Ellis Peters
Written between 1977 and 1994, the Brother Cadfael books feature a murder-mystery solving Benedictine monk in the twelfth century. The background events are historically accurate -- a civil war between King Stephen and his cousin, the Empress Maud (Matilda). All the books share a common plot, so don't read them for novelty -- murder, boy in trouble, boy meets girl, boy wins girl. But I came to love the quiet rhythm of Brother Cadfael's musings, the tread of his sandals on the stone of the Foregate and the Abbey, and the smell, quite real, of his herb garden.
- A Morbid Taste for Bones
- One Corpse Too Many
- Monk's Hood
- St. Peter's Fair
- The Leper of St. Giles
- The Virgin in the Ice
- The Sanctuary Sparrow
- The Devil's Novice
- Dead Man's Ransom
- The Pilgrim of Hate
- An Excellent Mystery
- The Raven in the Foregate
- The Rose Rent
- The Hermit of Eyton Forest
- The Confession of Brother Haluin
- A Rare Benedictine
- The Heretic's Apprentice
- The Potter's Field
- The Summer of the Danes
- The Holy Thief
- Brother Cadfael's Penance
Esi Edugyan
A Canadian author, this book won the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize. A tale set in pre-war Berlin and moving to Paris, it follows a group of musicians and their struggle to survive, musically and physically, during the war and after.
- Half-Blood Blues
Charlie Holmberg
Charlie Holmberg is the author of The Paper Magician trilogy. A series for young adults, the books are clever and present a new world aligned with the one we know. Ceony, Emery and the cast of supporting characters will charm and help to convince you that magic is real.
- The Paper Magician
- The Glass Magician
- The Master Magician
Jonas Jonasson
Two unusual books -- one has been made into a movie. A bit long in the middle, but decent reads.
- The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
- The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden
Elena Ferrante
"Elena Ferrante" is a pseudonym for an author who does not want to be identified. Her Neapolitan Novels are a series of four books, only three of which I have read. Highly detailed, the writing is skillful and evocative. That said...I can't think of a single character in the books that I actually like. But they are worth reading.
- My Brilliant Friend
- The Story of a New Name
- Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay
Josephine Tey
Josephine Tey is also a pseudonym for this Scottish author, whose novels are set in the 1930-1940's. I remember being given her novel, The Daughter of Time, as a book to read while studying for my degree in history.
- The Franchise Affair
- The Man in the Queue
