Book picks similar to
Code of the Forest by Jon Buchan


fiction
book-club
southern-fiction
otsp-suggestions

Girl On A Train


P. Hawkins - 2016
    This debut international thriller tangles a sordid web of love and intrigue.

George Pearly Is A Miserable Old Sod


Steven Primrose-Smith - 2015
     Amazon UK reviews for Steven's first book, No Place Like Home, Thank God: "A superb book I devoured in two days." "This book made me laugh out loud." "Great read. Laugh out loud funny." "I really enjoyed this book!" "Steven's style of writing made me laugh out loud." "I couldn't put it down." "One of the best books I've read in a long time." "Found his one liners very funny." "A highly entertaining read." "So well written with brilliant humour." Seventy year-old British ex-pat miserymonger George Pearly lives on the Costa del Sol, all alone except for his ancient, three-legged dog, Ambrose. George hates his life and everybody in it. These feelings are mutual. Everyone hates George too. From this unhappy equilibrium the situation quickly deteriorates. First, George discovers he is dying of a mystery illness. Then his 35 year-old ape-child nephew, Kevin, moves into George's tiny and once tranquil home with a passion for Vimto, Coco Pops and slobbing around in his greying underpants. Worst of all, George's neighbours start to disappear and all accusing fingers point towards George. Pull up a sun lounger, grab yourself a piña colada and enjoy a murder-mystery romp on Spain's sunny southern coast.

At the River's Edge


D.R. Shoultz - 2018
    The unsolved shooting death of Mayor Hank Richards has a five-year curse hovering over the historic mountain community. Townspeople look over their shoulders in fear as neighbor accuses neighbor. Rumors of buried moonshine money captivate those seeking unearned riches, but haunt Emily Edwards, the strong-willed granddaughter of the purported moonshiner. Shortly following the murder of Mayor Richards, James Wolsey returns from college to help his mom manage the family’s hardware business. James and Emily are traveling diverse paths when they meet, but quickly align on a common course. If not for obsessed treasure hunters convinced Emily possesses a map, it seems their future together is promising. The couple's attempt to dispel rumors of buried treasure leads them to the gravesite of Emily’s ancestor beside the New River. What they uncover at the river’s edge propels them into the path of the mayor's killer, and unleashes a chain of chilling events that forever changes Sunset Peak. Mayor Richards’ murder will not be the last in the previously peaceful town.

The Thursday Murder Club / The Man Who Died Twice


Richard Osman
    

Field of Dead Horses


Nick Allen Brown - 2012
    Georgetown, Kentucky, 1939...soon after dawn on a February morning, Elliott Chapel discovers an unconscious, bloodied, young woman lying face up in the cold waters of Penny Creek. Days later, awakening from her hypothermic coma, Ellie Evans finds herself on the Chapel Farm. Once she explains her plight as the abused wife of a powerful man, Elliott offers her and her son a place to stay and vows to keep them from harm. For both Ellie and Elliott, life under the same roof is a challenge--with the cantankerous Paul Chapel, Elliott's father who spends his retirement days drinking whiskey with his aging coonhound by his side. Elliott has taken over the daily operations of the horse farm with his assistant, Booley. Unusual for the time--when blacks were subservient to whites--Booley manages a small staff and helps Elliott attempt the impossible with the newly-acquired horse of a high-profile client. Ellie pitches in and helps out when she can and helps change the mood of the busy farm with her sweet charm and culinary skills, even getting on the good side of the bad-tempered Paul Chapel. Just when daily life settles into an enjoyable rhythm, a violent struggle erupts when the malicious Mayor Evans descends on the farm with the county sheriff and two deputies. Armed with shotguns, they remove Ellie and her son from the farm, against her will. Narrated by Elliott five decades later, he recalls the incident on the Chapel Farm and subsequent events which ultimately reveal the long-kept secret...hidden in a small town since 1939.

State of Terror


Hilary Clinton
    

The Girl on the Train: Sidekick to the Novel


Anna Gooding-Call - 2015
     Warning: This is an independent companion to The Girl on the Train, meant to enhance your experience of the novel. If you have not yet bought Paula Hawkins' novel, make sure to purchase it before buying this unofficial Sidekick. Riding the train on her daily commute, Rachel watches the picture-perfect couple she’s dubbed "Jess and Jason" as they go about their lives. But one day she sees something that changes her perception of the couple forever—and leads her deep into the darker truths that lie beneath the pretty smiles and charming houses of Blenheim Road. First published in the U.K. in 2012, The Girl on the Train is Paula Hawkins' debut novel and has already sold over seven million copies. With this Sidekick, you’ll: • Spend some more time with the characters you've come to know and love • Take a look at the novel’s underlying themes • Learn what you might have missed on your first read of The Girl on the Train • Explore a possible alternate ending and imagine ideas for a sequel • Get a chance to discuss Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train with other readers Sidekicks are entertaining and insightful reading companions, filled with delightful commentary and thought-provoking questions. Readers have raved that they "really put you in touch with the many layers of the novel," "keep you entertained even longer," and are "perfect if you want a vivid understanding of the story." Designed to be read side by side with the novels they complement, they’ll give you even more reasons to love some of today’s best books.

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith Summary & Study Guide


BookRags - 2010
    1 Ladies' Detective Agency Study Guide contains comprehensive summaries and analysis of the book. This study guide includes a detailed Plot Summary, Chapter Summaries & Analysis, Character Descriptions, Objects/Places, Themes, Styles, Quotes, and Topics for Discussion on The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith.

Dream Singer


Frank O. Smith - 2014
    As a young man, he possessed the rare gift of dream singing – the ability to see the future, but lost it through a selfish act. A seemingly chance crossing of paths with a thirteen year-old runaway boy who has witnessed a murder in a railroad dramatically changes both their destinies. Part love story, tragedy, and mystery, Dream Singer is a story of the betrayal of love, and the quest for redemption, where listening to dreams and the spirit of the land is vital to Elijah and boy staying ahead of the killer – and staying alive.

Crab Bait


Carrie Enge - 2015
    No matter how you look at it, fishing in Alaska is a deadly way to make a living.

The One True Ocean


Sarah Beth Martin - 2003
    There is one that is blue-a clean, bright Disney World blue, which simply is the mirror of a clear sky above. But look at the ocean on a cloudy day, she would say, and here lies the green ocean-the true ocean, full of algae and kelp and slimy creatures, evil lurking in the shadows.The One True Ocean is an atmospheric novel driven by suspense and tension when a twenty-something artist returns to her abandoned childhood home and begins to dig into her past. In a search for answers to her aunt's suicide and her father's identity, Jenna discovers that her seaside house holds dark secrets that will unravel her family history and shatter the truth she has come to believe.In this eloquent debut novel, Sarah Beth Martin mixes dark psychology and real emotion with breathless storytelling to explore the deep connections between past and present, love and loss, the dead and the living.

Pac Heights


Tony Perez-Giese - 2013
    The dot.com boom is in full swing, and it seems as though every twenty-something has become an instant millionaire-except our narrator, who has just arrived from the Midwest without a job. Confronted with the chilling prospect of missing out on the greatest cash grab of the twentieth century, he enlists with a temp agency. That's when things start getting strange.Mistaken by the agency for an urbane homosexual instead of the ex-frat boy he really is, he is assigned to a fully-staffed mansion in the Pacific Heights neighborhood. His new boss? Definitely not the old matron he was expecting.Bailey Phelan is the gorgeous, thirty-year-old wife of an aging billionaire, and her penchant for Prada, recreational drugs, and foreign boyfriends quickly has the narrator running in circles trying to keep her exorbitant spending and romantic misadventures under wraps. But despite all the glitz, what she might need most is a friend.As the narrator gets sucked deeper into the mansion milieu-oversexed nannies, a lovelorn gay chef, the obsessive head housekeeper, the bilious billionaire himself-he's faced with the unavoidable question: will the six-figure salary and over-the-top lifestyle of the rich and infamous corrupt him -- or will he cut and run with his soul intact?

Speed of Light


Lee Baker - 2011
    He is destined to make history like John Glenn and Neil Armstrong. Pierce’s idyllic world screeches to a halt when, three weeks before the historic flight, his wife is killed in a tragic car accident.Determined to carry on with the groundbreaking flight in spite of his grief, Pierce is changed forever when, during the flight, his body is transformed into light. The shock of it all puts Pierce into a deep coma and when he wakes time is not relevant to his mind. Suddenly able to step into visions of the past, Pierce struggles to make sense of what he sees as he learns that his wife’s death was not an accident, but murder and her murderers are after him. As Pierce and the beautiful attorney, Vanessa Trace, sort through the bizarre attacks on Pierce and his vivid visions of the past, they cannot substantiate any evidence to his claims. In a frantic race to stay alive, Pierce and Vanessa find themselves matching wits with a conspiracy with seemingly endless resources and a police department convinced Pierce is a murderer, while at the same time they question whether or not Pierce himself is crazy.Standing out from traditional suspense novels, Speed of Light is fast-paced, intelligent and intricately layered with mind expanding concepts.

The Adventures of Charlie Smithers


C.W. Lovatt - 2012
    Make way for Charlie Smithers.The time is the nineteenth century. The place, the Serengeti Plain, where one Charlie Smithers – faithful manservant to the arrogant bone-head, Lord Brampton (with five lines in Debrett, and a hopeless shot to boot) – becomes separated from his master during an unfortunate episode with an angry rhinoceros, thereby launching Charlie on an odyssey into Deepest Darkest Africa, and subsequently into the arms of the beautiful Loiyan…and that’s where the trouble really begins.Maasai warriors, xenophobic locals, or evil Arab slavers, the two forbidden lovers encounter everything that the unforgiving jungle can throw at them."A truly engaging read that will keep anyone’s attention from the hilarious beginning until the last word. I highly recommend this 5 star novel." ~ Chapters & Chats

Cursed Blessing


J.M. LeDuc - 2009
    There, he is content to live a peaceful existence as the town’s head librarian. Although he loves the peace and tranquility that have become his life, he is haunted by nightmares. Nightmares that always pertain to some skill that he had learned as a covert operative and they always contain an image of his lost love; Chloe.Brent’s life turns upside down when he receives a gift from Lucile Conklin. Her late husband has bequeathed a rare book collection to him upon his death. Among the books Brent finds a letter written by his grandfather twenty years earlier. What he doesn’t know is that he has also been passed a secret, now known as The Endowment. This secret is so old that it dates back to the dawn of creation. A secret which began as a gift from God, but because of man’s wickedness and immorality has become so evil that if it were to fall into the wrong hands, Armageddon would occur.A secret that is a Cursed Blessing. This is a new release of a previously published edition.