Book picks similar to
The Mystery of Things (Ashland Grail Cycle, #1) by Debra Murphy
fiction
mystery
catholic-fiction
crime
In the Shadow of Croft Towers
Abigail Wilson - 2019
She believes she was hired to act as companion to a dying woman, but a highway robbery and a hostile welcome from the Chalcroft family cause her to wonder if she was actually hired to help someone spy for France.An unsolved murder adds intrigue to this already secretive family, and Sybil recognizes Mrs. Chalcroft’s handsome grandson as one of the infamous highwaymen who robbed her. Sybil must determine if this man's charming smile and earnest eyes speak the truth or if he is simply using her like others in the house. Everyone seems to have something to hide, and Sybil must decide who to trust while also coming to terms with the truth about her own past.
The Atlantis Papyrus
Jay Penner - 2019
vivid... gripping. Takes you through a thrilling quest in a violent ancient world." Some secrets are best left unrevealed323 B.C.King Alexander the Great has died without a clear successor and the citizens of a vast empire wait nervously for what comes next. But Captain Deon has other worries—his family will be sold to slavery if he does not clear his debt soon. Desperate, he accepts a mission from Alexander’s wily Royal Secretary in return for a generous reward. All he has to do is steal a papyrus from the King's funeral procession.A papyrus with a stunning secret that can transform the balance of powers that fight for Alexander’s throne.Plunged into the heart of succession wars and thrust between bloody ambitions of greater men, Deon is forced to embark on a dangerous journey and battle those he fears, to decode the ancient clues before time runs out for his family. But the more he learns, the more he realizes that his decisions will decide the life and death of not only his loved ones but also that of millions of innocents.-------- BONUS: Join the newsletter on the author's website to get a free "History behind the book" that sheds light on some of the interesting events after Alexander's death.
The Girl in the Letter
Emily Gunnis - 2018
A girl locked away. A mystery to be solved.1956. When Ivy Jenkins falls pregnant she is sent in disgrace to St Margaret's, a dark, brooding house for unmarried mothers. Her baby is adopted against her will. Ivy will never leave.Present day. Samantha Harper is a journalist desperate for a break. When she stumbles on a letter from the past, the contents shock and move her. The letter is from a young mother, begging to be rescued from St Margaret's. Before it is too late.Sam is pulled into the tragic story and discovers a spate of unexplained deaths surrounding the woman and her child. With St Margaret's set for demolition, Sam has only hours to piece together a sixty-year-old mystery before the truth, which lies disturbingly close to home, is lost forever ...Read her letter. Remember her story ...
Idle Playgrounds
Sheralyn Pratt - 2005
But when Rhea agrees to do a simple, harmless favor for Kay, she unwittingly sets off a series of events that ends up with a secret society appearing right at her door. The stakes are higher than ever - solving the case means more than just collecting her weekly paycheck. This time, it's a matter of life and death.
Bitter Pill
Richard L. Mabry - 2019
At that point, doubts begin to intrude on his previously untroubled existence.Dr. Abby Davis is tired of her family practice and at odds with God. Dealing with critically ill and dying patients has crushed her spirit to the point she’s ready to quit. But she soon realizes that there’s more to healing than ministering to the physical body.Scott Anderson was the oldest graduate of his seminary class. Then again, most of them hadn’t turned away from a medical practice, hoping to atone for past mistakes (including his wife’s death) by ministering to men’s souls. Now he hopes he hasn’t made a colossal mistake in switching careers. Each of these individuals becomes linked to the other, and each finds that God has a purpose for them—but, as it often does, the lesson comes with discomfort.
The Bachelor Girl's Guide to Murder
Rachel McMillan - 2016
The deaths of young Irish women lead Merinda and Jem deeper into the mire of the city's underbelly, where the high hopes of those dreaming to make a new life in Canada are met with prejudice and squalor.While searching for answers, donning disguises, and sneaking around where no proper ladies would ever go, they pair with Jasper Forth, a police constable, and Ray DeLuca, a reporter in whom Jem takes a more than professional interest. Merinda could well be Toronto's premiere consulting detective, and Jem may just find a way to put her bachelor girlhood behind her forever--if they can stay alive long enough to do so.
The Shadow of William Quest
John Bainbridge - 2014
A mysterious stranger carrying a swordstick walks the gaslit alleys and night houses seeking vengeance. A man determined to fight for justice against all the wrongs of Victorian society. Who is the secretive William Quest? Following Quest's trail from the teeming streets of London to the lonely coast of Norfolk, Inspector Anders of Scotland Yard is determined to uncover the truth. This exciting Victorian thriller takes the reader into the sinister hinterlands of Victorian London as the hunter becomes the hunted. Then to the wild and lonely countryside of Norfolk for an exciting denouement.
Beguiled
Deeanne Gist - 2010
Mark Bertrand first met in a Houston critique group, they never expected where friendship would take them. She wrote romance; he wrote crime novels. But growing respect for each other's work culminated in the decision to try blending their talents into this wonderfully engaging story merging romance and mystery. Rylee Monroe walks dogs in old-money Charleston, a part of the city recently targeted by a daring thief. Logan Woods works the crime beat for the local paper but dreams of a life as a nonfiction writer. When the string of robberies takes a strange twist, Logan sees the making of a once-in-a-lifetime book that seems to circle around this charming, eye-catching dogwalker. But pursuing the truth means ignoring that he seems to be falling for her. And what is she hiding in her past that could crack the story wide open?
The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare
G.K. Chesterton - 1908
K. Chesterton's surreal masterpiece is a psychological thriller that centers on seven anarchists in turn-of-the-century London who call themselves by the names of the days of the week. Chesterton explores the meanings of their disguised identities in what is a fascinating mystery and, ultimately, a spellbinding allegory.As Jonathan Lethem remarks in his Introduction, The real characters are the ideas. Chesterton's nutty agenda is really quite simple: to expose moral relativism and parlor nihilism for the devils he believes them to be. This wouldn't be interesting at all, though, if he didn't also show such passion for giving the devil his due. He animates the forces of chaos and anarchy with every ounce of imaginative verve and rhetorical force in his body.
Candlelit Madness
Beth Byers - 2019
Welcome to a very flapper evening! Are you ready for the roaring twenties? For spunky young women crafting their own lives? If so, you’ll love Violet, Julia, Edwina, Hettie, Ro, and Lola. Inside, you’ll find several short stories with adventures, cocktails, kisses, and fun. With stories from The Violet Carlyle Mysteries, The Piccadilly Ladies Club Mysteries, the Lola Star series, as well as the brand-new Hettie and Ro Adventures. For fans of Carola Dunn, Jacqueline Winspear, Georgette Heyer, and Lee Strauss. A light, cozy mystery with a fun peek into a an evening with bright young things.
Still Life with Murder
P.B. Ryan - 2003
Born into dismal poverty, young Nell Sweeney scratches by on her wits and little else until fortune blesses her with a position as nursery governess to the fabulously wealthy Hewitts. But she soon learns that ugly secrets lurk beneath the surface of their gold-plated world.The Hewitts’ eldest son, William, a former Union Army battle surgeon and the black sheep of the family, was reported to have died three years before in a notorious Confederate prison camp. But one snowy February afternoon, his parents learn that he is, in fact, still alive—and in jail for having murdered a man while intoxicated on opium. Infuriated by his son’s deception and convinced of his guilt, August Hewitt forbids his wife from coming to Will’s aid, so she begs Nell to help exonerate him. Nell finds that she must delve into the kind of dark and treacherous underworld she thought she’d left far behind if she is to unearth the truth before the hangman’s noose tightens around William Hewitt’s throat.
City of Lies
Victoria Thompson - 2017
Living on the edge of society, Elizabeth uses her guile to relieve so-called respectable men of their ill-gotten gains. But brutal and greedy entrepreneur Oscar Thornton is out for blood. He’s lost a great deal of money and is not going to forgive a woman for outwitting him.With his thugs hot on her trail, Elizabeth seizes the moment to blend in with a group of women who have an agenda of their own. She never expects to like or understand these privileged women, but she soon comes to respect their intentions, forming an unlikely bond with the wealthy matriarch of the group whose son, Gideon, is the rarest of species—an honest man in a dishonest world.Elizabeth knows she’s playing a risky game, and her deception could be revealed at any moment, possibly even by sharp-eyed Gideon. Nor has she been forgotten by Thornton, who’s biding his time, waiting to strike. Elizabeth must draw on her wits and every last ounce of courage she possesses to keep her new life from being cut short by this vicious shadow from her past.
Blackberry Winter
Sarah Jio - 2012
With Blackberry Winter--taking its title from a late-season, cold-weather phenomenon--Jio continues her rich exploration of the ways personal connections can transcend the boundaries of time. Seattle, 1933. Single mother Vera Ray kisses her three-year-old son, Daniel, goodnight and departs to work the night-shift at a local hotel. She emerges to discover that a May-Day snow has blanketed the city, and that her son has vanished. Outside, she finds his beloved teddy bear lying face-down on an icy street, the snow covering up any trace of his tracks, or the perpetrator's.Seattle, 2010. Seattle Herald reporter Claire Aldridge, assigned to cover the May 1 "blackberry winter" storm and its twin, learns of the unsolved abduction and vows to unearth the truth. In the process, she finds that she and Vera may be linked in unexpected ways...
The Devil Hates Latin
Katharine Galgano - 2017
Everywhere, the Faith and the West are in decline. Ominously, occult practices have corrupted the elites, the media and powerful men in the Church. The new pontiff faces this unprecedented challenge alone, until an embattled American Cardinal sends his best exorcist to Rome, a young Dominican priest with hard experience combating the Devil -- in Latin -- on America's mean streets. Meanwhile, a US media mogul, an indifferent Catholic targeted for his politics, flees America with his family for the Eternal City. There, they find a despondent society where Italians no longer marry and have children. Indeed, all hope seems lost until a beautiful Roman girl takes a brave stance against the rising tide of despair. Gritty, fascinating and impossible to forget, 'The Devil Hates Latin' sweeps from New England to the Tiber, and ultimately to a Renaissance palazzo nestled in the green hills of Umbria, building to a shattering confrontation as Good summons the courage to face the menace of the gathering forces of Evil. PUBLISHED BY REGINA PRESS
The Sacred Bones
Michael Byrnes - 2007
. .So begins The Sacred Bones by Michael Byrnes, a page-turning novel from a new voice on the thriller scene. With the violent theft leaving thirteen Israeli soldiers and policemen dead, and the Palestinians up in arms over the desecration of sacred grounds, the tension between the two groups is dangerously high. Jerusalem is a stick of dynamite and the fuse has been lit. . . .Across the Mediterranean in Italy, American forensic scientist Charlotte Hennesey has been hired by the Vatican to examine the contents of a newly discovered archeological treasure: a two-thousand-year-old ossuary containing the bones of an unidentified, crucified man—the first complete skeleton of a crucifixion victim ever found. Together with Italian anthropologist Giovanni Bersei, Charlotte makes startling forensic and genetic discoveries that lead her to wonder—could these be the bones of Jesus Christ?With the situation in Jerusalem veering out of control and the malevolent eye of Vatican security expert Salvatore Conte watching her every step, Charlotte puts two and two together. She knows that if the mortal remains of Christ are indeed in the burial box, the implications—for history and science, for religion and the Church—are frighteningly vast. And even more immediate is the question of whether the Vatican will allow the information—and Charlotte—to see the light of day.Fast-paced and intelligent, blending historical fact with persuasive fiction, The Sacred Bones reads like a CSI episode penned by The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown. From a conspiracy stretching back to the days of the Templar Knights to the shifting alliances of contemporary Middle Eastern politics, The Sacred Bones is an addictively compelling thriller that calls into question many of modern religion's deepest-held beliefs about Judaism, Jesus Christ and early Christianity, and Islam . . . with stunning results.