The historical mystery or historical whodunit is a subgenre of two literary genres, historical fiction and mystery fiction. These works are set in a time period considered historical from the author's perspective, and the central plot involves the solving of a mystery or crime. Though works combining these genres have existed since at least the early 20th century, many credit Ellis Peters's Cadfael Chronicles (1977–1994) for popularizing what would become known as the historical mystery. The increasing popularity and prevalence of this type of fiction in subsequent decades has spawned a distinct subgenre recognized by the publishing industry and libraries. Publishers Weekly noted in 2010 of the genre, "The past decade has seen an explosion in both quantity and quality. Never before have so many historical mysteries been published, by so many gifted writers, and covering such a wide range of times and places." Editor Keith Kahla concurs, "From a small group of writers with a very specialized audience, the historical mystery has become a critically acclaimed, award-winning genre with a toehold on the New York Times bestseller list."
Lindsey Davis is an English historical novelist, best known as the author of the Falco series of historical crime stories set in ancient Rome and its empire. She is a recipient of the Cartier Diamond Dagger award.
Minette Walters is an English crime writer.
Otto Penzler is an editor of mystery fiction in the United States, and proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City, where he lives.
The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors’ group in the United Kingdom, most notable for its Gold Dagger award for the best crime novel of the year. The Association also promotes the crime fiction genre by attending literary festivals and other writing events, liaising with libraries, and enabling members to meet at its annual conference.
Romance Writers of America (RWA) is a national non-profit genre writers association. It provides networking and support to individuals seriously pursuing a career in romance fiction and supports top authors such as Nora Roberts and Judith McNaught.
Jason Starr is an American author, comic book writer, and screenwriter from New York City. Starr has written numerous crime fiction novels and thrillers.
Peter May is a Scottish television screenwriter, novelist, and crime writer. He is the recipient of writing awards in Europe and America. The Blackhouse won the U.S. Barry Award for Crime Novel of the Year and the national literature award in France, the CEZAM Prix Litteraire. The Lewis Man won the French daily newspaper Le Télégramme's 10,000-euro Grand Prix des Lecteurs. In 2014, Entry Island won both the Deanston’s Scottish Crime Novel of the Year and the UK’s ITV Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read of the Year Award. May’s books have sold more than two million copies in the UK and several million internationally.
Saskia Noort is a Dutch crime-writer and freelance journalist.
Collins Crime Club was an imprint of British book publishers William Collins, Sons and ran from 6 May 1930 to April 1994. Throughout its 64 years the club issued a total of 2,025 first editions of crime novels and reached a high standard of quality throughout. In the field of crime book collecting, Collins Crime Club is eagerly sought, particularly pre-war first editions in dustwrappers with their vivid and imaginative images.
Petra Hammesfahr is a German crime writer. She has won several awards, including the Crime Prize of Wiesbaden and the Rhineland Literary Prize.
Johan Theorin is a journalist and author, born in 1963 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Throughout his life, Johan Theorin has been a regular visitor to the island of Öland in the Baltic sea. His mother’s family–sailors, fishermen and stone cutters–have lived there for centuries, nurturing the island’s legacy of supernatural tales and folklore.
Libby Fischer Hellmann is an American crime fiction writer who currently resides in Chicago, Illinois. Most of her novels and stories are set in Chicago; the Chicago Sun-Times notes that she "grew up in Washington, D.C., but she has embraced her adopted home of Chicago with the passion of a convert."
Iain Levison is a Scottish-American writer born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1963.
Zygmunt Miłoszewski is an award-winning Polish writer. Previously he was a journalist and editor for the Polish edition of Newsweek. He is an author of novels, features and short stories.
Mystery Scene magazine, based in the US and first published in 1985, covers the crime and mystery genre with a mix of articles, profiles, criticism, and extensive reviews of books, films, TV, short stories, audiobooks, and reference works.
The Bottoms is an Edgar Award-winning suspense novel by American author Joe R. Lansdale.
Cut Like Wound is a detective fiction novel written by Anita Nair, set in the city of Bengaluru. The novel, written in Indian English, was first published in India by Harper Collins. To bring out the true functioning of a police establishment in India, the author interacted in real life with the officials in a police station. It is Anita Nair's first book of crime fiction. This book also marks the entry of Borei Gowda as detective protagonist.
William Beverly is an American crime writer, author of the 2016 novel Dodgers, winner of the Gold Dagger, an award given by the Crime Writers' Association for the best crime novel of the year. In 2017 Dodgers won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and a British Book Prize in the mystery/thriller category, as well as the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award.
Teresa Solana i Mir is a contemporary Spanish writer of crime fiction in Catalan. She studied philosophy and the Classics at Universitat de Barcelona. Her work has been translated to English, French, German, Esperanto, Italian and Spanish.
