Book picks similar to
Manuscript 512 by Rick Chesler


horror
overcoming-the-odds
audio
fiction

Broken Promise: A Solomon Creed Novella


Simon Toyne - 2018
     One lie could save them. The brilliant prequel to The Boy Who Saw, a gripping thriller from Sunday Times bestseller Simon Toyne, featuring the enigmatic Solomon Creed.A strangerSolomon Creed is an outsider with an unknown past, travelling through a remote part of Texas. He doesn’t look for trouble – but trouble finds him.A familyAt a roadside diner, he runs into a worn-down family whose ancestral land and home is about to be auctioned. But when Solomon suspects it’s worth a lot more than they think he decides to take things into his own hands.A secretAs Solomon races to find hard evidence of the land’s true value, he uncovers a dark truth – hidden for generations – that changes everything. But how far is he willing to go to save a family from potential ruin? And how far will others go to stop him?

Petrified


Graham Masterton - 2011
    Although Suki, his little girl, seemed thrilled to be kidnapped from her mom’s parents’ house, an electric storm has hit, and it looks like the Lord isn’t going to make it easy for Braydon to get away. Braydon’s right. A huge truck jack-knifes in front of him, his car catches alight, and Sukie winds up in hospital with terrible burns – burns which only exacerbate the terrible nightmare she’s had for years about scary things flying through the sky, like shadows . . .

Without Sin


Margaret Dickinson - 2005
    Worse still, her father abandons them outside the workhouse, leaving Meg to care for her devastated mother, Sarah, and little brother as tragedy continues to haunt the family.Isaac Pendleton, Master of the workhouse, rules the lives of all those within its walls but when Sarah becomes his latest mistress, Meg is disgusted. Her loyal friend, Jake, born and bred in the workhouse, has a maturity and understanding beyond his years. Yet it is Meg’s fiery independence that encourages Jake to leave the workhouse and seek employment on Middleditch Farm. His future is assured, but who will take care of Meg? The pretty, vivacious girl, once so innocent, becomes a calculating and manipulative young woman who will stop at nothing to get her own way even if it means betraying those she has loved.

Apache Ambush


Chet Cunningham - 2015
    As a boy, he had seen his Indian mother gunned down by the hated bluecoats during an attack on his village. Now, years later, here he was, Wade Chisholm, scout for the U.S. Cavalry, alone in Apache country, asked to locate the hostiles - his people - then decide if he had the stomach to lead soldiers in the massacre of another village. But "Longknife" knew the Apaches had already filled the desolate desert. The Apache death chant. Chisholm was as good as dead!

Abandon


Blake Crouch - 2009
    Recently, a similar party had also attempted to explore the town and was never heard from again. Now the area is believed to be haunted. This crew is about to discover, twenty miles from civilization with a blizzard bearing down, that they are not alone, and the past is very much alive.Revised edition: This edition of Abandon includes editorial revisions.

Tansy


Gretchen Craig - 2015
    For Tansy, however, the choice was never hers. On the eve of her seventeenth birthday, Tansy is caught in a sizzling kiss with Christophe Desmarais. The next night, Tansy’s mother introduces her to the life she has been raised for: as a beautiful quadroon in Old New Orleans, Tansy is meant to be a rich white man’s mistress. She is as she should be, biddable, loyal and submissive. But is this all there is? As Tansy matures, she wearies of telling herself that her narrow life is enough, yet she is terrified to leave behind security and plenty to become a self-reliant, independent woman.Christophe Desmarais was, like Tansy, born to a mixed-race mother and a rich white father, but as a shrewd card-player, a talented violinist, and a respected teacher, he creates his own life. The attraction between him and Tansy has never abated, only been pushed down and unacknowledged. When he sees Tansy discovering there is more to her than being pretty and pleasing, he allows himself to hope that she will become her own woman. Maybe then the two of them will have a chance at a life together.Multiple award-winning author Gretchen Craig returns with an unconventional novel about loyalty, independence, and love.

The Waringham Chronicles, Volume 1: The Runaway


Rebecca Gablé - 2020
    In this epic family saga, set against the expansive and exhilarating backdrop of medieval Britain, we meet our hero Robin, the dispossessed son of the Earl of Waringham as he fights to reclaim his once prominent position in society. Expertly narrated by Miriam Margolyes OBE and featuring a full cast.

The Shadowkiller


Matthew Scott Hansen - 2007
    In the thick of the woods not ten yards away stood a creature, manlike, apelike . . . some sort of hairy humanoid, like a gorilla standing upright on long legs. Motionless, it stared at Ty, and Ty froze dead in his tracks."Jesus Christ, this is Bigfoot.""BIGFOOT IS ANGRY."When careless campers unleash a raging forest fire, they inadvertently set in motion a blood-drenched spree of revenge. Motivated by the immolation of his family, a nearly eleven-foot-tall, preternaturally strong superprimate begins stalking the mountains northeast of Seattle, hunting the "small two-legs" he blames and leaving an eerie trail of missing people . . . but little else.As people begin vanishing from nearby forests, former software magnate Ty Greenwood risks everything to find out why. Tormented by his encounter with a Bigfoot three years earlier, Ty's past now collides with what he suspects is happening. But this time he doesn't realize that the stakes are far higher.In his search for two missing lawyers, Snohomish County Sheriff's Detective Mac Schneider discovers a "spectacularly" large footprint. Is it another hoax or is there really something to fear in the woods? Despite mounting evidence, Mac fears ridicule and is reluctant to reveal that the myth might in fact be a terrifying reality. Complicating everything for him is Kris Walker, a gorgeous but ruthless television reporter bent on getting the story at any cost.Joining the quest is an old Native American actor with a troubling secret: Ben Campbell has a mystical connection to the beast. And while Ben's link withthis fearsome and intelligent being haunts his dreams and could spell his doom, it may also prove to be the only key to stopping this ferocious, inhuman killing machine. Can they end his deadly rampage before he destroys everything they hold dear?Just when you thought it was safe to go into the woods . . . "The Shadowkiller" will give even the most hard-core skeptic a reason to think twice before going camping.

Blessed Child / A Man Called Blessed


Ted Dekker - 2014
    He has never seen outside its walls—at least, not the way most people see. Now he must flee those walls or die. But the world beyond is hardly ready for a boy like Caleb. When relief worker Jason Marker agrees to take Caleb from the monastery, he unwittingly opens humanity's doors to an incredible journey filled with political intrigue and peril. Jason and Leiah—the French-Canadian nurse who escapes the monastery with him—quickly realize Caleb's supernatural power to heal. But so do the boy's enemies, who will stop at nothing to destroy him. Jason and Leiah fight for Caleb’s survival while the world erupts in debate over the source of his power. A Man Called Blessed Rebecca Soloman leads a team deep into the Ethiopian desert to hunt the one man who may know the final resting place of the Ark of the Covenant. But Islamic extremists fear that the Ark's discovery will compel Israel to rebuild Solomon's temple on the very site of their own holy mosque in Jerusalem. They immediately dispatch Ismael, their most accomplished assassin, to pursue the same man. But the one in their sights is no ordinary man. His name is Caleb, and he is also on a quest—to find again the love he embraced as a child.

The Secret Journals of Adolf Hitler, Volume 1: The Anointed


A.G. Mogan
    Presented as a personal journal, this is a fact-supported re-telling of a desperate existence, as viewed by Hitler, and tracks the points of pain that forged his beliefs. From a childhood of abuse and cheating death to an agonizing unrequited love to torturous years as a beggar in Vienna to finally finding his destiny. Enflamed by delusions, Hitler embraced the powers he believed guided his life. This is a story of dire happenstances that broke a mind and spirit, created beliefs that twisted innocence, ultimately morphing into a malicious brew that changed the world forever. This is the one story that's never been told.If you liked The Anointed, you will also like Volume 2, The Struggle.

Satan's Garden


Kit Lyman - 2014
    It chronicles their experiences in parallel over the course of six years, unfolding the independent challenges they face while struggling to survive worlds apart from each other. This book club pick inspires readers to see that love, friendship, and faith can survive in spite of the most terrible circumstances.Dani and Keely imagined that life was more magical than others believed. If they had to be summed up, their one plus one would equal three. Together, they became something greater. It was twin sisters against the world. But the world had different plans. The man followed them to their secret tree house that unusually warm day in September. He only came for one, there and gone in the blink of an eye. Satan’s Garden takes you on the six-year journey of two sisters who learn what it means to survive. It’s a story of resiliency, hope, and above all, a bond that cannot be taken away. It teaches us how quickly life can change and yet how much of it we can change ourselves.

Fearful Symmetry


Michael McBride - 2014
    What they found instead was something beyond their wildest imaginations, a secret they would sooner take to their graves than risk releasing upon an unsuspecting world. Now nearly a hundred years old, Johann Brandt, the lone surviving member of the original party, shares his discovery with Jordan Brooks, an evolutionary anthropologist, who launches his own expedition into one of the most dangerous environments on the face of the planet in search of the evidence Brandt claims to have left behind. If Brooks and his team hope to find the proof, they’ll have to follow the historical footsteps of the Germans into the hunting grounds of a species that evolved in utter geographical isolation, and their only hope for survival lies in uncovering the truth about the ill-fated Nazi expedition…for those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.Black Voltage Series #47

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer


Katie Alender - 2013
    She’ll get to soak up the beauty and culture, and maybe even learn something about her family’s French roots.But a series of gruesome murders are taking place across the city, putting everyone on edge. And as she tours museums and palaces, Colette keeps seeing a strange vision: a pale woman in a ball gown and powdered wig, who looks suspiciously like Marie Antoinette.Colette knows her popular, status-obsessed friends won’t believe her, so she seeks out the help of a charming French boy. Together, they uncover a shocking secret involving a dark, hidden history. When Colette realizes she herself may hold the key to the mystery, her own life is suddenly in danger . . .Acclaimed author Katie Alender brings heart-stopping suspense to this story of revenge, betrayal, intrigue — and one killer queen.

Villa Normandie


Kevin Doherty
    The Normandy coastal village of Caillons is under German occupation, its villagers struggling to survive. With her husband forced into compulsory service for the German Reich, Jeanne Dupré, mother of two adolescent daughters, risks everything to lead the local Resistance cell.Life becomes even more dangerous with the arrival of British agent Daniel Benedict. He needs Jeanne's help to complete his mission, vital to Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings. But Jeanne is suspicious that they are not fighting for the same outcome. Their joint foe is Jürgen Graf, a Nazi oberleutnant set on wiping out the local Resistance. Aware that a spy is at large, Graf is on a ruthless mission to hunt Benedict down. With the help of a network of Catholic priests, Benedict penetrates the heart of the Nazis’ defences against Allied invasion, the Atlantic Wall. As the lives of Jeanne and Benedict become increasingly intertwined can they stay true to themselves? Will they have to sacrifice all in their fight for freedom..? ‘Villa Normandie’ is a moving historical novel, presenting an accurate picture of life under Nazi occupation. It is thoroughly detailed, meticulously researched and vividly authentic - depicting the turbulent world of the French resistance and the struggle of the French people for freedom.

Destiny's Tide


J.D. Davies - 2019
    But a more cruel and dangerous foe is on the horizon. When Henry VIII dissolves the monasteries and wages war against France and Scotland simultaneously, Jack must take up his family destiny at the head of the Dunwich fleet.But enemy blades may be the least of his problems. Aging ships, treacherous rivals and ghosts from the past all threaten to interfere with the war effort. The only man he can trust is Thomas Ryman, a former warrior turned monk.As the English fleet descends on Edinburgh, the dangerous game of politics and war reaches a shattering climax aboard the pride of Henry’s navy – the Mary Rose. Stannard and Ryman know that it is not just their lives that are at stake, but the future of England herself...