Book picks similar to
Windrush by Malcolm Archibald


historical-fiction
war
historical
asia

Archer


Jacky Gray - 2010
    Shoot an apple off his friend’s head or lose his food, horse and clothes? Some decisions require little thought.Archer is the sort of boy things happen to. Orphaned as a baby, his gifts make him different to other kids. He doesn't understand why he's so much stronger and faster than other boys; why a sword feels so right in his hand; or how every arrow he looses at a target will hit the centre, even if his eyes are closed.At the Beltane ritual, he must fight his friends to see who is most worthy. But his real battle is with an enemy whose callous disrespect for the natural order brings dangerous consequences.This swashbuckling romantic fantasy will appeal to fans of action-adventure, jousting and magical realism.

A Love so True


Caroline Mickelson - 2018
    Although she’s only one of thousands leaving the city, Emma is fleeing more than the horrors of war. Her greatest fear is that the father of her child will track her down and exact revenge for what she’s stolen from him. World renowned Dutch concert pianist Andrej Van der Hoosen is a man who cherishes his privacy above all else. His wealth and privilege have afforded him the luxury of avoiding being around children because of a painful loss from his own past. So, when he meets the woman and children he’ll reside with for the duration of the war, he’s instantly on guard. The children are boisterous and full of life, the cottage they’re assigned to live in is small, and he finds himself intrigued by the secret Emma is so clearly trying to hide. Despite their reluctance to trust each other, Emma and Andrej soon find themselves drawn together in a world torn apart by war.

Return


Elliott Baker - 2014
    Slavery is a common plague along the European coast and into this wild time, an ancient Egyptian general armed with dark arts has managed to return and re-embody, intent on recreating the reign of terror he began as Pharaoh. René Gilbert must remember his own lifetime at the feet of Akhenaten to have a chance to defeat Horemheb. A secret sect has waited in Morocco for three thousand years for his arrival.

Sarah's Duke: and Ellie's Gentleman


Georgiana Louis - 2015
    She doesn’t need a great fortune or a title, she would actually prefer not to have to go into London ever again. She has little to offer other than her beauty and a pleasant temperament, but she is hoping that will be enough to secure her a man who will be kind to her. Oliver Lyre is the newly inherited Duke of Lincoln. Born as the spare son, he never expected to inherit his father’s mantle, and has neither the skills nor the desire to enjoy the benefits of his rank. He knows that he must marry a lady befitting of the position, but when he rescues the beautiful Sarah Collins one night, he can’t imagine living without her lovely smile in his life. Should he marry the delectably sweet virgin who would undoubtedly make a horrible Duchess, or do what duty demands of him? Ellie's Gentleman: sweet short story Ellie Sommers is twenty years old, beautiful, lively and intelligent. She has finally returned to her family home after another long London season. She wants nothing more than to stay in her beloved country town and ride her horses. Enter Robert Blakely, a widower and a true gentleman. He has come to spend Christmas with his long-time friend William, Ellie’s father. Robert has no wish to marry again and is shocked to discover his own interest in the beautiful daughter of his friend. The only problem is that he is twice her age and a widower who has convinced himself he will never marry again.

Beneath a Blazing Sky


Amanda Hughes - 2020
    The dawning of the Twentieth Century, and it is a world in chaos. Raised on Coney Island among scoundrels, cheats, and dreamers, Piper Albrecht is apprenticed to violence at an early age. Not until she is rescued by her aunt and moves to the elegant Upper East Side of Manhattan does she experience a different life, the life of a well-educated, forward-thinking young woman. But the roller coaster ride is far from over. After building the most fashionable millinery house in America, Piper spearheads relief efforts in Belgium during The Great War, bringing food to civilians trapped behind enemy lines. Once again, she is immersed in turmoil, misery, and violence. Partnering with her is Bret Collier, a charismatic adventurer, who hides not only his past but his future. She is drawn to his easy charm and cavalier exterior, but this American is not who he appears to be. Choosing the right path can mean life or death for Piper, and she must move swiftly because the war is intensifying, and her entire world is on fire.Join Amanda Hughes with another host of unforgettable characters on a wild ride in Beneath the Blazing Sky.

Salvation


Olivia Rae - 2015
    But her late husband’s cousin, Lord de Beaufou has come to claim his rights to Durville Keep and to her hand in marriage. If that is not enough to deal with, her brother has sent a peasant to watch over her. She has but one plan. Get rid of them both!Tormented by is past, Royce Canwell leaves the unrest in the Holy Land and returns to England to fulfill an oath to a friend—go to Durville Keep and ensure all is well with the man’s sister. But upon arrival Royce discovers Lady Breanna’s situation is more precarious than he expected. Though he longs for a simple life in which to heal his wounded soul, he finds himself sacrificing his hopes, his dreams, and even his heart to give Lady Breanna the future she wants and deserves.

Sanctioned


R.A. McGee - 2020
    But there’s a bullet out there with his name on it…Covert operative Czerny Clark has had his fill of black-ops and bloodshed. After an assassination mission ends in chaos, he vows to hang up his holster. But when his former partner disappears while tailing a Russian explosives expert, Clark picks up his guns and dives back into the life he thought he left behind.Following a trail of bodies to Central America, Clark will stop at nothing to free his colleague. But while he’s busy squeezing the trigger on his rescue mission, a plan for a devastating act of terrorism brews in the wings.Can Clark neutralize a madman before thousands of innocents die?Sanctioned is the heart-stopping first book in the Blackthorn spy thriller series. If you like gritty heroes, pulse-pounding plots, and top-secret twists, then you’ll love R.A. McGee’s blood-soaked tale.

The Blueprint


Wesley Cross - 2016
    Some might say it has been doing it already for decades by whatever means necessary. But they are no longer content to hide in the shadows. They want to become the true masters.Jason Hunt knows nothing about that world. In a decaying society plagued by poverty and a lost sense of purpose, he's one of the lucky ones. He's got money. He's happily married. He could just go on living.But when his wife becomes ill, Jason finds himself pitted against the cabal that might hold the key to her survival. To save her, he needs to embrace technology he doesn't understand, take over a billion-dollar company without a billion dollars, outsmart professional assassins, and land a contract with the DOD. But even that might not be enough.Pick up THE BLUEPRINT--the first book in THE UPGRADE series set in a dark, near-future world that will appeal to fans of Altered Carbon, Daniel Silva, and Tim Tigner.

Reiver


David Pilling - 2016
    The March lands between England and Scotland are a place of terror, where outlaw bands and broken men rob, pillage and murder in open defiance of the law. Here, deadly blood-feud is a way of life. Families of robbers, known as Border Reivers, live via blackmail and terrorism. No man sleeps safe in his bed, and the sound of hoofbeats on the tops is a herald of death. Richie Reade, known as Richie O’the Bow, finds himself dragged into this dark and bloody world. One night his village is raided by a gang of Armstrongs, the most dreaded of the reiver families. After he slays two of the gang, Richie is declared a dead man walking: the Armstrongs and their allies will not rest until they have his head. Betrayed by the law, Richie is forced to flee into the wilderness. He and his fellow outlaws begin to forge a reputation as Richie’s Bairns, killing the Armstrongs wherever they find them. Meanwhile the Border is threatened by war. The rebellious northern earls plan to depose the Protestant Queen of England, Elizabeth I, and replace her with the Catholic Mary Stewart. Many of the reiver families rise to join the rebellion, and the earls march south under the Banner of the Five Wounds. Civil war threatens to break out in England, even as fresh murder and conspiracy raise havoc in Scotland. With the north in turmoil, and the Border in a state of bloody flux, Richie and his outlaws do what they can to survive. As his fame grows, Richie finds himself drawn inexorably into the war for England’s soul. When the final battle looms, above the rushing waters of the Hell Beck, he must choose his fate. Reiver is the latest novella by David Pilling, author of the Caesar’s Sword trilogy, Leader of Battles, The White Hawk and Soldier of Fortune.

Cosega Search


Brandt Legg - 2014
    What he finds is beyond imagining. It unleashes a mystery older than recorded time, rewrites human history, and promises to change the planet’s future. It must be suppressed.The most powerful forces in the world align against him, and a deadly competition for the artifact ensues. Capturing Gaines is not enough--everyone who has seen the artifact must be killed. His only hope is to stay alive long enough to decode the Cosega Sequence. Dig far enough into the past . . . you may just discover the future.

Retribution


D.V. Berkom - 2020
    Now she wants revenge.Spring 1880: Claire Whitcomb and her family are building a good life near the boomtown of Leadville, Colorado, when tragedy strikes: a group of renegades attack, killing everyone but Claire and burning their home. Not knowing who to turn to, Claire teams up with Mart Duggan, the town’s tough-as-nails marshal, to track down the outlaws responsible. Duggan and his friend, Thomas, a local Ute, skirt the law to get results, but that’s fine by Claire. She’s gunning for the men who destroyed her life—and won’t settle for anything less than retribution.

By Any Means


James Farner - 2018
    John Williams is determined not to be one of those men. When Harry Heard gives him a fake sword to sell to aristocrat Sir Albert Blackwood, his life changes forever. He meets and deals with industrialists, daughters of dukes, and knights of the realm. But all the while a mysterious serial killer, known only as the Breaker, is picking people off at will. When he makes Sir Albert Blackwood his target, John is forced to put the Breaker's brutal work to an end. Not only his future but his very life hinges on his success. As class and murder collide, can John leave his humble beginnings behind him?

Chasing the Star Garden


Melanie Karsak - 2013
    An infamous poet living in self-imposed exile. An ancient treasure about to fall into the wrong hands.Melanie Karsak's Chasing the Star Garden takes readers on a thrilling adventure from the gritty opium dens of gaslamp London to the gem-coloured waters of the ancient world. Lily Stargazer, a loveable but reckless airship racer with a famous lover and shattered past, reluctantly plunges into a centuries-old mystery in a romantic adventure best described as Dan Brown meets Mary Shelley.It all begins on one of the worst days of Lily’s life. She just lost the London leg of the 1823 Airship Grand Prix. To top it off, a harlequin fleeing from constables shoved a kaleidoscope down her pants, told her to fly to Venice, then threw himself from her airship tower. What’s a girl to do? For Lily, the answer is easy: drink absinthe and smoke opium. Lily’s lover, Lord Byron, encourages her to make the trip to Venice. Lily soon finds herself at the heart of an ancient mystery which has her running from her past and chasing true love and the stars along the way.

Hunt Them Down


Simon Gervais - 2019
    Will his daughter pay the price?Former Army Ranger Pierce Hunt is no stranger to violence. Fresh off a six-month suspension, he’s itching to hit a notorious Mexican drug cartel where it hurts, even if that means protecting crime boss Vicente Garcia, a witness in the case against sadistic cartel leader Valentina Mieles. But things spiral out of control when the cartel murders Garcia and kidnaps his granddaughter and an innocent bystander, Hunt’s own teenage daughter.Mieles wants the new head of the Garcia family on a plate—literally. Hunt has seventy-two hours to deliver, or Mieles will execute the girls live on social media. With the clock ticking, Hunt goes off the grid and teams up with Garcia’s daughter, a former lover and current enemy. To save the girls, Hunt will have to become a man he swore he’d never be again: an avenging killer without limits or mercy.

Seven Years Dead


Chuck Driskell - 2016
    Allegedly. In the waning days of the Second World War, Tommy’s American unit was slaughtered by the notorious Schutzstaffel—the Waffen SS. According to the U.S. government, there were no survivors. But Tommy did survive—the sole survivor of 187 men. In the interest of his privacy, the government provided him with a new identity in a different region of the country. But, unknown to the U.S. government, Tommy spent his college years planning his revenge. And now, in 1952, Tommy is traveling back to Germany. He’s going there to find the man, the murderer, the SS commander who ordered his friends killed. Despite his deep-seeded hatred, Tommy is forced to assimilate with his German hosts. Though unwilling at first, he even finds himself yielding to the kindness of a German widow and her son. Although his hunt progresses successfully, he soon falls under the scrutiny of a dogged Berlin detective as well as a deadly legion of former SS. Inspired by the true events of the Malmedy Massacre, SEVEN YEARS DEAD begins as a tale of revenge and transforms to one of redemption. With dual plot lines of journal entries recounting the massacre, paralleled with Tommy’s hunt for the SS, SEVEN YEARS DEAD is an action/crime thriller that esteemed World War II author Kelly Durham describes as “thrilling and riveting.”