The Whitechapel Mystery by Tessa Harris. It's lovely to see this new edition of Harris's first Constance Piper mystery. In this initial outing, Constance, a smart and warm-hearted flower girl, is worried by the growing list of women being murdered in London's grimy and impoverished East End. She's also working to find Emily Tindall, her former teacher and mentor, who seems to have disappeared. The emergence of a helpful guide who speaks through Constance's intuition gives the grittier aspects of the plot an interesting spectral dimension and creates intriguing possibilities that Harris mines deftly in later installments. Buy The Whitechapel Mystery by Tessa Harris on Bookshop or Amazon. DP Books, August 2026.
Miss Morton Takes the Waters by Catherine Lloyd. Bath turns out to be an unhealthy destination in Lloyd’s smart and lively fifth Miss Morton mystery. Caroline Morton accompanies her employer, the inimitable Mrs. Frogerton, to the ancient city to restore the older woman’s health and spirits. There, the pair is introduced to a circle of women who meet to chat and play cards. After they learn that the ladies are being plagued by poison pen letters, Lady Greatmere, arguably the group's least pleasant member, is found dead in her locked drawing room with an incomplete poison pen letter beside her. Did a poison pen target the victim, or did one of Lady Greatmere's other enemies kill her? Just as puzzling, how did the culprit get in? The amateur murder investigation Morton and Frogerton conduct offers both sleuths plenty of scope to display their particular gifts as well as their complementary personalities. Lloyd's evocation of 1838 Bath and its denizens, both permanent and temporary, is vivid throughout, and the locked-room aspect of the plotting adds an enjoyable dextra dimension to the puzzle. But I must confess: my favorite part of this installment, like every book in this series, is the funny and feisty Mrs. Frogerton. Buy Miss Morton Takes the Waters by Catherine Lloyd on Bookshop or Amazon. Kensington, August 2026.
The Stirling Defense by Gerald Patnode. A distinguished Baltimore attorney faces legal challenges and bitter social opposition when he agrees to defend Henry Taylor, a young Black man who has been accused of leading a violent uprising and killing his white employer. Based on a historic trial and set in the late 19th century, Patnode's tautly plotted novel explores the ways injustice ripples through a community, affecting not just those directly involved but also people with little apparent connection. Buy The Stirling Defense by Gerald Patnode on Bookshop or Amazon. Ruxton Ridge Publishing, September 2026.
Murder in St. James's Park by Vanessa Riley. In Riley's fourth mystery to feature Abigail Monroe, Lady Worthing, the sleuth's husband returns to London in 1807, after three years abroad—and he is not happy. "He returned to London at Yuletide and hates everything," the opening notes. He's displeased with his wife, "who is no longer waiting upon James like...a silly puppy"; with his cousin, the Earl of Casings, one of the people who'd like money from him; and even his wife's "infernal terrier," who keeps biting him. He won't stay unhappy long, but that's because he's dead. When Abigail is suspected of his murder, she and her friend Stapleton Henderson must find the real culprit. Riley's lighthearted voice keeps the murder, mayhem, and marital strife amusing as well as suspenseful. Buy Murder in St. James's Park by Vanessa Riley on Bookshop and Amazon. Joffe Books/Severn House, September 2026.
For Services Rendered by Will Thomas. It's a wonderful day when a new Will Thomas historical mystery appears, and this one—Thomas's 17th work featuring British inquiry agents Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn—is no exception. In this outing, set in October 1896, the duo is tasked with finding Sun Yat-Sen, who has fled from China to London to escape his homeland's Imperial Secret Service. As though dealing with a Chinese revolutionary and the British government doesn't provide headaches enough, Barker and Llewelyn learn that their diabolical adversary Sebastian Nightwine isn't dead, as they have believed. It's...a lot. "Other people have normal days," Llewelyn comments. "I wondered what that was like." As always with the series, Thomas's skillful blending of witty narration, historical fact, and fictional Victorian derring-do is wonderful fun. Buy For Services Rendered by Will Thomas on Bookshop and Amazon. Minotaur, August 2026.