Book picks similar to
The Bunco Club by Karen DeWitt


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The Furnace Girl: The Mysterious case of Elfrieda Knaak


Kraig W. Moreland - 2018
    The Furnace Girl is Kraig Moreland's theory of what really happened to Elfrieda Knaak, as told to and beautifully written by Toby Jones, It is a stranger-than-fiction story, told through the eyes of Griff Morgan, a young orphan boy, whose harrowing journey makes him an accidental witness to what still remains one of the most puzzling, unsolved crimes of the early 1900s.   In this fictionalized account of the mystery, Griff and his young sister land at the Lake Bluff Orphanage, where they must learn to navigate their new surroundings and face their fears. The 12-year-old Griff stumbles upon unlawful activity throughout the town, from Elfrieda’s illicit relationship with a married man, (and prime suspect) to characters so dark that he feels his safety slipping away with every day.  The Furnace Girl appeals to crime buffs and those looking for a powerful coming-of-age story that pulls on even the toughest of heartstrings.

The Last Day For Rob Rhino (Twisted Crime #2)


Kathleen O'Donnell - 2013
    I became more immersed with every page, as the plot twisted and turned its way to the end. Kathleen O'Donnell has done an outstanding job with her first book. Can't wait to hear more from her. Hurry! – Ryker, five star review on Amazon. Claire’s a rich widow on a mission, who partakes with abandon from the pharmacy stored in her Prada purse. Rob’s an aging reality show celebrity. Stuck on the same flight, bound for the same eccentric town, she hates him on sight. She thinks she knows all there is to know about him but is dying to find out more. He’s disinterested but somehow still sees right through her. But they’ve both got big problems. Hers is in the Louis Vuitton carryon in the overhead. His is in his pants. To Claire’s dismay, Rob turns up everywhere she goes, yet they form the unlikeliest of friendships. He cares for her in ways she’s never known before. He could be the best thing in her life—or the worst. In a place full of secrets, including their own, they help each other find answers they didn’t even know they were looking for, yet some questions linger. What happened to Rob’s first wife? What happened to Claire’s husband? Will they live through the answers? The Last Day for Rob Rhino is a dark, tragic, and funny novel about the bonds of family and friendship. If you’d love a Gillian Flynn, Paula Hawkins, or Stieg Larsson novel with a humorous twist, this would be it.

Inside V


Paula Priamos - 2017
    He has been accused of a reprehensible crime and up until this moment everything she thought about him and their life together could well be a lie. When she digs into his whereabouts, Ava comes face to face with her own past indiscretions and realizes that her past may be coming back to haunt both of them.Inside V is a novel of trust and deception, a dark look inside of a marriage that started as an affair, and the deep distrust that evolves from that initial infidelity. A must read for fans of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train.

Girl On A Train


P. Hawkins - 2016
    This debut international thriller tangles a sordid web of love and intrigue.

The Knitting Fairy


Jaime Marsman - 2012
    The mystery will have you hooked all the way to the end.__________________________________________________Molly Stevenson rather expected her new job at Crabapple Yarns to be deadly boring… but somehow she just didn’t expect the “deadly” part to be quite so literal. After all, what could possibly be more sweet and innocent than a yarn store and a bunch of ladies knitting? As a librarian, by trade and by nature, Molly really ought to have known better. And, worse, she broke the first rule of librarianship - never, ever judge a book by its cover. Sadly, some of us have to learn the hard way. Perhaps that is why Molly didn’t exist long as Assistant Librarian at Springgate Library. The new job at Crabapple Yarns seemed like the only sensible thing to do at the time – until she could find something better of course. But, working at a yarn store really didn’t fit into her Life Plan. She never expected to become a knitter. Molly never expected her sweet little boss to be hiding the fact that she was receiving threats. She never expected to discover a Knitting Fairy. And, she most certainly never expected a Knitting Fairy to try to kill her either.

The Polish Woman


Eva Mekler - 2006
    An attractive 29-year-old Polish woman suddenly appears before a New York Jewish family in 1967, claiming to be a long-lost child who was hidden in Poland during World War II."Told without artifice or irony, Mekler's story of inter generational immigration is a cooly composed novel. By the time ending veers... Mekler has already transcended plot in favor of uncompromising examination." -The New York Times Book Review "Stunning... well crafted... adding depth and resonance to a gripping read. Not to be missed by anyone who loves a tale well told."-Library Journal"Vividly drawn character,both major and minor... The tale itself is compelling, combining romance and mystery and reminding us of the difficulty of unearthing personal truths when one of history's great cataclysms has buried them."-The Wall Street Journal"Takes a less-traveled road [from other Holocaust literature] and explores the loss of identity... Strongly evoked... the understated and moving story of a woman whose memories open so many old wounds."-Philadelphia Inquirer

George Pearly Is A Miserable Old Sod


Steven Primrose-Smith - 2015
     Amazon UK reviews for Steven's first book, No Place Like Home, Thank God: "A superb book I devoured in two days." "This book made me laugh out loud." "Great read. Laugh out loud funny." "I really enjoyed this book!" "Steven's style of writing made me laugh out loud." "I couldn't put it down." "One of the best books I've read in a long time." "Found his one liners very funny." "A highly entertaining read." "So well written with brilliant humour." Seventy year-old British ex-pat miserymonger George Pearly lives on the Costa del Sol, all alone except for his ancient, three-legged dog, Ambrose. George hates his life and everybody in it. These feelings are mutual. Everyone hates George too. From this unhappy equilibrium the situation quickly deteriorates. First, George discovers he is dying of a mystery illness. Then his 35 year-old ape-child nephew, Kevin, moves into George's tiny and once tranquil home with a passion for Vimto, Coco Pops and slobbing around in his greying underpants. Worst of all, George's neighbours start to disappear and all accusing fingers point towards George. Pull up a sun lounger, grab yourself a piña colada and enjoy a murder-mystery romp on Spain's sunny southern coast.

The Credit Draper


J. David Simons - 2008
    Avram Escovitz, a young Jew, arrives in Glasgow from Russia. He dreams of playing football until WWI intervenes and he begins work as a credit draper, peddling goods to Highlanders. A stranger in a strange land, Avram must set up a new business and capture the heart of a Highland lass. But how easy will it be to shake off his Jewish roots?

Just a Con (Kate McCall Book Four)


Tina Lencioni - 2013
    

Beneath a Scarlet Sky - Summarized for Busy People


Goldmine Reads - 2019
    This book is not intended to replace the original book. Instead, we highly encourage you to buy the full version.Pino Lella is an Italian teenage boy who spends his days doing what typical teenagers do: frolicking with friends and fawning over girls. As the destruction of war courses through the city of Milan, Pino loses his family home to the Allied bombs and is obliged to help Jews escape by traversing the Alps. Later on, he falls in love with a beautiful woman named Anna in whom he finds solace from the horrors of the war.Pino's safety is his parents' top priority, so between being assigned to the frontlines or joining the Nazis, Pino's parents choose the latter. He is forced by his parents to enlist in the German army. After being injured in combat, Pino is recruited as the interpreter and personal driver for General Hans Leyers, Hitler's left hand who was assigned to oversee the Nazi operations in Italy. The General is among the Third Reich's most enigmatic and formidable commanding officers.Pino's position provides him an opportunity to gather information from the German High Command and pass it onto the Allied forces. Working as a spy for the resistance, Pino endures the Nazis' oppression and their atrocities by the strength he finds in his love for Anna and in his hope for a future in which the war is over and they are finally free.Wait no more, take action and get this book now!

The Enlightenment of Angeline (Enlightenment, #1)


Joshua Berkov - 2020
    She’s tough, opinionated, bossy, and she’s got a bone to pick with nearly everyone in her life.Set in the fictitious Eastern North Carolina small town of Shelbington, Angeline has been given a terminal diagnosis, with mere months left to live. Upon learning of this news, her adult children and grandchildren come home for one last visit. There is no love lost between any of the family members, and they all have secrets that they voluntarily or involuntarily reveal throughout the course of the novel, culminating in an explosive family dinner at which the biggest bombshells are dropped.Told in first-person narratives by the main protagonist and other characters, the story uses humor to touch on a number of hot-button issues, from race relations and racial profiling to LGBTQ issues, to the #MeToo movement, and to the subjugation of religion for profit.As Bette Davis once said in the 1950 movie All About Eve, “Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy night!”

First to Die


Kate Slayer - 2014
    Buried secrets and twisted lies ripple the surface, but the truth is hidden deep beneath the body count. No one can be trusted and everyone’s a suspect. Time is running out until the next kill, and the next cryptic rhyme carved deep in their flesh. Will she find him in time to save the next victim, or is he coming for her?

The Park


Gail Schimmel - 2017
    Rebecca doesn’t expect to make new friends at this stage of her life. But when she becomes mother to little Amy, she finds herself spending her afternoons in the park. There she meets other mothers: first flamboyant, fun Rose, and then single-mom Lilith, whose inner strength is tangible, and whose eyes never leave her toddler.Very soon the women have formed a trio – the type of friends who feel at home in each other’s kitchens – and their daughters begin to behave like sisters. But Rebecca is about to learn that friendship is not always what it seems, and that sometimes you trust the wrong people. At exactly the moment when she needs to lean on them, one of her new friends harbours a shocking secret, and the other will turn on her in a way she could never have anticipated. Her two park friends will change Rebecca’s life – and her family – forever.

The Life We Bury: Sidekick


Bibliomaniac - 2016
    This book chronicles a hectic school year for college-aged Joe Talbert. His life is changed forever when he gets an interesting homework assignment--writing a biography.   Joe's subject is a cranky old man who was convicted of cold-blooded murder over thirty years ago. As Joe writes his paper he becomes unsure on whether his subject is telling the true, or if there is more to the murder that he doesn't know. Joe goes on a wild chase to find out who the real murderer is, getting himself if perilous trouble along the way.   In this sidekick you’ll find:   A brief biography on Allen Eskens   A guide on the writing style used in the story   Background information to help readers better understand the book   Character descriptions   Themes to watch out for   Detailed summaries for each chapter   General review of the book with additional things to think about   Disclaimer: This book serves as an accompaniment to the bestseller The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens. It is meant to broaden the reader's understanding of the book and to offer some insights which can easily be overlooked. You should order a copy of the actual book before reading this.

No Regrets


Bernard O'Keeffe - 2013
    He’s had a bad year. Sarah, his wife of nearly twenty five years, has walked out on him to move in with Colin. Perhaps they simply grew apart, perhaps the magic was no longer there, or perhaps, as his friend Jerry suggests, Rick has become boring. This nagging thought, together with too much beer on New Year’s Eve and shock at the sudden death of his college friend Alex, leads Rick to a New Year’s resolution… To make the most of the time he has left, and show himself and his old friend Jerry that he is not boring, he will undertake a peculiar challenge: for a whole year he will accept every invitation that comes his way. Any invitation. No excuses. No regrets.