Some that deal with women in unusual roles for their times are:
Mistress of the Art of Death
Wine of Violence
Maisie Dodds

The Stolen Child is mysterious, rather than a mystery

The Coffee Trader

We had quite a thread on mysteries for several years. I've just bumped it up to give you some suggestions.

I thought about that thread-I think I contributed a quarter of them-but a lot of them would not lend themselves to a discussion. You might want to try the link below-see for which mysteries they have developed discussion questions. That would give you an idea of whether or not there was enough depth to discuss. I adore mysteries, but sometimes the more popular series, etc., are really just for the fun-not much to talk about except "Did you figure it out?"

Here is a link that might be useful: reading group guide website

Thanks. I did try to review some of the books listed in the previous thread, but it is hard to know which ones would lend themselves to discussion...so the reading group guide website is a great suggestions. Thanks. I'm off to explore it. wig

wig, I'm not a great reader of mysteries or a member of a book club/reading group but I would second cece's recommendation of Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin and the next in the series Serpent's Tale or Death Maze to give it it's US title (why do they do this?).
I wonder if An Instance at the Fingerpost by Iain Pears might be rather long-winded/too detailed for a group discussion? Set in 'Restoration' Oxford, but quite a lot of threads running through it to inspire comment.

Here's a new one that just won the 'Samuel Johnson Prize'.
The Suspicions of Mr Whicker or The Murder of Road House by Kate Summerscale.
I've read extracts of it in the newspaper. The true story of a child's murder in Victorian England and the detailed police work that went into finding the killer. Must order it from the library to find who dun it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Samuel Johnson Prize Winner

That looks fascinating-I just put myself on the library list. Thanks for the tip.

I found Fingerpost to be pretty heavy-right up there with Name of the Rose.

But what was the one about the University student researching the poetry of a long dead poet, and becoming obsessed with the story to the point of....Oh, Veer, you know which one I mean.

I just finished the new Sue Grafton mystery, T is for Trespass. And while her books are not usually fodder for discussions, I think this one may very well be a good choice. There are many issues in there to be explored.

cece, what is your opinion on discussions about Josephine Tey's Daughter of Time? Is that the correct title? If wigardner's book club is at all into history, this could be a good choice.
Some other selections:
The Devil in the White City by Eric Larson
Murder in the Adirondacks by Craig Brandon
The Alienist by Caleb Carr
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
PAM

Maybe James Lee Burke's White Doves at Morning. It is a stand-alone book, not one of his Dave Robichaux series, and deals with slavery issues among other things. I think Burke is among the best living writers.

My difficulty is that I am being selfish and don't want to recommend one that I've already read, which excludes: The Alienist, The Name of the Rose, An Instance at the Fingerpost, Mistress of the Art of Death, Maisie Dobbs and the Stolen Child. (Give me Victorian England and add a mystery and I'm in heaven.) So, I'll have to research the rest of these. Another one that I came across in previewing ccrd's bookclub link is 'Mr. Sebstian and the Negro Magician' by Daniel Wallace that looks like it could be good. Has anyone else read it? wig

Daughter of Time would be a good discussion if the group knew the history before reading or discussing.
Devil in the White City, while not a mystery per se, more a "true crime," is a great read and we had a very good discussion.

Turn of the Screw would be very good for a group that has readers who will not blanch at Henry James. There is a lot to discuss there.
I would recommend again The Coffee Trader

I would also recommend The Thirteenth Tale- so far everyone I've recommended it to has liked it.