And to start off... [[Caleb Carr]]

Ah, The Alienist. The book that proved that the historical mystery could be accurate, detailed, witty... and scarier than a three-course dinner with Hannibal Lecter. In my opinion both this and The Angel of Darkness are terrific historical thrillers and absolute must-reads for 1890s/1900s aficionados.

The Italian Secretary, however, was a disappointment for me. Perhaps because I expected better of a Holmes pastiche than a pastede-on denouement?

My favourite historical mysteries are Steven Saylor's Gordianus the Finder series, Lindsey Davis's Falco series, and Ellis Peters's Brother Cadfael series.

A question: are we counting the pre-WWII books by Michael Innes, Agatha Christie, Wilkie Collins, etc., where they are set in the author's own period, or only books consciously set in what was a past period for the author?

Good question! I suppose to be "pure" we should count as "historical" any work which is set fifty years or more before the year in which the author is writing... But I'd love to discuss Wilkie Collins on here, so I don't want to nix that possibility completely!

I suppose I'll allow books set in the author's own period, as long as the setting is pre-1945.

I agree. I didn't get a great feel of either Edinburgh or Holmes from The Italian Secretary I enjoyed Caleb Carr's other Historical mysteries, his Technothriller/SF one, Killing Time not so much.

Yes, maybe that was my problem with The Italian Secretary - Edinburgh herself was an asset ripe for exploiting, and Carr did very little to conjure up an authentic atmosphere.

That said, if you love dark Gothic Edinburgh, may I recommend Anthony O'Neill's The Lamplighter? It starts off as mystery and turns into horror pretty quickly, and is a WONDERFUL recreation of Victorian Edinburgh. Adored it!