Historical Mysteries Reviewed – CWA Historical Dagger Awards

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about the CWA Historical Dagger Awards longlist, and my goal to read all the books on the list. By now I have actually gotten my hands on all of them, so read they will be. When, that’s the question. But here are my thoughts on the books I have picked up so far:

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I think this series is great, although the tone has shifted quite a bit from the first books. The book (and series) is set in Singapore, occupied by the Japanese, and we pretty much start the story with the bombing of Hiroshima. Our main character Su Lin is often underestimated because of her disability, but she is also clever and very capable, making people need her so she gets involved in all kinds of situations. This book is a great addition to the series, and the historical part is done superbly and ever so interesting. The mystery though takes a bit of a backseat and is quite obvious. It is still an important story and a series I would highly recommend.

If this book wasn’t on this list I probably wouldn’t have picked it up, because I wasn’t too impressed by the previous books in the series. And again, this one was just fine. The blurb tells us about two men disappearing from a locked gatehouse 300 years apart, but the book itself utterly failed to make me care about that part of the mystery (and the solution was very boring and irrelevant anyway). I did really like the setting of the book, and the mystery involving the sanitorium definitely got my attention. I wasn’t too big of a fan of the main character, but the way she was narrated in the audiobook probably has something to do with that. So yeah, a book with some good bits, and parts I couldn’t care less about. A just fine read for me.

I am very happy that this book got put on the list, because otherwise I would probably never have heard of it. It is indie published and only has just over 300 rating on GR so far. But it is such a good read. Our main character cracked codes during the war, but ones the was is over finds herself looking for a job and home… making her leave London to help run a village hotel. Our main character and her voice are what makes this book great for me.

I never hit it off with my mother, who was a moody, sharp-tongued woman and always ready with a barbed comment, but I am ashamed that I’ve incinerated her.

I feel this would make for a great audiobook. The mystery itself is clever as well… I only managed to solve it because we hadn’t found out the dirty secret of this particular person yet. The time frame adds to the atmosphere of the book, where everyone has some strong opinions about what is right and who is wrong, giving us a nice peek into this time period. All in all, a great addition to the longlist (and I hope shortlist as well).

When I read the synopsis of this book I knew it was gonna be a dark read, but could be great. It is set in a ‘village of orphans’, where young girls start getting killed. What I didn’t know was that we follow a twelve year old girl, trying to solve the murder because she feels the police isn’t doing anything to keep her safe from being killed next. This is so well written! Mylet really captured the age of our protagonist. She is very smart, but doesn’t know much about the world. She will jump to conclusions when she finds a single clue. I also loved that she does Always get an adult involved, telling them about her suspicions and not doing stupid stuff on her own. This book is not just about the murder mystery either. We get plenty of looks into life in the orphanage, friendships, school, the complicated relationship our main character has with her mother, etc. This was definitely a different murder mystery for me, and I adored it.

The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys was a very fun, enjoyable, and to me forgettable read. There are some great characters in here (I mean, female pirates!!), and I liked Samuel a lot better than I thought I would. The tone of the book is quite different from what I am used to in my historical mysteries, with a good dose of humour and Adventure. The pacing was fast and the story surprisingly epic at times. But I am already starting forget a lot of the actual plot (though that is not rare for audiobooks for me).

I also had a good time with The Bangalore Detective Club, although the title made me expect something different than what I got. This is more of a cosy mystery, though it does tackle some important topics. I loved the main character and her relationship with her husband. She is sensible, he is supportive. I also appreciated the fact that the police recognized that our main characters would be able to get certain information easier, while they knew not to take stupid risks and call in the police when things could get dangerous. The atmosphere was also very well done… put some great recipes in your book and you will definitely get my love. However, this is very obviously the authors first crime fiction, because the writing is a bit messy at times. There is a lot of repetition, shifts in perspectives at weird places, we often cut short a scene to then shift to the character telling someone else what happened next,… I also wasn’t the Biggest fan of the solution of the mystery and the Why. Some part of me feels it wasn’t handled right. I do see a lot of potential in this series though and will certainly continue it.

The Darkest Sin (and its prequel) weren’t high on my priority list, but the audiobooks were available on Scribd whilst I had to wait for some other books… so I listened to them on my way to work and back. And I have to say, I enjoyed them a Lot more than I thought I would. There are good, solid reads. It is well researched, very grounded in its setting, has very accessible writing and an interesting story that doesn’t do anything surprising but is intriguing none the less. Our main character is gay, in a city and time with a lot of homophobia (so trigger warnings for that), which helps to give him his own story outside of the mysteries. I also really appreciate that his actions in the first book have consequences in this one. I am very happy I decided to pick up these books after all, and am very much looking forward to the third book coming out in August.

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So I am over halfway through the longlist, and seeing as I own the other 5 books am sure to pick those up as well… even if they don’t make it onto the shortlist (which is announced tomorrow). So far I thought these books were fine to great, with some great surprises and wonderful reads I wouldn’t have picked up if it weren’t for this award (I mean, Samuel Pepys only has 56 ratings on GR… I would likely never have heard of it).

Hoping you are doing all kinds of wonderful,