๐ Matthew Pearl (2003) The Dante Club โ a historical mystery set in post-Civil War Boston, where Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, James Russell Lowell, and their circle work on the first American translation of Danteโs Divine Comedy. As the literary group pursues its ambitious project, a series of brutal murders begins to mirror the punishments described in Danteโs Inferno, forcing the scholars to investigate before more lives are lost. The novel blends literary history, suspense, and gothic atmosphere while exploring ambition, grief, prejudice, and the power of classical literature to shape modern life. โ Boring as shit ๐
๐บ Scott & Bailey (2011) 5 seasons โ a British crime drama that follows Manchester Metropolitan Police detectives Rachel Bailey and Janet Scott as they tackle serious cases within the Major Incident Team. Balancing intense investigations with complex personal lives, the series explores themes of loyalty, ambition, and the emotional toll of police work. Rachel is impulsive and driven, often letting her private struggles affect her judgment, while Janet is experienced, methodical, and grounded. Their contrasting personalities create both tension and deep mutual respect. With strong performances and realistic storytelling, the show stands out for its focus on character development as much as crime solving, offering a grounded, human perspective on modern policing. ๐
๐ Save Our Souls (2025) Matthew Pearl โ a nonfiction account of the 1888 shipwreck of the Wandering Minstrel and the Walker familyโs struggle to survive on remote Midway Atoll alongside a mysterious castaway with a deadly past. Blending research with the pace of a true-crime adventure, the book explores isolation, deception, and endurance in one of the Pacificโs most unlikely survival stories.
๐ฆ Gretel & Hansel (2020) โ A long time ago in a distant fairytale countryside, a young girl leads her little brother into a dark wood in desperate search of food and work, only to stumble upon a nexus of terrifying evil. ๐
๐บ Bookish (2025) โ A British crime drama set in post-war London, following Gabriel Book, an unconventional antiquarian bookshop owner who uses his knowledge, connections, and sharp instincts to help police solve difficult cases. Created by and starring Mark Gatiss, the series blends mystery, character drama, and a richly atmospheric 1946 backdrop, with story threads involving Bookโs marriage to Trottie, his complicated interest in Jack, a young ex-convict who joins the bookshop, and the shadow of a past shaped by secrecy and wartime experience. The show also features Inspector Bliss and a strong supporting cast, giving each episode a period feel that mixes clever detective work with emotional tension and understated humor. ๐
๐บ Black Work (2015) โ In this fast-moving police thriller, Jo Gillespie searches for answers after her husband is murdered working undercover.
๐บ Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady (1991) in 3 parts โ Holmes and Watson are brought out of retirement to find the stolen prototype for an electro-magnetic bomb detonator. ๐ I don't know if this show was meant to be funny or not, but it is hysterical.
๐ Matthew Pearl (2015) The Last Bookaneer โ โ in this bizarre novel, the author creates this scenario, which is totally on historical, of pirates that steal books from an author after he's completed the work, but before he sent the book to the publisher. It's the craziest story. Plus, if this story, there are two different teams of pirates, waiting for an author to finish the book so that they can steal it. And they both know the others exist and are trying to do the same thing. It's the most bizarre plot I've ever heard of. ๐
๐ Elisabeth Sanxay Holding (1930) Dark Power โ a suspenseful early detective novel that shows her shift from romance to darker crime fiction. It centers on a tense family situation shaped by manipulation, psychological pressure, and hidden danger, reflecting the gothic-leaning unease that later made Holding influential in noir.
๐ Caleb Carr (1994) The Alienist โ Set in 1896 New York, the story follows Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, a psychologist, or โalienist,โ who studies criminal minds. When a series of brutal child murders shocks the city, Kreizler assembles a small, unconventional team: newspaper illustrator John Moore, secretary Sara Howard, and a group of early forensic investigators. Working in secret to avoid political interference, they apply emerging techniques in psychology, criminology, and evidence analysis to track the killer. As they delve deeper, they confront corruption, class divides, and the limits of science, building a tense portrait of a city on the brink of modern policing.
๐ Nita Prose (2023) The Mystery Guest (#2 in series) โ Molly is now head maid, but the chaos returns when a world-famous mystery writer drops dead at the Grand Regency Hotel. Molly must decipher the clues to solve the case.
๐ Robert Finch (1993) Cape Cod : Its natural and cultural history โ a reflective exploration of the peninsulaโs layered identity, blending ecology, history, and personal observation.
๐บ The Bay (2019) 5 seasons โ A British crime drama set around Morecambe Bay that follows detectives as they solve missingโperson and murder cases while wrestling with demanding personal lives; across five seasons the series builds layered mysteries, moral ambiguity (code for characters are fucked up), and tight pacing, blending procedural detail with serialized character arcs and a strong sense of place that makes it compelling for fans of atmospheric, characterโdriven crime drama.
๐ Emile Gaboriau (1866) The Lerouge Case โ follows the investigation of a widowโs murder, led by detective Monsieur Lecoq. Through clues and reasoning, he uncovers hidden identities, secrets, and the truth behind a staged crime with keen deduction!
๐ Alan Drew (2017) Shadow Man โ Set in 1986 Southern California, Shadow Man follows Detective Ben Wade, a man on the very edge of a nervous breakdown, and barely able to control his sanity on a daily basis, as a serial killer case exposes buried family secrets, childhood trauma, and the fragile edge of suburban safety. A tense, character-driven thriller with an eerie psychological core. ๐ I eventually had to give up even reading this book when it became apparent that the swim coach who was a major suspect for molesting boys, and apparently he actually molested the detective on the case as a child, but was not called in for questioning. This book seems to want to go on and on about reasons that people become bad people, but hide it in a mystery novel form. I talked to Google's Gemini and it told me that this is a diary common development as our world has become more and more woke. Anyone that didn't realize the swim coach murdered the Mexican kid, and the "serial killer" was just an additional bit so that the author could push his woke agenda is a moron.
๐ A. J. Finn (2024) End of Story โ Sebastian Trapp, a famous mystery writer with a terminal disease, invites journalist Nicky Hunter to write his life story. Turns out Nicky Hunter is actually his son Cole Trapp, thought to be dead, now living as a woman, who returns in his new female identity to prove Sebastian murdered his mother years ago, only to find his sister did it. ๐