Book picks similar to
The Urchin's Song by Rita Bradshaw


rita-bradshaw
historic
favourites
3-stars

Jack Ryder Mystery #4-6


Willow Rose - 2019
     Mystery, love, suspense, and action these books have it all. The hit series from #1 Bestselling author Willow Rose is impossible to put down. - BLACK JACK:  Welcome to the Blackwood House. Enter if you dare. It is said about a house in Savannah that all who have ever lived there have gone insane. When Kimberly and Joseph inherit the house from an unknown aunt, they don’t know the house’s murderous history. They move in and soon a series of strange events occur. It’s like the house doesn’t want them there. Little by little, Joseph starts to change, and soon Kimberly begins to wonder: is the house haunted or is her husband just going mad? Jack Ryder and Shannon King have run away from the press and paparazzi to Savannah to get married. They are preparing for their wedding when they stumble upon a young girl sitting alone on the docks at the harbor at night. She doesn’t seem to have any parents, nor does she know where she lives. Her feet are bare, and she has nowhere to go. They take her in for the night, but as they try to pull out information from her, bizarre stories are revealed, and soon they start to speculate about the girl. Is she telling the truth or hiding unsettling secrets of her own? - THE GIRL NEXT DOOR: He came in the morning when they were still making lunches and getting ready for school and work. He killed them all. Mother, father, children. Brutally slaughtered them in the comfort of their own home. They called him the Monday Morning Killer. That was forty years ago, but now it is happening again. A mother and her daughter are brutally murdered in their house, on a peaceful Monday morning in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Home alone with six children while his wife - country superstar Shannon King - is on tour, Detective Jack Ryder gets the most terrifying case of his career, chasing a deranged serial killer, unlike anyone he has ever seen. No one feels safe, especially not the girl next door, who just bought the house where the first family was killed forty years ago. Who is capable of such cruelty? And why? Could one person be responsible for these brutal killings of entire families so many years apart? Or is Jack dealing with a copy-cat? You’ll never guess the shocking answer. - HER FINAL WORD: Ella Maria Chauncey walks home after a night out with her friends, hurrying to get back before her parents realize she's been out with the boy they don't want her to date. Living in the gated community of Lyford Cay, in one of the world's wealthiest neighborhoods, she believes it is safe. Ella Maria never makes it home. She is found the next day floating in her family's pool, her tongue cut out.. Seven months later Jack Ryder is visiting the Bahamas with his adopted daughter Emily. They're trying to find Emily's relatives, but it turns out to be easier said than done. The only living relative they can track down is a woman…in jail. She's doing time for murdering Ella Maria Chauncey, but as Jack digs into the case, he starts to wonder if she was wrongfully convicted and the murderer is still out there, hunting for his next prey. As the shocking investigation unfolds, and secrets are revealed, no one in in the lucrative Lyford Cay can be trusted.

A Rare Ruby


Dee Williams - 2002
    Forced to leave school and help her mother wash clothes, Ruby closes the door on her childhood. When she takes a job at the local laundry, Ruby enjoys the friendship of the other women there, but there's also bitchiness and jealousy amongst the workers. At home there's growing tension with the live-in landlord as Ruby grows into an attractive woman, but not the kind who's willing to use her charms to win favours. Ruby's heart belongs to one man only, a local boy she's known all her life, but there are many battles to be fought before they start a life together...

Ulrich


James WalkerJames Walker - 2018
    On his journey he meets Tau, a freed African slave, Ima, a vengeful German war maiden, and Sigmund, a gentle giant caught between worlds. Together they must ally with the Roman Legion to fight against an evil that threatens all the civilized world and pursue justice for those they have lost. Ulrich is the first novel of a series that explores events in and around the Roman empire of the fourth century A.D. A terrible force of invaders, the Alemanni, throw a continent into chaos on their quest for power and revenge and only a young Caesar Julian stands in their way. Action and adventure combine with historical accuracy to create an epic tale of hate, triumph, love, and loss. Through their actions our heroes raise and topple empires and make choices that shape the course of history.

Exit Five from Charing Cross


Valerie Keogh - 2014
    Money, a beautiful wife, two children. But nothing in Jake’s world is as it seems. He dislikes his wife, never sees his children and is in so much debt there doesn’t appear to be a way out...unless....?Faced with the only decision that seems to make sense, he makes a choice that will change all their lives forever.

A View to a Kill: Devil Died at Midnight / Hickory Dickory Dead / Eye for Revenge


Cheryl Bradshaw - 2018
    Just when Joss believes she's solved the mystery, an unexpected twist rises to the surface, a twist so deadly it unearths Elias Pratt from the grave and changes the lives of those who knew him forever.Hickory Dickory DeadFeisty. Ballsy. Bold. ... And not your average seventy-year-old woman.After a late-night tryst with a much younger man, Maisie Fezziwig wakes to a harrowing scream outside. Curious, she removes a pistol from her dresser drawer and walks outside to investigate. The sleepy street is still and calm at first, until Maisie stumbles on a grisly murder that will change her life forever.Eye for RevengeQuinn Montgomery has lost the will to live.She wakes to find herself in the hospital. Her childhood best friend Evie is dead. But not just dead, murdered, and Evie's four-year-old son witnessed it all. Traumatized over what he saw, he hasn't spoken. And when Evie's cold-blooded killer goes into hiding, Quinn isn't only out for justice, she's out for revenge.Readers are saying:"If you want a book that grabs you from beginning to end, this is it." N. Farris"No one does it better than Bradshaw, blending a mix of mystery, romance, and a bloody edge of revenge." Janet Fix, The Word Verve

Caesar's Shadow


Anthony Wright - 2020
    Now he can. The newest VRMMORPG Gods & Kings is the closest thing to a time machine he’ll ever get.With the powers of his Warrior Priest class Matt must build his army, level his followers, and discover new battle formations that will help him defeat his enemies and become a true Roman general. More victories means more glory and more men – so Matt must use all his knowledge of history to give his fighters the edge in battle, as well as buffing his troops with ancient magic and even summoning mythic beasts to fight alongside his men. It’s awesome!But his carefree attitude soon earns the scorn of a serious competitor who has made it his mission to rewrite history and see Matt and his allies destroyed. To see the version of Rome he loves come to life, Matt must use all his skill to defeat his nemesis and save the empire.

Love Comes To Clover Cove


Maggie Finn - 2019
     Being posted from Manhattan to the Emerald Isle should be bliss for heartbroken New York executive Kate O’Riordan, but Kate’s job is to persuade the little village of Clover Cove to allow her employer to build an energy plant in their picture-perfect harbour. Her mission brings her into conflict with handsome innkeeper Connor James, a man who makes Kate’s heart do backflips, but who is hiding his own secret heartache. Kate’s romantic life is further complicated by the attentions of wealthy Lord Balcon and then there’s the matter of her ex-boyfriend, ambitious oil executive David. In an inspirational story of new beginnings, Kate must find the courage to place her faith in love if she is to save the village - and find a new place to call home. Love Comes To Clover Cove is the first book in an uplifting new series of romance, friendships and family, set on the beautiful west coast of Ireland, perfect for readers of Debbie Macomber, Nancy Thayer and Jenny Colgan.

The Legend of James Grey


Jennifer Moorman - 2016
    Plagued with an everyday existence of past tragedies and regrets, Emma has relinquished her future to her job of sorting books in the library.Her only friend, as it seems, is head librarian, Mordecai Wallach, the sturdy father-figure who tries to right her floundering ship. One night after the library has closed, Emma hears voices coming from the archives section. She finds peculiar visitors who seem all too familiar, and she unexpectedly entangles herself in the long-held secrets of the library’s magic. When Emma must take control of the library in Morty’s absence, she realizes he hasn’t been entirely honest with her. While trying to discover the truth, she comes face-to-face with James Grey, a handsome military man with a history of his own and an irresistible charm. While working to keep the library’s magic from being discovered by the town, Emma struggles not to fall in love with James—the only one who can change the course of her life but whose time is running out. Just how far will the magic take her?

Texas Angel: Texas Angel / Heaven's Road


Judith Pella - 2008
    But that did little to save her when it was discovered that her deceased mother was a runaway quadroon. Disowned and shamed by the Hearne family, Elise and her baby find themselves on their way to the wild frontier of Texas--as slave.When Elise inadvertently meets Benjamin Sinclair, a fiery evangelist determined to convert the lawless Texans, their lives become intertwined in the midst of tragedy--shattering their fragile existence and forcing them to discover the faith that sustains.This volume also includes the full-length novel Heaven's Road, the story of Micah Sinclair, the reckless but courageous stepson of Elise.

A Sister's Duty


June Francis - 2016
    And when her estranged aunt Amelia decides to take them in, she will have a difficult choice to make…

Festung Europa: The Anglo-American/Nazi War


Jon Kacer - 2015
    Stalingrad falls, and with it, the Soviet war effort. A victorious Third Reich turns its attention west and enters a stalemate with the Western Allies. An uneasy truce begins, but it will not last forever. Starting with an overview of the world leading up to the resumption of all-out war between the Allies and Nazi state, we see the all-too possible results of the Nazi Party in control of Europe for an additional decade and longer. This is followed by a detailed examination of the tactics and politics that might well have resulted in a WWII far more destructive than what was experienced in our time. Written in the style of an actual history of the War done years after its conclusion, Festung Europa approaches one of the great "What Ifs" of alternate history in a unique manner. Reviews "An alternate history masterpiece." "A truly amazing piece of work." "A gripping timeline."

His Other Wife


Umm Zakiyyah - 2016
    Aliyah is Deanna's best friend...whom Jacob wants to marry. Expanded and continued beyond Umm Zakiyyah's popular online series by the same name, His Other Wife is a story about love and betrayal, faith and personal crisis, and withstanding deep emotional wounds.Jacob is a successful businessman and college professor, and his wife Deanna is a renowned marriage counselor and author. Together they are their Muslim community’s power couple. Aliyah is Deanna’s recently divorced best friend who has just accepted a position at the college where Jacob works—and who is the unwilling recipient of Deanna’s constant unsolicited relationship advice, particularly that Aliyah needs to learn how to hold a marriage together and keep a man from ever thinking about marrying another woman. But their friendship takes a difficult turn when Aliyah receives a phone call from her uncle saying that Jacob is interested in marrying her as a second wife—without Deanna’s knowledge.

The Tainted Crown (Horstberg Saga #4)


Elizabeth D. Michaels - 2015
    He also grew up observing the powerful and tender love shared by his parents. Determined to find that same kind of love in his own life, he is holding out for a woman who can see more in him than a marriage that will give his future wife prestige and great wealth. After more than a decade of searching for the right woman, Erich may have finally found a love beyond anything he’d imagined. But his happiness and the stability of the country is at risk when a long-dormant evil comes to the surface in Horstberg, threatening his life and that of his young nephew, who is Erich’s heir. While Erich tries to remain confident that he will live long enough to claim his right to serve his country, he is haunted by premonitory dreams that imply his life will come to a tragic end. As a force of extremist revolutionaries force Horstberg to the brink of war, the entire du Woernig family must flee into hiding for the sake of their own survival. Only when everything is on the line does Erich come to fully understand what truly matters. Please note that Book Five, the final book in the Horstberg Saga will be available for preorder on April 6th and will be released May 4th.

Mersey Blues


Lyn Andrews - 1995
    The Great War had ended and Scotland Road was left to count the cost. Many young men had not come back; those who had would never be the same again.Dee Chatterton and Abbie Kerrigan had seen the horrors of war for themselves as nurses in military hospitals abroad. While Abbie settled down in the familiar surroundings of Scotland Road, for others, different horizons beckoned. Dee went to live in Canada, while their friend Hannah Harvey became personal nurse to none other than Richard, seventh Earl of Ashenden, badly injured in the war. Moving to the splendours of Ashenden Hall was to bring her unimagined happiness, but also the heartache of being separated for ever from her family and friends.

Unearthed (A Madeleine Porter Mystery)


John Nixon - 2017
     When Madeleine's youngest son and his wife buy their first house, they make an unexpected discovery. As a result Madeleine and her husband Ian are drawn into a disturbing and puzzling story of wartime romance and its consequences; consequences which reverberate through to the present day. This, the fifth Madeleine Porter story, is the familiar mix of family history, mystery, sadness and happiness.