Book picks similar to
The Echo of a Lost Dream by Mai L. Herrero


mystery
gothic
historical
villains-and-morally-grey

The Forest Lord Collection


Steven A. McKay - 2019
     Included in the Forest Lord collection are all four full-length novels from the series, which has over 120,000 sales so far: Wolf's Head The Wolf and the Raven Rise of the Wolf Blood of the Wolf Spanning the years 1321-1326 this collection includes more than 400,000 words of action-packed historical fiction, perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Conn Iggulden, David Gemmell and Simon Scarrow. Praise for the Forest Lord series: “Well researched and enjoyably written, Wolf’s Head is a fast-paced and original re-casting of a familiar legend. McKay’s gift as a storyteller pulls the reader into a world of violence, passion, injustice and revenge and leaves us wanting more!" Glyn Iliffe, author, The Adventures of Odysseus series “Reading this book, I felt as if I was transported back to medieval times...the good, the bad and the ugly. This is a thrilling read that kept me captivated from start to finish.” Bibliophile Book Reviews “...the story is exciting and invites the reader to sit back and enjoy the journey through the forests and villages of northern England.” Hoover Book Reviews “Wolf's Head took my breath away.” Indian Book Reviews "This is the best Robin Hood you are ever going to encounter." Professor Andrew Latham, author of The Holy Lance “Steven A. McKay has found a surprisingly successful way to reinvigorate the story of Robin Hood…thoroughly enjoyable!” – Edinburgh Book Reviews "McKay’s Robin Hood is the sort of man who kicks open the door of a rough pub, orders a pint of real ale in a dirty glass, then cranks the juke-box up to 11 and blasts out 'Ace of Spades'" - Stuart S. Laing Find out why 120,000+ readers have enjoyed this series, and left thousands of four- and five-star reviews, by reading this omnibus edition today!

The African Trilogy


Peter Rimmer
    Once you have been there, you will never be the same. Read 3 of the most important historical novels that will take you back to some of AFRICA’S most notable and captivating periods. The super addictive trilogy starts here. Ready for the ride? Book 1: Cry of the Fish Eagle Rupert’s family is happy and at peace. But a vulnerable future is ahead. Chaos is coming. The Rhodesian War is looming… Rupert escapes to Rhodesia from the bloody conflict that is terrorising Europe. His mission is not just duty-driven but a promise to look for an orphaned, young girl. It’s a futile search and with time running out he has no choice but to re-join the theatre of war. When peace returns Rupert travels back to Rhodesia to begin anew, to find the orphaned girl and to start a new life. But nothing can prepare him for what is next as we helplessly watch Rupert wade against a chaotic tide of nationalism. Book 2: Vultures in the Wind Luke was close to death. He had been beaten mercilessly and was unrecognisable. They wanted the names of his ANC accomplices. Matthew Gray and Luke Mbeki were born on the same day, spending a brief childhood on an African beach, blissfully ignorant of the outside world. But their youth is severed. Released into the real world, the two now face their future in a country deep in the throes of violent change. Can the rules and discipline of discrimination pull the men apart? Is there any mercy? And what happens when these two eventually cross paths? Book 3: Just the Memory of Love Will he ever find his love again or will she always just be a memory? The war is finally over and for the young and naïve Will Langton, his future is full of exciting adventure and happy dreams. Captivated by a brief, but innocent love affair on the rocks of Dancing Ledge, the romance is shattered in one single moment and she is lost to him. For Will, it's an unbearable pain that he cannot hope to escape from and the only means to assuage his sorrow is to run away… to Africa. “It was as if I was reading my own life, knowing all the areas. I loved it.” “Deeply moving and entertaining read.” “Peter Rimmer writes a very interesting story with good detail on what happened in Southern Africa prior to independence.” “A gripping story that will stay with you long after the end of the book....” Grab your copy today

House of Lost Secrets


L.J. Hutton - 2020
    

A Shadow Beyond


Emma-Nicole Lewis - 2019
    A Shadow Beyond is a heart-rending and chilling tale of sacrifice, love, obsession and tragedy. Lost in the folds of time, behind one village's brave sacrifice, is the tragic and chilling secret of Thornycroft Hall.... Locked away in the top quarters of Thornycroft, a large house on the edge of the historic village of Eyam, is a centuries old secret. Escaping the chaos of a complicated break up, Kate Saunders travels to the Peak District to stay with her Great Aunt Edie who has suffered a fall. Thornycroft is the perfect bolthole for Kate, peaceful and providing plenty of distance from her obsessive ex. But when Kate stumbles across a diary and an ancient bogwood jewellery box in the top of the house, the tranquillity she had expected is shattered. She is shocked to discover that Edie has been tampering with the supernatural and as Kate reads the contents of the diary, the shadows of Thornycroft’s past begin to stir. Kate becomes fascinated by the history of the house and the legacy of the villagers who made a brave yet devastating decision during the outbreak of plague. The more she discovers, the more she realises that, hidden behind Eyam’s tragic story, is a dreadful family secret. Stalked by her ex and restless spirits who harbour a dark secret, Kate realises she’s in danger - not only from the living, but from the dead. As the haunting intensifies and layers of time peel away, Kate starts to uncover a chilling truth that has remained buried for centuries…

The Willow Pool


Elizabeth Elgin - 2000
    But before Meg can take her first steps into the unknown alone, she must look to her past. Why, she wonders, did her mother wear a wedding ring but never marry? Why, for instance, does the tallyman never call at No. 3 Tippet's Yard to collect any rent? He does everywhere else. With Ma gone, Meg must go back to her roots to uncover her 'family tree'. However, the process of simplfying her life leads to unforseen complications. But there's always Kip, reliable and loving, to pick up the pieces of her unsolved life and love.

The Shadow of Celene


Carol Sanders - 2018
     Livy Prescott is a young wife dependent upon,beholden to, and manipulated by Celene, a slave. In 1860, Edward Prescott gallops into Livy Taylor’s life racing his carriage down the main street of her tiny Pennsylvania town, winning a bet and her heart. After they wed, Livy is swept away to Merrywood, Edward’s home in the hills of North Carolina. There Livy faces the daunting task of adjusting to her new life as Mistress of Merrywood and slave-owner. And there Livy encounters Celene, the beautiful slave cook of Merrywood, skilled in the healing arts and privy to the deepest secrets of the Prescotts. Gradually Livy learns the extent of Celene’s influence and the hold she maintains over her master, causing Livy to question who is the real mistress of Merrywood.

Sherlock Holmes and the Unholy Trinity (The Odyssey of Sherlock Holmes #1)


Paul D. Gilbert - 2015
    A colourfully dressed Bedouin brandishing a sword interrupts Holmes and Watson at their breakfast table. He brings a cryptic warning: stay out of the affairs of his people, or face the consequences. Just as the detecting duo begin unravelling that mystery, they are summoned to Vatican City. Cardinal Tosca, the Pope’s right-hand man, has been murdered at his desk and his translation of an ancient scroll has been stolen from the Papal palace. The great detective and his faithful Watson find themselves battling a fog of secrecy. Rumours swirl about a lost gospel and mysterious packages from Egypt, and whispers of a clandestine group known only as the ‘Unholy Trinity’ grow louder. What was the Bedouin intruder so desperate to hide? Why was Cardinal Tosca’s scroll worth killing for? To find the answer Holmes and Watson must go further than they have ever gone before to uncover a centuries old conspiracy. Does this mystery run too deep for even the world’s most famous detective to unravel? In the first part of the carefully crafted first of the Odyssey of Sherlock Holmes Trilogy, Paul D. Gilbert sends this beloved British sleuth from his native Baker Street over land and sea to solve new mysteries. DISCOVER THESE NEW ADVENTURES OF HOLMES AND WATSON. PERFECT FOR FANS OF THE ORIGINAL AND LOVERS OF CLASSIC MYSTERIES. ALSO BY PAUL GILBERT THE ODYSSEY OF SHERLOCK HOLMES TRILOGY Book 1: SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE UNHOLY TRINITY Book 2: SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE FOUR-HANDED GAME Book 3: THE ILLUMINATION OF SHERLOCK HOLMES THE LOST FILES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES SERIES Book 1: THE LOST FILES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES Book 2: THE CHRONICLES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES Book 3: THE ANNALS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES STANDALONE NOVEL SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE GIANT RAT OF SUMATRA

The Retreat: A Romantic Suspense (Triquetra Series Book 3)


L.C. Kincaide - 2019
     Casey Barrow and a group of co-workers were looking forward to a few days of rest and camaraderie at a Catskill Mountains retreat away from their demanding careers. Reunited with a man she turned down years ago when working in Chicago, she hopes to make up for lost time during this getaway. However, rather than unwinding, the group becomes stranded in the dreary mountain mansion. By morning, four people have disappeared without a trace. Someone carrying a grudge has lured them there and cut off every means of escape. Running out of time, the captives face a new danger at every turn to liberate themselves. With the men injured from their efforts, Casey realizes it is up to her to find help before the killer returns to finish the rest of them off one by one. ** If you haven't read the first two books in the series and plan to, be warned of Major Spoilers in the Epilogue.**

Saving Grace: A Victorian Mystery


Hannah Howe - 2018
    During and after dinner he had nothing to excite him save the receipt of a letter which somewhat annoyed him, and that his wife consumed rather more wine than he considered to be good for her health. Immediately after retiring to his room he was seized with symptoms of irritant poisoning, and despite every effort made on his behalf, he succumbed to its effects. An inquest was held, which vexed the minds of the Coroner’s jury to a degree without precedent in Coroners’ Inquest Law, and an open verdict was returned. However, the matter will not rest there, for after questions in Parliament, a second inquest has been called under suspicion that Mr Charles Petrie was murdered. * * * Who poisoned Charles Petrie? Dr James Collymore, a man familiar with poisons, a man harbouring a dark secret that, if exposed, would ruin his career; Florrie, the maid who supplied Charles with his bedtime drink; Bert Kemp, a disgruntled groom, who used poisons in his work, who four months previously had predicted Charles’ dying day; Mrs Jennet Quinn, a lady’s companion with a deep knowledge of poisons, and a deep fear of dismissal; or Grace Petrie, Charles’ wife of four months, a woman with a scandalous past, a woman shunned by polite society. With crowds flocking to the courtroom and the shadow of suspicion falling upon Grace in the shape of the hangman’s noose, could dashing young advocate, Daniel Morgan, save her?

On Sackville Street


A. O'Connor - 2016
    Firstly, she scandalises society by refusing to wear the mandatory widow’s weeds. She then sets her sights on marrying Nicholas Fontenoy. But Nicholas is already engaged to Bishop Staffordshire’s daughter, Constance. But is there something darker behind Milandra’s professed love for Nicholas? As Milandra attempts to lure Nicholas away from Constance, a chain of events is set off that leads to bribery, blackmail and murder. 1916 - Milandra Carter, now in her seventies, is one of the wealthiest and most respected women in Dublin. After attending a family reunion at Easter, on arrival back to her mansion on Sackville Street she is confronted by a gunman. Milandra fears he has come to avenge a past grudge. But quickly realises she has been caught up in something much bigger. 1916 - As Dublin explodes with the Easter Rising, Amelia Robinson desperately tries to rescue her grandmother, Milanda, trapped in her house. But the events unfolding on Sackville Street will unravel a decades old mystery, a secret that was to be carried to the grave.

The Young Widow: An Ambition & Destiny Novel (The Ambition & Destiny Series Book 6)


V.L. McBeath - 2020
    When an enigmatic stranger steals her heart, can she know he wants her for the right reasons?London 1808: Widowed at the age of twenty, Ann has no optimism for the future. At the beck and call of her domineering mother she longs to make a new life for herself with the legacy left by her late husband. But it's not that easy. Not when it means leaving her sisters behind. Her world is turned upside down when a curious gentleman stops to speak to her. Chas is new to the area, but he seems to know a lot about her … and he certainly looks well-to-do. Could he be her saviour? With newfound hope Ann dares to dream again, but Chas has a secret. Something he refuses to share. As their friendship grows, there are those who want to keep them apart … but when Ann stumbles upon Chas’s past, she realises that only she can decide what their future holds. Inspired by the compelling family history of author V L McBeath, The Young Widow is a standalone story in The Ambition & Destiny Series. Set in Georgian-era London, forty years before the start of this historical family saga, The Young Widow adds another dimension to this epic series. Get your copy today. Please Note: The Young Widow is written in UK English. Other books in The Ambition & Destiny Series: Prequel: Condemned by Fate Part 1: Hooks & Eyes Part 2: Less Than Equals Part 3: When Time Runs Out Part 4: Only One Winner Part 5: Different World

The Beggar Sisters


Rosie Darling - 2018
    When she lost the printing business that was their livelihood soon after they had lost both their mother and father, they also lost the home in which they had both been born. Relegated to a life in a grey tenement, and long hours of Ada working in the Bow match factory and little Emma selling wares on the cold, unaccommodating streets of east London, the sisters had nothing but each other. What they shared now was a life without warmth, a life of disadvantage, a life where roast lamb and gravy was no more than a shared illusion, where Christmas was not a day apart from any other. And then Ada was forced to enter into a contract with a monster. Would he sell her to the highest bidder just as he had done to so many women before? What would become of little Emma if she were taken from her? Everett Floyd was known to be heartless. How was it that two young, vulnerable and innocent girls could melt his icy heart without even trying? In an age of misery where money distinguished people - and separated lives - could two very different worlds come together to heal the pain of the past and bring a new reality?

Corruption of the Son (The Alardyce Series Book 2)


Heather Atkinson - 2015
    Her eldest son, Robert, has come of age and with it has come a violent desire to hurt and cause pain. After his attack upon one of the maids, his true character is revealed to her in horrifying clarity, yet a mother's love is a powerful thing. As Robert continues to descend into the darkness that claimed his now-deceased biological father, Matthew, Amy fights to save his very soul. The increasing distance between Robert and his stepfather Henry threatens the peace of her loving marriage and Amy has to face a stark choice - denounce her son as the monster he is or protect him from the consequences of his lethal actions. However Amy too has a secret, one she prays Robert never finds out, fearing it might turn his deadly urges on her. Contains scenes of sex and violence. Please note this book is part of a series and is not a stand-alone novel.

A Western Christmas (Old West Wyoming Book 1)


Vivian Sinclair - 2017
     After five years of hard work, Elliott Maitland has succeeded to make profitable the ranch he bought on a whim from a gambler who had no interest in working with cattle. A frosty winter day finds Elliott in town, hoping to conclude his business before the blizzard starts in earnest. Sam, the owner of the mercantile, asks him to give shelter to the new schoolteacher, who just arrived in town and has nowhere to stay. Celestine Tillman is in desperate need of a job and a place to live. Being hired as a teacher in Wyoming is a blessing. Discovering that no one is waiting for her at the train depot and no room is available in town so close to Christmas is distressing. Going home with this rancher could be dangerous, but what choice does she have? This adventure packed fictional story is set in Laramie, Wyoming at the end of the nineteen century and presents a true picture of the western town with all the good and the bad, the modern and the old west mixed together. An enduring town moving forward and changing with the times.

The Fledglings


Max Hennessy - 2020
    Face to face. One machine against another.It was shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. Martin Falconer and his friend, Frank, were anxious to ‘get into the scrap’ as soon as possible, their youth blinding them to the real danger of it all.Geoffrey, Martin’s elder brother, knew that it wasn’t a game. He had fought in the trenches, been wounded and had seen friends die.For Geoffrey the R.F.C. offered an opportunity to escape the mud and horror of the Front, while for Martin and Frank it was the chance to be in at the start of a totally different kind of fighting. They were to be pioneers.A scintillating, full-throttle thriller of the First World War, perfect for fans of W. E. Johns, Derek Robinson and Geoffrey Wellum.