Top 10 historical mysteries and thrillers reviewed here (plus more than 100 others)

I admit it. I have a special weakness for historical mysteries and thrillers. The following list of nearly 200 such novels will certainly prove the point. They’re divided into three sections, beginning with my selection of the top 10 standalone novels. Immediately below that section are the four dozen books in 13 series of historical mysteries and thrillers reviewed on this site (including only those series in which I’ve read at least three books). The other four dozen individual titles follow further below. Within each section, the books are listed in alphabetical order by the authors’ last names.

Many of the titles in the series listed below might individually qualify for the list of my favorites, but I’ve arbitrarily chosen to omit them. Although I’ve loved reading the books in nearly all these series, I confess that Olen Steinhauer’s Yalta Boulevard cycle is my favorite among them.

Please note that I’m including here only those historical mysteries and thrillers reviewed on this site that have been written long after the events described. For example, even though such novels as A Coffin for Dimitrios by Eric Ambler or many of the works of Ross Thomas concern events that are now long in the past, they were written either at or shortly after the time portrayed. I’ve also attempted to avoid those that refer to historical events through flashbacks. (If I’d included those titles as well, this list would be considerably longer.)

This post was updated on December 15, 2020.

The top 10 standalone historical mysteries and thrillers reviewed here

Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron – A brilliant novel of love, hope, and the Rwanda genocide

The Devils of Cardona by Matthew Carr – A gripping historical thriller set in 16^th-century Spain

A Single Spy by William Christie – A Soviet spy in Nazi Germany

The Trinity Six by Charles Cumming – A stellar new spy story

The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich – Tragedy, on and off the reservation

An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris – The Dreyfus Affair, reenacted in a suspenseful spy novel

The Eagle Has Landed by Jack Higgins – A classic espionage thriller that’s well worth rereading

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver – Leon Trotsky, Diego Rivera, and the Red Scare

The Debba by Avner Mandelman – A superb novel digs for roots in Israel’s modern history

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen – The Vietnam War through Vietnamese eyes

Four dozen books in 13 series of historical mysteries and thrillers reviewed on this site

The John Madden series by Rennie Airth, set in England between the wars:

• River of Darkness (John Madden #1) – Rennie Airth’s John Madden series spans the world wars
• The Reckoning (John Madden #4)– A terrific John Madden procedural
• The Death of Kings (John Madden #5)– Solving a cold case in post-war England
• The Decent Inn of Death (John Madden #6)—Retired Scotland Yard detectives face off with a suspected war criminal

Benjamin Black’s Quirke series set in 1950s Dublin:

• Christine Falls (Quirke #1) – Corruption and mayhem in Dublin and Boston in a superior mystery novel
• The Silver Swan (Quirke #2) – A suspenseful novel that will keep you guessing until the end
• Elegy for April (Quirke #3) – 1950s Dublin: murder and the Church
• A Death in Summer (Quirke #4) – Murder in Dublin, and an unconventional sleuth who solves the case
• Vengeance (Quirke #5) – Is it “serious literature?”
• Holy Orders (Quirke #6) – A mystery to savor for its gorgeous prose
• Even the Dead (Quirke #7) – Dublin’s answer to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson?

The Hannah Vogel novels by Rebecca Cantrell set in Nazi Germany:

• A Trace of Smoke (Hannah Vogel #1) by Rebecca Cantrell – Crime in the underbelly of Nazi-era Germany
• A Night of Long Knives (Hannah Vogel #2) by Rebecca Cantrell – An historical crime novel that’s good but not good enough
• A Game of Lies (Hannah Vogel #3) by Rebecca Cantrell—Undercover at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
• A City of Broken Glass (Hannah Vogel #4) by Rebecca Cantrell—The Hannah Vogel series spans the history of Nazi Germany

The Night Soldiers novels of Alan Furst set in WWII-era Europe:

• Red Gold (Night Soldiers #5) – A brilliant novel of the French Resistance
• Kingdom of Shadows (Night Soldiers #6)– One of the best spy novels of recent years
• Blood of Victory (Night Soldiers #7) – Spies at work in WWII Istanbul and Rumania
• Dark Voyage (Night Soldiers #8) by Alan Furst—A gripping spy story set on a ocean freighter in World War II
• The Foreign Correspondent (Night Soldiers #9) by Alan Furst – A superb historical espionage novel
• Spies of the Balkans (Night Soldiers #11) – Alan Furst’s superb novel, “Spies of the Balkans”
• Mission to Paris (Night Soldiers #12) – At the dawn of World War II, a Hollywood film star in an espionage novel
• Midnight in Europe (Night Soldiers #13) – Arms merchants and spies in a thriller set during the Spanish Civil War
• A Hero of France (Night Soldiers #14) – Vive la Resistance!
• Under Occupation (Night Soldiers #15) – Alan Furst on the French Resistance

The Alex Gerlis spy stories set in Europe during World War II:

• The Best of Our Spies– An extraordinary World War II spy story grounded in historical fact
• The Swiss Spy– World War II spies in Switzerland
• Vienna Spies– A stirring tale of spies in wartime Vienna
• The Berlin Spies– The best spy novelist you’ve never read

Joseph Kanon’s post-WWII novels of espionage:

• The Prodigal Spy– An espionage novelist to rival John Le Carre
• Alibi– A Nazi-hunter in post-war Venice in a suspenseful novel of intrigue
• Stardust – German emigres in Hollywood in a captivating historical novel
• Leaving Berlin – One of the best of today’s spy novels
• Istanbul Passage – Romance, intrigue, and betrayal in post-World War II Istanbul
• The Good German — The cost of total war was clear in Berlin after World War II

Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther series set in the World War II era:

• March Violets (Bernie Gunther #1) – A vivid snapshot of Nazi Berlin
• The Pale Criminal (Bernie Gunther #2) – A serial killer in Nazi Germany
• A German Requiem (Bernie Gunther #3) – Another excellent novel in the Bernie Gunther series by Philip Kerr
• The One from the Other (Bernie Gunther #4) – An anti-Nazi detective in Hitler’s Germany
• A Quiet Flame (Bernie Gunter #5) – An eye-opening detective novel about Nazis in Argentina
• If the Dead Rise Not (Bernie Gunther #6) – Bernie Gunther from Hitler’s Germany to Batista’s Cuba
• Field Gray (Bernie Gunther #7) – Bernie Gunther’s life in flashbacks
• Prague Fatale (Bernie Gunther #8) – A hard-boiled detective in Nazi Germany
• A Man Without Breath (Bernie Gunther #9) – Mass murder in the Katyn Forest
• The Lady from Zagreb (Bernie Gunther #10) – Cynicism and romanticism in Nazi Germany
• The Other Side of Silence (Bernie Gunther #11) – An exciting chapter in the Bernie Gunther saga
• Prussian Blue (Bernie Gunther #12) – Bernie Gunther confronts top Nazis and the Stasi
• Greeks Bearing Gifts (Bernie Gunther #13) – Philip Kerr’s last Bernie Gunther novel?
• Metropolis (Bernie Gunther #14) — As a young detective, Bernie Gunther investigates murder in the Weimar Republic

The Wyndham and Banerjee series by Abir Mukherjee, set in 1920s Calcutta

• A Rising Man—A brilliant historical detective novel set in India following World War I
• A Necessary Evil—A royal murder in colonial India with hundreds of suspects
• Smoke and Ashes—A brilliantly constructed murder mystery set in colonial Calcutta
• Death in the East—A murder mystery in the British Raj

Ellis Peters’s Brother Cadfael series, set in 12th-century England:

• A Morbid Taste for Bones (Brother Cadfael #1) — Reviewing the first book in the delightful Brother Cadfael series
• One Corpse Too Many (Brother Cadfael #2) — Brother Cadfael, the perfect detective for the Middle Ages
• Monk’s Hood (Cadfael Chronicles #3) — Has human nature changed since Brother Cadfael’s time?
• Saint Peter’s Fair (Brother Cadfael #4) — The Cadfael Chronicles highlight the history of medieval England
• The Leper of St. Giles (Brother Cadfael #5)—Brother Cadfael stars in a gripping medieval murder mystery
• The Virgin in the Ice (Brother Cadfael #6)—Organized crime medieval style, in a complex Brother Cadfael mystery

The Captain Alexei Korolev novels by William Ryan, set in Stalin’s Soviet Union:

• The Holy Thief (Captain Alexei Korolev #1) – A terrific murder mystery set in Stalin’s Soviet Union
• The Darkening Field (Captain Alexei Korolev #2) – A compelling murder mystery set during Stalin’s terror
• The Twelfth Department (Captain Alexei Korolev #3) – An intimate look at Stalin’s terror

The Yalta Boulevard cycle from Olen Steinhauer, portraying Central Europe under Communism:

• The Bridge of Sighs (Yalta Boulevard #1) – A fully satisfying murder mystery set in post-war Europe
• The Confession (Yalta Boulevard #2) – An historical thriller set under Communism in Eastern Europe
• 36 Yalta Boulevard (Yalta Boulevard #3) – Inside the mind’s eye of Eastern European Communism in the 1960s
• Liberation Movements (Yalta Boulevard #4) – Love, betrayal, and terrorism behind the Iron Curtain
• Victory Square (Yalta Boulevard #5) – A powerful tale of life in Eastern Europe during the fall of Communism

Paul Vidich’s engaging historical spy novels:

• An Honorable Man (The Cold War, the early CIA, and the McCarthy Era)
• The Good Assassin (A compelling spy novel by Paul Vidich set during the Cuban Revolution)
• The Coldest Warrior (Project MK-Ultra and the scientist who fell to his death)
• The Mercenary (A superb Cold War thriller from Paul Vidich)

The William Catesby series by Edward Wilson, set in Cold War Britain:

• The Darkling Spy (William Catesby #2)– A grim tale of Cold War espionage
• The Whitehall Mandarin (William Catesby #4)– Cold War espionage in search of the H-bomb
• A Very British Ending (William Catesby #5) – A harsh look at post-war British intelligence 

Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs novels set in England between the world wars:

• Maisie Dobbs (Maisie Dobbs #1) – A female detective like no other
• Birds of a Feather (Maisie Dobbs #2) – The cost of war hangs over the action like a shroud
• Pardonable Lies (Maisie Dobbs #3) – Living the legacy of World War I
• Messenger of Truth (Maisie Dobbs #4) – Class resentment in Depression-era England
• An Incomplete Revenge (Maisie Dobbs #5) – The pleasures of reading Maisie Dobbs
• Among the Mad (Maisie Dobbs #6) – Shell shock, madness, the Great Depression
• The Mapping of Love and Death (Maisie Dobbs #7) – Another great detective novel from Jacqueline Winspear
• A Lesson in Secrets (Maisie Dobbs #8) – Nazis, pacifists, and spies in 1930s Britain
• Elegy for Eddie (Maisie Dobbs #9) – An excellent Maisie Dobbs novel
• Leaving Everything Most Loved (Maisie Dobbs #10) – Maisie Dobbs confronts class dynamics in Depression-era England
• A Dangerous Place (Maisie Dobbs #11) – Maisie Dobbs in “a place seething with those dispossessed by war”
• Journey to Munich (Maisie Dobbs #12)—Maisie Dobbs, now a secret agent, travels to Munich in 1938
• In This Grave Hour (Maisie Dobbs #13)—Learn about British life between the world wars from the Maisie Dobbs series
• To Die But Once (Maisie Dobbs #14)—Maisie Dobbs, Dunkirk, war profiteering, and the war at home in England
• The American Agent (Maisie Dobbs #15)—Maisie Dobbs pursues a killer in Britain during the Blitz

Four dozen other historical mysteries and thrillers reviewed here

Other historical mysteries and thrillers in series:

Snow by John Banville—John Banville launches a new detective series

The Second Rider (Inspector Emmerich #1) by Alex Beer—The debut of a rewarding series of detective novels set in Vienna after World War I

To Shield the Queen (Ursula Blanchard #1) by Fiona Buckley—A worthy murder mystery set in the court of Queen Elizabeth I

His Bloody Project: Documents Relating to the Case of Roderick Macrae by Graeme Macrae Burnet—An unreliable narrator explains three brutal murders in 19th century Scotland

The Hot Country (Christopher Marlowe Cobb #1) by Robert Olen Butler—American vs German spies in the Mexican Revolution

The Star of Istanbul (Christopher Marlowe Cobb #2) by Robert Olen Butler—An American spy in World War I takes on the German Empire

The Alienist (Dr. Laszlo Kreizler #1) by Caleb Carr – In a classic whydunit, The Alienist makes his debut

Murder by Misrule (Francis Bacon Mystery #1) by Anna Castle—A lawyer is murdered in the Elizabethan Age

The Coroner’s Lunch (Dr. Siri Paiboun #1) by Colin Cotterill – A murder mystery set in Communist Laos in the 1970s

The Rat Catchers’ Olympics (Dr. Siri Paiboun #12), by Colin Cotterill – Dr. Siri Paiboun and the rat catchers at the 1980 Moscow Olympics

The Spanish Game (Alec Milius #2) by Charles Cumming – Intrigue and romance in Madrid in the waning days of Basque terrorism

Berlin Game (Bernard Samson #1) by Len Deighton—A classic novel of Cold War espionage reminiscent of John le Carré

A Prisoner in Malta (Christopher Marlowe #1) by Phillip DePoy—A delightful historical mystery novel starring Christopher Marlowe

Jack of Spies (Jack McColl #1) by David Downing – The “Jack of Spies” was no James Bond

Lenin’s Roller Coaster (Jack McColl #3) by David Downing – A novelist revisits the Russian Revolution

Fellowship of Fear (Gideon Oliver #1) by Aaron Elkins – Soviet spies on the loose, with an anthropologist to the rescue?

The Gods of Gotham (Timothy Wilde #1) by Lyndsay Faye – The first cops in old New York star in a thrilling historical novel

The Laws of Murder (Charles Lenox #8) by Charles Finch – An engaging detective series set in Victorian London

Prince of Spies (Richard Prince #1) by Alex Gerlis—British spies and the Nazi V-2 rocket

The Ways of the World (James Maxted #1) by Robert Goddard – A superb novel of espionage set in 1919 Paris

The Bellini Card (Inspector Yashim #3) by Jason Goodwin – A very odd couple solves murders in this historical novel

Conspirata (Ancient Rome Trilogy #2) by Robert Harris – Ancient Rome, before the fall

Jade Dragon Mountain (Li Du #1) by Elsa Hart—An intriguing murder mystery set in 18th century China

Eye of the Storm (Sean Dillon #1) by Jack Higgins – Reimagining Saddam Hussein’s role in history

Thunder Point (Sean Dillon #2) by Jack Higgins – One of Jack Higgins’ best thrillers

Touch the Devil (Liam Devlin #2) by Jack Higgins (Harry Patterson) – The IRA, the KGB, MI5, and the Corsican mob all conflict

Luciano’s Luck by Jack Higgins (Harry Patterson)—Fact and fiction about the Mafia and the WWII Allied invasion of Sicily

The Valhalla Exchange by Jack Higgins—Jack Higgins imagines Martin Bormann on the run

Death of a Dissident (Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov #1) by Stuart M. Kaminsky—A grim murder mystery set in the USSR

Black Knight in Red Square (Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov #2) by Stuart M. Kaminsky—The collapse of the USSR is underway in this detective novel

Death in Shanghai (Inspector Danilov #1) by M. J. Lee — In a grim historical thriller, a serial killer strikes in 1920s Shanghai

Live by Night (Coughlin #2) by Dennis Lehane – A thoughtful, action-packed crime story

World Gone By (Coughlin #3) by Dennis Lehane – Suspenseful historical fiction that’s hard to put down

A Conspiracy of Paper (Benjamin Weaver #1) by David Liss—Financial skullduggery in 18th century England in this historical thriller

A Spectacle of Corruption (Benjamin Weaver #2) by David Liss—Rampant political corruption in 18th century England

Black Water Rising (Jay Porter #1) by Attica Locke—Corporate crime and political corruption dominate this promising debut

The Salzburg Connection by Helen MacInnes — Nazis, Communists, and Western spies clash in this classic spy novel

The Widows of Malabar Hill (Perveen Mistry #1) by Sujata Massey—The first woman lawyer in Bombay solves a baffling mystery

The Satapur Moonstone (Perveen Mistry #2) by Sujata Massey—A murder mystery set in colonial India highlights the princely states

Heresy (Giordano Bruno #1) by S. J. Parris—An historical spy thriller in the Elizabethan Age

An Echo of Murder (William Monk #23) by Anne Perry – Ritual murder and Hungarian émigrés in 1870 London

A Tale of Two Murders (A Dickens of a Crime #1) by Heather Redmond – Charles Dickens falls in love in “A Tale of Two Murders”

Girl Waits with Gun (Miss Kopp #1) by Amy Stewart – She was the country’s first female deputy sheriff

Lady Cop Makes Trouble (Miss Kopp #2) by Amy Stewart—A real lady cop a century ago in an excellent fact-based crime novel

A Test of Wills (Inspector Ian Rutledge #1) by Charles Todd – Before PTSD, there was “shell shock”

Search the Dark (Inspector Ian Rutledge #3) by Charles Todd – A British detective novel that doesn’t measure up

The Chinese Maze Murders (Judge Dee #1) by Robert van Gulik – A fascinating Chinese detective novel

Other standalone historical mysteries and thrillers:

November Road by Lou Berney – A desperate woman, a passel of gangsters and JFK’s assassination

Wolf on a String by Benjamin Black – A murder mystery set in the Holy Roman Empire

The Secret Guests by Benjamin Black—Booker Award winner Benjamin Black returns to historical fiction

The Mandela Plot by Kenneth Bonert – A novel about the anti-apartheid struggle

Frog Music by Emma Donoghue – Unforgettable characters in 19th century San Francisco

Exposure by Helen Dunmore – Gay life in 1960s Britain in a suspenseful thriller

The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy—A classic crime novel about LA’s unsolved Black Dahlia murder

The Malice of Fortune by Michael Ennis – Niccolo Machiavelli, private eye

High Crimes by Joseph Finder – A taut thriller about Special Forces running amok in El Salvador in 1983

The List by Martin Fletcher – A suspenseful tale of Holocaust survivors in post-war London

The Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett—The 40th anniversary edition of Ken Follett’s classic WWII spy novel

Long Time Coming by Robert Goddard – A tale rooted in the brutal Belgian Congo

The Reckoning by John Grisham – John Grisham digs deeply into history with this excellent WWII novel

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah – A deeply affecting novel of the French Resistance

Munich by Robert Harris – Why Neville Chamberlain went to Munich

V2 by Robert Harris—A WWII thriller about Nazi “vengeance weapons”

Shake Off by Mischa Hiller – Behind the First Intifada

The Increment by David Ignatius – A gripping novel about Iran and the CIA

Agents of Innocence by David Ignatius—The CIA and the PLO in Cold War Beirut

A Map of Betrayal by Ha Jin – Betrayal is in the eye of the beholder

The Accomplice by Joseph Kanon—Hunting Nazis in Argentina

Who Is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht – A puzzling spy story set in Argentina in the time of the generals

High Dive by Jonathan Lee – Irish terrorists attempted to kill Margaret Thatcher (for real)

The Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman—Laura Lippman’s shifting point of view in her latest novel

A Conspiracy of Paper by David Liss – Financial skullduggery in 18th century England in this historical thriller

The Cutting Season by Attica Locke—Attica Locke’s brilliant second mystery novel

Watergate by Thomas Mallon – Watergate through a novelist’s eyes

Bodyguard of Deception by Samuel Marquis – Propulsive action in a tale of World War II espionage

The Darwin Affair by Tim Mason—When Charles Darwin threatened the stability of English society

Jack 1939 by Francine Mathews – Young John F. Kennedy stars in a spy thriller

Too Bad to Die by Francine Mathews – Ian Fleming stars in this delightful spy story worthy of James Bond

Tightrope by Simon Mawer – A well-written novel about World War II British espionage

Prague Spring by Simon Mawer—A tale of love and espionage during Prague Spring

The Long Drop by Denise Mina – A courtroom drama set in Glasgow in the 50s

The Lives of Others by Neel Mukherjee – The human toll of social change

City of Secrets by Stewart O’Nan – Inside the fight for Israeli independence

The Strivers’ Row Spy (Renaissance #1) by Jason Overstreet—African-American history comes to life in this engaging spy novel

The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott—Doctor Zhivago and the women in the CIA typing pool

The Book of Aron by Jim Shepherd – A brilliant novel of the Warsaw Ghetto

Provisionally Yours by Antanas Sileika—A fascinating spy story set in Lithuania following World War I

The Constable’s Tale: A Novel of Colonial America by Donald Smith – A clever detective novel set in Colonial America

The Girl from Venice by Martin Cruz Smith – Film stars, partisans, and Nazi generals in 1945 Italy

December 6 by Martin Cruz Smith—A standalone novel from the author of the Arkady Renko stories

The Farm by Tom Rob Smith – A thriller that simply wasn’t very exciting

The Singapore Wink by Ross Thomas – An engaging novel of crime and espionage set in 1960s Singapore

An Honorable Man by Paul Vidich – The Cold War, the early CIA, and the McCarthy Era

The Good Assassin by Paul Vidich – A compelling spy novel set during the Cuban Revolution

The Coldest Warrior by Paul Vidich – Project MK-Ultra and the scientist who fell to his death

The Wages of Sin by Kaite Walsh – A Victorian-era murder mystery set in Edinburgh

For additional reading

You might also enjoy my posts:

• Top 10 mystery and thriller series;
• 20 excellent standalone mysteries and thrillers; and
• 20 outstanding detective series from around the world.

For an abundance of great mystery stories, go to 200 suspenseful detective novels, including the top 20.

To check out all 100 of the reading lists posted here, go to Your handy guide to the grouped reviews on this site. And you can always find my most popular reviews, and the most recent ones, plus a guide to this whole site, on the Home Page.