I read a lot of novels during the summer months, and since 2018, I have been reading a lot of medieval mysteries.

At first, I was stunned by the number of writers and the number of books in this subgenre. In recent years, though, I worry that the genre has declined in popularity because some of the traditional publishing companies apparently have ended their contracts with some of these writers. Other writers have died of natural causes, and I’m finding few young writers of medieval fiction on the shelves of corporate bookstores. Thanks to the Muses for the independent bookstores.

For writers of medieval historical fiction and of medievalist fantasy, reading in this subgenre is a fruitful way to see how a different cultural perspective can come to life on the page. All the writers are trying to present engaging stories, but many are meticulous in terms of their research into the period.

I want to promote some of the writers whose works I’ve enjoyed the most. I will add to the list over time as I read more deeply into the subgenre.

Maureen Ash, The Templar Knight Mysteries

First Book: The Alehouse Murders

Books in Series: 9 books and several more novellas or short novels

Website: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/820242.Maureen_Ash

Margaret Frazer, The Sister Frevisse Mysteries and the Player Joliffe Mysteries

[pen name for Gail Lynn Brown; collaborated with Mary Monica Pulver Kuhfeld on the first six books]

First Book: The Novice’s Tale/A Play of Isaac

Total in Series: 17; 7

Website: https://www.margaretfrazer.com/; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Frazer

Edward Marston, The Domesday Mysteries

[pen name for Keith Miles]

First Book: The Wolves of Savernake

Total in Series: 11

Website: http://www.edwardmarston.com/; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Miles

Sharon Kay Penman,  The Justin de Quincy mysteries

First Book: The Queen’s Man

Total in Series: 4

Website: https://sharonkaypenman.com/; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharon_Kay_Penman

Ellis Peters, The Brother Cadfael Mysteries

First Book: A Morbid Taste for Bones (1977)

Total in Series: 20 novels and 1 short-story collection

Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Pargeter

Candace Robb, The Owen Archer Mysteries

First Book: The Apothecary Rose

Total in Series: 14 novels and 1 novella

Website: https://candacerobbbooks.com/

Ann Swinfen, The Oxford Medieval Mysteries

First Book: The Bookseller’s Tale

Total in Series: 6 Website: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/703480.Ann_Swinfen [If I’m interpreting the signs correctly, Ann Swinfen appears to operate her own small imprint to print and distribute her work.]

Peter Tremayne [Peter Berresford Ellis], Sister Fidelma Mysteries

First Book: Absolution by Murder

Total in Series: ~35 novels and ~2 short story collections

New Additions

Kate Sedley, Roger the Chapman Mysteries

First Book: Death and the Chapman

Total in Series: 22 novels

Website: TBD

Mel Starr, the Chronicles of Hugh de Singleton

First Book: The Unquiet Bones

Total in Series: 17

Website: TBD

E. M. Powell, the Stanton and Barling Mysteries

First Book: The King’s Justice

Total in Series: 3

Website: https://www.empowell.com/ [She’s using an Amazon self-publishing imprint for mysteries and has a significant fan base.]

Outside the Period

C. J. Sansom, The Matthew Shardlake Mysteries

First Book: Dissolution

Total in Series: 7

Website: Shardlake series  [Note: Set in Tudor England, these novels still feel like the medieval period. The first book’s recreation of monastery life is absolutely immersive, and the story of the Dissolution is worth knowing due to the importance of the monastic movements during the medieval period.]

If you love historical mysteries, try Lindsey Davis, Steven Saylor, and C. J. Sansom. Davis’s writing is often hilarious, and I love her twenty-book Falco series. In fantasy fiction, Glen Cook’s Garrett P.I. novels are a lot of fun.