Mystery and magic in a reimagined historical setting. Paranormal murder mysteries with a little spice. A smart woman solving mysteries against society’s expectations and restraints. All these and more can be found in the wonderful fantasy mystery genre.

It’s a genre that I love to read and it’s a genre that I love to write. So it’s no mystery (pun intended) that I’ll have favorites and you can read all about them…now. All opinions are my own and correct. Feel free to agree or argue about them in the comments.

My fantasy mystery reading recommendations

Let’s start with that spicy paranormal murder mystery I mentioned.

Madame Chalamet Gaslamp Ghost Mysteries by Byrd Nash

Elinor is a ghost talker who helps the police solve murders. She also gets mixed up with a duke! Well, I don’t know if “mixed up” is the right word. More like seduced. But she definitely gives as good as she gets.

The magic of talking to ghosts does get pretty wild as the series progresses but in a novel, good way.

Elinor can be abrasive and has many flaws, but she is never reduced to them. Her loyalty to her friends and allies is clear. It was actually her loyalty that made me connect with her. She reminds me a lot of the other heroines I love in mystery books.

If you’re looking for ghosts and low-spice in your fantasy mystery reads, you’ll want these.

Book one, Ghost Talker, and the whole six book series can be found at byrdnash.com

A Victorian woman talking her way out of trouble is a power all of its own. If you need that and other potentially magical powers in your mysteries, I introduce you to

The Watchmaker’s Daughter by C.J. Archer

India Steele is held back by the societal conventions of the late Victorian period in this historical fantasy series. However, she uses her wits and the gaps in polite society to take action time and time again. As a woman who doesn’t just let things happen to her, I love the Glass and Steele series. Though India is of “little means” (her words, not mine), she has talent and spirit that sees her through all the tension.

Between India trying to regain her independence in a city she cares for and fighting against her feelings for Glass, the main male character (MMC), she’s willing to step out on the diving board for her own good. If the mystery is personal, perhaps relating to her burgeoning powers, she’s the first to get information. If it comes to facing down a killer or a thief, she uses her words to enact power and turn the situation over to her side.

Read an excerpt of Glass and Steele book one, The Watchmaker’s Daughter, at cjarcher.com

A slight detour for a sneak peek behind the scenes of my third series

India Steele from C.J. Archer’s the Glass and Steele series is a huge inspiration for Hazel, my next female main character (FMC). Although their stories take place some sixty years apart, both are spirited women, which are simply the most fun to write! You’ll find Hazel in my series, Blooms of Arcana.

For more society shenanigans than you can shake an expensive cane at, you’ll need a delightful dynamic duo.

The Grand Tour: or The Purloined Coronation Regalia by Caroline Stevermer and Patricia C. Wrede

Everyone talks about Sorcery and Cecelia, the first book in The Cecelia and Kate Novels, but I love Kate and Cecelia so much more in the second book. The co-authors, Caroline Stevermer and Patricia C. Wrede, have figured out how to make the story more cohesive. There’s a bit more time to breathe now that the novel format has been set up and the characters take on truer personalities.

In The Grand Tour, Kate is anxious about maintaining a respectable position in society. She doesn’t want to let herself or her new husband down. And for tingling the brain, the mystery of the coronation regalia is a real corker. I thought I had it solved several times, but I was wrong!

For the full range of Kate and Cecelia books, visit pcwrede.com
If the addition of more fantasy elements and a host of lovely libraries is your cup of tea, you’ll want to read

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

I love libraries and books about books. What reader doesn’t? There are a lot of shenanigans and mysteries in the first book of The Invisible Library series, where librarians travel to other worlds to find books to add to the one true Library. There are werewolves, dragons, and the wittiest fae imaginable.

Throughout the series, clever, focused Irene consistently uses her smarts before she reacts to the conflict. Amid the chaos, she’s quick-thinking, which I love. You can’t trust just anyone to retrieve a good book, and she makes it clear that a proper librarian is the best option.

Discover The Invisible Library in a variety of languages at www.grcogman.com

For more alternative history mysteries with characters from classic literature, you need

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Thursday Next was one of my first fictional female detectives, and she set the bar very high. This is an alternate history fantasy with quips about classic literature, action, and adventure. There are even moments where the book characters go off script themselves!

Thursday is the daring, extremely capable, and witty investigator who helms the story, and other people, with flair. She’s a complex character who grows over the series. And reverts and grows, gotta love a woman who can make a mistake and learn from it! I truly wish her well at the end of every chapter.

Fforde really plays with structure, which has definitely inspired my own writing from time to time.

Explore the realms of Thursday Next at www.jasperfforde.com

If you need more reading recommendations, I got you.

Six historical fantasy subgenres and reading recommendations
Five books that feel like playing Dungeons and Dragons
Finding hope with the found family trope
The Planar Pages

If you have any fantasy or mystery recommendations, I’d love to read them. Share your thoughts in the comments or find me on my socials. Until then, happy reading!