Book picks similar to
The Secret Chapel by John Lyman


mystery
fiction
thriller
historical-fiction

Nineteen Seventy Four


David Peace - 1999
    Crime correspondent for the Evening Post. He didn't know it was going to be a season in hell. A dead little girl with a swan's wings stitched to her back. A gypsy camp in a ring of fire. Corruption everywhere you look.In Nineteen Seventy Four, David Peace brings passion and stylistic bravado to this terrifyingly intense journey into a secret history of sexual obsession, greed and sadism.

Ash


Jason Brant - 2013
    10:32 AM EST: An entire floor of government agents leap to their death from their office building. 12:57 PM EST: All the police officers inside a station murder each other. And the day has just begun. Lieutenant Asher Benson left Iraq with a traumatic brain injury, PTSD, and a Purple Heart. His doctors warned that the symptoms would be life altering. They had no idea. As his body healed, the thoughts of those around him began to echo through Ash’s mind, stretching the boundaries of his sanity. Five years later, Ash is drowning the voices with copious amounts of booze and self-loathing. When unidentified intelligence agents abduct him in broad daylight, Ash is thrust into a world of espionage and assassinations. A unique terrorist is operating on U.S. soil, and the government needs Ash, and the malady that has plagued him for half a decade, to find the killer. *Ash is the first book in the Asher Benson thriller series, which is full of snarky humor and nonstop action.

Hush


Anne Frasier - 2002
    None haunts her dreams more than the killer who took her son's life sixteen years ago, then silently disappeared into the dark. Now an urgent request for help from the Chicago police has reawakened Ivy's greatest nightmare. The Madonna Murderer has returned to fulfill his calling. This time Ivy understands the killer instinct. She knows what man is capable of. This time she's ready to confront her deepest fear, face-to-face. For the very last time...

Indisputable Proof


Gary Williams - 2012
    Each victim is killed in a manner resembling the form of execution of one of the Apostles. American CIA operative Samuel Tolen, Spanish inspector Pascal Diaz, and British archaeologist Dr. Jade Mollur embark on a journey to reclaim the Sudarium. Their search takes a surprising turn when a 2,000-year-old clue from Joseph of Arimathea suggests a far greater secret is within reach; a startling discovery that would forever change humanity.Embroiled in a deadly hunt that takes them from the grounds of Harvard University to the coast of Costa Rica, from a hallowed Greek Isle to an exquisite Spanish cathedral, and ultimately to the doorstep of mankind’s greatest civilization, Tolen, Diaz, and Mollur will search for the ultimate truth in the midst of unspeakable deception. But is it a truth mankind was meant to discover? This is a new release of a previously published edition.

Wayward Son


Tom Pollack - 2011
    Only one person, the Getty Museum's Amanda James can unlock the mysterious doors that guard the chamber. But once inside, Amanda is shocked to discover evidence left behind by a notorious Biblical killer; who long ago wandered off the pages of history. When a strange relic unveils the miraculous truth about this villain, Amanda must confront sinister forces intent on suppressing her stunning revelation; before it alters the destiny of millions. The first in a series, Wayward Son, takes the reader back in time, where ancient adventures in Egypt, Greece, China and Rome collide with modern-day intrigue and suspense. Journey with Amanda and witness the incredible story of the world's original wayward son.

The Gender Game


Bella Forrest - 2016
    A toxic river divides nineteen-year-old Violet Bates's world by gender. Women rule the East. Men rule the West. Welcome to the lands of Matrus and Patrus. Ever since the disappearance of her beloved younger brother, Violet's life has been consumed by an anger she struggles to control. Already a prisoner to her own nation, now she has been sentenced to death for her crimes. But one decision could save her life. To enter the kingdom of Patrus, where men rule and women submit. Everything about the patriarchy is dangerous for a rebellious girl like Violet. She cannot break the rules if she wishes to stay alive. But abiding by rules has never been Violet's strong suit.When she's thrust into more danger than she could have ever predicted, Violet is forced to sacrifice many things in the forbidden kingdom ... including forbidden love. In a world divided by gender, only the strongest survive...

The Man with the Golden Torc


Simon R. Green - 2007
    But now one of his own has convinced the rest of the family that Eddie's become a menace, and that humanity needs to be protected from him. So he's on the run, using every trick in the book, magical and otherwise, hoping he lives long enough to prove his innocence...

The Dante Conspiracy


Tom Kasey - 2013
    When, hours later, thieves break into Dante’s cenotaph, it seems the two crimes may be connected by some missing verses from the ‘Divine Comedy’. They could contain a code so valuable someone is willing to murder for it. But who? And why? As the bodies pile up, Inspector Perini is in a deadly race to find the secret before the killers. The truth will prove more shocking and dangerous then he could have imagined… The Dante Conspiracy is a chilling thriller perfect for fans of Dan Brown, Steve Berry and Alex Connor. ‘An edge-of-the-seat thriller, with fantastic historical detail’ Robert Foster, bestselling author of The Lunar Code

The Oversight


Charlie Fletcher - 2014
    Only five hold back what waits on the other side. Once the Oversight, the secret society that policed the lines between the mundane and the magic, counted hundreds of brave souls among its members. Now their numbers can be counted on a single hand. When a vagabond brings a screaming girl to the Oversight's London headquarters, it seems their hopes for a new recruit will be fulfilled - but the girl is a trap. As the borders between this world and the next begin to break down, murders erupt across the city, the Oversight are torn viciously apart, and their enemies close in for the final blow. This gothic fantasy from Charlie Fletcher (the Stoneheart trilogy) spins a tale of witch-hunters, supra-naturalists, mirror-walkers and magicians. Meet the Oversight, and remember: when they fall, so do we all.

The Queen's Poisoner


Jeff Wheeler - 2016
    Attempting to depose him, the Duke of Kiskaddon gambles…and loses. Now the duke must atone by handing over his young son, Owen, as the king’s hostage. And should his loyalty falter again, the boy will pay with his life.Seeking allies and eluding Severn’s spies, Owen learns to survive in the court of Kingfountain. But when new evidence of his father’s betrayal threatens to seal his fate, Owen must win the vengeful king’s favor by proving his worth—through extraordinary means. And only one person can aid his desperate cause: a mysterious woman, dwelling in secrecy, who truly wields power over life, death, and destiny.

The Legend of the Bloodstone


E.B. Brown - 2013
    Will I still want to touch you when your blood is on my hands? Or will it chase your ghost from my thoughts?" He held his hands out and considered his open palms for a moment, shaking his head. "I think not. I think still you would haunt me." TIME WALKERSMaggie is a modern day woman with all her flaws, thrust back into a time when men were carving out the history of America. She has just enough knowledge of the past to know trouble is coming, yet soon she is kicking herself for not paying better attention in history class. When she is captured by Winn, a warrior who is torn between his duty to kill her and his desire to keep her, she must adapt to a life she had only read about in history books.Winn is a seventeenth century Paspahegh warrior, born in a time before the English settlers arrived on the shores of Tsenacomoco. He has learned the ways of the English and uses his knowledge to ensure the survival of his people, but when he finds a wounded woman in the woods his loyalty is put to the ultimate test.Hunted and feared by both the Powhatan and the English, Maggie struggles to find a way home while Winn plots to keep her there. Maggie fights to survive as she finds herself entangled in the Massacre of 1622, and Winn sees everything he ever believed in shattered by the knowledge she holds. With ties to both the past and future, their lives unfold among the stirrings of a new nation. Maggie and Winn risk everything to survive as the once powerful Powhatan Nation crumbles and the English build a country from the ashes.Praise for the Time Walkers series: The Legend of the Bloodstone - 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, QuarterfinalistA Tale of Oak and Mistletoe - 2013 RWA/NYC We Need a Hero Contest, Finalist"Time travel and romance converge in this tale of star-crossed love" - Publishers Weekly on The Legend of the Bloodstone"This was beautiful! Time Travel at its best!"- Romance Novels in Color"Absolutely consuming" - Amazon reviewer"I love this series. I didn't want it to end!" - Amazon Reviewer"I can easily see where this story could be a fantastic movie." - Amazon Reviewer"My complaint with this book is I couldn't stop reading this one and the next one in the series which resulted in late nights and tired mornings!!" - Amazon Reviewer"An epic historical saga in brilliant cinematic technicolor" - Amazon reviewer

The Reincarnationist


M.J. Rose - 1999
    Equal parts modern-day thriller, historical fiction, and love story, with one foot in present-day Rome and New York City, and the other in Rome some 1600 years ago.Photojournalist Josh Ryder survives a terrorist's bomb, only to be haunted by near-hallucinatory memories of a past life in Rome as a pagan priest whose dangerous congress with Sabina, one of the Vestal Virgins, poses a transgression so serious the lovers will face a certain death if exposed. Scents of jasmine and sandalwood and images of furtive liaisons and violence descend on Josh at will, pulling him to an ancient yet strangely familiar Roman burial chamber harboring the remains of a woman clutching a wooden box.A trail of present-day murders takes the reader deeper into a labyrinth at whose heart lies the enigma of a collection of ancient gems, or memory stones, whose origins trace back to both ancient Egypt and India. The stones' promise to "assist the wearer in reaching his next incarnation" sets the ancient and modern worlds on a collision course.The question of who we are cannot be asked without first asking who we were, according to the author. Rose attempts to answer that question based on her own reincarnation research and on the writings of others, spanning thousands of years.

The Dig


Michael Siemsen - 2010
    Mystified experts, confounded by the impossible timeline they receive from traditional dating methods, call upon a stubborn twenty-something with a unique talent. Matthew Turner's gift is also his curse: whenever he touches an object, his consciousness is flooded with the thoughts and feelings of those who touched it before him, be it last week or centuries ago. It's a talent that many covet, some fear, and almost no one understands. Despite being exploited as a child and tormented by the unpleasant experiences imprinted on him from the various items he's "read," Matt agrees to travel from New York to the forests of Kenya. There, threatened by unknown enemies, and helped by a beautiful but prickly ally who begins to understand his strange ability, his mind journeys back in geological time to make a discovery so shocking that it forces us to rewrite all human history.

The Bones of Odin


David Leadbeater - 2011
    Though scattered aeons ago, it is believed that once the Pieces are reunited they will show the way to the Tomb of the Gods- the greatest archaeological find of all time.From a rocket attack on the Louvre to a battle in a Swedish cavern, from a daring helicopter raid on New York's National History Museum to an assault on a gangsters mansion in Hawaii, Matt Drake must find the world's oldest treasure in one of the wildest places on earth, searching for the very bones of the Gods with the spoils of victory being the entire world.

Livia Lone


Barry Eisler - 2016
    Sold by her Thai parents along with her little sister, Nason; marooned in America; abused by the men who trafficked them…the only thing that kept Livia alive as a teenager was her determination to find Nason.Livia has never stopped looking. And she copes with her failure to protect her sister by doing everything she can to put predators in prison.Or, when that fails, by putting them in the ground.But when a fresh lead offers new hope of finding Nason and the men who trafficked them both, Livia will have to go beyond just being a cop. Beyond even being a vigilante. She’ll have to relive the horrors of the past. Take on one of the most powerful men in the US government. And uncover a conspiracy of almost unimaginable evil.In every way, it’s an unfair fight. But Livia has two advantages: her unending love for Nason—And a lifelong lust for vengeance.