herself trapped in an increasingly terrifying position with a group of people she doesn't know at all.  Sounds like a heartwarming holiday yarn!


6.  What You Wish For by Katherine Center—I've enjoyed both of the Center novels I've read so far, so I'm definitely up for her newest.  It centers around Samantha and Duncan, educators who were once lovers.  When Duncan is hired to be the principal at Sam's new school, she's not sure how to handle the awkward situation.  As the school faces challenges on every side, the two must navigate their own hurdles.  Center's novels are always engrossing and upbeat, so I'm excited to see what she does with this one.


7.  The Big Easy and Other Lies by Melanie Jacobson—I met this charming author of contemporary romances back in 2012 when she was my mentor for a writing workshop at the Storymakers Conference.  Back then, she talked about a book she was planning to write about a teen who's determined to win a fashion designing contest, even if the only materials she has at her disposal are whatever she can find in her guardian's hoarding piles.  It sounded good then and it sounds good now that the e-book has been published.  You can read it for free with Kindle Unlimited or buy it, like I did, for the bargain price of $4.99.  It will come out in paperback soon-ish, but I couldn't wait!


8.  You Belong Here Now by Dianna Rostad (available April 21, 2021)—This one doesn't come out for quite a while still, but I have an e-ARC of it that I'm excited to read. The story concerns a trio of children who are put on an orphan train headed west.  They jump off before the last stop, winding up at a ranch in Montana where they must prove their worth to a taciturn spinster.  You know I love me a good historical novel and this one sounds like just the ticket.


9.  These Healing Hills by Ann H. Gabhart—I heard about this historical novel from someone's TTT list sometime in the last month or so.  Was it yours?  It concerns a young woman who's crushed after receiving a "Dear John" letter from her WWII soldier boyfriend.  In search of a new start, she heads to Appalachia to train as a nurse/midwife in the unforgiving hills.  Adventure, heartache, and romance ensue.


10.  Born a Crime by Trevor Noah—On a visit to The Strand a couple years ago, I picked up this gem.  I rediscovered it during the reorganization of books I mentioned above.  I'm hoping to get to it soon.

There you have it, the next ten books I'm hoping to read.  What do you think of my list?  Have you read any of these?  Do any of them pique your interest?  I'd truly love to know.  Leave me a comment on this post and I will return the favor on yours.

Happy TTT!

The topic du jour for my favorite bookish meme is Top Ten Auto-Buy Authors.  Since I feel like I talk about the authors I love constantly here at BBB, I'm going to go off-script today and do the freebie topic that's actually scheduled for July 30.  I'll be in Utah attending a genealogy conference that day anyway, so it works.  Last week's character freebie inspired me to list My Favorite Super Sleuths of the Book World, which was fun, but I focused on the pros—real detectives and enforcement officers as well as other professionals who work with them (criminalists, forensic scientists, etc.).  Since the book world is full of amateur sleuths as well and they're just as entertaining to read about (sometimes more so), I'm going to focus on them today. 

Before we get to that, though, I have to give a shout-out to our lovely host Jana.  You can find her over at That Artsy Reader Girl, where you can also get the 4-1-1 on all things Top Ten Tuesday.  Join in by reading some brief instructions, crafting your own TTT list, then clicking around the blogosphere to spread the love among a ton of fabulous book blogs.  It's a great time to revisit old favorites, discover new sites, and, of course, add to your always-growing TBR pile mountain mountain chain.  What's not to love?

Okay, so here we go with my Top Ten Favorite Amateur Sleuths of the Book World.  These are the folks who have no (legitimate) reason to investigate crime, although mysteries just keep falling into their laps!  Their careers range from housekeeper to archaeologist to restaurant server to journalist, but their side gigs are the same—crime solver.  Because of this, their stories are often far less believable than those of their professional counterparts, but, as I said above, no less entertaining.  I'm including the cover to the first book in their respective series so you know where to start.

Who are your favorite amateur sleuths of the book world?  Who do you love reading about, whether their crime-solving is totally, ridiculously far-fetched or not?

Top Ten Favorite Amateur Sleuths of the Book World:


1.  Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene—Nancy is probably the most well-known sleuth in this category and, as a kid, I inhaled any book that starred her.  I haven't read a Nancy Drew book in years, so I don't know what I'd think of them now, but I used to adore Nancy—and definitely wanted to be her!


2.  Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J. Sobol—Another childhood favorite, Leroy "Encyclopedia" Brown is a boy who helps his police chief father solve crimes in their small town.  He's whip-smart (hence his nickname) and always gets his man.  This is another series I ate up as a kid.


3.  Veronica Speedwell by Deanna Raybourn—Among the amateur sleuths I've encountered as an adult, Veronica is definitely one of my very favorites.  She's a Victorian woman, but an unapologetic one who defies convention and just does what she pleases.  For work, she sells rare butterflies and spends her days cataloging a museum full of treasures for a wealthy friend.  Along with Stoker, her handsome, querulous partner, she stumbles on all kinds of mysteries begging to be solved.  Veronica is smart, funny, and just a delightful character all-around.


4.  Dr. Ruth Galloway by Elly Griffiths—Ruth is an archaeologist in Norfolk, England, who prefers the solitude of her isolated home and her own company to anywhere and anyone else.  When the police ask for her help with a discovery of bones near her property, Ruth becomes a consultant to the department and goes on to have many adventures.  She's an understated character, but one whose intelligence and wit make for enjoyable reading.


5.  Amelia Peabody by Elizabeth Peters—Another unconventional lady, Amelia is a wealthy spinster living in late 19th Century England.  She has a disconcerting, scholarly obsession with Egypt, which leads her to many adventures and mysteries involving the ancient land. 


6.  Kat Halloway by Jennifer Ashley—This new kid on the block is a sought-after cook in a posh mansion in Mayfair.  Her central position in the household means she's a key witness to all kinds of wrongdoing.  Kat's efficiency and no-nonsense ways make her not just a master of the kitchen, but also a pretty darn good detective.


7.  Lady Kiera Darby by Anna Lee Huber—As the wife of a cruel anatomist, Kiera was made an unwitting partner in her husband's unnatural schemes.  Now a widow, she's trying to put her past behind her.  And yet, she keeps finding herself at the center of mysterious happenings.  Using her intelligence, her powers of observation, and her natural curiosity, she and an enigmatic friend are earning themselves a reputation as a detective team that is second to none.


8.  Lana Lee by Vivien Chien—After her temper gets the better of her at her lucrative corporate job, Lana's empty pockets force her to return to Ohio.  The last thing she wants is to wait tables at her parents' Chinese restaurant under her mother's shrewd eye, but she has little choice.  Turns out, life in the Asian Village strip mall is a lot more exciting than one would think.  An alarming amount of dead bodies are turning up in the small community, and Lana's keen powers of observation are coming in handy for the handsome detective assigned to investigate the crimes.  Lana's spunky but self-deprecating, making her a fun heroine to follow.


9.  Jazz Ramsey by Kylie Logan—Jazz, a cadaver dog trainer, only has one book under her belt, but I'm excited for more to come.  She's smart, brave, and caring, all traits I love in an amateur sleuth. 


10.  Nichelle Clarke by LynDee Walker—I just "met" Nichelle, an investigative reporter in Richmond, Virginia, in Front Page Fatality, but I'm enjoying the book and its heroine.  Nichelle is skilled, confident, and not afraid to take a risk.  So far, she's making an excellent amateur sleuth.  I can't wait to read more of this series.

There you have it, ten of my favorite fictional amateur sleuths.  Who are yours?  I just realized that all of mine (but one) are females.  Are there any great male amateur sleuths out there?  I'd love to know.  Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on yours.

Happy TTT!