Kathryn Johnson
The Ghost of the Mary Celeste
Inspired by a 19th-century naval mystery, Valerie Martin has structured an intricate, suspenseful novel about a famous “ghost” ship. The…
Swimming in the Moon
It is 1904, and 14-year-old Lucia lives with her mother, Therese, a servant in a Neapolitan grand home. There Therese,…
Fin and Lady
Editors' choice
In 1964, eleven-year-old Fin, called Finino by his estranged (and some say “strange”) half-sister Lady, loses his second parent. With…
The Hidden
The Hidden is an aggressive debut novel that dares to take on a complex plot set in two time periods,…
Death of a Robber Baron
Set during New York City’s Gilded Age (the late 19th century), this mystery initially transports us to a time of…
How to Catch a Bogle
In Victorian London, children who aren’t born into “respectable” families – that is, wealthy ones – are pretty much on…
The Secret of the Yellow Death: A True Story of Medical Sleuthing
Although nonfiction and written for children, this book can easily be appreciated by adult readers. Written in the style of…
The Darling Dahlias and the Texas Star
This popular cozy mystery series, set in Darling, Alabama, in the 1930s, focuses on a feisty women’s club (The Darling…
Scent of Butterflies
One need not dive far back into history to begin the story of Soraya, heroine of Scent of Butterflies. It…
The Outlaw Knight
Early in the novel, young Fulke FitzWarin, while serving as a squire in the court of Henry II, earns the…
About our Reviews
Over the last 20 years The Historical Novels Review (the society’s print magazine for our members) has published reviews of some 15,000 historical fiction books.
