In the Lake of the Woods
Tim O'Brien
A politician’s marriage unravels under the shadow of Vietnam (SAH Prize 1995).
Cold War · Late 20th century · Literary · Mystery
Late 20th century · Mystery · ~1960–2000
Late 20th century historical fiction mystery books
Looking for historical fiction in the mystery lane set during the Late 20th century (~1960–2000)? Late 20th century historical fiction mystery books collects historical novels that match both filters—Recent past as historical fiction. Detection, intrigue, and crime in period settings HisFic is a free historical fiction discovery app: open a full reading journey with the same era and story-type filters, then add region, themes, or audience. Shelves mix curated historical fiction picks with Open Library titles so even thin combinations still have books to explore.
Shelf · 3 titles
Curated HisFic picks first.
Possession
A. S. Byatt
In the London Library, researcher Roland Michell finds unsigned drafts of a letter from the Victorian poet Randolph Henry Ash, traces them to the poet Christabel LaMotte, and with Maud Bailey follows a correspondence from their secret affair that the academy has never seen. A. S. Byatt’s 1990 novel is Victorian time-slip historical fiction of that affair’s 1859 crisis, and of the late-1980s academics who cross London, Yorkshire, and Brittany to possess the proof.
Victorian / Gilded Age · Late 20th century · Time-slip · Literary
Time and Again
Jack Finney
In 1970 advertising artist Si Morley joins a secret project that reaches the past by self-hypnosis, and from a room in the Dakota he steps into the New York winter of 1882 to trace the half-burned letter Kate cannot explain. Jack Finney’s 1970 novel is Victorian time-slip historical fiction of gaslight Manhattan, the mystery attached to that letter, and a man who falls in love with Julia on the wrong side of a century.
Victorian / Gilded Age · Late 20th century · Time-slip · Mystery
Other story types in Late 20th century
Looking for a broader list? See Late 20th century historical fiction or mystery historical fiction.