The Rome Sub Rosa series by Steven Saylor, set in the 1st century BCE in Rome. The main sleuth is Gordianus the Finder, a middle-class citizen of Rome. The tone is dark, serious, bloody, and historically accurate. Famous historical figures come to fascinating life. Unlike other historical series time moves in large leaps between books.

The Didius Falco series by Lindsey Davis, set in the 1st century CE in Rome. The main sleuth is Marcus Didius Falco, a lower-class citizen of Rome. The tone is light, farcical, and witty, although everyone acts more like Eastenders than Romans. Occasionally entire books are built around some technical aspect of Roman life which the author has become fascinated by, such as the sewer system, but it never interferes with the story.

The Sister Frevisse series by Margaret Frazer, set in the early 15th century in England. The main sleuth is Sister Frevisse, a Benedictine nun. The tone is elegant, spare, spiritual and intellectual, yet brings out the warmth of what I always found a very chilly period of history. (Warning: after book 8 the quality declines rapidly and the main character becomes almost unrecognisable when Gail Frazer continues the series alone without former collaborator Mary Monica Pulver.)

The Thebes series by Lynda Robinson, set in the latter part of the 18th Dynasty of ancient Eygpt. The main sleuth is Meren, a lord of the royal court. I can't quite describe the tone but although the expository lumps are plentiful the story never falters and the characters are interesting. Her research brings the glamorous aspects of the period to life.

The Lieutenant Bak series by Lauren Haney, set in the end of the 18th Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Instead of being in the midst of the court this series is set in the towns along the upper Nile. Bak is an officer who has fallen out of favor with Queen Hatshepsut and is sent into exile where he is put in charge of a Medjay police unit. I like this series because Bak is solving mysteries to keep the peace among the regular people of Egypt, a policeman rather than a special detective.

The Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee series by Tony Hillerman, set in the late 20th century American southwest. The two main sleuths are Native American cops working on the Navajo reservations in the Four Corners region. The only contemporary series I read, beautifully descriptive of the difficulties and intricacies of Navajo life.

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