Book picks similar to
Little House of Mercy: Love and the Great War by Jamie Michele
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Smash All the Windows
Jane Davis - 2018
It will take courage to learn how to live again.‘An all-round triumph.’ John HudspithFor the families of the victims of the St Botolph and Old Billingsgate disaster, the undoing of a miscarriage of justice should be a cause for rejoicing. For more than thirteen years, the search for truth has eaten up everything. Marriages, families, health, careers and finances.Finally, the coroner has ruled that the crowd did not contribute to their own deaths. Finally, now that lies have been unravelled and hypocrisies exposed, they can all get back to their lives.If only it were that simple.Tapping into the issues of the day, Davis delivers a highly charged work of metafiction, a compelling testament to the human condition and the healing power of art. Written with immediacy, style and an overwhelming sense of empathy, Smash all the Windows will be enjoyed by readers of How to Paint a Dead Man by Sarah Hall and How to be Both by Ali Smith.
The Night of Elisa
Isis Sousa - 2014
He robs her of almost everything she holds dear: her health, her wealth and what is left of her family.Trapped between the nuances of life and beyond-life, Elisa finds herself struggling for a better tomorrow. With her health deteriorating, how will she summon the courage and strength to stand her ground? And how far will she go in the pursuit of a dream?Embark with Elisa on this puzzling Gothic adventure set in the late Victorian era, between the world of the Living and the picturesque, melancholic Duskland.~~~~The Night of Elisa is bound with 30+ pencil illustrations of ornaments, characters and objects and a unique layout.Parental guidance: for 16+Contains blood, nudity and dark themes.
Justifiable Deceit
Mikael Carlson - 2020
A year later, he has become the country’s leading gun control activist and a media darling.When Ethan teams up with a powerful senator to push an extreme gun measure through Congress, a divided America watches the political fireworks in Washington. As both sides of the debate mobilize for an epic showdown, the public is about to discover that everything they know about the massacre that launched this movement may be wrong.Journalist Tierra Campos and FBI Special Agent Victoria Larsen begin questioning the official investigation into the shooting and find themselves caught in the political crossfire. Despite public condemnation, covert activities, and physical violence meant to stop them, they remain undaunted in their quest – but at what price? With their careers threatened and livelihoods at stake, they must race to unlock the secrets behind this horrible mass shooting before the truth disappears forever. Amidst the maelstrom of political agendas, personal vendettas, and brash cover-ups, the push to uncover the real motives behind the tragedy will have devastating consequences. When the dust settles, a shocked nation must make a fateful judgment: do the ends justify the means in politics, or is there no such thing as Justifiable Deceit?
Collector of Secrets
Richard Goodfellow - 2015
His manipulative boss, Yoko, is trying to swindle the unsuspecting parents of his students and is using his golden boy American face to do it. Desperate to get his passport out of Yoko's locked cabinet, he sneaks into her office in the middle of the night only to surprise the Japanese mafia's burglary-in-progress. Taking whatever he can in the short amount of time he has, Max barely escapes with his life. However Max soon finds himself on the run from everyone from tattooed Yakuza to the Japanese police and a mysterious American named Lloyd Elgin who seems to have ties in the highest places. All are after the book Max grabbed instead of the passport that could take him home, a strange diary bound in leather and closed with a strange seal embossed with ornate chrysanthemum petals. Little does Max know that Yoko's father has been safeguarding the diary for more than half a century, and its secrets could topple some of Japan's most powerful people and rewrite the history of Japan's royal family.With both his and his girlfriend's life in the balance, Max must decipher the secrets of the diary and put an end to the chase before his newest, gravest troubles catch up to him and stop his running for good.Collector of Secrets marries the historical intrigue, deep research, and wide commercial appeal of the best of Dan Brown or Michael Gruber to the techno-savvy, judo-kicking, stranger-in-a-strange-land atmosphere of Barry Eisler's internationally bestselling John Rain series. Richard Goodfellow has used real-life conspiracy theories from the Far East in the creation of a nonstop ride that covers everything from World War II to Watergate. This is his first novel.
Vanishing
Gerard Woodward - 2014
Brill protests that he is merely recording a landscape that will soon disappear. Under interrogation a more complicated picture emerges as Brill tells the story of his life—of growing up among the market gardens of The Heath and of his life on the London art scene of the 1930s. But a darker picture also comes to light, of dealings with the prostitutes and pimps of the Soho underworld, of a break-in at a royal residence, and of connections with well-known fascist sympathizers at home and abroad. So who is the real Kenneth Brill? The hero of El Alamein who, as a camouflage officer, helped pull off one of the greatest acts of military deception in the history of warfare, or the lover of Italian futurist painter and fascist sympathizer Arturo Somarco? Why was he expelled from the Slade School of Fine Art? And what was he doing at Hillmead, the rural community run by Rufus Quayle, a friend of Hitler himself? Vanishing sees the world through the eyes of one of the forgotten geniuses of modern art, a man whose artistic vision is so piercing he has trouble seeing what is right in front of him.
Into the Fold (Kan Savasci Cycle, #3)
Chase Blackwood - 2019
Within its shadowy depths the greatest of the old gods had carved a world unto himself. A place unrivaled in its beauty, obscurity, and danger.Trapped within The Fold, under the tutelage of the last arkeinists, Aeden must overcome his greatest obstacle, or die trying.
The Blue Car
Sandy Hill - 2014
Two men, aided by her father, hustle her mother away without a word, leaving a stunned Sarah staring after them. Thus begins Sarah’s journey into a world of secrets, a world of great responsibility and little guidance. Along the way, “The Blue Car,” set in western North Carolina in 1952, explores when to keep a promise and when to break it, and whether people can really change. Book club discussion questions included.
27 (Twenty-Seven): Six Friends, One Year
R.J. Heald - 2012
Kurt Cobain. Amy Winehouse. Janis Joplin. They died at 27. Six friends reunite in London. From the outside their lives are enviable; from the new father, to the rich entrepreneur to the carefree traveller. But underneath their facades, they are starting to unravel. Dave is made redundant, Renee's marriage is crumbling and Katie is forced to return home to her parents after six years abroad. In a world fuelled by social media and ravaged by recession, the friends must face up to the choices they must make to lead the lives they truly want to live.“The characters are sharply observed and as I read, I quickly came to feel they were my friends too… All along we feel we are in the hands of an accomplished storyteller, and of course there is a satisfying climax.” "Well written and interesting...this was great and I wanted to read more." - Amazon Breakthrough Novel Expert Reviewer“This is a fantastic read for the summer holidays. A genuinely lovely warm surprising story. I loved the characters and felt part of their journey. Can highly recommend.” “An enjoyable read for a generation who are obsessed with how others perceive them and who measure success in terms of job titles and relationship statuses.”“27 is one of those books that you really want to finish so that you can find out what's happened but on the other hand, you want it to carry on so that you can stay with the characters that little bit longer!” “The characters are realistic, their dramas riveting and the writing profoundly charming as Ruth Heald expertly takes you through a tumultuous year-long journey through the lives of the modern daytwenty-something.
The Tea Plantation
Nicola Italia - 2014
She knows little of her intended husband Edmund Bainbridge but is assured that he will offer her a comfortable, secure life. When Edmund spots the green-eyed beauty at a posh London tea room he decides she and no other will be his wife and he whisks her away to his tea plantation in Ceylon. However once in Ceylon, Edmund loses interest in his new bride and becomes distant and cold neglecting her for long periods of time. Meanwhile Alex falls in love with the beauty of Ceylon and its people. One evening she stumbles into a stranger in the Ceylon forest and is shocked to discover that the handsome stranger who holds her in his arms is the overseer of the plantation, Julian Bainbridge; her husband’s half brother. She is drawn to the dark, attractive Julian as her husband continues to neglect her. As Julian and Alexandria fight their feelings for each other Edmund begins to spiral out of control hiding a dark, ugly secret that threatens to destroy everyone.
Christmas Inn Love
Kelly Collins - 2019
She has a wonderful son and a business she loves. Though challenged to make ends meet, she’s come a long way from the tough times she endured as a teenage mom. With the busy Christmas season ahead, things are looking up, until Scrooge himself arrives intent on putting a huge resort next to her inn—a resort destined to put her out of business. Wealthy business developer Rob McKenna is coming back home to the tiny town of Pinetop, Colorado to tie up loose ends. After the death of his mother, he’s inherited her Victorian home, her dog, and hundreds of acres of land he plans to develop into a resort and sell. It all seems so simple until he runs into Celia Roberts. In high school, she was the “it” girl, and he was nobody. She dated the bully, and he was the target. Now he’s back, and she’s single, and as beautiful as ever. However, she’s the only thing standing between him and his plan to get in, get rich, and get out of town. He wants to move the small town into the future. She wants to preserve the past. Can the magic of Christmas leave them both with full hearts and bright futures or will one of them end up with nothing under the tree?
The Dhow House: A Novel
Jean McNeil - 2017
It’s a world of all-night beach parties and constant cocktail receptions, and within its languorous embrace her attraction for her much younger cousin grows.But the gilded lives of her aunt Julia’s family and their fellow white Africans on the coast are under threat — Islamist terror attacks are on the rise and Rebecca knows more about this violence than she is prepared to reveal. Will she be able to save her newfound family from the violence that encroaches on their seductive lives? Or, amidst growing unrest, will the true reason for her hasty exit from her posting be unmasked? Rebecca finds herself torn between the family she hardly knows and a past she dares not divulge.
On A Journey Of Life
Kajal Rai - 2021
The only thing getting her through the guilt of taking the trip against her father's wishes is the beautiful sunset in the hills and the echoes of her heartfelt conversations with Arjun. As she uncovers some secrets of her mother's life from the diary throughout the trip, she struggles against the fate decided for her and dares to hope for something more out of her life and with Arjun.But when her father's constant demands to come back home threaten to cut her trip short, Saanchi must make a choice. Will she go back to her restrictive life or take a chance at living life on her terms?***That Summer - Nivedita KarmaranAfter being forced to spend that summer at Bungalow No. 64, a thirteen-year-old recluse yet free-spirited Rashi Anand, who is bored of her parents’ monotonous lives forms an unexpected friendship with the maintenance man of her guarded society, Lalit. She should have nothing to do with him, yet they find themselves comforting and confiding in each other. But is such friendship considered forbidden? Would Rashi rebel to rescue her friendship and will their friendship stand the test of time?
After Alice Fell
Kim Taylor Blakemore - 2021
Marion Abbott is summoned to Brawders House asylum to collect the body of her sister, Alice. She’d been found dead after falling four stories from a steep-pitched roof. Officially: an accident. Confidentially: suicide. But Marion believes a third option: murder.Returning to her family home to stay with her brother and his second wife, the recently widowed Marion is expected to quiet her feelings of guilt and grief—to let go of the dead and embrace the living. But that’s not easy in this house full of haunting memories.Just when the search for the truth seems hopeless, a stranger approaches Marion with chilling words: I saw her fall.Now Marion is more determined than ever to find out what happened that night at Brawders, and why. With no one she can trust, Marion may risk her own life to uncover the secrets buried with Alice in the family plot.
New York Orphan
Rosemary J. Kind - 2017
As Daniel sings the songs of home to earn pennies for food, pick-pocket Thomas Reilly becomes his ally and friend, until he too is cast out onto the street.A destitute refugee in a foreign land, Daniel, together with Thomas and his sister Molly, are swept up by the Orphan Train Movement to find better lives with families across America. For Daniel will the dream prove elusive?How strong are bonds of loyalty when everything is at stake?Based on real history, the strength of the characters in New York Orphan will move you with their desperate plight to survive. A gripping story of love, loss, betrayal and bonds of kinship.
The Ballad of Banjo Crossing
Tess Evans - 2011
Jack McPhail is a man on the run from his past, a drifter who lands by accident in a sleepy outback Australian town called Banjo Crossing. Jack - almost despite himself - becomes slowly drawn into the town, its community, its characters and its concerns.He's on the brink of falling in love with Mardi, a young widow and owner of the local coffee shop, when the community is confronted and divided by an unexpected development. A coal mining company has come to town, intent on buying up the local properties to build an open cut mine. The town of Banjo Crossing rallies together to fight off the threat. Jack wants to help out his new friends, but if he does, he's at risk of his past being exposed. Having his secret out there could change everything for him. Will he help them out, even if it costs him his second chance at happiness?'Highly topical and engaging ... incubating a mystery which must not be revealed until the exact psychological moment ... entertaining and charismatic' Adelaide Advertiser