Instruments of Darkness by Imogen Robertson (her writing is GORGEOUS): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8799787-instruments-of-darkness

Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman by Tessa Arlen: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22313642-death-of-a-dishonorable-gentleman

Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54860585-razorblade-tears?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=OA6B8S4zIw&rank=1

Possession by AS Byatt

Julian Kestrel series by Kate Ross

Lord Peter Wimsey series by Dorothy L Sayers

Arcadia by Tom Stoppard

Julie Kaewert’s “Booklovers Mystery series “ is quite literally literary mystery novels. I’m not sure what’s currently in print, but I highly recommend this series.

Agree early Elizabeth George (last book was horrific), Tana French, and also PD James.

You mean clever, well written mysteries? THere's a whole lot of new definitions like Domestic Noir, Nordic Noir, etc there's no reason why your term shouldn't also be used.

Agatha Christie and Ellery Queen

The Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear

Sherlock Holmes.

Not sure if these fit your definition of “literary”, but some of my favorites include:

- The earlier books in the series by Batya Gur. She does deep dives into the worlds of somewhat closed cultures, including
a psychoanalytic institute, a university, a kibbutz, and an orchestra / musical family.

- The earlier books in the series by Elizabeth George are good.

- Some of the Donna Leon books are great, and I love that there’s a cookbook that she co-wrote after multiple requests.

- I also like the earlier books in the series by Louise Penney.

I’m happy to make more recommendations if I can get a clearer idea re: what you’re looking for. As in: Would Jack Finney count?

Tana French

Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley series has complex characters with backstories and dilemmas, not just "Bad guy kills out of greed" plots.

You might want to describe in more detail how you define a literary mystery, but the Louise Penny series features frequent references to literature, and includes quite a bit of poetry.

Can you give your definition of "literary" mystery?

I know cozy mystery, historical mystery, true crime, and procedurals, but I've never heard of "literary" as a subgenre.

I’m excited to read A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley when my family travels over the holiday and I would love recs of other literary mystery novels I could add to my reading list. I read a ton of mysteries, including novels I have read before, because I find them to be good at helping me manage anxiety and insomnia. But with a break from work over the holidays I think I might have enough mental bandwidth to tackle some more challenging mysteries!