History Literature / VickyBliss

* MasterSwordsman: [[TheRedBaron ''A to Z'' Schmidt]]. So-called because he could take his opponents apart from a to z!

* FatalAttraction: Vicky to [[spoiler:Leif]] in ''Silhouette in Scarlet''.
** A much more literal example is [[spoiler:Helena to Luigi]] in ''Street of the Five Moons''.

* ComicBookTime: The first book was published in 1974, the last in 2008. The characters age only a few years, while the world around them changes quite a lot: [[TechnologyMarchesOn Cellphones and the Internet are invented]], the UsefulNotes/ColdWar [[TheGreatPoliticsMessUp has ended]]. Peters addresses this issue in her foreword to ''The Laughter of Dead Kings''.

* CreatorCameo: Elizabeth Peters appears in ''The Laughter of Dead Kings'' as an author [[LiteraryAgentHypothesis who wrote the Amelia Peabody series based on journals which she bought from John's mother.]]

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Schmidt may seem like a chubby and harmless old man, but he ''was'' an incredibly competent resistance agent during the war. And he loves Vicky as if she was his own daughter. Bad guys would do well to bear these two facts in mind.

* DrinkOrder: Always beer for Schmidt.

The Vicky Bliss mysteries are a series of crime novels with a heavy dash of romance written by Elizabeth Peters, best known for her AmeliaPeabody series of historical crime fiction. In reading order, the books in the series are:

* CanonWelding: With Peters' AmeliaPeabody series. Several throwaway references in ''Night Train to Memphis'' and a whole subplot in ''The Laughter of Dead Kings'' reveal that not only do the two series take place in the same universe, but that John is directly descended from the Peabody-Emerson family: he is the great-great-grandson of Amelia and Emerson, great-grandson of Ramses and Nefret, and grandson of the unnamed daughter that Nefret is pregnant with in Tomb of the Golden Bird.

* CanonWelding: With Peters' AmeliaPeabody series. Several throwaway references in ''Night Train to Memphis'' and a whole subplot in ''The Laughter of Dead Kings'' reveal that not only do the two series take place in the same universe, but that John is directly descended from the Peabody-Emerson family: he is the great-great-grandson of Amelia and Emerson, great-grandson of Ramses and Nefret, and grandson of either David, Charla or the unnamed daughter that Nefret is pregnant with in Tomb of the Golden Bird (presumably either of the girls, since it's implied that the connection is on his father's side and the fact that he doesn't share the Emerson surname suggests a connection in the female line).

* SeriesHiatus: After producing roughly one book every five years on a consistent basis for a couple of decades, Peters didn't release any new Vicky Bliss novels between '94 and '08.
** Although there hasn't been another book since 2008, WordOfGod has it that ''The Laughter of Dead Kings'' was the last in the series, so despite appearances the hiatus has not been resumed.
*** With Elizabeth Peters' death in August 2013, it would seem to be a case of [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim The Characters Died With Her]] into the bargain.

* CatsAreMean / CatsAreSnarkers: Definitely the impression given by Vicky's kitten Clara.

* FakingTheDead / NeverFoundTheBody: [[spoiler:John]] apparently dies at the end of ''Silhouette in Scarlet''. Naturally, [[spoiler:he's]] alive and well and back on the scene in ''Trojan Gold''.

* [[ImmigrantParents Immigrant Grandparents]]: Vicky is a second-generation American, with Swedish grandparents apparently on both sides.
* [[IdenticalGrandson Identical Granddaughter]]: Irma and the portrait of her ancestor Konstanze. Subverted in the end, since the portrait is a fake.

* [[LikeASonToMe Like A Daughter To Me]]: Schmidt and Vicky's relationship can only be described this way.

* CanonWelding: With Peters' AmeliaPeabody series. Several throwaway references in ''Night Train to Memphis'' and a whole subplot in ''The Laughter of Dead Kings'' reveal that not only do the two series take place in the same universe, but that John is directly descended from the Peabody-Emerson family: he is the great-great-grandson of Amelia and Emerson, great-grandson of Ramses and Nefret, and grandson of either Davy or Charla (presumably Charla, since it's implied that the connection is on his father's side and the fact that he doesn't share the Emerson surname suggests a connection in the female line).

* ComicBookTime: The first book was published in 1974, the last in 2008. The characters age only a few years, while the world around them changes quite a lot: [[TechnologyMarchesOn Cellphones and the Internet are invented]], the ColdWar [[TheGreatPoliticsMessUp has ended]]. Peters addresses this issue in her foreword to ''The Laughter of Dead Kings''.

* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: John to Vicky in ''Trojan Gold''. Vicky eventually returns the compliment in ''Night Train to Memphis''.

* MyBelovedSmother: Both Vicky and John's mothers get into this role on occasion. It's hard to know which should get extra points: John's mother for really being as bad as he describes her when she eventually appears, or Vicky's for managing this while still being TheGhost.

* SlapSlapKiss: Vicky and John, again.

* FatalAttraction: Vicky to [[spoiler:Leif]].