While long series build a following over time and can run for decades, and stand alones may achieve great fame, some of the best mysteries out there are in short series, which often get lost in the shuffle. A few of my favorites:
Sarah Caudwell's four-book Hilary Tamar series: The gender indeterminate narrator of these four classics-tinged mysteries is a law don often called in by a group of ex-students who are now young barristers to help sort out tangled crime cases in which they have become personally involved. Thus Was Adonis Murdered, The Shortest Way to Heads, The Sirens Sang of Murder and The Sibyl in Her Grave are witty and delightful romps that also provide nice clues, twists and turns. The young barristers themselves are also great and original characters with their own complex relationships.
Michael Malone's three book Savile and Magnum series is set in North Carolina and features two police detectives who are close friends from opposite ends of the social scale. In Incivil Seasons, Time's Witness, and The First Lady, founding family scion Justin Savile and working class Cuddy Magnum use their range of connections and mutual trust to navigate the tricky local politics that surrounds the dark doings they uncover. This books offer suspense and action along with wit and humor. You will wish there were more. Time's Witness especially ranks high on my list of best mystery novels.
Kae Ross's four-book Julian Kestrel series, are historical mysteries set in the early 19th century regency period. Kestrel is a young dandy with a resourceful valet, and he finds himself offering to help out friends trouble-trouble that tends to get worse before it gets n better. The series has been lauded for accurate historical detail well plotted mysteries, well-drawn characters and perhaps especially writing that feels convincing rather than contrived. Cut to the Quick, A Broken Vessel, Whom the GOds Love, and The Devil in Music.
by econoquist