The Phryne Fisher Series, by Kerry Greenwood

Greenwood seems to have a very good time with the adventures of the Honorable Phryne (pronounced Fry-Knee) Fisher and Australia of the late 1920s.  She sets up most of the mysteries in the series within a particular historical context that she researches quite extensively.  The settings include a goldfield, luxury liner, theater, publishing house, bar, university and circus, and the social issues include the aftermath of WWI, child labor, racism, sexual differences, communism, and drug use and abuse.  The books in order are:

Cocaine Blues (1989)
Flying to High (1990)
Murder on the Ballarat Train (1991)
Death at Victoria Dock (1992)
The Green Mill Murder (1993)
Blood and Circuses (1994)
Ruddy Gore (1995)
Urn Burial (1996)
Raisins and Almonds (1997)
Death before Wicket (1999)
Away with the Fairies (2001)
Murder in Monparnasse (2002)
The Castlemaine Murders (2003)
Queen of the Flowers (2004)
Death by Water (2005)
Murder in the Dark (2006)
Murder on a Midsummer Night (2008)
Dead Man's Chest (2010)
Unnatural Habits (2012)
Murder in Mendelssohn (2013)

A Question of Death (2012) is a compilation of short stories, some tasty-sounding recipes for cocktails and food, and a description of Kerry Greenwood's research and writing methods.

1

1