I like my history tangled with murder and mayhem and no one does it better than Anne Perry. I am addicted to her two Victorian series. Her characters are wonderfully real -- flawed, but intelligent and likable. She keeps you guessing til the end when Thomas and Charlotte Pitt expose the culprit. Or Monk and Hester bring the malefactor to justice whether they are noble-born or from the crime infested alleys of Seven Dials. Her re-occuring secondary characters enhance the story with their own distinct voice.
C.S. Harris has a series called Sebastian St. Cyr Mysteries. Sebastian is a noble man, in the Regency period, who likes to solve murders to the dismay of his father and many others in the ton. Ms.Harris is superb at adding twists and turns that keep her readers captivated and eager for the next book.
I have other favorites I'll share at another time.
