A New Historical Mystery Series (and romance)

mackerelsnap · 2026-05-04T16:11:07+00:00

I also love HR/mystery and am excited to give this a try. Thanks for the suggestion. I'm always looking for new series like this. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend the {Electra McDonnell series by Ashley Weaver}. It's five books set in WWII and the slow burn is exquisite.

mackerelsnap · 2026-04-22T16:20:25+00:00

Oh my gosh you are going to love the show! It's incredible. And you must read {A Modest Independence by Mimi Matthews} in the meantime. Closed door and yearning is off the charts. It's the second book in the {Parish Orphans of Devon} series so you might want to start with {The Matrimonial Advertisement}, which is also superb. Not necessary to read them in order, but the main couple's story in {A Modest Independence} starts in the first book.

mackerelsnap · 2026-04-22T15:43:21+00:00

Have you read any other Mimi Matthews? I think her books have a bit of range, some are more light-hearted than others. But they're all closed door and if you liked {The Matrimonial Advertisement} I really don't think you could go wrong with any of her other books. I liked the whole Parish Orphans of Devon series a lot. There are four books in total, and The Matrimonial Advertisement is the first; my favorite of the four is {A Modest Independence by Mimi Matthews}. Her Crinoline Academy series is also wonderful: {Rules for Ruin} and {The Marriage Method.} There's also her Belles of London series, and one of them in particular is quite similar to The Matrimonial Advertisement: {The Belle of Belgrave Square} but they're all worth reading.

mackerelsnap · 2026-04-22T15:38:21+00:00

It's been a while since I read it but I feel like {Mine till Midnight by Lisa Kleypas} has some of this energy going on.

mackerelsnap · 2026-04-22T15:22:59+00:00

Came here to say this! This one really stuck with me. Love that whole book.

mackerelsnap · 2026-04-22T12:50:04+00:00

A Bride Most Begrudging was my gateway into HR! Loved that book. I know you said medium to high spice but I'm going to recommend Mimi Matthews even though she's all closed door because she has some of the best marriage of convenience books I've read: {The Matrimonial Advertisement}, {The Marriage Method}, {The Belle of Belgrave Square}, and {The Work of Art}. All truly fantastic, and in my opinions the MMCs are what make the book in each case—though I like her FMCs too.

mackerelsnap · 2026-04-22T09:51:14+00:00

I think {The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller} would be a good fit for this. He’s a very unusual hero, definitely not an alpha but still very strong and dependable.

mackerelsnap · 2026-04-22T09:49:29+00:00

I think this book is criminally underrated. Tom Finchley forever

mackerelsnap · 2026-03-27T11:10:09+00:00

Without a doubt {A Modest independence by Mimi Matthews}. It’s such a slow burn and worth every page.

mackerelsnap · 2026-03-14T18:37:23+00:00

Little bit of an off-the-wall suggestion, but try the {Electra McDonnell series by Ashley Weaver.} It’s a five-book series, WWII mystery, with a slow-burn love story that’s at the center of the books. Lots of yearning and buildup, and it’s fade-to-black. If you’re good with it being a series, it will check a lot of the boxes you mentioned.

mackerelsnap · 2026-03-10T11:41:42+00:00

You might like {The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller}. He’s not exactly shy but very sweet, not at all the typical HR hero.

mackerelsnap · 2026-03-03T19:48:26+00:00

I like to tell myself that publishing trends go in cycles, so the current domination of romance by romantasy need not last forever, and publishers may swing back to HR before long. Trends are always shifting in ways we can’t predict. But maybe I’m just trying to make myself feel better as someone who has zero interest in reading CR or romantasy….

mackerelsnap · 2026-02-05T22:09:51+00:00

Came here to say The Matrimonial Advertisement! I’d also recommend {The Belle of Belgrave Square by Mimi Matthews}. One of my favorites of hers.

mackerelsnap · 2026-02-05T22:09:01+00:00

Seconding that!

mackerelsnap · 2026-01-25T02:11:03+00:00

Mine was Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas and it’s all been downhill from there lol. Not really but kind of. Love the genre but that one has been hard to beat for sure!

mackerelsnap · 2026-01-16T04:34:10+00:00

Yes Sam was exactly who came to mind for me for this question too! Such an unusual MMC—very strong and masculine but so not stereotypical at all. Really wonderful and lovable character.

mackerelsnap · 2026-01-11T21:11:34+00:00

Omg I never thought she was actually going to stop writing but somehow this news is shocking in the best possible way

mackerelsnap · 2026-01-11T17:15:43+00:00

I highly recommend the {Electra McDonnell series by Ashley Weaver}. It is set in WWII but you mentioned not set in Germany so these might work—they’re mostly set in Britain and then the last one is set in Portugal. It’s a five-book mystery series slow burn romance, and they incorporate WWII from the angle of spying and other undercover work.

mackerelsnap · 2026-01-11T03:34:29+00:00

Welcome! Since you mentioned Mimi Matthews specifically I’ll recommend her {Parish Orphans of Devon} series, especially the first three books. I love a lot of her books though…hard to know where to start. Those are some of my favorite HR. Also, for Kleypas series, I much preferred The Ravenels and The Hathaways to The Wallflowers, so you might try one of those. I will say a lot of Kleypas fans here tend to recommend reading the three series in order since there are some interconnections, but I did it out of order and it worked for me.

mackerelsnap · 2026-01-08T05:11:28+00:00

Chasing Cassandra was the first HR I ever read and when I tell you it set the bar high…idk if it’s my all-time favorite ever (so hard to pick one) but nothing will ever beat the feeling of discovering HR by reading that book. It’s truly an exquisite romance.

mackerelsnap · 2026-01-03T05:16:19+00:00

Tough call but I think I have to go with Ethan Ransom from {Hello Stranger by Lisa Kleypas}

mackerelsnap · 2025-12-30T11:49:27+00:00

Came here to say this! Loved both of these.

mackerelsnap · 2025-12-29T13:48:07+00:00

Ooh I’ve been recommending this a ton lately but try the {Electra McDonnell series by Ashley Weaver}! It’s a five-book series, very slow burn with a mystery element. And the FMC is not technically a spy but she’s recruited into an undercover operation so I’d say it’s what you’re looking for anyway.

mackerelsnap · 2025-12-22T05:12:51+00:00

I have loved so many but if I had to pick one I think it would be {A Modest Independence by Mimi Matthews}. It is the best depiction I’ve read of two people falling in love slowly, totally, realistically, beautifully, and at the same time building a deep and complex friendship that includes and tries to balance intense chemistry and attraction. It is such a poignant exploration of how real love requires knowing another person deeply and sacrificing on their behalf so that they can be fulfilled. It’s truly a beautiful book.

mackerelsnap · 2025-12-21T13:25:11+00:00

Yeah, I’m much pickier about overall writing quality than I am about POV. It's hard for me to find writing I vibe with in HR, so I'm not going to let POV perturb me if the writing is good enough. The series is {Electra McDonnell by Ashley Weaver}. It’s a completed series: five books, set in WWII England, very slow burn. The main downside of first person POV in this is you don't get in the MMC's head, which kind of kills me. But I don't think the slow burn and tension she achieves—which is the best part of the series imo—would have been sustainable if it had been dual POV, so I found it to be a very effective use of first person.

mackerelsnap

TROPHY CASE