Reading right now:

“The Silence of Stones” by Jeri Westerson. This is one of my favorite historical mystery series featuring disgraced knight Crispin Guest. Since being caught committing treason, Guest has struggled to survive by tracking lost people and items which in 1388 is another way of saying that he is essentially a private detective. After the Stone of Destiny is stolen off the throne of England during mass in Westminster Abbey, King Richard II fears a Scottish uprising. Richard places Guest’s apprentice, Jack Tucker, under arrest to ensure that Guest will work hard to locate the stone which must be found in three days before Parliament convenes again. Jack comes into his own in this novel showing that he is learning from Guest and also that he is growing up.

On hold right now:

            “When Falcons Fall” by C. S. Harris. I am thrilled that another Sebastian St. Cyr book is coming out in March. This terrific historical mystery takes place in 1813. When St. Cyr travels to Ayleswick-on-Teme to search for his family roots and to honor a dead friend, his trip is complicated when he finds the body of a lovely widow on a river bank. Of course, he finds himself involved in discovering the truth behind her death. Napoleon’s estranged brother further complicates the proceedings as does the possibility that other women have died under similar mysterious circumstances. It seems that the peaceful appearance of Ayleswick hides dangerous secrets.

Other mysterious things:

            We all know Jane Austen was smart and lovely, but in this historical series we’ve discovered she can solve mysteries just like the best detectives. “Jane and the Waterloo Map” by Stephanie Barron is the 13^th book in Jane Austen series and appears this month. In “Beauty, Beast, and Belladonna,” Maia Chance brings back Music hall artist Ophelia Flax in the third book in the Fairy Tale Fatal Mystery series set in the Victorian era. The second book in the U.S. Army criminal investigator Mason Collins series is “Spoils of Victory” by John Connell. This historical series is set in the chaos of post-World War II Germany. Tim Flannery’s debut novel, “The Mystery of the Venus Island Fetish,” is finally available in the U.S. Set in Australia in 1932, the book deals with a museum curator who finds that a famous Pacific Islands artifact that has been altered and that other museum curators have gone missing. “Secrets in the Stones” by Tessa Harris continues the adventures of 18^th century anatomist Dr. Thomas Silkstone. Bruce Holsinger’s second book in the John Gower historical thriller is set in the 14^th century. Gower is a poet with a talent for uncovering people’s secrets.

Other historical mysteries coming out this month include: “Hardccastle’s Collector” by Graham Ison (13^th book in the series set in England in 1917). “Blood in the Sand” by Michael Jecks is the second in his 100 years war series. “Land of Shadows” by Priscilla Royal is a medieval mystery set in England. “No Shred of Evidence” by Charles Todd is the 18^th book in the Ian Rutledge series set in England after World War I. “Trade Secrets” by David Wishart is the 18^th book in his Ancient Rome murder mystery series.   There seem to be plenty of good historical novels appearing on library shelves this month to keep us all busy.