Book picks similar to
Secret Language by Monica Wood


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The Keep


Jennifer Egan - 2006
    Two cousins, irreversibly damaged by a childhood prank, reunite twenty years later to renovate a medieval castle in Eastern Europe. In an environment of extreme paranoia, cut off from the outside world, the men reenact the signal event of their youth, with even more catastrophic results. And as the full horror of their predicament unfolds, a prisoner, in jail for an unnamed crime, recounts an unforgettable story that seamlessly brings the crimes of the past and present into piercing relation.

The Red Hand


Michael Stephen Daigle - 2019
    Could a serial killer be stalking his hometown of Ironton, N.J.?One by one the bodies pile up. Nine victims are killed over several months, all from different walks of life and different parts of Ironton. Each killed in a different way, forming no clear pattern, as might be expected from a single killer.The Red Hand is the prequel to The Swamps of Jersey, the book that launched the Frank Nagler Mysteries. This investigation takes place before economic hard times, political corruption and a government money scandal hit the former industrial center of Ironton, N.J.This story is atmospheric, moody, dark and thrilling.

Rosamunde Pilcher: A Third Collection of Three Complete Novels. The Empty House / The Day of the Storm / Under Gemini


Rosamunde Pilcher - 1999
    The Empty House is about being in love with the wrong man; The Day of the Storm is about discovering family—and its secrets; and Under Gemini is about deception. A wonderful new omnibus edition of three full-length novels by one of America's favorites.

On Green Dolphin Street


Sebastian Faulks - 2001
    One night at a cocktail party Mary meets Frank Renzo, a reporter who has covered stories from the fall of Dienbienphu to the Emmett Till murder trial in Mississippi. Slowly, reluctantly, they fall in love. Their ensuing affair, in all its desperate elation, plays out against a backdrop that ranges from the jazz clubs of Greenwich Village to the smoke-filled rooms of the Kennedy campaign. A romance in the grand tradition that is also a neon-lit portrait of America at its apogee, On Green Dolphin Street is Sebastian Faulks at the peak of his powers.

Vox


Nicholson Baker - 1992
    Finding each other's voice attractive, they soon switch to a private, "one-to-one" connection. Their seduction-through-conversation begins hesitantly and then becomes erotic.

Trinity


Leon Uris - 1976
    From the acclaimed author who enthralled the world with Exodus, Battle Cry, QB VII, Topaz, and other beloved classics of twentieth-century fiction comes a sweeping and powerful epic adventure that captures the "terrible beauty" of Ireland during its long and bloody struggle for freedom. It is the electrifying story of an idealistic young Catholic rebel and the valiant and beautiful Protestant girl who defied her heritage to join his cause. It is a tale of love and danger, of triumph at an unthinkable cost—a magnificent portrait of a people divided by class, faith, and prejudice—an unforgettable saga of the fires that devastated a majestic land... and the unquenchable flames that burn in the human heart.

Chesapeake


James A. Michener - 1978
    Michener brings history to life with this 400-year saga of America's great bay and its Eastern Shore. Following Edmund Steed and his remarkable family, who parallel the settling and forming of the nation, CHESAPEAKE sweeps readers from the unspoiled world of the Native Americans to the voyages of Captain John Smith, the Revolutionary War, and right up to modern times.

A Passing Phase


J. Paul Devlin - 2015
    Well, not really.Okay, so he's only attracted to guys. And he's had sex with several. But he knows it's just a phase.He always figured that, along the road to becoming an adult, he'd mutate into someone who preferred Keira Knightley to Chris Hemsworth. It would just happen, like puberty. But as adulthood approaches and his transformation has yet to begin, he panics.Taking desperate measures to change his sexual orientation, Nate finds himself mired in surreal situations populated by, among others, his overbearing mom, current-and former-best friends, a dominatrix, and a muumuu-wearing psychic. Eventually, he's not sure who's trying to help and who's doing more harm than good. But he's determined to find himself-his true self.After all, where there's a will, there's a way... right?

The Commoner


John Burnham Schwartz - 2007
    She is the first non-aristocratic woman to enter the longest-running, almost hermetically sealed, and mysterious monarchy in the world. Met with cruelty and suspicion by the Empress and her minions, Haruko is controlled at every turn. The only interest the court has in her is her ability to produce an heir. After finally giving birth to a son, Haruko suffers a nervous breakdown and loses her voice. However, determined not to be crushed by the imperial bureaucrats, she perseveres. Thirty years later, now Empress herself, she plays a crucial role in persuading another young woman's rising star in the foreign ministry to accept the marriage proposal of her son, the Crown Prince. The consequences are tragic and dramatic.Told in the voice of Haruko, meticulously researched and superbly imagined, The Commoner is the mesmerizing, moving, and surprising story of a brutally rarified and controlled existence at once hidden and exposed, and of a complex relationship between two isolated women who, despite being visible to all, are truly understood only by each other. With the unerring skill of a master storyteller, John Burnham Schwartz has written his finest novel yet.

Work Smart Now: How to Jump Start Productivity, Empower Employees, and Achieve More


Richard Polak - 2021
    

A Year on Ladybug Farm


Donna Ball - 2009
    Tired of always dreaming and never doing, Cici, Lindsay, and Bridget make a life-altering decision. Uprooting themselves from their comfortable lives in the suburbs, the three friends buy a run-down mansion, nestled in the picturesque Shenandoah Valley. They christen their new home "Ladybug Farm," hoping that the name will bring them luck. As the friends take on a home improvement challenge of epic proportions, they encounter disaster after disaster, from renegade sheep and garden thieves to a seemingly ghostly inhabitant. Over the course of a year, overwhelming obstacles make the three women question their decision, but they ultimately learn that sometimes the best things can happen when everything goes wrong...

Moon over Madeline Island


Jay Gilbertson - 2001
    Unattached and not unhappy about it, she chugs along through life, fueled by coffee, gossip, and the daily round of split-end crises and dye disasters - until long-time client Ruby proposes something completely wild. Maybe it's the perm fumes, but she wants Eve to drop everything and move with her to a rambling, dilapidated cottage way up north at the lake. What's even crazier is that Eve agrees. The lure of escaping their ordinary lives for total freedom is too tempting to ignore, although neither one of them expects it to come with a barn full of cobwebs, an eccentric cast of local characters, and a brand-new business to run. The difference is, bare feet, good food - not to mention the time to make it - and the serene beauty of the lake in their front yard make facing each new challenge a lot more fun. If life is what you make of it, Eve and Ruby are bound and determined to make it fabulous...

Hairspray and Lighter


J. Jupes - 2018
    He didn't expect Darlene Johnson to walk into his office with her chocolate box. And certainly didn't expect what followed. . Book One of the Detectives That Don't Fit Series.

The Power of One


Bryce Courtenay - 1989
    There, a boy called Peekay is born. His childhood is marked by humiliation and abandonment, yet he vows to survive and conceives heroic dreams, which are nothing compared to what life actually has in store for him. He embarks on an epic journey through a land of tribal superstition and modern prejudice where he will learn the power of words, the power to transform lives and the power of one.

The Art of Racing in the Rain


Garth Stein - 2008
    On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through.A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life ... as only a dog could tell it.