Mystery Series to Follow
A British cozy mystery is a book for all seasons but especially great for trips or sitting by the fire. Free from overy detailed horror and gore, this list of books are for a lovely evening with fashionable women during the interwar years on the lookout to help solve a mystery either by accident (as in the Royal Spyness series) or by going against the grain being a detective during that age.
The criteria for my book lists are books that do not include ridiculously overly descriptive love scenes, obscenities, or current world moral issues. These criteria for book lists are expressly for good reading that doesn’t make me feel dragged down by the end of the book. None of us read cozy mystery series for political treatise, constitutional rights, law school, or heavy solving of the world’s problems.
In contrast, we read them to escape and take a break, feel good, be drawn into the good character writing and relationship building in the plot of the series. I hope that helps you dear reader find books that you will love.
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Daisy Dalrymple Series by Carola Dunn
The Honourable Daisy Dalrymple lives in a privileged life but decides to take on a job as a writer for a magazine. As she travels to country houses, manors, and seasides she inadverdantly becomes a player in mysteries surrounding her. With a knack for detail, she is able to help solve the mysteries and get her articles in on time. Placed in the golden age between WWI and WWII, it’s interesting to see the social world of England and it’s layers of expectations.
Royal Spyness Series by Rhys Bowen
Lady Geogiana is a beautiful young royal (distant) descendant of the queen who must not work but has no funds. Living between the drafty Scottish home castle and the family’s London house, she desperately tries to make ends meet while not upsetting the royals. Along the road, she accidentally encounters dastardly plans and murders that put her in danger. Reflecting interesting insights into the world of what the daily life of a noble without income it like, I enjoyed reading how Lady Georgiana is expected to behave and live. Her clumsy and inept maid is a humorous side show in the series.
Kate Shackleton Series by Francis Brody
Having lost her young husband in the war, Kate decides to start a detective agency and make a go of it in middle class England. In stormy back and forth relations with Scotland Yard, she and her 2 helpers are enlisted in solving murders in different locales. I love following a series that develops a relationship with the characters along the way. This series is probably the most gentle on the list being more about the characters.
Marion Lane Mysteries by T.A. Wilberg
This book was a complete surprise when I checked it out at the library. I was expecting a detective novel in the same line as a few others on this list but was caught off guard by the entire setting. It is a flavor cross between Tomorrowland, Men In Black, and steampunk all set in the 1940’s. Marion is a new recruit for a secret organization headquartered under the city of London. So secret that except for a few key officials, the general public is unaware of what is under their feet. I ended up drawn into the book with it’s completely unexpected setting and plot twists.
Amory Ames Mysteries by Ashley Weaver
This series follows the tumultuous marriage of Amory and her infuriating husband Miles as they encounter dangerous scenarios in the leisurely world of high society. These mysteries focus on the married couple’s relationship with the ups and downs they go through in order to end right side up in love and deep devotion. Set in the 1930’s it’s an interesting look into the world of the independently wealthy and their lifestyle during the golden age between the world wars.
