Promotional Information

Build your fiction collection, advise readers, and find answers to questions about one of today's most dynamic genres with this important work, the first guide to historical mysteries.

About the Author

MICHAEL BURGESS is Head of Collection Development at California State University, San Bernardino, and a professional writer and editor. He has written and edited hundreds of books and thousands of articles, many in the areas of literature and popular reading interests. He received his M.S. in L.S. from the University of Southern California in 1970. Then joined the faculty of California State College (later University), San Bernardino, where he has abided ever since. He achieved tenure in 1975, and was promoted in 1978, 1981, and 1984. He currently serves as Head of Collection Development in the John M. Pfau Library at CSUSB. Burgess published his first book, his undergraduate honor's thesis, in 1970 s ninety-third monograph was issued in 2002. Many of these works have appeared under his professional pseudonym, Robert Reginald. JILL H. VASSILAKOSis Head of Technical Services and Government Documents Librarian at California State University, San Bernardino.

Reviews

Geared toward readers and librarians, this annotated guide provides a broad overview of the historical mystery genre, defining it as a mystery in which the time period is set more than 50 years before the novel's actual composition….Each entry provides the author's name, dates of birth and death (where applicable), series name, a profile of the detective, the supporting characters, the series premise, critical commentary on the series, including whether or not the author stays true to historical facts, and an annotated listing of all the titles in the series. Short story collections are here as well. Indexed by author, title, series, character, and setting, this highly accessible resource is appropriate for readers' advisory and collection development. For all public libraries.
*Library Journal*

This volume will help the reader and the readers' advisors to find historical mysteries set in specific areas, eras, and by writers who also work in the readers' selected genres….This volume was a major undertaking by the authors and it will appeal to fans of the genre and probably introduce it to new fans who like to read in an orderly fashion all there is to read by an author or about a given setting, personality or era….It is recommended for general libraries, both public and academic, especially academic libraries in institutions where creative writing, particularly in the area of historical fiction and mysteries, is taught.
*Collection Management*

The listings are invaluable to patrons and librarians who know very little about an author or series. They will help a librarian understand the appeal of particular authors and books and will be very useful in readers' advisory work….For large public libraries with a strong mystery readership, Murder in Retrospect would be a good addition to a comprehensive readers' advisory reference collection.
*Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin*

Intrigue with a historical twist. How fun, how delicious, and how mainstream with all the interest in ^IThe Da Vinci Code^R….[v]aluable to teacher-librarians who are in search of a good read-aloud for junior and senior high school students when we must capture their attention before a serious research project. In addition to the teens, all mystery-reading adults can check their favorite titles and find other delicious morsels.
*Teacher Librarian*