Book picks similar to
The Folly by Irina Shapiro


mystery
fiction
historical
historical-romance

Ratham Creek


Marie F. Martin - 2014
    Arianne Hollis figures tossing a rose in her husband's grave is the worst of all endings. Then reality sets in when she is forced to sell their home and use all her savings to clear his debts. To escape and come to terms with her future, she moves into an isolated cabin along Ratham Creek. In the quiet Montana setting and with a new job in the nearby small town, Arianne begins to recover. She meets Ross Ferrell, a handsome lonely member of the clannish mountain people. He slowly wins her love, but a deadly family feud erupts among rival groups living along the creek. Arianne can’t understand the violence that runs deep in Ross and his family. He cannot abandon them. Then Arianne becomes a target. Can she avoid the same vengeance that’s corrupting the clan? Can she save him and their relationship?

Mellington Hall


Meredith Resce - 2011
    In her parents’ absence, she struggles against a deadly fever and a vicious snow-storm, doing her best to save the life of a stranger.But when her self-righteous neighbours eventually come to see how she fared during the storm, they draw a very different conclusion, and before she knows it, her reputation is in tatters, and she has been cast out of the church and her home.Alone and destitute, Sarah is determined to seek work as a servant from the man whose life she has saved. But all is not well for the master of Mellington Hall. Someone wants Lord Alan Mellington dead, and he doesn’t know who or why. The only person he seems to be able to trust is the gamekeeper’s daughter, Sarah Montgomery, who has intervened to save his life not once but twice. This story blending mystery, scandal, murder and romance comes from one of Australia’s best-loved authors, Meredith Resce.

Blood Ties


Lori G. Armstrong - 2005
    Lack of public interest in finding his murderer, or the killer of several other transient Native American men, has left Julie with a bone-deep cynicism she counters with tequila, cigarettes, and dangerous men. The one bright spot in her mundane life is the time she spends working part-time as a PI with her childhood friend, Kevin Wells. When the body of a sixteen-year old white girl is discovered in nearby Rapid Creek, Julie believes this victim will receive the attention others were denied. Then she learns Kevin has been hired, mysteriously, to find out where the murdered girl spent her last few days. Julie finds herself drawn into the case against her better judgment, and discovers not only the ugly reality of the young girl’s tragic life and brutal death, but ties to her and Kevin’s past that she is increasingly reluctant to revisit. On the surface the situation is eerily familiar. But the parallels end when Julie realizes some family secrets are best kept buried deep. Especially those serious enough to kill for.

No Safe Harbor


Elizabeth Ludwig - 2012
    Her search lands her in America, amidst a houseful of strangers and one man who claims to be a friend--Rourke Walsh.Despite her brother's warning, Cara decides to trust Rourke and reveals the truth about her purpose in America. But he is not who he claims to be, and as rumors begin to circulate about an underground group of dangerous revolutionaries, Cara's desperation grows. Her questions lead her ever closer to her brother, but they also bring her closer to destruction as Rourke's true intentions come to light.

A Family Saga


Patricia Keyson - 2014
    She has big dreams and a warm heart. But when her first love affair ends badly, she finds herself struggling to deal with the consequences. A Family Saga charts Bea’s highs and lows over the decades, with family secrets, changing relationships, raising children, and the triumphs and tragedies of everyday life. Despite all the pressures of a large family and little money, Bea still works hard to pursue her dreams and desires. Finally, Bea seems to have found the recognition she has always hoped for, but an old lover threatens to snatch it all away. Will Bea find recognition and happiness? Or will the mistakes of her youth continue to haunt her? Find out in 'A Family Saga,' a book you won’t want to put down Patricia Keyson is the bestselling author of LADY HOPE, THE MAGIC TOUCH, LAW OF ATTRACTION, HOLIDAY ROMANCE, SNOWBOUND WITH A STRANGER, CHERRY BLOSSOMS, and SUZI LEARNS TO LOVE AGAIN all available on Kindle.

The Pale Blue Eye


Louis Bayard - 2006
    Timothy comes an ingenious tale of murder and revenge, featuring a retired New York City detective and a young cadet named Edgar Allan Poe.At West Point Academy in 1830, the calm of an October evening is shattered by the discovery of a young cadet's body swinging from a rope just off the parade grounds. An apparent suicide is not unheard of in a harsh regimen like West Point's, but the next morning, an even greater horror comes to light. Someone has stolen into the room where the body lay and removed the heart.At a loss for answers and desperate to avoid any negative publicity, the Academy calls on the services of a local civilian, Augustus Landor, a former police detective who acquired some renown during his years in New York City before retiring to the Hudson Highlands for his health. Now a widower, and restless in his seclusion, Landor agrees to take on the case. As he questions the dead man's acquaintances, he finds an eager assistant in a moody, intriguing young cadet with a penchant for drink, two volumes of poetry to his name, and a murky past that changes from telling to telling. The cadet's name? Edgar Allan Poe.Impressed with Poe's astute powers of observation, Landor is convinced that the poet may prove useful—if he can stay sober long enough to put his keen reasoning skills to the task. Working in close contact, the two men—separated by years but alike in intelligence—develop a surprisingly deep rapport as their investigation takes them into a hidden world of secret societies, ritual sacrifices, and more bodies. Soon, however, the macabre murders and Landor's own buried secrets threaten to tear the two men and their newly formed friendship apart.A rich tapestry of fine prose and intricately detailed characters, The Pale Blue Eye transports readers into a labyrinth of the unknown that will leave them guessing until the very end.

Watched


Cindy M. Hogan - 2011
    to change fifteen-year-old Christy's life. It takes murder.A witness to the brutal slaying of a Senator's aide, Christy finds herself watched not only by the killers and the FBI, but also by two hot boys.She discovers that if she can't help the FBI, who want to protect her, it will cost her and her new friends their lives.Young Adults, teens, and adults will love this exciting suspenseful adventure with a dash of romance. You won't want to put it down

Loving the Hawke


Lana Williams - 2016
    Mostly. Determined to claim more meaning for her life than seeing her younger sisters married, she seeks a purpose. She finds what she's looking for when she happens upon a book describing seven curses that plague London. Nathaniel Hawke is attempting to adjust to civilian life after retiring from the military, but his injured leg and memories of his time in the service prevent an easy transition. On his long walks during London's darkest hours, Nathaniel is appalled by what he sees taking place on the dirty streets and alleyways. He is determined to take action. Coming upon a proper, if rebellious, lady in the desolate area both intrigues and frustrates him.Nathaniel's disregard for his personal safety infuriates Lettie even as her heart is touched by his determination to aid the city's neglected children.As the two wounded souls stumble upon each other time and again in slums and ballrooms, they realize they fight a common cause--and share an unbridled passion.Will the curse they fight be their downfall? Or will love win the day?

My Clockwork Muse (The Poe Files Mysteries)


D.R. Erickson - 2011
    Someone is committing murders in the manner of Edgar Allan Poe's tales of terror. The police are stymied. When a corpse is found interred in a masonry wall in a subterranean chamber, they call on Poe himself to help solve the crime. Edgar Allan Poe's fictional detective, C. Auguste Dupin, has made the author famous as the master of deductive reasoning. But when "the father of the detective story" applies his powers of discovery to the "Poe Murders", he finds that the clues lead in only one direction: to Poe himself. Poe soon becomes the prime suspect, and he begins to doubt his own sanity as the evidence piles up against him. What of his somnambulistic trances that often find him at the graveside of his late wife, Virginia? Or the bizarre raven that visits him in his Fordham cottage? The strange mark on his neck? The odd behavior of his one-eyed cat, Pluto? And what of his doctor, Coppelius — he of the bulging pale blue eye — and his beautiful, other-worldly daughter, Olimpia? Nothing is as it seems.As the police tighten their noose around Poe's neck, he races against time to solve the crimes and clear his name. But he soon finds himself confronting horrors that not even his macabre fiction could have envisioned — and a conspiracy that threatens the very fabric of reality itself.Prepare yourself for a wild ride. This is not your father's Edgar Allan Poe. This Poe's packin' heat...

Billy Boyle


James R. Benn - 2006
    His rabidly anti-English family calls on his mother's distant cousin, Mamie, married to a general, to wangle a staff job for him far from the fighting. But instead of a "safe, cushy" stateside assignment, he is ordered to London, still undergoing the Blitz.His "Uncle Ike" is Dwight D. Eisenhower, plucked from obscurity to command Army forces in Europe, and he wants Billy to be his personal investigator.Billy, who had never left Boston before he enlisted and was sent to Officer Candidate School, is not sure how good a detective he really is. But when Eisenhower asks Billy to undertake this task, he dutifully sets off for Beardsley Hall, where the Norwegian government in exile, led by King Haakon, is in residence. Accompanied by an aristocratic Polish officer in exile and a beautiful British WREN, his mission is to catch a spy who may have been planted there.A theft and two murders test Billy's investigative powers, as he comes to grips with the deadly demands of a war he never wanted any part of. To his own surprise - and that of others - Billy proves to be a better detective than any one expected.

Jessamine's Folly


S.G. Rogers - 2013
    When her aunt gives her an ultimatum to leave, Jessamine accepts a position as companion to Lord Kirkendale’s sister—even though she’s been warned her predecessors can’t seem to resist the earl’s exceptional good looks. Can Jessamine manage to hold onto her job without losing her heart?To honor a promise made to his dying father, Lord Kirkendale agrees to an arranged marriage to a woman he cannot love. Although he is resigned to a life without sentiment, the arrival of his sister’s new companion awakens a slumbering passion. Can he find a way to secure his own happiness without sacrificing his family’s honor, or will his broken promise result in the ruination of the person he loves most?

Death at Bishop's Keep


Robin Paige - 1994
    Aunt Sabrina invites her to Essex England, for help with the Order of the New Dawn. Aunt Jagger beats the servants to suicide, and someone feeds her Death mushrooms. Next door, Sir Charles photographs a fresh body in an archaeological dig, and seeks his killer.

What Have You Done


Matthew Farrell - 2018
    Instead, the victim turns out to be a woman he'd had an affair with before breaking it off to save his marriage. But there's a bigger problem: Liam has no memory of where he was or what he did on the night of the murder.Panicked, Liam turns to his brother, Sean, a homicide detective. Sean has his back, but incriminating evidence keeps piling up. From fingerprints to DNA, everything points to Liam, who must race against time and his department to uncover the truth - even if that truth is his own guilt. Yet as he digs deeper, dark secrets come to light, and Liam begins to suspect the killer might actually be Sean ...When the smoke clears in this harrowing family drama, who will be left standing?

The Unfinished Clue


Georgette Heyer - 1933
    His arrogance and abrasive manner had alienated his wife, her sister, his house guests, his wayward son, even a desperate friend. Of course, his attentions to one attractive young guest in plain view of her husband simply multiplied the possible suspects in his murder.

The Settler


Orit Arfa - 2013
    “Jews Don’t Expel Jews” she cried along with the Zionist activists seeking to stop what they called “The Expulsion.” Once she is dragged out of her home by the Jewish army she had once idolized–and to which her brother lost his life–she decides: Screw it. Screw God. Screw the country. Screw the Jewish people. She sets off for Israel’s big city, Tel Aviv, seductively fertile ground for a religious rebel. The colorful lights and sizzling music of Tel Aviv's world-famous nightclub, Atlantis, ignite her love for dance. Despite herself, she is drawn to its charismatic, liberal owner, Ziv Harel. He's intrigued by the prospect of transforming a “religious settler” into a nightlife queen.Their tortured romance forces both to confront their deep-seated values, but how far will Sarah go to question who she is and what she believes—and at what cost?