Interview with Lisa Jensen, author of the historical fairy-tale retelling Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge

Lisa Jensen, who I'd spoken with in 2014 about her historical fantasy Alias Hook, has returned to the literary scene with another new twist on a familiar story. The original fairy tale upon which Beast is based should be apparent...

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An uneasy inheritance: Rahna Reiko Rizzuto's Shadow Child, set in mid-20th-century America and Japan (plus US/Can giveaway)

Rahna Reiko Rizzuto’s second novel has a terrific opening – a small masterpiece of plot and atmosphere – that elicits many questions. The mystery surrounding their answers unspools over the course of this multi-layered, moody, occasionally...

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The Russian Revolution, as seen through 12 historical novels

This year (tomorrow, to be exact) marks a century since the execution of Russia's tsar, Nicholas II, and his family in 1918, following the Russian Revolution. Novels set during this tense, violent, chaotic period continue to fascinate for their...

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Charles Finch's The Woman in the Water, a prequel to his long-running Victorian detective series

In this engrossing prequel to the Charles Lenox mysteries, set in 1850, Finch’s amiable aristocratic hero is not yet the distinguished Parliamentarian and private detective who will feature in ten more full-length novels. He has the same brilliantly...

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Frances McNamara's Death at the Selig Studios, a mystery set amid Chicago's early film industry

The show must go on, as the saying goes – and the “film people” in McNamara’s seventh Emily Cabot mystery take this to extremes, to the heroine’s bafflement. In this entry, set in 1909, Emily is in her thirties, a married mother of two and...

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Interview with E.M. Powell, author of the medieval mystery The King's Justice - plus giveaway

E.M. Powell's latest work of historical crime, The King's Justice, takes place in a Yorkshire village in 1176, during Henry II's reign. Charged with solving a brutal murder are the traveling royal clerk Aelred Barling, who prides himself on...

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