Book picks similar to
Gangsters of Shanghai by Gerry O'Sullivan


mystery
read-within-18-months
historical-fiction
interested

The Illegal Gardener


Sara Alexi - 2012
    Her boys have grown and she has finally divorced her bullying husband. This is her time now.Whilst making her new home habitable, Juliet discovers she needs a sturdy helping hand with the unruly and neglected garden. Unwilling to share her newfound independence with anyone, but unable to do all the work by herself, she reluctantly enlists casual labour.Aaman has travelled to Greece from Pakistan illegally. Desperate to find a way out of poverty, his challenge is to find work and raise money for the harvester his village urgently need to survive.What he imagined would be a heroic journey in reality is fraught with danger and corruption. Aaman finds himself in Greece, and with each passing day loses a little more of himself as he survives his new life as an immigrant worker; illegal, displaced, unwanted and with no value. Hungry and stranded, how will he ever make it back home to Pakistan?In what begins as an uncomfortable exchange, Juliet hires Aaman to be her gardener, but resents the intrusion even though she needs the help. Aaman needs the work and money but resents the humiliation.In spite of themselves, as the summer progresses, they get to know one another and discover they have something in common. Pieces of their lives they have kept hidden even from themselves are exposed, with each helping the other to face their painful past.Will Juliet and Amaan finally let each other in? And what will be the outcome of this improbable conjoining of two lost souls?

Camelot's Cousin: The Spy Who Betrayed Kennedy


David R. Stokes - 2012
    Its contents include a journal with cryptic writing. He turns to his friend, and boss, Templeton Davis, a Rhodes scholar, popular national radio talk show host, and best-selling author of spy novels and history books, for help figuring out what he's found. They soon realize that they possess materials concealed more than 60 years earlier before by Soviet intelligence and espionage agent, Kim Philby--and also clues to the last great secret of the Cold War. There was another highly placed spy. Someone never discovered--until now. This traitor had unique access to the White House, and was perfectly positioned to influence President John F. Kennedy as he faced challenge after challenge in the era now remembered as Camelot.Templeton Davis becomes obsessed with a story so many found in the spy books he loves to read and write. And some of those very espionage spy thrillers come in handy. The trail of mystery and suspense leads to a picturesque town in Vermont, the streets of New York City, the corridors of power in Washington, DC, and most importantly, Oxford, England. He learns that the beautiful city of spires on the Thames was once also a city of spies.

The Oxford spies may never have reached the level of public notoriety as those from that other British academic stronghold--Cambridge. But clearly the story had never been completely known--or told. And it was a very dangerous mine of intelligence and espionage detail in which to dig, a fact borne out by a couple of suspicious deaths left in the wake of Templeton Davis's travels. 

Davis discovers that during the Cuban Missile Crisis, secrets were being betrayed at the highest levels. And what he learned also connected to a time of great sorrow for mankind--the Kennedy assassination.

 At a crucial moment, Templeton Davis develops a bond borne of necessity with a beautiful young woman from Russia, someone with her own secrets. And when what she knows is combined with what the famous broadcaster has learned, the two unlikely heroes find themselves in danger, yet poised to rock the world. Camelot's Cousin: An Espionage Thriller is a page-turner for readers who enjoy suspense thrillers and mysteries.

The Ghost of Blackwood Lane


Greg Enslen - 2010
    He’s got a new career and new friends, but they can never know his real name or where he comes from. But the program can’t protect him from the relentless dreams of a young woman in danger. It’s the same dream, night after night, and Gary is helpless, unable to stop the dream’s inevitable and horrifying conclusion. The woman seems strangely familiar…is she someone from his dark past? Is she even real? All he knows for certain is that she needs his help, or she will die.

Sins of the Father


David Harrison - 2006
    If it comes out, the tabloids will have a field day: Eddie Randall was a popular comedy actor in the 1960s. Nick goes in search of the truth and unexpectedly finds it impacts on a major insurance scam he is investigating. Then his estranged wife is found dead - and Nick realises that an unknown enemy is stalking him..."Occasionally brutal, but very readable... this writer seems to me to have real potential. I look forward to his next book." Martin Edwards, TANGLED WEB"Sins of the Father is a wonderful, exciting read full of twists and turns... This is a sterling effort from a new face on the crime scene."Chris Simmons, CRIMESQUAD"Sins of the Father is a rattling good read... a writer to watch for sure."Sharon Wheeler, REVIEWING THE EVIDENCEPraise for David Harrison (writing under the name TOM BALE):"What truly sells SKIN AND BONES is Bale's almost cinematic storytelling style, along the lines of what Lee Child does with his Jack Reacher series."Jim Winter, JANUARY MAGAZINE

Harbored Secrets


Marie F. Martin - 2013
    473 Five Star reviews on Amazon. Historical novel with a psychological mystery in the unearthing of family secrets. In May of 1935, Blinny Platt's homestead shack burns to the ground forever leaving her family asunder, scattering them like the embers flew on the Montana wind. She was only eight-years-old, sent away and in charge of her little sister. She could handle that because Platts take care of Platts.However, it is the hidden secrets of her parents smoldering beneath the charred remains that haunts Blinny until 1982. She once again leaves the home place to build a house for herself. As the foundation is poured and the walls go up, each of the hurtful memories are uncovered. Finally the mystery, left in the ashes of the burned home, is revealed. How could her mother do what she did?Recent Five-Star Reviews:By the end of the very first paragraph, I knew Marie F. Martin had written a book I would have a hard time putting down. In between high drama, there is a love letter to Montana, and she uses her love of the English language throughout. More "Oh wow" moments in this book than any other I have ever read in my more than half a century of life.  Yvonne Bechtold, Five-star reviewerThis is a tale so well told, you can smell the sage, feel the heat, and pain this family shares. I wish more authors crafted their characters so well.  Renita Hulsey Five-Star Reader Review.The author was a master at weaving the past with the present.  Quaintreader Five-Star Reader ReviewMartin knows family dynamics and human frailties.  From these she has crafted a heartbreaking story, of love, loss, and endurance.   Barb Ward Five-Star Reader Review

Garden Guide - A No Nonsense, No PhD, No Fuss Guide to Great Gardens with Hand-Holding How To's for Beginners and Straightforward Instruction for Advanced Gardeners


Sarah Olver - 2013
    But if we’re being honest, when it comes to gardening, most of us have no idea where to begin. Additionally, in these economic times, who can afford to hire an expert to come in and do the job for us? That said, regular folks all across North America and Europe are returning to the soil, shovels in hand. With the help of this book, there is absolutely no need to fly blind into the world of green thumbs, perennials, and herbs.The name—Garden Guide: A No Nonsense, No PhD Guide to Great Gardens with Hand-Holding How To’s for Beginners and Straightforward Instruction for Advanced Gardeners—truly says it all. Indeed, this book is the hand-holding garden guide that will walk even the most timid novice right through the gardening process from beginning to end. In addition to straight forward, practical advice in everyday language, you will love the stories and anecdotes Olver shares from her fifteen years of backyard, organic gardening adventures. Easy and entertaining, you‘ll probably read this book in one sitting, but you’ll reference it for years to come. The beauty of Garden Guide is that Olver divides her advice into two sections: Beginning Gardeners and Advanced Gardeners. No matter what your skill level, there are simple explanations, tips, and tricks that will walk you through every aspect of the garden process. Garden Guide features details such as:•Everything you need to know about location, from sunlight to drainage to selecting just the right spot•How to understand soil types, how to amend and condition them•pH levels and soil testing broken down in simple terms•Step by Step guide for planning your PERFECT garden no matter where the location•Fertilizing made manageable with explanations for all those numbers and organic alternatives •Composting broken down so you can start immediately•Pests obliterated with loads of organic suggestions•The basics of garden maintenance from deadheading to dividing perennials•Loads of helpful website suggestions for purchasing plants online, getting ideas, locating county extension offices, perennial databases and so much more.•Gardening terms are defined in language you will both understand and rememberIf you have time to read only one book on gardening, this is the book to choose. Short enough not to feel like an encyclopedia and just long enough to wet your gardening appetite, Olver has woven basic garden science and practical ideas for everyday people into each page. With her warm, inviting, no-nonsense instruction, you will be amazed how simple and doable gardening really is. Not only will it thoroughly educate you in basic gardening, Garden Guide will send you well on your way toward beautiful perennials gardens and leave you inspired and hungry to begin planting in your own patch of earth.

Fairwood


Eli Yance - 2013
    A modern day Bonnie and Clyde, in it for the adrenaline rush with no intention of murder -- that came by accident as well.Max Cawley is tired of his miserable life, made even more miserable by his succubus wife, his sadistic boss and his retiring partner, but his detective instincts are as switched-on as ever and finding the bandits soon becomes an obsession.Fairwood is a dark, twisted roller coaster of a thriller, not for the faint hearted.

Surrender the Fear


R.D. Brady - 2020
    So when a poor, straight-A student goes missing in a small town outside Atlanta, Nola vows to bring her home. But in a case that already cuts close to her own wounded heart, she discovers the teenager is only the latest girl to vanish into gangland vice.Fearing for the naive victims, Nola channels her boiling rage into working alone. But as she pushes further into a shadowy conspiracy, even her lethal fists and deadly marksmanship may not be enough to save innocent lives.Can Nola free the captives before she is silenced?Surrender the Fear is the haunting first book in the Nola James crime fiction series. If you like powerful women, vigilante enforcement, and brutal hand-to-hand combat, then you'll love R.D. Brady's dark mystery.Buy Surrender the Fear to put evil in the crosshairs today!

The Last Call


George Wier - 2011
    She has taken a North Texas quarter horse racer and liquor baron named Archie Carpin--the last of a dynasty of criminals from the 1920's--for a ride and cleaned him out of a neat two million bucks. And thus begins the adventure of Bill’s life.Ensues a chase north across Texas to recover the money and shake the pursuit of a couple of rednecks with a penchant for rifles and rigged explosives. Yet, through all this action the compelling tale of yet another mystery—an 80-year old missing person’s case—begins to unravel.

Beautiful Exiles


Meg Waite Clayton - 2018
    Headstrong, accomplished journalist Martha Gellhorn is confident with words but less so with men when she meets disheveled literary titan Ernest Hemingway in a dive bar. Their friendship—forged over writing, talk, and family dinners—flourishes into something undeniable in Madrid while they’re covering the Spanish Civil War.Martha reveres him. The very married Hemingway is taken with Martha—her beauty, her ambition, and her fearless spirit. And as Hemingway tells her, the most powerful love stories are always set against the fury of war. The risks are so much greater. They’re made for each other.With their romance unfolding as they travel the globe, Martha establishes herself as one of the world’s foremost war correspondents, and Hemingway begins the novel that will win him the Nobel Prize for Literature. Beautiful Exiles is a stirring story of lovers and rivals, of the breathless attraction to power and fame, and of one woman—ahead of her time—claiming her own identity from the wreckage of love.

Murder at Locke Abbey


Catherine Winchester - 2014
    When Lady Thea Copley arrives with her detective father, Cole is immediately taken with her. He soon realises that she is not a typical lady, and that her beauty is only surpassed by the sharpness of her mind. As they work together and expose the secrets and lies at the heart of his household, Cole is left reeling from the revelations. Can Thea overcome her past hurts to be his anchor, or will she hide behind her intellect, afraid to take a chance?

RATS


Joe Klingler - 2013
    Summer greets the land of the midnight sun as a lone rider races across the last American wilderness, delivering on a promise he made long ago. He has many names, but the world only knows a shadow called the Demon. Soon to be drawn into the Demon's world, Claire Ferreti, an Army sniper, sips sake in Washington, DC with her lover, a young, ambitious General whose geosecurity specialty remains classified. When a boy finds a small machine, Claire embarks on a a black-ops mission that leads to a test of skill, a clash of ideologies, and her unconscious body lying in a typhoon-ravaged jungle. In that instant she becomes the hunted, the Demon's tool for survival, and an unforeseen threat. As the General pursues them into a labyrinth of cyber-secrets, political necessity and financial reality collide like a fireball piercing steel.RATS, Joe Klingler's award winning techno-thriller, is filled with fierce writing and fully fleshed out characters. It explodes from the remnants of a war long past to headlines of Washington secrets masquerading as corporate incompetence when two modern-day warriors face off. Both skilled at violence. And deception. Both accustomed to winning."A nuanced techno-thriller with both brains and brawn." -- Kirkus Reviews (Kirkus Recommended List)[RATS] is a fun romp-and-motorcycle-ride through intrigue, explosions, action, betrayal, politics, and victory. Non-military readers will thoroughly enjoy it, and military readers will too. -- San Francisco Book Review (4 of 5 stars) "Even during the summertime in Alaska, the sparseness of the environment is detailed, as opposed to the lush jungle scenes in Vietnam. This gives the book a well-rounded feel as the intensity ratchets up...Fans of international thrillers and espionage books will enjoy this novel." -- Foreword Clarion Reviews (4 of 5 stars)

Loving Protector


Sally Quilford - 2013
    Later, when he valiantly steps in to prevent an unpleasant earl from claiming Calista as his wife, she fears that Brook is only being chivalrous and will never love her as she loves him. When there is a threat to Brook’s life, she is forced to pit her wits against his mercurial father, The Duke of Midchester.

On the Brink


Erika Rhys - 2013
    Let alone two.A conflicted womanDamaged by her traumatic past, down to her last dollar, and struggling to pull her life together, the last thing Juliana wants is drama—or a relationship. That is, until she meets powerful billionaire Craig Manning. A billionaire playboyCraig’s glamorous lifestyle is strikingly different from the simpler life Juliana is fighting to build. Could she ever fit into his world—or he into hers? But despite their differences, he’s a man who knows how to get what he wants. And he wants Juliana.With an intense attraction brewing between them, how can Juliana resist Craig’s determined pursuit? But when his darkest secrets are exposed in one shattering moment, can their love survive the fallout?

Love by Deception: A harrowing true story of love and betrayal.


K.C. Barnard - 2014
    a gregarious, fun loving woman in her thirties. With an abundance of friends, and an enviable position as a jet-setting stewardess in the prestigious world of private aviation, she seems to have it all....but does she? Love by Deception is a compelling read of how meeting the wrong person can bring not only heartache, but real devastation in the most brutal of ways. We follow K.C.’s turmoil, as we unravel her disastrous relationships where she becomes the unwitting victim to four extremely cruel men. Throughout K.C.’s journey she is determined to never allow anyone to break her spirit.