Historical Mystery!

I am super into "historical mysteries"-- the mix of history and mystery is the perfect combination of intellect and intrigue. My ALL time favorites are two Caleb Carr novels: Angel of Darkness ('here') and The Alienist ('here'). Both are set in 1800's NYC,  winding through the underworld of the tenements and secret alliances of scientist detectives who are pioneers of modern crime solving techniques, like fingerprinting. These two novels are well written, extremely clever and absolute page turners. I am waiting til I forget them so I can read them again (which, with my memory, should not take tooo long).

Part of what I like about historical mysteries is that they intertwine fact with fiction. In every one that I have read so far, real historical characters are an integral part of the plot. Often, the presence of these figures prompts me to learn more about the actual events and people. Historical Mysteries are intellectually stimulating and sooo entertaining; the best of both worlds!

I have just finished The Coral Theif by Rebecca Stott ('here'). It reminded me of The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon ('here'), only I did not like it as much. Both novels pit a lovestruck, naive, intellectual young boy against an evil police chief and surround him with a band of intellectual outcasts and radical thinkers. The problem with The Coral Theif is that I did not really like any of the main characters-- the young boy is frustratingly taken advantage of and the object of his affection takes too long to clue him into the whole scene; I found myself to be slightly irritated with them both. THAT being said, towards the second half, the book does become more exciting and the intellectual intrigue is certainly there. The characters are immersed in post-revolutionary Paris, when the issue of evolution is just beginning to stir in academic circles and it is definitely a good read. Ultimately,  I wanted more detail, more character development and more drama in the conclusion.