Book picks similar to
The House at Ladywell by Nicola Slade


mystery
contemporary
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The Girl You Left Behind


Jojo Moyes - 2012
    Sophie Lefèvre must keep her family safe while her adored husband, Édouard, fights at the front. When their town falls to the Germans, Sophie is forced to serve them every evening at her hotel. From the moment the new Kommandant sets eyes on Sophie’s portrait—painted by her artist husband—a dangerous obsession is born. Almost a century later in London, Sophie’s portrait hangs in the home of Liv Halston, a wedding gift from her young husband before his sudden death. After a chance encounter reveals the portrait’s true worth, a battle begins over its troubled history and Liv’s world is turned upside all over again.

The Blue Car


Sandy Hill - 2014
    Two men, aided by her father, hustle her mother away without a word, leaving a stunned Sarah staring after them. Thus begins Sarah’s journey into a world of secrets, a world of great responsibility and little guidance. Along the way, “The Blue Car,” set in western North Carolina in 1952, explores when to keep a promise and when to break it, and whether people can really change. Book club discussion questions included.

Everything We Lost (The Hamilton Series, #1)


Kate Smith - 2019
    A faded photo. A fateful meeting. When Savannah, a teenage girl from Portland, ends up in Aiden’s emergency room, he experiences déjà vu, picturing the woman he once loved and the child he never knew. The meeting stirs memories of his own troubled childhood… memories of devastating loss and deep secrets he’s kept hidden even from his closest friends. One chance encounter… One unexpected moment... The second chance that changes everything... Title previously titled: Reunited, Book 1 Praise for Reunited: "heart-breaking and heart-warming..." — Amazon Reviewer "this story touches your heart, body and soul!" — Amazon Reviewer " a heart-wrenching yet wonderful story" — Amazon Reviewer

A Bride's Deception (Wagon Wheel Justice #1)


Blythe Carver - 2021
    Complete with a case ready to go. Adelaide’s come up with an idea. Masquerading as a madame and a lady of the night. Sadie’s the one who has the gumption to pull off the ruse, so it’s settled. She and Adelaide will go to a mining town to solve the mystery Uncle Gabriel left behind.Larson Donaldson’s not a lawman anymore, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t need to eat. Of course, he does, so he gets himself a job as private security for a madame and her sportin’ woman. He’s never had a job quite like this one. Then again, he’s never met a woman quite like Sadie Salinger.Things seem fine until an attempt is made on their lives. That’s when he determines he needs to know the truth. He can’t protect the women when he doesn’t know what in creation’s name they're actually doing in this mining town.

The Dandelion Years


Erica James - 2014
    A rambling pink cottage on the edge of the Suffolk village of Melbury Green, its enchanting garden provided a fairy-tale playground of seclusion, a perfect sanctuary to hide from the tragedy which shattered her childhood.Now an adult, Saskia is still living at Ashcombe and as a book restorer devotes her days tending to the broken, battered books that find their way to her, daydreaming about the people who had once turned their pages. When she discovers a notebook carefully concealed in an old Bible - and realising someone has gone to a great deal of trouble to hide a story of their own - Saskia finds herself drawn into a heart-rending tale of wartime love...

The Lake House


Kate Morton - 2015
    But by the time midnight strikes and fireworks light up the night skies, the Edevane family will have suffered a loss so great that they leave Loeanneth forever.A missing child...Seventy years later, after a particularly troubling case, Detective Sadie Sparrow retreats to her beloved grandfather's cottage in Cornwall. Once there, she stumbles upon an abandoned house, and learns the story of a baby boy who disappeared without a trace.An unsolved mystery...Meanwhile, in her elegant Hampstead home, the formidable Alice Edevane, now an old lady, leads a life as neatly plotted as the bestselling detective novels she writes. Until a young police detective starts asking questions about her family's past, seeking to resurrect the complex tangle of secrets Alice has spent her life trying to escape...

A Shenandoah Christmas: A Novella (Winds of Change)


Lisa Belcastro - 2014
    His Christmas wish is to marry the woman he loves. But where has she gone? Andrew Roberts hasn’t felt such anticipation for Christmas day since he was five years old. This year he has plans, life-changing plans. He is going to propose to Allyson Flanders, the woman of his dreams. He’d lived his first thirty years as a confirmed bachelor, contented with dating, managing the family’s fleet of ships, fishing, and sailing anywhere he wanted, whenever he wanted.Until . . .One date with Allyson, and Andy was hopelessly caught by the smartest, kindest, most beautiful woman he’d ever met. He had no complaints. Life with Allyson was better than anything he’d ever imagined. They spent hours of every day together, casting lines into the waters off the shore of Martha’s Vineyard, talking, laughing, and dreaming. He hadn’t spent a day without being in Allyson’s company.Until . . . Something happened after Thanksgiving. Something he can’t figure out. Something he can’t name. But that something has created more distance than a two-month sail from Vineyard Haven Harbor to Sri Lanka. Allyson had no time for him, barely spoke to him, and made secret plans without him.The diamond and sapphire ring resting in the black velvet box looked lonely, but not as lonely as Andy felt. Where was she spending her time? Why didn’t she return his phone calls? Had she found someone else? Was there any hope his Christmas wish might still come true? A Vineyard RomanceRomance, Faith, and Adventure on the Island of Martha’s Vineyard

A Vintage Affair


Isabel Wolff - 2009
    She imagined every detail, from the Vivienne Westwood bustiers hanging next to satin gowns, to sequinned cupcake dresses adorning the walls.At the launch of Village Vintage, Phoebe feels the tingle of excitement as customers snap up the fairytale dresses. Her dream has come true, but a secret from her past is casting a shadow over her new venture.Then one day she meets Therese, an elderly Frenchwoman with a collection to sell, apart from one piece that she won't part with …As Therese tells the story of the little blue coat, Phoebe feels a profound connection with her own life, one that will help her heal the pain of her past and allow her to love again.

Rebecca's Tale


Sally Beauman - 2000
    It has been twenty years since the death of Rebecca, the hauntingly beautiful first wife of Maxim de Winter, and twenty years since Manderley, the de Winter family's estate, was destroyed by fire. But Rebecca's tale is just beginning.Colonel Julyan, an old family friend, receives an anonymous package concerning Rebecca. An inquisitive young scholar named Terence Gray appears and stirs up the quiet seaside hamlet with questions about the past and the close ties he soon forges with the Colonel and his eligible daughter, Ellie. Amid bitter gossip and murky intrigue, the trio begins a search for the real Rebecca and the truth behind her mysterious death.

POISONED CHALICE: Mabel de Belleme Normandy's Wicked Lady (Medieval Babes: Tales of Little-Known Ladies Book 8)


J.P. Reedman - 2021
    

Highlander's Stolen Destiny


Alisa Adams - 2018
    Love never ceases in the Highlands it goes on and on from generation to generation.Brave Alastair Macleod and his beautiful Mary are back in this lovely standalone story; only this time it is their eldest son who has found love.Can it survive in a period ravished by war?Only raw courage and belief will prevail as the English capture Brice Macleodand his father after the ignominious defeat at Neville Cross.Will Brice ever see Skye again? Only destiny can tell or maybe the benevolence of a king and his son will decide the course of fate..

The Villagers


A.J. Griffiths-Jones - 2016
     Olive & Geoffrey are happier than ever. After moving to the countryside to bring up their three young children, they are welcomed with open arms by the friendly and helpful residents of the chocolate box village. But beyond the veil of rhododendrons and net curtains, there is something more. Just as Olive is settling in and starting to integrate with the community, she finds out that all is not as it first seemed. As her discoveries become more and more sinister, Olive begins to fear for her own sanity. With her husband doubting her, Olive is faced with choices that will decide the fate of her family. The Villagers paints an intriguing picture of a 1950s English country village, where not everyone is who they first appear to be. Praise for THE VILLAGERS: "Reminds me of the late great Maeve Binchy." -Amazon Review- "A very entertaining read."-County Woman Magazine-

House of Silence


Linda Gillard - 2011
    And his home. And his family." Orphaned by drink, drugs and rock n’ roll, Gwen Rowland is invited to spend Christmas at her boyfriend Alfie's family home, Creake Hall - a ramshackle Tudor manor in Norfolk. Soon after she arrives, Gwen senses something isn't quite right. Alfie acts strangely towards his family and is reluctant to talk about the past. His mother, a celebrated children's author, keeps to her room, living in a twilight world, unable to distinguish between past and present, fact and fiction. When Gwen discovers fragments of forgotten family letters sewn into an old patchwork quilt, she starts to piece together the jigsaw of the past and realises there's more to the family history than she's been told. It seems there are things people don’t want her to know. And one of those people is Alfie.

The Missing Gun (Hawker of the Yard Book 1)


W.H. Oxley - 2014
    Hitler has just conquered Poland, but life in London continues much as it did in peacetime, albeit a little more restricted since the introduction of petrol rationing. No bombs have been dropped on the city as yet, but the population go about their daily business under the constant threat of German air raids, and a blackout remains in force at night. For Scotland Yard and the criminal fraternity, however, it is business as usual. When a pawnbroker’s assistant is wounded by a gunman wearing a gasmask, it appears to be a straightforward case of a bungled armed robbery, but as Hawker proceeds with his investigation, the more facts he uncovers the more confusing the affair becomes. A red-headed soldier, a missing gun, a dead cat, an empty violin case and a damaged violin are only a few of the threads that have to be unravelled before he can wrap up the case – with a little help from Sherlock Holmes.

The Last Camellia


Sarah Jio - 2013
    Flora, an amateur American botanist, is contracted by an international ring of flower thieves to infiltrate the household and acquire the coveted bloom. Her search is at once brightened by new love and threatened by her discovery of a series of ghastly crimes.More than half a century later, garden designer Addison takes up residence at the manor, now owned by the family of her husband, Rex. The couple’s shared passion for mysteries is fueled by the enchanting camellia orchard and an old gardener’s notebook. Yet its pages hint at dark acts ingeniously concealed. If the danger that Flora once faced remains very much alive, will Addison share her fate?