16 Jazz Age Mysteries That'll Make You Swing

Seeking a thrill more intoxicating than the London season, the daring and impeccably dressed Honorable Phryne Fisher trades flower arranging for the gritty, jazz-soaked streets of 1920s Melbourne. 

Her new career as a lady detective immediately plunges her into a dangerous web of cocaine smuggling, corrupt police, and high-stakes Russian intrigue.

As tension rises from the Turkish baths to the city's dark corners, Phryne must use every bit of her wit and grit to save herself and others before the trail goes cold. This first installment of the series that inspired the hit Netflix show is a must-read for fans of sharp-witted historical mysteries and defiant heroines.

In the gritty, Prohibition-era streets of 1920s New York, widowed single mother Ava Gold defies the odds to become the NYPD’s first female homicide detective. 

When a sadistic serial killer begins a rampage across the city’s dark alleys and jazz clubs, Ava must rely on her untapped instincts for psychological profiling to track a predator that her male colleagues can’t begin to understand. 

As she descends into the twisted mind of a killer, she quickly realizes the hunter has become the prey and she is the next target on his list. This atmospheric debut is a heart-pounding game of cat and mouse perfect for fans of hard-boiled historical noir and brilliant, trailblazing heroines.

When the Gilver family’s restorative trip to a Scottish spa town is derailed by illness, intrepid sleuth Dandy Gilver finds that the Laidlaw Hydropathic Hotel hides secrets far more clinical than cold salt rubs. 

Between the hushed whispers of a guest who vanished and unsettling shadows drifting through the Turkish baths, Dandy must navigate the eccentricities of the upper class to uncover a lingering malice. 

This cozy, atmospheric mystery blends the wit of P.G. Wodehouse with a chilling Highland fog, proving that in 1920s Moffat, the dead are just as troublesome as the living. It is a quintessential read for fans of classic Golden Age puzzles and high-society intrigue.

When the exiled Princess of Mitteleuropa is kidnapped from the ancestral halls of Tawcester Towers, the dashing but spectacularly dim-witted Blotto sets off on a high-speed rescue mission. 

Fortunately, his sister Twinks possesses enough brains for the both of them, steering the investigation through a delirious parody of interwar high society. 

With a devoted valet in tow and a truly "swell" car at their disposal, this aristocratic duo must outrun a dangerous killer in a race that is as hilarious as it is harrowing. It is a pitch-perfect send-up of Golden Age mysteries, absolutely brimming with Wodehousian wit and breakneck charm.

Struggling former socialite Lola Woodby and her stern Swedish sidekick, Berta, swap the high life for the "Discreet Retrieval Agency" in the gin-soaked streets of Prohibition-era New York. What begins as a simple job to recover a rhinoceros trophy from a Connecticut mansion quickly spirals into a chaotic murder investigation when their host is found shot dead. 

Armed with emergency chocolate, gin flasks, and a Colt .25, the duo must navigate a madcap puzzle involving stolen diamonds, suspicious aristocrats, and dangerous gangsters. 

This jaunty cozy mystery is a delightful, fast-paced romp perfect for readers who love their historical sleuthing with a side of wit and adventure.

Recently widowed Lady Adelaide Compton finds her newfound peace interrupted when her late husband returns as a restless spirit—just as a scandalous murder derails a house party at Compton Court. 

To catch a killer among twelve suspicious guests, Addie must juggle a formidable dowager marchioness, a skeptical Anglo-Indian inspector, and a ghost who is far too eager to help with the sleuthing. 

Described by Kirkus Reviews as a "lively debut filled with local color, red herrings, both sprightly and spritely characters, a smidgen of social commentary, and a climactic surprise," this mystery perfectly balances supernatural whimsy with classic country house intrigue. 

It’s an atmospheric 1920s romp that proves even in the afterlife, some husbands simply don't know when to make an exit.

Years after Louise Lloyd survives a kidnapping in her youth, all she wants to do is dance at the Zodiac speakeasy with her girlfriend. During the day, she works at Maggie’s Café and occasionally sees her younger sisters. 

But when she stumbles upon the dead body of a Black woman in front of the café—the third such case in a short period—she feels obliged to help the police out with their inquiries. 

Can she find the culprit before they find her or someone she loves? 

In this first installment of “The Speakeasy Murders,” Gina Ricci has taken on a job as a cigarette girl at the infamous Third Door—with bootlegged drinks, backroom gambling, and even a photographer to take photos so patrons can remember it all. 

But after the photographer warns her to be careful—the last cigarette girl was found dead—he’s discovered murdered. Now Gina has to figure out why someone would want to silence the photographer’s camera forever. 

For quilting fans who like historical fiction, this one’s for you. Steve Walsh is brought in to solve a double murder—a wealthy woman and a quilter are found murdered with quilting sheers. 

All he has is a clue in the quilt that was going to be handed out as a prize at a local flower show. Were the murders all about inheriting a fortune? 

Helping and hindering Walsh in his investigations is a young reporter and the daughter of the quilter. Can he figure out “whodunnit” all while finding someone he might want to marry? A second book, The Map Quilt, came out in 2020.

Not many women served as coroners in the 1920, but May Keaps does her job—and does it well. But when a young man’s body is found in an alley, the answer isn’t so straightforward. She finds herself immersed in the seedy underbelly of her city, including opium and gambling dens. 

Can she piece together the clues to learn the reason behind the murder? There’s also a prequel novella called The Last Post set in 1918.

The Benson Murder Case is not only set in the time period, but actually published in 1926. Philo Vance, an amateur detective, is drawn to the death of Alvin Benson. Benson, a stockbroker, is found shot in the head, but somehow missing his toupee and false teeth. 

Can Vance figure out what dark secrets in the family led to Benson's untimely death? The book is said to be loosely based on the locked room murder of Joseph Elwell, a Bridge player and author. A 1930 film by the same name was also made of the book. 

For fans of the series, there are 12 books to sink their teeth in.

When struggling art gallery owner Bedford Green receives an invitation to the Vanderbilt estate, he discovers he’s not there for his personality but rather his knowledge about a countess. 

But when her body turns up later the first night, Green has to figure out who killed the countess—amidst the party that never stops. It’s a great period piece for folks who want the crazy parties, hot cars, and more popular tropes of the era. It’s the second of three books in the “Jazz Age Mystery” series.

It’s the Jazz Age—but from the world down under. Rowland Sinclair may be an artist but he’s also the younger son of a wealthy landowning family in Australia. He lives with his artistic friends in the family home in the city and they attend all the wild parties and other events. 

His family is less than pleased with his lifestyle. It’s also a time of social tension with the increasing misery of the Depression, the rise in fascism, and fears about socialism—both abroad and at home. 

When Sinclair’s uncle is brutally murdered in what appears to be a botched home invasion, Sinclair decides he has to find out the murderer without further besmirching the family name. It’s the first of 10 books in the Rowland Sinclair series.

This one is for fans of the Algonquin Round Table. After all, who doesn’t want a murder mystery with Dorothy Parker? 

When a showgirl is found murdered in their friend’s hideout, Dorothy Parker brings in Detective Jacob Singer to solve the case. Rumors have it the girl was last seen with Rudolph Valentino before their deaths the night before. 

Are their deaths connected? Was Valentino murdered? 

It’s a delightful romp including all the celebrities of the era. It’s the first of 13 books by George Baxt, each featuring a different figure from the era.

Taking place in Galveston, Texas, Jasmine Cross or “Jazz” finds herself drawn into the politics and scandals of speakeasies. 

Things just seem to get worse for Sammy Cook, her half-brother and his speakeasy, the Oasis. She witnesses a bar fight at the Oasis, a banker is found shot, and after that, everything blows up—gang wars begin and the police are homing in on Sammy. 

Jazz has to find out what happened before Sammy and his speakeasy are shut down for good. It’s the first of five books in the “Jazz Age Mystery” series.

When her friend Daisy asks Dandy Gilver to help her find out who took the Duffy diamonds after the Armistice Ball, she agrees, seeking distraction now that the war is over and the home empty. Most people dismiss Dandy’s intelligence but she uses that to her advantage when talking to suspects and witnesses. 

ut when Cara Duffy is found dead in a seaside town, most people write it off as an accident, Dandy thinks it's all too convenient. Can she find the jewel thief and figure out who may have killed Cara? 

It’s the first of 15 books in the “Dandy Gilver” series, the most recent published in January 2021.