Book picks similar to
A World of Thieves by James Carlos Blake
historical-fiction
crime-fiction
fiction
mystery
The Fourteenth of September
Rita Dragonette - 2018
In doing so, she jeopardizes both the army scholarship that will secure her future and her relationship with her military family. But Judy’s doubts have escalated with the travesties of the war. Who is she if she stays in the army? What is she if she leaves?When the first date pulled in the Draft Lottery turns up as her birthday, she realizes that if she were a man, she’d have been Number One—off to Vietnam with an under-fire life expectancy of six seconds. The stakes become clear, propelling her toward a life-altering choice as fateful as that of any draftee.The Fourteenth of September portrays a pivotal time at the peak of the Vietnam War through the rare perspective of a young woman, tracing her path of self-discovery and a “Coming of Conscience.” Judy’s story speaks to the poignant clash of young adulthood, early feminism, and war, offering an ageless inquiry into the domestic politics of protest when the world stops making sense.
The Book of Secrets: an action-packed thriller spanning continents and countries that will set your heart racing…
Tom Harper - 2009
Before she can reveal it, she disappears. All that survives is a picture of a mysterious medieval playing card that has perplexed scholars for centuries.
Nick Ash does research for the FBI in New York. Six months ago his girlfriend Gillian walked out and broke his heart. Now he’s the only person who can save her — if it’s not too late. Within hours of getting her message, Nick finds himself on the run, delving deep into the past before it catches up with him.Hunted across Europe, Nick follows Gillian’s trail into the heart of a five-hundred-year-old mystery. But across the centuries, powerful forces are closing around him. There are men who have devoted their lives to keeping the secret, and they will stop at nothing to protect it.From the Paperback edition.
The Locksmith
Linda Calvey - 2021
Linda Calvey writes what she lived.They grew up with nothing. Just a regular family scraping by, living an honest life while crime ruled the East End. Until all that honesty and all that hard work left them with nothing.Poor, destitute and hungry, young Ruby decides to pull them from the ashes. It starts as one job, one step outside the law. Yet that one step sets her on a path – straight to the top.But in the East End you don't build an empire without making a few enemies . . .Welcome to the underbelly of London, where criminals run the streets and one woman will do anything to protect her family.The crime debut novel of the year, perfect for readers who loved No Mercy and Queenie.
The Jump-Off Creek
Molly Gloss - 1989
The Jump-Off Creek gives readers an intimate look at the hardships of frontier life and a courageous woman determined to survive.
31 Bond Street
Ellen Horan - 2010
Harvey Burdell in his lower Manhattan home made front-page news across the United States in 1857. "Who killed Dr. Burdell?" was a question that gripped the nation. 31 Bond Street, a debut novel by Ellen Horan, interweaves fiction with actual events in a clever historical narrative that blends romance, politics, greed and sexual intrigue in a suspenseful drama. The story opens when an errand boy discovers Burdell's body in the bedroom of his posh Bond Street home. The novel's central characters are Dr. Harvey Burdell, a dentist and unscrupulous businessman; his lover, the ambitious, Brooklyn-born Emma Cunningham; the District Attorney, Abraham Oakey Hall (later to become mayor of New York); and Henry Clinton, a prominent defense lawyer. The enigmatic relationship between Emma and Dr. Burdell makes her the prime suspect, and her trial is nothing less than sensational. During the trial, the two lawyers fight for truth, justice and their careers. This novel is set against the background of bustling, corrupt New York City, just four years before the Civil War. The author intertwines two main narratives: the trial through the perspective of the defense attorney Henry Clinton, and the story of the lovely young widow Emma Cunningham whose search for a husband brings her into the arms and home of Dr. Burdell.
The Colour of Betrayal
Toni Mount - 2017
Fearful that his opponent is dying from his injuries, Lawrence seeks sanctuary in a church nearby. When Ducket is found hanging from the rafters, people assume it's suicide. Yet, Sebastian Foxley is unconvinced. Why is his young apprentice, Jack Tabor, so terrified that he takes to his bed?Amidst feasting and merriment, Seb is determined to solve the mystery of his friend’s death and to ease Jack’s fears.
Girl with Flying Weapons
Aya Ling - 2013
It is the first book of a series.
The Den
Abi Maxwell - 2019
Their mother is a painter, lost in her art, their father a cook who's raised them on magical tales about their land. When Henrietta becomes obsessed with a boy from town, Jane takes to trailing the young couple, spying on their trysts--until one night, Henrietta vanishes into the woods. Elspeth and Claire are sisters separated by an ocean--Elspeth's pregnancy at seventeen meant she was quickly married and sent to America to avoid certain shame. But when she begins ingratiating herself to the town's wealthy mill owner, a series of wrenching and violent events unfold, culminating in her disappearance. As Jane and Claire search in their own times for their missing sisters, they each come across a strange story about a family that is transformed into coyotes. But what does this myth mean? Are their sisters dead, destroyed by men and lust? Or, are they alive and thriving beyond the watchful eyes of their same small town? With echoes of The Scarlet Letter, Abi Maxwell gives us a transporting, layered tale of two women, living generations apart yet connected by place and longing, and condemned for the very same desires.
The Sword of the Templars
Paul Christopher - 2009
Army Ranger Lt. Col. John Holliday had resigned himself to ending his career teaching at West Point. When his uncle passes away, Holliday discovers a medieval sword-wrapped in Adolf Hitler's personal battle standard. But when someone burns down his uncle's house in an attempt to retrieve the sword, Holliday realizes that he's being drawn into a war that has been fought for centuries-a war in which he may be the next casualty.
The Good Knight
Sarah Woodbury - 2011
But when the groom is murdered on the way to his wedding, the bride’s brother tasks his two best detectives—Gareth, a knight, and Gwen, the daughter of the court bard—with bringing the killer to justice. And once blame for the murder falls on Gareth himself, Gwen must continue her search for the truth alone, finding unlikely allies in foreign lands, and ultimately uncovering a conspiracy that will shake the political foundations of Wales.
Eliza Waite
Ashley E. Sweeney - 2016
When Eliza arrives in Skagway, Alaska, she has less than fifty dollars to her name and not a friend in the world―but with some savvy, and with the help of some unsavory characters, Eliza opens a successful bakery on Skagway’s main street and befriends a madam at a neighboring bordello. Occupying this space―a place somewhere between traditional and nontraditional feminine roles―Eliza awakens emotionally and sexually. But when an unprincipled man from her past turns up in Skagway, Eliza is fearful that she will be unable to conceal her identity and move forward with her new life. Part diary, part recipe file, and part Gold Rush history, Eliza Waite transports readers to the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of a raucous and fleeting era of American history.
Now You See Her
Paul J. Teague - 2019
While the authorities draw a blank, Cory picks up the cold trail and finds there's something sinister going on in Shallow Falls--something he'll regret ever getting involved in.
Now You See Her
is an exciting new thriller about pain, loss and regret. The conspiracies deepen with each turn of the page, leading readers on a relentless pursuit for answers until the very end.
Where the Hurt Is
Chris Kelsey - 2018
The social revolutions rocking America have mostly bypassed Burr, a tiny rural community in western Oklahoma. Like much of the state, Burr remains as it’s always been: Religious. Conservative. And 100% white. When an unknown young African- American woman is found murdered on the railroad tracks outside town, most of Burr would rather look the other way. The town’s police chief, troubled local hero and ex-Marine Emmett Hardy, doesn’t have that luxury. A lover of books and jazz in the land of football and country & western, Emmett is an outsider in a place he knows like the back of his hand. In his search for the killer, he’s forced to slice through layers of hate and hypocrisy to confront the ethical rot at the town’s core, while being haunted by the vision of a life and love that might have been.
Mrs. O'Malley's Midnight Mystery
M. Louisa Locke - 2020
O’Malley, especially when you have seven children and are forced to live in one of the crowded neighborhoods South of Market. Late one night, as she sat at the window of her crowded flat, sewing and worrying, she noticed something strange going on across the street. Her decision to investigate will have unexpected consequences. Mrs. O’Malley’s Midnight Mystery is a short story in the Victorian San Francisco Mystery series, and it comes right after the short story, Dandy’s Discovery, and before Lethal Remedies, the seventh novel in the series.
Girl with a Gun
Kari Bovee - 2018
Finally, she has a chance to save her family’s farm—and make her dreams come true. But her act misfires when she discovers her Indian assistant dead in her tent.Uncovering a shocking secret from her assistant’s past, the girl with the gun believes it’s murder. Determined to find the truth, she ruffles some horse feathers, making enemies along the trail. But, when her prized gelding is stolen, Annie realizes she might have been the target all along.Can Little Miss Sure Shot save her equine friend and find the killer before everything she’s worked for is destroyed?If you like a cunning mystery, a feisty heroine, and a fast-paced plot that keeps the pages turning, you’ll love this wild ride with the iconic Annie Oakley in the saddle.2019 Chanticleer Murder & Mayhem First Place, Best in Category2019 Hillerman Award for Southwest Fiction2019 New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards: First Place in the Mystery/Crime Category2019 Next Generation Indie Book Awards: Finalist in Historical Fiction