Book picks similar to
What We Carry With Us by Karen J. Hasley


romance-historical-american
first-in-a-series
already-read
first-person-3rd-tense

Amy Wingate's Journal


Marcia Willett - 1996
    In the process, her life obligingly becomes eventful enough to provide some interesting reading. But it is the tantalising allusions to her past – so at odds with her appearance as the stereotyped retired schoolmistress – that intrigue, delight, and eventually reveal a woman of surprising qualities. Praise for Marcia Willett: ‘Poignantly told’ – Evening Herald Willa Marsh was born in Somerset and lives in a Georgian parsonage in Devon with her husband and two Newfoundlands. As Marcia Willett, she also writes well-reviewed novels published by Headline.

Shadows


Thorne Moore - 2017
    In her struggle to cope with her unwelcome gift, she has frozen people out of her life. Her marriage is on the rocks, her career is in chaos and she urgently needs to get a grip. So she decides to start again, by joining her effervescent cousin Sylvia and partner Michael in their mission to restore and revitalise Llys y Garn, an old mansion in the wilds of North Pembrokeshire.It is certainly a new start, as she takes on Sylvia’s grandiose schemes, but it brings Kate to a place that is thick with the shadows of past deaths. The house and grounds are full of mysteries that only she can sense, but she is determined to face them down – so determined that she fails to notice that ancient energies are not the only shadows threatening the seemingly idyllic world of Llys y Garn. The happy equilibrium is disrupted by the arrival of Sylvia’s sadistic and manipulative son, Christian - but just how dangerous is he? Then, once more, Kate senses that a violent death has occurred… Set in the majestic and magical Welsh countryside, Shadows is a haunting exploration of the dark side of people and landscape.

Meeting Mungo Thunk


Keith A. Pearson - 2018
     Bathroom scales were not an appropriate gift for his fiancée’s birthday … apparently. Adam Maxwell isn’t a bad man—he’s just a man who doesn’t stop and think. Ever since he ate seven pickled gherkins for lunch at school, and subsequently shat himself during a maths lesson, Adam has been cursed by a lack of common sense. Now in his early thirties, that lack of common sense is about to throw Adam’s life into turmoil after one particularly ill-judged decision backfires … with disastrous consequences. After a rapid descent towards rock bottom, a strange little man by the name of Mungo Thunk then enters Adam’s life. However, not everything about Mungo Thunk is as it first seems. After insisting Adam can rediscover his common sense by agreeing to an unorthodox brand of therapy, the two set about dealing with the raft of challenges Adam has to face. Can Adam trust the mysterious stranger to fix his thinking and get his life back on track? Or will he come to rue the day he invited Mungo Thunk into his life?

Corpse Path Cottage


Margaret Scutt - 2020
    And before long, one of the village's residents, Laura Grey, is mysteriously shot dead nearby. Mark's life begins to unravel before he is able to help the police solve the mystery of Laura Grey's death, uncovering in the process a tale of intrigue, bigamy and blackmail, and bringing into the open many secrets of the residents of God's Blessing, including Mark himself.

The Harder They Fall


Alex Smith - 2020
    He’s the man governments call when they want somebody dead. His is a life of intimidation and brutality, of beatings and executions—including, ultimately, his own. Jack Softley’s life is a world away from his brother’s. A high school English teacher, devoted father, and all-round nice guy, Jack tries to stay as far from trouble as possible. But when he receives word that Ian has been murdered, he finds himself dragged into a storm of violence and danger. Because the same people who killed his brother want him dead too. Hunted by government agents and brutal assassins, Jack must discover the truth about Ian’s dark past if he wants to stay alive. But Ian isn’t the only Softley to have secrets. Jack hasn’t always been a teacher. He hasn’t always been a nice guy. And when push comes to shove, he doesn’t do things softly.

Lark Song


Jane Bailey - 2018
    But there are secrets afflicting Freya’s family, some more sinister than others, that could destroy their relationship before it has a chance to flourish.While Freya’s older children are less than welcoming, six-year-old Sophie helps Duncan find his place in the family—but even Sophie harbours fears that threaten to overshadow any chance of a new start. The past is hard to leave behind when pictures of Freya’s idolised late husband hang in every room, and the more Duncan tries to find the source of Sophie’s anxiety, the more he is convinced that Reuben was not the perfect husband and father Freya remembers.Tormented by concern and his own insecurity, Duncan begins an obsessive investigation into the dead man’s past. But when his good intentions lead him in too deep, he risks destroying everything he has built with Freya—and the whole family’s second chance at happiness.

Shut Eye


Adam Baron - 1999
    But who was the man filmed with Teddy as he left Heathrow? What secrets is he hiding? Ex-copper turned private investigator Billy Rucker joins the case on the exhortation of Teddy’s brother, a well-known MP. For Rucker it’s the start of a lonely trail through the city, clutching a grainy black and white photograph and a gnawing suspicion at the pit of his stomach. Until a chilling phone call in the night changes everything…

Burnt Worlds


S.J. Madill - 2015
     At the far edge of the galaxy, beyond any hope of rescue, it’s up to Dillon to pull the survivors together and get the ship home. As he struggles with the unexpected burden of command, things go from bad to worse. A fugitive alien priestess arrives, her presence a diplomatic nightmare waiting to happen.  A mysterious ship follows them with murderous intent. And the Borealis’ desperate second jump lands them in uncharted space, surrounded by star systems full of dead planets. With supplies dwindling, Dillon and the crew of the Borealis find themselves in a race against time to solve a centuries-old mystery.  Can they stop an ancient enemy from being unleashed?  Or are all the planets of the galaxy destined to become burnt worlds?

Shattered


Lisa Clark O'Neill - 2017
    However, recently uncovered evidence proves that her father was wrongfully convicted. Reeling from this revelation, Lucy comes back to her hometown, both terrified and desperate to reconnect with the father whom she’d rejected. Trespassing at her childhood home, Lucy finds herself facing down the county sheriff, Ben Paulson, who is as intrigued by this prodigal daughter as he is horrified by the legal misconduct which resulted in her father’s conviction all those years ago. And when things start to happen to Lucy, things which suggest that someone may not want her back in Dahlonega, Ben realizes that this professionally problematic attraction is the least of their worries.

Death by Dark Waters


Jo Allen - 2019
     It's high summer, and the lakes are in the midst of an unrelenting heatwave. Uncontrollable fell fires are breaking out across the moors faster than they can be extinguished. When firefighters uncover the body of a dead child at the heart of the latest blaze, Detective Chief Inspector Jude Satterthwaite's arson investigation turns to one of murder. Jude was born and bred in the Lake District. He knows everyone... and everyone knows him. Except his intriguing new Detective Sergeant, Ashleigh O'Halloran, who is running from a dangerous past and has secrets of her own to hide... Temperatures - and tension - in the village are rising, and with the body count rising Jude and his team race against the clock to catch the killer before it's too late... The first in the gripping, Lake District-set, DCI Jude Satterthwaite series.

The Shape of Us


Drew Davies - 2018
    Surprised at how many times your path crosses with that stranger you spotted on the other side of the street. Surprised at how lonely living in a busy city can feel. Surprised that falling in love – against all the odds – is just about possible. One day in London… Daisy is rushing to work when a stranger on a bicycle almost knocks her over – and then asks for her number. JoJo, a wife in her sixties, is trying desperately to win her beloved husband back from his mistress. Adam has recently lost his job and lies to his housemate about where he goes every day. Dylan, a teenage boy, lives with an illness which means he can’t leave his bedroom – but which hasn’t stopped him falling in love. These four total strangers – whose paths cross in the charming and crazy city of London – have one thing in common. They’re all looking for love and they’re totally hopeless at it. But that’s about to change. A hilarious, uplifting and heartfelt novel about love, life and finding happiness. If you’ve ever made a mistake, suffered a break-up, waited by your phone for it to ring or loved someone from afar, then The Shape of Us is for you.

Another Place to Die (Tom Morton #2)


Mark Hayden - 2016
    Everyone is happy to take his money, drink in his bars and forget where it all came from, until Matt is found murdered next to a statue in the woods behind his manor house.DCI Tom Morton and DC Elaine Fraser are reunited to take on the case, which is too hot for the local police. Tom finds himself in an abandoned building with a team of misfits and facing a wall of silence.Inside the wall, Matt’s team manoeuvre for position. The king is dead: will it be his widow, his lawyer or his enforcer who is crowned in his place? Connor Holden knows it won’t be him – he just wants to keep his job and his life.Tom, taking the lead role for the first time in his career, struggles to find the truly guilty in an extended family where no one is innocent, and then he’s blindsided by the arrival of Lucy, a witness from another case – a witness he’d like to get a lot closer to.Mark Hayden’s latest crime novel is an absorbing, multi-layered exploration of tragedy, duty, family and the fight for survival on the other side of the law.

A Dragon among the Eagles: A Novel of the Roman Empire


Adam Alexander Haviaras - 2016
    197, Emperor Septimius Severus led one of the largest invasion forces in Rome's history against the Parthian Empire.Among the men of thirty-three legions is Lucius Metellus Anguis, a young man from an ancient Equestrian family. Against the wishes of his conservative father, Lucius is determined to pursue a career in the military and resurrect the glory of his family name on the battlefield rather than the marble of the Senate.However, as in all conflicts, Lucius' ideals and his faith are challenged as he witnesses the worst in humanity.As the imperial legions fight their way through Mesopotamia to the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon, Lucius discovers the inner strength that may well ensure that this young dragon rises from the ranks of Rome's eagles.Can a man survive the trials of war unscathed? Do the Gods indeed favour the bold?March to war with Rome's legions and find out!A Dragon among the Eagles is the first novel in Adam Alexander Haviaras' ground-breaking Eagles and Dragons historical fantasy series. If you like books by Douglas Jackson, Manda Scott, and David Gemmell, or movies like Gladiator and Pompeii, then you will love this historical series that combines adventure, romance, and the supernatural.Get this book now to set off on a thrilling adventure in the Roman Empire!Here is what readers have to say about Eagles and Dragons:Historic Novel Society:"...Haviaras handles it all with smooth skill. The world of third-century Rome--both the city and its African outposts--is colorfully vivid here, and Haviaras manages to invest even his secondary and tertiary characters with believable, three-dimensional humanity."Amazon Readers:"Historical fiction at its best! ... if you like your historical fiction to be an education as well as a fun read, this is the book for you!""An outstanding and compelling novel!""I would add this author to some of the great historical writers such as Conn Iggulden, Simon Scarrow and David Gemmell. The characters were described in such a way that it was easy to picture them as if they were real and have lived in the past, the book flowed with an ease that any reader, novice to advanced can enjoy and become fully immersed..."Goodreads:"... a very entertaining read; Haviaras has both a fluid writing style, and a good eye for historical detail, and explores in far more detail the faith of the average Roman than do most authors."Epinions:"Well written historical drama with an eye for detail... I can't wait for the next book... Killing the Hydra. There is so much more misery and mischief to puzzle and vex our worthy Metellus."

Illusion


Stephanie Elmas - 2019
     Returning home from his travels across the globe, Walter Balanchine is noted for the charms, potions and locket hanging from his neck. Living in a cemetery with his pet panther, Sinbad, word soon spreads of his healing and magical abilities and Walter becomes a sought after party performer. But a powerful force lies behind the parlour tricks, one strong enough to reveal secrets, heal the sick, and destroy the wicked... Filled with mystery, magic and larger than life characters, Illusion will keep you guessing until the very last page. Praise for Stephanie Elmas ‘Magical, masterful and mesmerising’ - Lucy Walton Lange, Female First ‘Conjures the kind of atmosphere that laudanum dreams are made of.’ - After Nyne Magazine ‘Captivating and delectable.’ - Liz Wilkins '...a modern day ghost story and a Victorian chiller.' - The Huffington Post 'Elmas is a first-rate storyteller.' - The Surrey Post 'This book hasn't been written, it's been crafted.' - The Bookbag Stephanie Elmas was born in Hong Kong to an English father and Czech mother but spent most of her childhood in Bristol. She studied English at university in London. Having worked as a head hunter, she taught English in Japan before returning to university to complete an MA in Victorian fiction. It was here that she developed her interest in the dark dangerous world of Victorian sensation writing. After the success of her first novel, The Room Beyond, Elmas has returned to write the tale of the early life of East End mystic and illusionist Walter Balanchine. When she is not writing, Elmas teaches secondary school English and juggles a chaotic household in Surrey.

A Dedicated Scoundrel


Anne Barbour - 1997
    Despite her misgivings, she cannot ignore his plight, nor can she deny the attraction between them. But everything Catherine learns about his scandalous secrets makes her trust him less. And his kisses could be just as sincere as his lies... Regency Romance by Anne Barbour; originally published by Signet