Book picks similar to
The Fall Of White City by N.S. Wikarski


mystery
historical-fiction
historical-mystery
chicago

Crimes of the Levee


John Sturgeon - 2013
    The most open part of town is the Levee District. It is an area of the city that's hard to tell the crooks from the cops. There are brothels, madams, opium dens, gambling joints and plenty of alcohol, but it all comes at a price in the Levee, and the two Ward Aldermen get their share of every vice's dollar. With the hanging of serial killer, Simon Kluge, police Detective Patrick Moses is suddenly without a case. Before Moses can relax he is approached by an aging retail mogul who asks him to investigate the mysterious shooting death of his son. Moses accepts the offer and at the same time is asked by the department to search for the niece of the Italian Ambassador who has gone missing in the Levee and is suspected of becoming a victim of Chicago's "white slave" traffic, forced into a life of enslaved prostitution. As Moses gets deeper into both cases, he realizes that in the Levee there are a lot people who don't want the two cases solved, including the police and the Ward Aldermen. Soon a number of sources and witnesses end up murdered. Someone wants Moses and his partner, Gunter Krause, dead. On top of that, trinkets from the Simon Kluge murders begin to appear on Moses' doorstep, leading him to believe they may have executed the wrong person.

Redbud


Ellen Carlsen - 2015
    Once there, Judy finds a place to stay with Audrey Nevins, founder of the Redbud Area Dog Rescue. Judy, who is not a dog person, is soon waking up with half a dozen dogs on her bed. She’s bathing dogs, mopping floors, writing about dogs, swimming with dogs and learning all about rescuing dogs and finding them new homes. She also soon meets the county historian, who is also the police chief. Then life in Redbud turns sinister after Judy stumbles onto a dead body and then learns of other mysterious deaths. As the danger increases, Audrey may know the name of the killer, but Judy believes she will find a clue to the motive in the distant lives of her ancestors. For that, she needs the help of a 110-year-old man. Rosebud is also a story of loss and recovery. Redbud has helped heal other broken souls. Will it now help Judy face her own past?

An Invitation to Murder


Leighann Dobbs - 2017
    Not only to stop the killing but also to prove her skills at detection to her father and win her dowry and independence. There’s only one catch—she has to take one last matchmaking job to do it. Never mind that the match is impossible, all the better because if she fails, then no one will seek her services again. The job provides the perfect cover especially when her peculiar investigatory techniques are mistaken for unconventional matchmaking attempts. Things would go a lot smoother if she weren’t knee-deep in suspects and thwarted at every turn by a rival matchmaker. But when the killer strikes again, Katherine’s investigation leads down a dangerous path. Too late, she discovers that she has a lot more to lose than her dowry…

All the Blue-Eyed Angels


Jen Blood - 2012
    The Solar Temple. Heaven's Gate. In the summer of 1990, the Payson Church of Tomorrow joins the ranks of those infamous cult suicides when thirty-four members burn to death on a small island off the coast of Maine. At ten years old, Payson member Erin Solomon watches helplessly as the church and its congregation are reduced to ash and embers.More than twenty years later, Erin is an accomplished investigative journalist when she receives word that she has inherited Payson Isle... and all its ghosts. She returns to Maine to learn the truth behind the tragedy that has haunted her since childhood, aided by the rakish mentor who's stood by her side since she was a teenager, her trusty mutt Einstein, and a mysterious stranger with his own dark past.Soon, Erin is enmeshed in violence, conspiracy, and scandal, as she fights to unearth the secrets of the Payson Church of Tomorrow -- secrets someone will kill to keep buried.

The Snowman of Zanzibar


Gordon Wallis - 2018
     The endless London winter had been bitterly cold. The steady work as a freelance insurance fraud investigator was mundane and repetitive, but this suddenly changes early on a frozen February morning. The wealthy client was desperate. Just how was his high flying young son making so much money? It sounded like a dream assignment. An escape from the city and a bit of travel. And for a while it was. But on an idyllic island paradise, someone is watching, and a deadly criminal cartel operates quietly in the shadows. As Green digs deeper he uncovers the truth, but a series of unfortunate events occur. Events far beyond his control. Events that result in unspeakable violence and horror. The cartel must be stopped, but who will be the next to die? The action comes hard and fast in this gripping 1st in series page turner and culminates in an ending that will stay in your mind for a long time. A very, very long time... Pick up The Snowman Of Zanzibar today and prepare for the ride of your life.

The 9th Hour


Claire Stibbe - 2016
    The suspect is incarcerated in the state's high security penitentiary but Unit Commander Hackett is faced with a dilemma when another teenage girl goes missing.Detective Temeke and his new partner, Malin Santiago, are sent to solve a baffling crime in the dense forests of New Mexico's Cimarron State Park. But time is running out. Can they unravel the mysteries of Norse legends and thwart the 9th Hour killer before he dismembers his next victim?This is the first in the Detective Temeke Crime series.Watch out for more from Detective Temeke and Malin Santiago 1.THE 9TH HOUR 2.NIGHT EYES 3.THE WISHMAKERWhat people are saying about THE 9TH HOUR:The 9th Hour cometh! Despite - or because of - knowing so many writers, I still feel the magic when a book comes out that makes the hairs on my arm tingle because I think it's GOOD. I read MANY books and I only review and recommend those I really like, so of course this shows my taste as a reader. If you like modern detectives, think Ian Rankin set in New Mexico, you'll love this. A new detective walks the mean streets of my bookshelves - Temeke. The 13thSign Publishing.

The Yankee Club


Michael Murphy - 2014
      In 1933, America is at a crossroads: Prohibition will soon be history, organized crime is rampant, and President Roosevelt promises to combat the Great Depression with a New Deal. In these uncertain times, former-Pinkerton-detective-turned-bestselling-author Jake Donovan is beckoned home to Manhattan. He has made good money as the creator of dashing gumshoe Blackie Doyle, but the price of success was Laura Wilson, the woman he left behind. Now a Broadway star, Laura is engaged to a millionaire banker—and waltzing into a dangerous trap.   Before Jake can win Laura back, he’s nearly killed—and his former partner is shot dead—after a visit to the Yankee Club, a speakeasy dive in their old Queens neighborhood. Suddenly Jake and Laura are plunged into a conspiracy that runs afoul of gangsters, sweeping from New York’s private clubs to the halls of corporate power and to the White House itself. Brushing shoulders with the likes of Dashiell Hammett, Cole Porter, and Babe Ruth, Jake struggles to expose an inconspicuous organization hidden in plain sight, one determined to undermine the president and change the country forever.

A Lady in the Smoke: A Victorian Mystery


Karen Odden - 2016
    Following a humiliating fourth Season in London, Lady Elizabeth Fraser is on her way back to her ancestral country estate when her train careens off the rails and bursts into flames. Though she is injured, she manages to drag herself and her unconscious mother out of the wreckage, and amid the chaos that ensues, a brilliant young railway surgeon saves her mother’s life. Elizabeth feels an immediate connection with Paul Wilcox—though society would never deem a medical man eligible for the daughter of an earl. After Paul reveals that the train wreck was no accident, and the inspector who tried to prevent it dies under mysterious circumstances, Elizabeth undertakes a dangerous investigation of her own that leads back to her family’s buried secrets. The more she learns, the more she must risk. Not only are her dowry and her reputation at stake; Paul’s very life hangs in the balance when he is arrested for manslaughter. As the trial draws near, and Parliament prepares for a vote that will change the course of the nation, Elizabeth uncovers a conspiracy that has been years in the making. But time is running out for her to see justice done.

Murder on the Last Frontier


Cathy Pegau - 2015
    But Charlotte Brody, suffragette and journalist, has never let public opinion dictate her life choices. She’s come to the frontier town of Cordova, where her brother Michael practices medicine, for the same reason many come to Alaska—to start over.Cordova is gradually getting civilized, but the town is still rougher than Charlotte imagined. And when a local prostitute—one of the working girls her brother has been treating—is found brutally murdered, Charlotte learns firsthand how rough the frontier can be. Although the town may not consider the murder of a prostitute worthy of investigation, Charlotte’s feminist beliefs motivate her to seek justice for the woman. And there’s something else—the woman was hiding a secret, one that reminds Charlotte of her own painful past.As Charlotte searches for answers, she soon finds her own life in danger from a cold-blooded killer desperate to keep dark secrets from seeing the light of day…

The Red Collusion: A Military Thriller


David Yaron - 2019
    The leader of the Soviet Union, General Secretary Yermolov, instructs Defense Minister Marshal Budarenko to go on a limited military operation that will put an end to the civilian uprising in some of the Warsaw Pact states. But Marshal Budarenko has other plans.The Marshal, a WWII hero and red-army legend, is a tough, militant man. He begins conspiring behind the USSR leader’s back, forming an intricate scheme that will allow him to move mass armed forces towards West Germany, and beyond.In the face of this emerging threat, the US and NATO allies declare the highest alert level and are left with no choice but to start deploying their nuclear warheads. WWIII seems inevitable.Set against a complex historical background, David Yaron weaves a thrilling, sophisticated story, which seems completely realistic. Yaron's writing is minimalistic yet full of details that only a military expert can recount, keeping the reader in constant suspense.

The Devil in Beauty


Heidi Ashworth - 2017
    But after a duel with a jealous duke leaves him disfigured, Julian is ostracized by those who once celebrated him. Though his life is irrevocably changed, Trev is still loyal to his friends. When Willy Gilbert is accused of murder and Lady Vawdrey’s diamond necklace is stolen, he jumps at the chance to help them. As the two cases merge, however, Trev finds an unlikely ally in Miss Desdemona Woodmansey. She’s the only young lady who doesn’t seem put off by his scar and the scandal of the duel. But as their investigation into the murder reveals just how treacherous the mask of polite society can be, both Trev and Desdemona are placed in grave danger. Trev has already lived through the disgrace of a scandal, but can he survive a murderer who will do anything to protect a sinister secret?(Please note that the events of The Devil in Beauty take place eight years prior to the events of The Lord Who Sneered.)

Lost And Found


Amy Shojai - 2012
    But can she team up with a service dog to save a missing child and catch a murderer?Animal behaviorist September Day protects her broken heart by keeping everyone at arm’s length. Still distraught over her husband’s death in the line of duty, she heads back to her Texas home to launch a dog-training business. But her grief takes a back seat when her autistic nephew goes missing in a freak blizzard.Partnering with the boy’s support pup Shadow, September uncovers a shocking conspiracy hiding a deadly “miracle drug.” Hounded by vengeful enemies, human and dog must learn to work together and sniff out the source of corruption before more vulnerable kids die.Can September and Shadow forge a bond and stop a ruthless conspiracy and relentless killer?Lost And Found is the first action-packed installment in the gripping September and Shadow series. If you like dark suspense, novice detectives, and courageous animals, then you’ll love Amy Shojai’s roller-coaster thrillers.

Archaea


Dain White - 2011
    Captain Dak Smith saw in her something special, an opportunity to burn for the far horizon as an independent, free from the gloms that hold known space in thrall – but he had to get her running first.Armed with a standard-issue captain's eyebrow and an infectious grin, Captain Smith and his hand-picked crew embark on an adventure through deep space filled with scoundrels, pirates, and some incredibly unfortunate peace-loving rocks that happened to be at the wrong place, at the worst time.

Stones Left Unturned


Anthony R. Wilson - 2020
    Dave is her constant companion since that fateful time, moving to Allentown just days after Kendra went missing. Marie is happy to forget the past but the past won't let her forget it. A mysterious package, a series of threats, and the return of her one true love Chris make it impossible to leave behind. A transient man remains in jail for killing Kendra but with the new threats, the case is opened again.Are the detectives able to weave their ways through a small town's lifetime of lies and deceit to find the real killer before he strikes again?

Where Bluebirds Fly


Brynn Chapman - 2013
    Her flaming red hair and mismatched eyes make her a prime target for accusation of witchcraft. Orphaned during the Indian raids, she and her brother with Asperger's Syndrome come to live with the key historical figures of the trials-The Putnams. They keep their synesthesia secret- that days, months and years appear as color in Verity's mind, and for John, that symphonies play in a Fantasia-style performance of colors and geometric patterns.Truman Johnstone 's ability to discern people's expressions, and decipher if they were lying- made him an outspoken child. Being different kept him from being adopted till he was fourteen. He now runs an orphanage for problem youths, and is a feeding therapist in his desire to help children deal with their peculiarities. To give them the childhood he never had.The harvest festival corn maze Truman creates every year has an unwelcome visitor. Children hear disembodied voices skipping through the corn maze amid the backdrop of eerie orchestral music. In every year of the calendar, intermittent doors of time swing open and closed, so long as the cornfield stands. In societies set on sameness-all are outsiders. They learn the traits that make us outcasts, may be the very ones that make us great, and that true love may heal all, and even transcend time.