Book picks similar to
The Admiral's Baths by Dana Gynther
historical-fiction
giveaways
fiction
spain
Hearts in Atlantis/Misery (Debenhams Slipcase Ed.)
Stephen King - 2001
The Strange Journey of Mr. Daldry
Marc Levy - 2011
The life we know and another one, that lies waiting for us. Alice is a “nose”—a creator of perfumes. She is passionate about her work and her only distraction from her job is her motley group of friends, who convene for late night soirees in her apartment—much to the annoyance of her cantankerous neighbor Mr. Daldry. On Christmas Eve 1950, something happens that will change Alice's life forever: during an outing to Brighton with her friends, a fortune teller makes a mysterious prediction about Alice's future. Alice has never believed in soothsayers but she cannot stop thinking about the old woman's words. “The most important man in your life was walking behind you a few moments ago. To find him, you will have to undertake a long journey and meet six people who will lead you to him. You have two lives in you, Alice. The life you know and another one, which is waiting for you…” From then on her nights are plagued with nightmares that are as real as they are incomprehensible. Alice's neighbor, Mr. Daldry, notices the unrest that the fortune teller provokes in Alice. For reasons he will not reveal, Daldry encourages Alice to take the predictions seriously and convinces her to set off to find the six people who will shape her fate. To make sure that Alice does not change her mind, the eccentric bachelor even agrees to accompany her on the journey… The Strange Journey of Mr. Daldry takes us into the heart of Europe in the 1950s, into lives that are haunted by the demons of a recent past. It's a story of friendship and things left unsaid, personified above all by Mr. Daldry, an unforgettable character who is as passionate as he is restrained, as serious as he is funny, as reliable as he is surprising.“One of Marc Levy’s best novels to date.” - Le Figaro“Another success for Marc Levy.” - L'ExpressOne of France’s bestselling authors, Marc Levy’s novels have been translated into 45 languages and over 28 million copies of his books have been sold worldwide.
Ulrich
James WalkerJames Walker - 2018
On his journey he meets Tau, a freed African slave, Ima, a vengeful German war maiden, and Sigmund, a gentle giant caught between worlds. Together they must ally with the Roman Legion to fight against an evil that threatens all the civilized world and pursue justice for those they have lost. Ulrich is the first novel of a series that explores events in and around the Roman empire of the fourth century A.D. A terrible force of invaders, the Alemanni, throw a continent into chaos on their quest for power and revenge and only a young Caesar Julian stands in their way. Action and adventure combine with historical accuracy to create an epic tale of hate, triumph, love, and loss. Through their actions our heroes raise and topple empires and make choices that shape the course of history.
The Lazarus Succession
Ken Fry - 2016
In typical Ken Fry style, nothing is as it seems and a surprise awaits at every turn of the page._________________________ON TO THE STORY...According to legend, Annas Zevi, an artist who witnessed the raising of Lazarus, was told by Christ to paint what he saw. Over the centuries, his completed works has vanished, along with every other painting depicting Lazarus' resurrection. They were rumoured to be sacred icons with miraculous powers.International Art Recovery Experts, Broderick Ladro and Ulla Stuart, are hired by a disgraced High Court judge, Sir Maxwell Throgmorton, to locate a long lost medieval painting by Spanish artist Francisco Cortez. Like Zevi, his work is said to be divinely inspired.Throgmorton's client, a wealthy Spanish Condesa, is terminally ill and the icon is her last hope. She will pay and do whatever it takes to find the missing work of Cortez.Unbeknown to the Condesa, Throgmorton seeks to make a vast personal fortune from the discovery of the paintings, and use it to reclaim his place in society.Ladro and Stuart learns of Throgmorton's deceit and attempts to thwart his plans. As they delve deeper into the mystery of the missing Cortez painting, they discover a secret that changes their lives forever.Just as it changed the lives of everyone it touched across the centuries.
Do Not Go Gentle
C.A. Larmer - 2016
Did her beloved boy really stab her in the back? Over chocolate cake?! Or is there something even more disturbing going on? Help Lulu sort the dead herrings from the clues in the latest, stand-alone mystery from the best-selling author of The Agatha Christie Book Club and Ghostwriter Mystery series, C.A. Larmer.A quick, fun read with Aussie colloquialisms and some mild adult language.
The One That Got Away
Charlotte Roth - 2015
far away from your husband? Helen is almost forty and her boobs are starting to go south. She's also happily married to Mark. But why, then, can't she stop staring at ex-fianc�e Rob's big blue eyes from the minute she finds him on Facebook? And why does she agree to go to a mutual friend's wedding in Rome-accompanied by her very loud and touristy mom and even louder gin & tonic drinking friend, Lori-when she knows he will be there? It can only mean one thing: Trouble. Things don't get less complicated when Helen finds out that Mark is going on a business trip with his perfect ex-girlfriend (with perfect perky boobs) at the same time somewhere in Germany. Or when he suddenly shows up in Rome unannounced. A fun, warmhearted, and compelling story, The One That Got Away is a novel about a lot of what if's, how we often take love for granted, and how life doesn't always have to be picture perfect. "If you love a fast-paced story, with snappy dialogue and lots of humor and heart, this is the book for you."
Into the Fold (Kan Savasci Cycle, #3)
Chase Blackwood - 2019
Within its shadowy depths the greatest of the old gods had carved a world unto himself. A place unrivaled in its beauty, obscurity, and danger.Trapped within The Fold, under the tutelage of the last arkeinists, Aeden must overcome his greatest obstacle, or die trying.
Flight Risk
Joy Castro - 2021
After decades of turning her back on her past, she’s forced to return to Appalachia when she receives news of her estranged mother’s death.But going back means revisiting the traumatic childhood she escaped—and the family that cast her out when she needed them most. Back on the land she has inherited, she’s flooded with memories of the forest where she once roamed free, of her beloved lost brother, and of the old house in the West Virginia hills where she grew up. Her mother has left her another legacy, too, which reveals secrets that Isabel is only beginning to understand.As forces bear down and threaten to take what she has left, it’s time for Isabel to step into her power, reclaim her roots, and finally confront the painful memories that have kept her from the life she truly wants.
Beautiful Exiles
Meg Waite Clayton - 2018
Headstrong, accomplished journalist Martha Gellhorn is confident with words but less so with men when she meets disheveled literary titan Ernest Hemingway in a dive bar. Their friendship—forged over writing, talk, and family dinners—flourishes into something undeniable in Madrid while they’re covering the Spanish Civil War.Martha reveres him. The very married Hemingway is taken with Martha—her beauty, her ambition, and her fearless spirit. And as Hemingway tells her, the most powerful love stories are always set against the fury of war. The risks are so much greater. They’re made for each other.With their romance unfolding as they travel the globe, Martha establishes herself as one of the world’s foremost war correspondents, and Hemingway begins the novel that will win him the Nobel Prize for Literature. Beautiful Exiles is a stirring story of lovers and rivals, of the breathless attraction to power and fame, and of one woman—ahead of her time—claiming her own identity from the wreckage of love.
A Train to Moscow
Elena Gorokhova - 2022
When she leaves for Moscow to audition for drama school, she defies her mother and grandparents and abandons her first love, Andrei.Before she leaves, Sasha discovers the hidden war journal of her uncle Kolya, an artist still missing in action years after the war has ended. His pages expose the official lies and the forbidden truth of Stalin’s brutality. Kolya’s revelations and his tragic love story guide Sasha through drama school and cement her determination to live a thousand lives onstage. After graduation, she begins acting in Leningrad, where Andrei, now a Communist Party apparatchik, becomes a censor of her work. As a past secret comes to light, Sasha’s ambitions converge with Andrei’s duties, and Sasha must decide if her dreams are truly worth the necessary sacrifice and if, as her grandmother likes to say, all will indeed be well.
Skin
Ilka Tampke - 2015
Abandoned at birth, she serves the Tribequeen of her township. Ailia is not permitted to marry, excluded from tribal ceremonies and, most devastatingly, forbidden to learn. But the Mothers, the tribal ancestors, have chosen her for another path.Lured by the beautiful and enigmatic Taliesin, Ailia embarks on an unsanctioned journey to attain the knowledge that will protect her people from the most terrifying invaders they have ever faced.Set in Iron-Age Britain on the cusp of Roman invasion, Skin is a thrilling, full-blooded, mesmerising novel about the collision of two worlds, and a young woman torn between two men.
The Returning Tide
Liz Fenwick - 2017
Decades later, the efforts of one reckless act still echo - but how long will it be until their past returns?The Returning Tide will sweep you away to the beautiful Cornish coast, full of secrets and mystery, and will be loved by fans of Kate Morton and Rachel Hore.
The House by the River
Lena Manta - 2007
And so, before each girl leaves the small house on the riverside at the foot of Mount Olympus, Theodora makes sure they know they are always welcome to return.A devoted and resilient mother, Theodora has lived through World War II, through the Nazi occupation of Greece, and through her husband’s death, and now she endures the twenty-year-long silence of her daughters’ absence. Her children have their own lives—they’ve married, traveled the world, and courted romance, fame, and even tragedy. But as they become modern, independent women in pursuit of their dreams, Theodora knows they need her—and each other—more than ever. Have they grown so far apart that they’ve forgotten their childhood house in its tiny village, or will their broken hearts finally lead them home?
Charcoal
J.E. Rowney - 2012
She left the rural Yorkshire village where she grew up for life as a family lawyer in London, but what secrets did she take with her?When a familiar voice telephones her with tragic news, Anna knows that running away is no longer an option, and that she has to return to face her demons.What led Anna to flee from her home, and what is it that causes her to return?"Charcoal" unfolds a dramatic sequence of events that demonstrate the consequences of desires.
Undercurrent
J.A. Baker - 2017
They plan to lead a quiet existence, a set up that suits them both.Then Anna, who lives over the road and is bored of spending her days alone, seeks friendship with Phoebe and events take a dark turn.Phoebe has secrets and is haunted by her past and Anna's arrival in her life may prove to be the catalyst for her undoing.What is Phoebe hiding and why are she and her husband so reclusive?When Anna gets caught in a storm and is rescued by Phoebe the truth becomes apparent and Anna is thrown into danger.Is there a difference between madness and evil?Some friendships can be murder.