Category: Historical fiction
+ abuse, child abuse, childhood, fiction, Historical fiction, lies, Mallorca, mystery, narcissist, obsession, psychopath, rape, review, secrets, spanish civil war
The Silk Pavilion by Sarah Walton
Lucy’s on assignment. The wild reclusive writer awaits her arrival in his Mallorcan home. She wants the story of his life. He wants her to become part of it. Villa Rosa hides a dark secret. Beneath Deià’s sunny olive groves are the bodies of a generation. Spain’s unearthed shadow entwines with Lucy’s as her own skeletons start to rattle out of her closet. Will … Read More The Silk Pavilion by Sarah Walton
+ audio drama, Cat on a Piano, dark humour, fiction, Historical fiction, podcast, radio play, religion, revenge, review, short story, Theatrephonic, witchcraft
The Caulder’s Well Trial of 1648 by Cat on a Piano Productions / Theatrephonic
There is a great evil abroad, but it’s not what you might think. A woman sits shackled in a cage waiting for the two witchfinders, March and Dale, to pronounce their verdict. But wait a minute. This woman appears to have done nothing but good. Easing pain and curing illness goes against the will of God, they tell the townsfolk. They are punishments for … Read More The Caulder’s Well Trial of 1648 by Cat on a Piano Productions / Theatrephonic
+ family drama, fiction, germany, Historical fiction, holocaust, jewish history, jews, literature, nazi germany, racism, rape, review, Russia, Scottish Highlands, World War Two, WW2
The Turn Of The Tide (The Sturmtaucher Trilogy #3) by Alan Jones
The Turn of the Tide is the third book in the Sturmtaucher Trilogy: a powerful and compelling story of two families torn apart by evil. As Hitler’s greed turns eastwards to the fertile and oil rich Soviet heartlands, life for the Kästner and the Nussbaum families disintegrates and fragments as the Nazis tighten the noose on German and Polish Jews. Implementing Endlösung der Judenfrage, … Read More The Turn Of The Tide (The Sturmtaucher Trilogy #3) by Alan Jones
+ brothers, childhood, faeries, fairies, folklore, friendship, Historical fiction, Ireland, jewish history, jews, literature, love, Magical realism, mythology, religion, review, sisters, superstition, tradition
Tunnel Of Mirrors by Ferne Arfin
June 1907. Rachel Isaacson, a spirit child, is born into a large and rigidly orthodox Jewish family in the Lower East Side. Hungry for freedom, dominated by a tyrannical father and haunted by inexplicable visions and voices, Rachel’s quest for independence leads her into a marriage of convenience with tragic consequences. Across the Atlantic, Ciaran McMurrough, storyteller, fiddler and cliff climber, leads a life … Read More Tunnel Of Mirrors by Ferne Arfin
+ family, female friendship, feminism, fiction, friendship, haunting, Historical fiction, history, literature, loss, love, motherhood, rape, revenge, review, secrets, suffragette movement, supernatural, World War One
The Trial of Lotta Rae by Siobhan MacGowan
Set in suffragette London. Lotta Rae is a working-class 15-year-old, raped by a wealthy gentleman, who makes the brave decision to testify in court. William Lindon is a barrister about to lose everything. Both have decisions to make that will change the course of their lives and the lives of everyone around them for generations to come. Atmospheric historical novel set in 20th-century Suffragette … Read More The Trial of Lotta Rae by Siobhan MacGowan
+ childhood, community, family, fiction, friendship, Historical fiction, jewish history, jews, literature, love, marriage, memoir, motherhood, religion, review, tradition
Hands of Gold by Roni Robbins
Will Sam purge his guilty conscience before it’s too late? Will he atone for his offences and find solace in the final countdown? Sam Fox spent his whole life running against the hands of time. He is now racing to set the record straight about secrets he and Hannah, his wife of 65 years, have been harbouring from their children and each other. #HandsofGold … Read More Hands of Gold by Roni Robbins
+ Cornwall, family, fiction, Gothic mystery, Historical fiction, literature, loss, love, marriage, mystery, review, secrets, World War One
The Key in the Lock by Beth Underdown
I still dream, every night, of Polneath on fire. Smoke unfurling out of an upper window and a hectic orange light cascading across the terrace. By day, Ivy Boscawen mourns the loss of her son Tim in the Great War. But by night she mourns another boy – one whose death decades ago haunts her still. For Ivy is sure that there is more … Read More The Key in the Lock by Beth Underdown
+ adventure, child abduction, crime fiction, Detective novel, family, fiction, Freedom, friends, friendship, haunting, Historical fiction, holocaust, Inuit, kidnapping, List, literature, loss, love, Magical realism, murder, nazi germany, poland, police drama, Polish, Psychological fiction, relationships, review, Scotland, Scottish Highlands, secrets, World War Two
My Top 8 Books of 2021 – part four
Here are my favourite eight books of the fourth quarter of 2021. So far this has been a good year for books if for nothing else, so it was a really difficult decision. Please note that there may be books amongst the list that are not published until 2022, but these are books I have read this year and may be ARCs. The Flight of … Read More My Top 8 Books of 2021 – part four
+ childhood, family, fiction, Freedom, friendship, Historical fiction, holocaust, literature, loss, love, nazi germany, revenge, review, World War Two, WW2
The Last Checkmate by Gabriella Saab
Readers of Heather Morris’s The Tattooist of Auschwitz and watchers of The Queen’s Gambit won’t want to miss this amazing debut set during World War II. A young Polish resistance worker, imprisoned in Auschwitz as a political prisoner, plays chess in exchange for her life, and in doing so fights to bring the man who destroyed her family to justice. Maria Florkowska is many … Read More The Last Checkmate by Gabriella Saab
+ Cornwall, fiction, France, friendship, Historical fiction, literature, loss, love, marriage, mental health, review, World War One
The Visitors by Caroline Scott 
Esme Nicholls is to spend the summer in Cornwall. Her late husband Alec, who died fighting in the war, grew up in Penzance, and she’s hoping to learn more about the man she loved and lost. While there, she will stay with Gilbert, in his rambling seaside house, where he lives with his former brothers in arms. Esme is fascinated by this community of … Read More The Visitors by Caroline Scott 
+ crime fiction, Detective novel, Dogs, fiction, Historical fiction, love, murder, murder mystery, mystery, police drama
Songbird (Jax Diamond Mysteries#1) by Gail Meath
It’s all fun and games, until someone gets killed. Meet Jax Diamond, a sharp, sophisticated, skilled, no-nonsense private detective. Or is he? Glued to his side is his canine partner, Ace, a fierce and unrelenting German Shepherd whose mere presence terrorises criminals into submission. Well, maybe not. But the two of them are a whole lot smarter than they look. And they have their hands full … Read More Songbird (Jax Diamond Mysteries#1) by Gail Meath
+ adventure, anarchists, crime fiction, feminism, fiction, Historical fiction, London, love, murder, murder mystery, mystery, obsession, review, suffragette movement, World War One
Death in The Last Reel by Paula Harmon
Does the camera ever lie? 1911: After the violent murder of three policemen in the line of duty, tensions between London constabulary and Whitechapel anarchists simmer. Meanwhile accusations and counter accusations of espionage further weaken relations between Germany and Britain. Can Margaret Demeray and Fox find out which potential enemy is behind a threat to the capital before it’s too late? In the shadow … Read More Death in The Last Reel by Paula Harmon
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