Book picks similar to
The Devil's Music (Company Files, #3) by Gabriel Valjan


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historical-mystery
award-winner-best-reviewed
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Murder in Caney Fork


Wally Avett - 2014
    Taught to shoot in the rough logging camps of the North Carolina swamps, Wes Ross remembers his lessons well. Dodging hostile gunfire with dozens of other young Marines, he storms a remote Pacific island as one of Carlson's Raiders in the first commando-style attack of World War II. He blasts several Japanese snipers from their palm-tree hideouts with buckshot before an enemy bullet sends him home. The Carolina homefront includes a new girlfriend and a new occupation, learning to be a rural lawyer in his uncle's law office, including courtroom intrigue and what goes on behind the scenes. Wes, like his uncles, is a good man, the kind who takes up for the poor and downtrodden, looking out for those who are easy prey for bullies. Frog Cutshaw is the storekeeper in the Caney Fork backwoods, a swaggering ex-moonshiner who is deadly with his ever-present .45 auto pistol. Frog's daylight rape of a married woman and the brutal killing of her husband bring on Bible Belt vigilante justice, an eye for an eye, a life for a life. Wally Avett is a retired newspaperman. He lives in North Carolina.

The Casebook of Inspector Blackstone


Sally Spencer - 2017
    Yet to Inspector Sam Blackstone, the case is as puzzling as any he has ever come across. As his investigation proceeds, Blackstone finds himself entering the world of the aristocracy and tramping the dangerous streets of London's Little Russia, where English law and order are not welcome. So begins the illustrious career of the talented inspector, who earns the equal ire and respect of his superiors for his controversial tactics. Absorbing in their detailed depictions of the period, gripping in their ingenious plots, this trilogy of historical whodunnits is the perfect box set for any mystery-lover. Praise for Sally Spencer 'Spencer's finest hour: a tightly plotted puzzler with surprises at every turn' – Kirkus Reviews 'Spencer is an accomplished craftsman who serves up a good puzzle and deftly solves it with intelligence and insight' – Publishers Weekly Sally Spencer worked as a teacher both in England and Iran - where she witnessed the fall of the Shah. She now writes full time.

Avery’s Knot


Mary Cable - 1981
    Avery was tried for the murder of a twenty-nine-year-old mill worker, Sarah Marie Cornell. It was the first time a clergyman had ever been tried for murder in the United States and the first time an American murder trial became headline news. From this factual base, Mary Cable weaves a chilling novel of gothic desires and conflicting classes. She creates a rich atmosphere to show New England as it was then - simple, puritanical, superstitious, and unsentimental - on the brink of emerging from the eighteenth century into an industrial and far-more-complicated age. This dramatic, compelling story is as much about a time and place as it is about a notorious murder trial. A work of poetic intensity, Avery’s Knot is finally a classic, tragic tale of a woman caught between passion and puritanism.

Blood in the Water Trilogy: The Lieutenant Oliver Anson Thriller Box Set


David McDine - 2018
     The Napoleonic wars are brought to life with grit and gunpowder in this trilogy of hugely popular novels: Strike the Red Flag, The Normandy Privateer and Dead Man's Island. With a clear knowledge of the period, McDine skillfully uses actual events in the Royal Navy’s history as the backdrop to Anson's swashbuckling adventures. For fans of Hornblower, Bolitho, Ramage or Aubrey, Oliver Anson will be your next naval hero. David McDine, OBE, is a former Admiralty information officer, Royal Navy Reserve officer and Deputy Lieutenant of Kent, and the author of Unconquered: The Story of Kent and its Lieutenancy.

The New South


Sabra Waldfogel - 2021
    She’s Black. He’s white. They’re sister and brother… but they’re not. Will they ever be?Eliza Coldbrook, proud and privileged graduate of all-Black Atlanta University, hasn’t seen her white half-brother since the end of Reconstruction. When Matt returns to Atlanta, she refuses a reunion. She now lives in a progressive and prosperous new South. She doesn’t want to be reminded of the past that she and Matt share.Her half-brother Matthew Kaltenbach hasn’t lived in Georgia since he was seven years old. But he has vivid memories of the past, and he has unfinished business with it. He wants to rebuild a relationship with the man who is his father as well as Eliza’s. And he wants to reconcile with the half-sister he loved when they were children, but who has become a stranger since.Amanda Gardiner, born a slave in Georgia, now lives in an Atlanta reborn after the Civil War. But she doesn’t share in the bounty that is the New South. As a washerwoman, she’s underpaid and badly treated by her white employers. Until she decides to say no, and all the washerwomen of Atlanta join her in a strike…When the Black washerwomen of Atlanta go on strike, Eliza and Matt, Black half-sister and white half-brother, are both swept into their cause. Will the strike let them heal the wounds of the past—and forgive each other?

Cinch Mountain (Clay Brentwood Book 4)


Jared McVay - 2017
    His mouth salivated as he watched the healthy looking young woman with the fiery red hair putting gold nuggets into a leather pouch. She had no hat on and her red hair glistened in the sunshine. He would take his time with this one, he thought to himself. He would make her scream and beg for him to let her die. He enjoyed it best when they begged. Enzo didn’t know it, but the only problem with his plan was that, although you would never know it from looking, the girl knew she was being watched. It was the big Morgan she rode that had raised his head from where he stood eating grass, letting her know that someone or something was nearby. “Well”, she thought to herself, “if he wants to try something stupid...”

Storm Warrior Vol 19: Priceless


W.L. Cox - 2015
    Marshal headquarters in Chicago and meets U.S. Marshal Bekins.

SPQR: The Roman Empire has just discovered a terrifying new world


Richard Blade - 2019
    In 55 B.C. the Roman Senate orders their most honored general, Demetrius Varinica, to cease mourning his wife and return to Rome to lead a fleet on an ill-fated invasion. The general and a handful of survivors from the devastated Fifteenth Legion wash up on an unknown shore and find themselves in a terrifying new world where every moment is a battle to stay alive. Befriended by a peaceful tribe, these hardened warriors learn a different way of life, existing with nature, without war, without fighting. But even as a new day dawns, a terrifying evil falls upon the land and confronts Demetrius with an unthinkable choice, honor his oath and return with his men to Rome or remain in this strange country and pick up his sword once again to face impossible odds in a desperate attempt to save the lives of these gentle people and the woman who has won his heart.

A Much Anticipated Bride: Country Brides & Cowboy Boots (Lime Peak Ranch, #2)


Lucy McConnell - 2017
      Lime Peak Ranch is home to the Dumont and Ruggles families who raise cattle, train horses, and compete in PRCA rodeos. Life down the dirt road isn’t as perfect as it seems and secrets have roots deeper than the maple trees.   Ellie Dumont isn’t ready to face the music and return home to Lime Peak Ranch. She’s done the unthinkable and put a fence right down the middle of the family. To overcome her betrayal, the family will have to forgive thirty years’ of wrongs and look beyond her new last name. Dr. Robert Canton is falling in love with Olivia Dumont. After an electric kiss, he knows she’s aware of what’s happening between them. That’s why he has to tell her why he really came to the ranch. If Olivia understands, then they have a future together. If not, then he’ll have to pack his things and go because the Lime Peak Ranch isn’t home without Olivia’s hand in his. Carol Dumont agreed to move to the ranch so her son, Levi, could be closer to his father. In subtle ways, George has changed, he’s softer, more considerate of her feelings. And in other ways he’s still the same. He can melt her knees with a look and make her heart pound like a queen’s horse circling the arena. She’s fallen for his charms before and ended up alone and lonely. She’ll have to work extra hard to keep her heart safe with this cowboy living down the lane. Bonnie Ruggles is on the move. She has the money she needs to make one of her lost dreams come true and she’s feeling crazy enough to follow through even though. This leap may mean the end of her marriage—or it could save her soul from withering away.    Follow this family full of heart and love and loyalty as they work to navigate the revelation of long-buried secrets, bitter rivalries, and love in the second book in the Lime Peak Ranch series.

Saddle Mountain


Paul L. Thompson - 2013
    From 1873 until his death in 1896, Judge Isaac Charles Parker policed seventy-four thousand square miles, with two hundred or so lawmen. The area was called by several names; Last of the Western Frontier, Hell’s Fringe, The Nations and Indian Territory just to name a few. Several more names were used, but should not appear in print at this time.

Defiance: The Complete Box Set (The Defending Home Series Books 1-3)


William H. Weber - 2017
    He grows his own crops, generates his own power and draws fresh water from his own deep aquifer.But when a nearby town's water supply dwindles in the searing Arizona heat, Dale's peaceful existence is threatened.The new mayor and sheriff want every last drop for themselves and they're willing to do whatever it takes to get it.With a crooked local government conspiring against him, Dale will need to stand in defiance or risk losing everything.Includes all three books in The Defending Home Series. Book One: Defiance, Book Two: A House Divided and Book Three: Judgment Day.

A Vast and Desolate Land: A Western Frontier Adventure (A Rab Sinclair Western Book 3)


Robert Peecher - 2018
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When the Music Stops: Discover the most emotional, uplifting new love story for 2020


Joe Heap - 2020
    

High Plains Ambush


John D. Fie Jr. - 2017
    Thomas, WL Cox, and Duane Boehm filled with action, adventure and plot twists such as C. K. Crigger, Robert Vaughan, and C.M. Curtis! This is a book that is filled with the bodies of those who stand again law, order and patriotism! Matt Hutchins, the lone survivor of a wagon train massacre takes on the world to do what is right, and must use guts, guns and glory to bring peace to his people. Found and raised by the Sioux, Matt not only learns the ways of the Sioux, but his survival skills are keenly honed with his tracking abilities used by both the Army and later by the sheriff of a town named Buffalo Flats Matt lives alone on the open plains with his trusted friend and horse ‘Ole Friend, a gift given to him by the Chief Buffalo Robes, the one who taught him how to survive. If you love great Western writing—and you love classic Western movies—you will LOVE “High Plains Ambush.”

The Last Man Standing: An Action Packed Western


John Buzzad - 2018
    Now why don’t you let them be, and I’ll buy you a glass of milk.” “You should really mind your own business, mister,” Red hissed. “Now I call that pretty bold talk for a man not carrying a gun.” Tom’s finger tips drummed against the side of his holster. “Who says I ain’t?” Red’s eyes were wide as saucers and his lower jaw jutted out. “What’s your name, friend?” Tom loudly asked the man in the noose. While trying to maintain his balance on tiptoes, Ed answered, “Ed Tew.”