Book picks similar to
The Bard's Daughter by Sarah Woodbury


mystery
historical-fiction
historical
fiction

Above the Bridge


Deborah Garner - 2012
    However, it's not long before her instincts tell her there's more than a basic story to be found in the popular, northwestern Wyoming mountain area. A chance encounter with attractive cowboy Jake Norris soon has Paige chasing a legend of buried treasure, passed down through generations.From the torn edge of a water-damaged map to the mysterious glow of an antler arch, Paige will follow clues high into the mountainous terrain and deep into Jackson's history. Side-stepping a few shady characters who are also searching for the same hidden reward, she will have to decide who is trustworthy and who is not.

The Devil's Gold


Steve Berry - 2011
    . . The Devil's GoldOnce he was called the Sphinx, a man so inscrutable that neither his adversaries nor fellow intelligence operatives could predict his next move. Now a contract agent with a secret mission, Jonathan Wyatt has gone rogue. For eight years he’s been plotting. Waiting. Scheming to kill Federal agents Christopher Combs and Cotton Malone, whom he blames for the loss of his career. But as Wyatt prepares for a final confrontation in a remote South American village, he makes a discovery that stretches back to the horrors of World War II, to the astounding secret of a child’s birth, to Martin Bormann and Eva Braun—and to a fortune in lost gold.BONUS: Includes excerpts from Steve Berry's The Jefferson Key and The Columbus Affair.

Love Beyond Time


Bethany Claire - 2013
    The Conall clan and all their people were murdered in a surprise attack, their beloved castle and all evidence of who destroyed them burned to the ground with their bodies. In the centuries following, archaeologists searched through the ruins looking for any evidence of what or who had caused the untimely demise of such a powerful Scottish clan. All efforts were fruitless, until a spell put in place by an ancient Conall ancestor finally began to work its magic...Texas kindergarten teacher, Brielle Montgomery, finds comfort in the mundane routines of her life, but when her archaeologist mother asks her to accompany her on a dig in Scotland, she decides to step out of her comfort zone. Once in Scotland, they discover a secret spell room below the castle ruins, and Bri finds herself transported back in time and suddenly married to the castle's ill-fated Laird. Now, she must work to change the fate of his people, all while trying to find a way to return to her home and century. But with each passing day, Bri finds herself falling more deeply in love with her new husband. If she can find a spell to bring her home, will she use it? And if she stays, will it ultimately mean her own death as well?

Ivy and Intrigue: A Very Selwick Christmas


Lauren Willig - 2008
    In this novella (a sequel to "The Secret History of the Pink Carnation"), the newly married spy, the Purple Gentian, and his bride find more than mince pie when they head home for the holidays.

Ruth's First Christmas Tree


Elly Griffiths - 2012
    It is three days before Christmas and a bitter wind is blowing across Norfolk.Until her daughter was born, forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway didn’t do Christmas, but now that Kate is a year old, she wants it to be special.She must get a tree, shop for food, clean the house, buy presents, including one for her new boyfriend—who she isn’t even sure is her boyfriend—and remember to get the turkey out of the freezer.But time is rushing by and the best-laid plans don’t always work out …

Nefertiti: The Book of the Dead


Nick Drake - 2006
    With her husband, Akhenaten, she rules over Egypt, the most affluent, formidable, sophisticated empire in the ancient world. But an epic power struggle is afoot, brought on by the royal couple's inauguration of an enlightened new religion and the construction of a magnificent new capital. The priests are stunned by the abrupt forfeiture of their traditional wealth and influence; the people resent the loss of their gods—and the army is enraged by the growing turbulence around them. Then, just days before the festival that will celebrate the new capital, Nefertiti vanishes.Rahotep, the youngest chief detective in the Thebes division, has earned a reputation for his unorthodox yet effective methods. Entrusted by great Akhenaten himself with a most secret investigation, Rahotep has but ten days to find the missing Queen. If he succeeds, he will bask in the warmth of Akhenaten's favor. But if Rahotep fails, he and his entire family will die.

The House of Closed Doors


Jane Steen - 2012
    Yet Nell is determined to elude the duties and restrictions of matrimony. So when she finds herself pregnant at the age of 17, she refuses to divulge the name of the father and even her childhood friend Martin is kept in the dark.Nell's stepfather Hiram sends Nell to live at the Poor Farm of which he is a governor, to await the day when her baby can be discreetly adopted. Nell is ready to go along with Hiram's plans until an unused padded cell is opened and two small bodies fall out.Nell is the only resident of the Poor Farm who is convinced that the unwed mother and her baby were murdered, and the incident prompts her to rethink her decision to abandon her own child to her fate. But the revelations to which her questions lead make her realize that even if she manages to escape the Poor Farm with her baby, she may have no safe place to run to.

Sideswiped


Kim Harrison - 2015
    Silas’s radical theory that drafters are not replaying time as much as they are temporarily sliding into an alternate universe has never been well-received, but frankly, the darling of Opti’s research has enough clout not to care, until a professor with a grudge tries to put a permanent end to it. Love can’t alter time, and sometimes, even being able to rub out a single mistake isn’t enough…

Rosemary for Remembrance


Felicity Pulman - 2005
    The last thing she needs is a beau. Janna wants the freedom to follow her dreams - and a marriage proposal isn't in her plans. But Janna's life is shattered when her mother Eadgyth, a healer, dies suddenly, and Janna suspects poison. With so many suspects - from the posturing apothecary to the vengeful priest, from the jealous midwife, who might know Eadgyth's secrets, to Dame Alice's young attendant, who isn't telling all she knows - Janna will need all her courage and skill to bring the murderer to justice. Who can she trust, when even Godric and Hugh, the dashing nobleman, have secrets which threaten her heart and safety?Set in medieval England, 'Rosemary for Remembrance' is the first in an exciting mystery series from award-winning author Felicity Pulman.The Janna Mysteries chart Janna's journey as she goes in search of her unknown father. Her travels will bring her into the company of peasants and pilgrims, jongleurs and nuns, spies and assassins, an illegitimate son of Henry I, and his daughter, the Empress Matilda. With England in the grip of civil war, secrets abound, loyalties change, passions run high, and Janna encounters the darkest side of human nature: the greed, ambition, deceit and fear which so often lead to betrayal and murder. She will need all her courage and insight to escape danger and solve the crimes she encounters along her journey.

The Abandoned


Amanda Stevens - 2011
    Every grave, its secrets. Enter the world of Amanda Stevens's Graveyard Queen series--where forbidden passion and secrets from the past are as restless as the ghosts--in the series prequel novella, The Abandoned.There are rules for dealing with ghosts. Too bad Ree Hutchins doesn't know them.When her favorite patient at a private mental hospital passes away, psychology student Ree Hutchins mourns the elderly woman's death. But more unsettling is her growing suspicion that something unnatural is shadowing her.Amateur ghost hunter Hayden Priest believes Ree is being haunted. Even Amelia Gray, known in Charleston as the Graveyard Queen, senses a gathering darkness. Driven by a force she doesn't understand, Ree is compelled to uncover an old secret and put abandoned souls to rest--before she is locked away forever....Look for the other books in The Graveyard Queen series: The Restorer, The Kingdom and The Prophet, available now.

Larger Than Life


Jodi Picoult - 2014
    Set in the wilds of Africa, Larger Than Life introduces Alice, the unforgettable character at the center of Picoult’s anticipated new novel, Leaving Time.   A researcher studying memory in elephants, Alice is fascinated by the bonds between mother and calf—the mother’s powerful protective instincts and her newborn’s unwavering loyalty. Living on a game reserve in Botswana, Alice is able to view the animals in their natural habitat—while following an important rule: She must only observe and never interfere. Then she finds an orphaned young elephant in the bush and cannot bear to leave the helpless baby behind. Thinking back on her own childhood, and on her shifting relationship with her mother, Alice risks her career to care for the calf. Yet what she comes to understand is the depth of a parent’s love.

Angelic


Kelley Armstrong - 2009
    That’s exactly why the Fates chose her for the job. She’s their secret weapon against the forces of evil. However after five years, Eve is tired of being the designated rebel of the angel corps, expected to break the rules, then penalized for it. When the leaderless djinn stage an uprising, Eve sees the perfect chance to get herself fired. As she plunges deeper into the demon world, though, she realizes she’s in danger of losing a lot more than her job.

Clever John


Elizabeth Hoyt - 2011
    Clever John gives readers an early glimpse inside Hoyt's next Maiden Lane novel, Scandalous Desires. Extended preview of Scandalous Desires included.

Iron to Iron


Ryan Graudin - 2016
    If he can accomplish that, maybe his father will finally see him as a worthy son. He's completed the grueling trek from Germania to Tokyo before, but this time is different. Luka never expected to meet Adele Wolfe, another racer posing as her twin brother and with a singular dream--to live life on her own terms.When Luka and Adele form an alliance, an unlikely bond forms, and even possibly love. But only one person can win the Axis Tour....Can everything Luka and Adele built together survive the race?Word count: 24000

The Gabriel Hounds


Mary Stewart - 1967
    And being young, rich, impetuous, and used to doing whatever they please, they decide to barge in uninvited on their eccentric Great-Aunt Harriet—despite a long-standing family rule strictly forbidding unannounced visits. Because when the Gabriel hounds run howling over the crumbling palace of Der Ibrahim in the Lebanon, someone will shortly die.A strange new world awaits Charles and Christy beyond the gates of Dar Ibrahim—"Lady Harriet's" ancient, crumbling palace in High Lebanon—where a physician is always in residence and a handful of Arab servants attends to the odd old woman's every need. But there is a very good—very sinister—reason why guests are not welcome at Dar Ibrahim. And the young cousins are about to discover that, as difficult as it is to break into the dark, imposing edifice, it may prove even harder still to escape.