I have read and blogged on The Masterpiece (see archive).  Fantastic Crimes is a set of biblio mysteries that are published by the Mysterious Bookshop.  Having read Middlemarch, I am curious about My Life in Middlemarch and just bought it.  Barbara Vine is the author known as Ruth Rendell.  I like the Ruth Rendell traditional mysteries but know that lots of people enjoy the Barbara Vine books which are darker.