Book picks similar to
Angell, Pearl and Little God by Winston Graham
fiction
historical-fiction
later
br
A Falcon Flies
Wilbur Smith - 1980
Robyn Ballantyne and her brother Morris have waited years for this moment: to return to Africa, to search for their missionary father who had disappeared somewhere in the wilderness.Traveling north from Cape Town, they follow a map left by a madman--into an uncharted world of waterfalls and jungle, teeming wildlife, murderous disease, and the ghastly ruins of an astounding city.Uncovering their father's trail, Robyn and her brother are in the midst of a slave trade that pours out of Africa like a bloody wound. Now, to survive what they have found, they must make their separate ways out--through pitched battles on land and on sea…and through the pride, passions and fury of their hearts…
Breath of Scandal
Sandra BrownSandra Brown - 1991
Robbed of her youthful ideals and at the center of scandal and tragedy, Jade ran as far and as fast as she could. But she never forgot the sleepy "company town" where every man, woman, and child was dependent on one wealthy family. And she never forgot their spoiled son, who, with his two friends, changed her life forever. Someday, somehow, she'd return, exact a just revenge -- and free herself from fear, and the powerful family that could destroy her.
The Troubled Air
Irwin Shaw - 1951
Clement Archer, head of a popular radio show, faces a profound dilemma: Five of his employees stand accused of being communists, and a magazine threatens disclosure unless Archer fires each and every one. Despite his efforts to meet his own moral standards and avoid self-incrimination, Archer finds himself hounded from both ends of the political spectrum for his seemingly righteous actions. The Troubled Air, Irwin Shaw’s second novel, was published immediately before the author moved to Europe, where he lived for the next twenty-five years. The story remains a powerful portrayal of a good, decent man ensnared by the hysteria and cruelty of a dark period in American history.
Fevre Dream
George R.R. Martin - 1982
But when he meets the hauntingly pale, steely-eyed Joshua York, he is certain. For York doesn’t care that the icy winter of 1857 has wiped out all but one of Marsh’s dilapidated fleet. Nor does he care that he won’t earn back his investment in a decade. York has his own reasons for wanting to traverse the powerful Mississippi. And they are to be none of Marsh’s concern—no matter how bizarre, arbitrary, or capricious his actions may prove. Marsh meant to turn down York’s offer. It was too full of secrets that spelled danger. But the promise of both gold and a grand new boat that could make history crushed his resolve—coupled with the terrible force of York’s mesmerizing gaze. Not until the maiden voyage of his new sidewheeler Fevre Dream would Marsh realize he had joined a mission both more sinister, and perhaps more noble, than his most fantastic nightmare...and mankind’s most impossible dream. Here is the spellbinding tale of a vampire’s quest to unite his race with humanity, of a garrulous riverman’s dream of immortality, and of the undying legends of the steamboat era and a majestic, ancient river.
True Places
Sonja Yoerg - 2019
As Suzanne rushes her to the hospital, she never imagines how the encounter will change her—a change she both fears and desperately needs.Suzanne has the perfect house, a successful husband, and a thriving family. But beneath the veneer of an ideal life, her daughter is rebelling, her son is withdrawing, her husband is oblivious to it all, and Suzanne is increasingly unsure of her place in the world. After her discovery of the ethereal sixteen-year-old who has never experienced civilization, Suzanne is compelled to invite Iris into her family’s life and all its apparent privileges.But Iris has an independence, a love of solitude, and a discomfort with materialism that contrasts with everything the Blakemores stand for—qualities that awaken in Suzanne first a fascination, then a longing. Now Suzanne can’t help but wonder: Is she destined to save Iris, or is Iris the one who will save her?
22 Britannia Road
Amanda Hodgkinson - 2011
After living wild in the forests for years, carrying a terrible secret, all Silvana knows is that she and Aurek are survivors. Everything else is lost. Waiting in Ipswich is Silvana's husband Janusz, who has not seen his wife and son for six years. He has found his family a house and works hard planting a proper English garden to welcome them. But the six years apart have changed them all. To make a real home, Silvana and Janusz will have to come to terms with what happened during the war, accept that each is different, and allow their beloved but wild son Aurek to be who he truly is.
First Blood
David Morrell - 1972
Then came the legend, as John Rambo sprang from the pages of First Blood to take his place in the American cultural landscape. This remarkable novel pits a young Vietnam veteran against a small-town cop who doesn't know whom he's dealing with—or how far Rambo will take him into a life-and-death struggle through the woods, hills, and caves of rural Kentucky. Millions saw the Rambo movies, but those who haven't read the book that started it all are in for a surprise—a critically acclaimed story of character, action, and compassion.
Nuclear War Club: Seven high school students in detention, who don't know, or like each other, get a pop test in survival
Colt Triarii - 2015
They realize this was not another earthquake, but a Nuclear Attack. David knew they would have to work together to escape from the rubble, then shelter for 14 days to survive the fallout. If, as he feared, their parents were dead, then they should trek east,hopefully staying together.They would have to adapt, improvise, and overcome. They rescued a 4 year old orphan and realized how much they had learned from their parents. They became the Nuclear War Club. David had been the starting quarterback on his football team in Alabama.He had just transferred to this California High School as a Senior, when his Dad was reassigned to an Air Force Base. David organized the human chain to escape from the rubble. The clock was ticking, they would have to find, or make, a shelter from the fallout within 30 minutes or die from the radiation. David looked over the other 6 detention survivors and was disappointed at this soft, pampered, self centered, dysfunctional group. But you go to nuclear war with the survivors you have, he thought, as he explained what had happened and his plan. He invited them to follow as he began to hike to where his truck and camping equipment had been. Zeke's stomach churned, and he struggled to control his panic as he viewed the nuclear debris as far as the eye could see. What had happened to LeShawn and Monique? Were they trapped in rubble, crying for their big brother to come? His Mom was a drug addict, he was all his preschool brother and sister had. He would rescue them,or die trying. But he was miles away from home-the football boosters arranged for special transportation to get the heavily recruited, All State football running back, to this wealthy school everyday. He would stay with this group, they were his ticket, until he found a way to rescue LeShawn and Monique. Karen had grown up on a ranch where her father was hired to care for the horses. She was tough from working with the horses, self sufficient,and was instinctively wary of how David had just naturally assumed command. Karen had just transferred to this school under redistricting, and she didn't know any of them well.But the school, and the entire City were totally destroyed, there was no other option. Karen grabbed her backpack, stuck a knife from what was left of the underground school kitchen in her hiking boots, concealed it with her sock, then followed. Liu was a first generation Vietnamese immigrant who excelled at school. She had been utterly humiliated and shamed that she had even been sent to detention. Liu had carefully noticed how David had organized their evacuation and got everyone out. David was a natural leader, and he seemed to know a lot about Nuclear War. She would stay with this group until her Dad found her. Jorge was going to be an architect and was dual enrolled in engineering classes at the Community College. His leg had been broken when the ceiling collapsed, David and Karen had helped set his splint. He was all in, hobbling behind. Karen loathed Ashley Kensington, and wondered if the cheerleaders required DNA test confirmation that you had blond hair, blue eyes, long legs, and no brain to be the cheerleader captain. Ashley considered staying at what was left of the school. Surely her wealthy parents would send the maid or someone to get her. But David sounded like he knew all about Nuclear attacks when he told her that was stupid, and she was terrified of being left behind, alone. Doron was a genius who was also popular as the creator of the encrypted "geek.peek" homework school website.
Winter in Madrid
C.J. Sansom - 2006
Sansom. In September 1940, the Spanish Civil War is over and Madrid lies in ruins while the Germans continue their march through Europe. Britain stands alone as General Franco considers whether to abandon neutrality and enter the war. Into this uncertain world comes Harry Brett, a privileged young man who was recently traumatized by his experience in Dunkirk and is now a reluctant spy for the British Secret Service. Sent to gain the confidence of Sandy Forsyth, an old school friend turned shadowy Madrid businessman, Brett finds himself involved in a dangerous game and surrounded by memories. Meanwhile, Sandy’s girlfriend, ex-Red Cross nurse Barbara Clare, is engaged in a secret mission of her own—to find her former lover Bernie Piper, whose passion for the Communist cause led him into the International Brigades and who vanished on the bloody battlefields of the Jarama.In a vivid and haunting depiction of wartime Spain, Winter in Madrid is an intimate and riveting tale that offers a remarkable sense of history unfolding and the profound impact of impossible choices.
Forrest Gump
Winston Groom - 1986
After accidentally becoming the star of University of Alabama's football team, Forrest goes on to become a Vietnam War hero, a world-class Ping-Pong player, a villainous wrestler, and a business tycoon -- as he wonders with childlike wisdom at the insanity all around him. In between misadventures, he manages to compare battle scars with Lyndon Johnson, discover the truth about Richard Nixon, and survive the ups and downs of remaining true to his only love, Jenny, on an extraordinary journey through three decades of the American cultural landscape. Forrest Gump has one heck of a story to tell -- and you've got to read it to believe it...
Chernobyl Murders
Michael Beres - 2008
Spawned by a desire to protect his family, Lazlo investigates—irritating his superiors, drawing the attention of a CIA operative, raising the hackles of an old KGB major, and ultimately discovering his brother’s secret affair with a Chernobyl technician, Juli Popovics. After the explosion, the Ukraine is not only blanketed with deadly radiation, but also becomes a killing ground involving pre-perestroika factions in disarray, a Soviet government on its last legs, and madmen hungry for power. With a poisoned environment at their backs and a killer snapping at their heels, Lazlo and Juli flee for their lives—and their love—in this engrossing political thriller.
Under Western Eyes
Joseph Conrad - 1911
Increasingly enmeshed in the radical's political intrigue, he betrays the anarchist who had placed blind faith in him. The authorities then dispatch Razumov on a mission to spy on the revolutionary's sister and mother.A fascinating character study, Under Western Eyes hauntingly reveals Razumov's preoccupation with questions of decency and accountability when confronted by the equally powerful truths and values of human integrity and moral strength.
Loving Women
Pete Hamill - 1989
A time of innocence. A time when the world seemed full of possibilities. And all the rules were about to change.Michael was a streetwise Brooklyn boy heading south to join the Navy and become a man. But he was about to learn more about life than he's ever imagined.Eden was beautiful, mysterious--the perfect instructor in the art of making love, in sexual pleasure...and in courage. But her past was full of dangerous secrets that would haunt her forever.LOVING WOMEN is an unforgettable novel of honor and passion, heartbreak and desire, and one man's coming of age.
A Case of Need
Jeffery Hudson - 1968
Set against the ever-building pressure and pace of a large Boston medical center, the tensions flare-and explode-when a surgical operation tragically ends in death, raising countless questions. Was it accidental malpractice? A violation of the Hippocratic oath? Or cold-blooded murder?
A Burnt-Out Case
Graham Greene - 1960
Arriving anonymously at a leper colony in the Congo, he is diagnosed as the mental equivalent of a 'burnt-out case', a leper mutilated by disease and amputation. Querry slowly moves towards a cure, his mind getting clearer as he works for the colony. However, in the heat of the tropics, no relationship with a married woman, however blameless, will ever be taken as innocent.