Of mistletoe and murder: 7 holiday mysteries set in the past

Mysteries set during the weeks leading up to Christmas are some of my favorites, and I know I’m hardly alone in loving a good holiday read. There’s just something about the sights and sounds of merriment juxtaposed with the increasingly dark and cold nights that make for a mystery that is that much more fun than one set in any other time of the year.

This is especially true for historical mysteries, in my opinion. For instance, in Murder of a Merry Gentleman, the fourth installment of my Lady Petra Inquires series set in Regency-era England, I set the mystery of a bachelor gentleman’s death in the ballroom of the famed Almack’s Assembly Rooms during the fortnight (i.e., two weeks) before Christmas.

Possibly helped by the lack of modern technology, sometimes the absence of modern lighting, and occasionally the dangers of period-correct clothing, all the little contradictions that give a mystery with a Christmastime setting such an fascinating ambience made it all the more fun for me to write, and I think makes holiday whodunits set in the past all the more enjoyable to read.

Here are seven historical mysteries I’ve especially loved that are all set during the holidays, where the festive season gives as much to the whodunit as the plot, no matter what the time period.

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Mariah Fredericks, Murder on 34th Street

Setting: New York, 1932.  After Grace Verlander, the assistant who keeps Macy’s department store running smoothly, receives a note from Santa Claus that claims he’s been sent a death threat, she ramps up security around the annual Thanksgiving Day Parade. Yet when a dead body turns up on a parade float, Grace must use all the secrets she knows about the store to help uncover a killer and keep Macy’s reputation shining.

Rhys Bowen, The Twelve Clues of Christmas (Her Royal Spyness, book 6)

Setting: Scotland and England, 1933.  When Lady Georgie escapes the dreadfully cold Scottish winter to help play hostess at a holiday party in the village of Tiddleton-under-Lovey, she doesn’t expect a series of murders to be part of the season. And when they start following the theme of a well-known Christmas carol, it’s up to Georgie to find the culprit before the twelve days turn even more tragic.

Jess Armstrong, The Devil in Oxford (Ruby Vaughn mysteries, book 3)

Setting:  Oxford, England, 1922. American heiress Ruby Vaughn is hoping to spend a quiet Christmas in Oxford when she reluctantly agrees to accompany her octogenarian employer, Mr. Owen, to an antiquities exhibition with a mysterious past.

But when the discredited scholar who collected the artifacts turns up dead, and an old friend of Ruby’s asks for her help, Ruby will be pulled into an investigation into the dark world of antiquities that may turn out to be more dangerous than she ever imagined.

Dianne Freeman, A Christmas Guide to Family and Murder (Countess of Harleigh mysteries, book 9)

Setting:  Norfolk, England, 1900. Frances Hazelton—the American-born and widowed Countess of Harleigh—and her still-new husband George travel to the Norfolk estate of her sister-in-law Fiona to enjoy the Christmas holiday.

Yet when the aftermath of a terrible storm finds the local (and possibly disreputable) doctor dead in a nearby field, Frances and Fiona will unearth many a secret in their quest to find a killer and restore the Christmas spirit to both her family and the local village.

James R. Benn, The Phantom Patrol (A Billy Boyle WWII mystery, book 19)

Setting: Paris, 1944. With France only recently liberated, Captain Billy Boyle, and former Boston cop working as a special investigator for General Eisenhower, is sent to Paris. After discovering a rare piece of art and connecting it to a French network of Nazi sympathizers and art smugglers who might be aided by a member of the British Army, Billy races to hunt down the culprit, taking him directly to the frontlines of the Ardennes Forest and what will be come the deadly Battle of the Bulge.

Katharine Schellman, Murder at Midnight (Lily Adler mysteries, book 4)

Setting: Hertfordshire, England, 1816.  When widow Lily Adler visits the family of her late husband in Hertfordshire for Christmas, she finds herself reunited with her friend Captain Jack Hartley and his younger sister, Amelia, who has recently become the subject of scandalous gossip.

When a wealthy gentleman is found dead after a snowstorm, it’s Amelia who is suspected, and it’s up to Lily to uncover the truth and clear Amelia’s name before the girl’s reputation is tarnished forever.

Charles Finch, The Fleet Street Murders (Charles Lenox mysteries, Book 3)

Setting: London, 1866.  Christmas for gentleman sleuth Charles Lenox means celebrating his engagement to his dear friend Lady Jane. That is, until the murders of two journalists brings Lenox into a new investigation, and a secret is revealed that casts doubt on his future with his fiancée.

As he splits his time between London and the northern town of Stirrington, where he is running for Parliament, Lenox is drawn into a complex case that mixes politics and murder, bringing death and danger closer to home than ever before.

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