Book picks similar to
The Whiskey Tide by M. Ruth Myers


historical-fiction
fiction
mystery
historical

Mail Order Outlaw


Cynthia Woolf - 2015
    He’s an outlaw, was forced into his father’s gang at the age of thirteen, and is wanted Dead or Alive in more than one territory. But now his father is dead, he hates the life, the blood, and his brother’s rages. When a stagecoach robbery goes awry, Ed ends up with a satchel full of charming letters from an enticing young miss. Unfortunately for Miss Lizzie Cobb, her betrothed is now dead, and Ed Talbot sees a way out. Impersonating a fine, upstanding young man shouldn’t be too difficult. Despite the risks, falling in love with her proves to be all too easy. Isolated on her mother’s ranch just outside of Tombstone, Miss Lizzie Cobb doesn’t have the time or the means to find a respectable husband. As a half Apache woman in the Arizona Territory, being a mail order bride seems like the only solution to her problem until she realizes that San Francisco is too far away, and she’ll have to leave her vulnerable mother and baby brother behind. Her solution? Call off the wedding. When her groom shows up on her doorstep, she’s shocked. He’s handsome, strong, and has traveled hundreds of miles to claim her. His kisses inflame her body and his presence soothes her soul. Falling for the rugged man is beyond her control. But the past has a way of catching up to outlaws, and facing the truth is going to be hard…for both of them.

Old World Murder


Kathleen Ernst - 2010
    She's the new collections curator at Old World Wisconsin, an outdoor ethnic museum showcasing 1870s settlement life. On her first day, Chloe meets with an elderly woman who begs her to find a priceless eighteenth-century Norwegian ale bowl that had been donated to the museum years ago. But before Chloe can find the heirloom and return it to her, the woman dies in a suspicious car crash.Digging up the history and whereabouts of the rare artifact quickly turns dangerous. Chloe discovers that someone is desperately trying to cover up all traces of the bowl's existence—by any means necessary. Assisting Chloe is police officer Roelke McKenna, whose own haunting past compels him to protect her. To catch the covetous killer, Chloe must solve a decades-old puzzle . . . before she becomes a part of history herself.

City of Dark Magic


Magnus Flyte - 2012
    When music student Sarah Weston lands a summer job at Prague Castle cataloging Beethoven’s manuscripts, she has no idea how dangerous her life is about to become. Prague is a threshold, Sarah is warned, and it is steeped in blood.      Soon after Sarah arrives, strange things begin to happen. She learns that her mentor, who was working at the castle, may not have committed suicide after all. Could his cryptic notes be warnings? As Sarah parses his clues about Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved,” she manages to get arrested, to have tantric sex in a public fountain, and to discover a time-warping drug. She also catches the attention of a four-hundred-year-old dwarf, the handsome Prince Max, and a powerful U.S. senator with secrets she will do anything to hide.      City of Dark Magic could be called a rom-com paranormal suspense novel—or it could simply be called one of the most entertaining novels of the year.

A Dream of Daring


Gen LaGreca - 2013
    He foresees a new age of mechanized farming that will empty the fields of men and supplant the South’s slavery system. But the planters of his town don’t like his big ideas about changing their world or the intensity with which he’s pursuing them.As Tom hears the call of the new age, he also feels the pull of two women. Rachel, a senator’s daughter, loves him, but will she break with her family to stand by his side when the town rebukes him? Solo is the unbridled grassland filly, the feisty mulatto slave who despises Tom, along with every other man from the race that binds her. Rachel is free, but is her spirit chained? Solo is chained, but is her spirit free?Tensions between Tom and the planters peak, and the tractor is stolen. “Then a shocking murder sets into motion inextricably linked events and revelations that will change life as they know it for Tom, Rachel, and Solo” (BOOKLIST).Set at a crossroads of United States history, with an old epoch tumbling and the modern age gaining ground, this novel portrays the power struggles and clashing visions for the future of the people caught in the tumult.This is a haunting tale of the Old South, with its sweeping fields of white-gold cotton, its majestic plantations, its elegant gentry, and its embattled slaves. Capturing the turbulent lead-up to the Civil War, this gripping work of historical fiction is a tribute to the timeless call of freedom that sounds in every person's heart. A ringing maverick spirit gives the novel widespread appeal beyond its historical genre.As it delves into the souls of those who want to harness nature and those who want to harness other men, the novel poses questions for our own age: Which camp is on the rise today? Will it save us or destroy us?A DREAM OF DARING STRONGLY APPEALS TO READERS OF:Mystery, romance, and historical romantic suspense novels,Multicultural and interracial romance,United States and Civil War historical fiction,Libertarian and thought-provoking fiction, and books with inspirational and important themes.A DREAM OF DARING: inspiring the spirit through the enchantment of fiction.SEE THE REVIEWS! Scroll down to see the enthusiastic Editorial Reviews for this exciting novel.DON'T FORGET TO LOOK INSIDE! Go to Amazon and click on the LOOK INSIDE feature by the book cover to read the absorbing first pages.EDITORIAL REVIEWS FOR A DREAM OF DARING:“Throughout the narrative, LaGreca masterfully creates metaphors to explore her key themes. . . . A DREAM OF DARING is suspenseful. The crime at the center of the narrative will keep the reader guessing until the final revelation. . . . LaGreca’s exploration of how people respond to, and sometimes reject, change and progress is relevant for all generations.”—ForeWord Reviews"Old ways do not fade into the night quietly. A DREAM OF DARING is a novel set on the dawn of the industrial revolution. Tom Edmunton builds a proto-tractor, and tries to bring a world of change about Louisiana with his invention. But the whiplash is hard, as a loved one is killed, and his invention is stolen. (As Tom is) faced with a crossroads and the charms of multiple women, A DREAM OF DARING is an enticing blend of mystery and romance, much recommended reading."—Midwest Book Review"In 1859, Louisiana posed various challenges to its citizens, no matter their color, in LaGreca's thought-provoking second novel (after Noble Vision, 2005), a murder mystery set during a tumultuous period in American history. . . . (This tale) should attract readers interested in historical fiction set in the antebellum South." —Booklist“Grab your seat for a tumbling ride back to the high-stakes, hoop-flying, tumultuous time when cotton was king. Gen LaGreca takes you for a jaunt in her carriage through fields of fragrant words, luscious descriptions, and panoramic views. Hang on as the road gets bumpy, with zesty characters stirring up the dirt and sudden plot twists swerving you onto uncharted paths. Wait, the hooves have left the ground and you’re airborne till the end. You’ll come back excited, enchanted, and enlightened.”—Barry Farber, host of The Barry Farber Show and author of Cocktails with Molotov“I thoroughly enjoyed the plot twists and turns, the passionate inter-racial romance, the delicious rebellion against convention, and the challenge to subjugation of all kinds.”—Marsha Familaro Enright, President, Reason, Individualism and Freedom Institute“This is a heroic and inspiring novel that’s also packed with rich insights, lessons—and warnings—for today." —John Blundell, author of Ladies for Liberty: Women Who Made a Difference in American HistoryAWARDS FOR THE AUTHOR'S FIRST NOVEL, NOBLE VISION:ForeWord Magazine, Book of the YearFinalist in General FictionWriter’s Digest 13th Annual International Book AwardsHonorable Mention in Mainstream FictionMidwest Book AwardsFinalist in General FictionIllinois Women’s Press AssociationSecond Place in Fiction ContestA DREAM OF DARING is published by Winged Victory Press, Chicago, www.wingedvictorypress.com, inspiring the spirit through the enchantment of fiction.Genevieve (Gen) LaGreca is a Chicago novelist who writes stories with imaginative plots, strong romance, and individualist themes. Her first novel is the award-winning medical thriller Noble Vision. Aside from fiction, Gen also writes social commentary. Her articles have appeared in Forbes, The Orange County Register, The Daily Caller, Real Clear Markets, Mises Daily, and other publications.Gen has a third novel finished and in editing, which she plans to publish by early 2014, and she has completed the screenplay adaptation of Noble Vision. For more information, see www.wingedvictorypress.com.Contact Gen at genlagreca@hotmail.com Follow her on:www.facebook.com/genlagreca www.twitter.com/genlagreca

The Silver Music Box


Mina Baites - 2017
    For Paul, with love. Jewish silversmith Johann Blumenthal engraved those words on his most exquisite creation, a singing filigree bird inside a tiny ornamented box. He crafted this treasure for his young son before leaving to fight in a terrible war to honor his beloved country—a country that would soon turn against his own family.A half century later, Londoner Lilian Morrison inherits the box after the death of her parents. Though the silver is tarnished and dented, this much-loved treasure is also a link to an astonishing past. With the keepsake is a letter from Lilian’s mother, telling her daughter for the first time that she was adopted. Too young to remember, Lilian was rescued from a Germany in the grips of the Holocaust. Now only she can trace what happened to a family who scattered to the reaches of the world, a family forced to choose between their heritage and their dreams for the future.

The Sewing Machine


Natalie Fergie - 2017
    For her, nothing will be the same again. Decades later, in Edinburgh, Connie sews coded moments of her life into a notebook, as her mother did before her. More than 100 years after his grandmother’s sewing machine was made, Fred discovers a treasure trove of documents.  His family history is laid out before him in a patchwork of unfamiliar handwriting and colourful seams.  He starts to unpick the secrets of four generations, one stitch at a time.

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.

In the Blood


Steve Robinson - 2011
    American genealogist Jefferson Tayte is hired to find out what happened, but it soon becomes apparent that a calculated killer is out to stop him.In the Blood combines a centuries-old mystery with a present-day thriller that brings two people from opposite sides of the Atlantic together to uncover a series of carefully hidden crimes. Tayte's research centres around the tragic life of a young Cornish girl, a writing box, and the discovery of a dark secret that he believes will lead him to the family he is looking for. Trouble is, someone else is looking for the same answers and will stop at nothing to find them.In the Blood is the first in the Jefferson Tayte mystery series.

The Promise


Kate Worth - 2012
    Secrets unravel, lies are exposed, and the Duke of Rutledge demands custody of his niece. Charming and handsome, the duke's brother Finn spends his leisure time between the sheets of London's most beautiful, wanton women. The seasoned rake is perplexed by his attraction to demure, virtuous Jane... definitely not his usual type. Finn soon learns there is more to Jane than meets the eye and he longs to possess the passionate woman hidden beneath her modest facade.When publicity draws the attention of a madman from Jane's past, Finn enters London's dangerous underworld in a heart-stopping race to save her.

What Angels Fear


C.S. Harris - 2005
    Then a beautiful young woman is found raped and savagely murdered on the altar steps of an ancient church near Westminster Abbey. A dueling pistol discovered at the scene and the damning testimony of a witness both point to one man, Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, a brilliant young nobleman shattered by his experience in the Napoleonic Wars.Now a fugitive running for his life, Sebastian calls upon his skill as an agent during the war to catch the killer and prove his own innocence. In the process, he accumulates a band of unlikely allies, including the enigmatic beauty Kat Boleyn, who broke Sebastian's heart years ago. In Sebastian's world of intrigue and espionage, nothing is as it seems, yet the truth may hold the key to the future of the British monarchy, as well as to Sebastian's own salvation....

Black Rabbit Hall


Eve Chase - 2015
    Amber Alton knows that the hours pass differently at Black Rabbit Hall, her London family's country estate, where no two clocks read the same. Summers there are perfect, timeless. Not much ever happens. Until, of course, it does. More than three decades later, Lorna is determined to be married within the grand, ivy-covered walls of Pencraw Hall, known as Black Rabbit Hall among the locals. But as she's drawn deeper into the overgrown grounds, half-buried memories of her mother begin to surface and Lorna soon finds herself ensnared within the manor's labyrinthine history, overcome with an insatiable need for answers about her own past and that of the once-happy family whose memory still haunts the estate. Stunning and atmospheric, this debut novel is a thrilling spiral into the hearts of two women separated by decades but inescapably linked by the dark and tangled secrets of Black Rabbit Hall.

Gnome On The Range


Jennifer Zane - 2011
    A job in a small Montana town's only adult store, two busy young boys and one dead husband. Everything except a little excitement--a little zing. But that changes one summer morning at a garage sale when her kids buy some garden gnomes.Now someone wants those gnomes and will let nothing get in their way. Including Jane. This new excitement for Jane spells trouble for a relationship with new neighbor--and hot fireman--Ty Strickland. Can Jane and Ty handle a relationship meddling mother-in-law, crazy kids, and stay alive while trying to solve the mystery of the garden gnomes?

Remember Me


Danice Allen - 1996
    Aware of the dangers in nursing a potential scoundrel back to health, she nevertheless takes a chance on the handsome stranger—especially when he awakens with no memory.When Jackson Montgomery comes to, he is greeted by a vision of beauty that instantly sparks the fire of passion within him. But as his memory returns, the shattering secrets hidden in his past threaten to destroy any chance he has of winning Amanda’s love. Only through feigned amnesia can Jackson capture Amanda’s heart, but can he do so before she learns the truth of his brazen charade and his dark past?

While You Were Mine


Ann Howard Creel - 2016
    But on V-J Day, her worst fear is realized. As celebrating crowds gather in Times Square, a soldier appears on her doorstep to claim Mary, the baby abandoned to Gwen one year earlier. Suddenly Gwen is on the verge of losing the child she has nurtured and loves dearly.With no legal claim to Mary, Gwen begins to teach Lieutenant John McKee how to care for his child, knowing that he will ultimately take Mary away. What starts as a contentious relationship, however, turns into something more, and Gwen must open her heart to learn that love means taking chances.While You Were Mine paints a vivid portrait of 1940s New York and tells an enchanting tale of the nature of love and trust.

A Death in Vienna


Frank Tallis - 2005
    Every dream, inflection, or slip of tongue in his “hysterical” patients has meaning and reveals some hidden truth. When a mysterious and beautiful medium dies under extraordinary circumstances, Max’s good friend, Detective Oskar Rheinhardt, calls for his expert assistance. The medium’s body has been found in a room that can only be locked from the inside. Her body has been shot, but there’s no gun and absolutely no trace of a bullet. All signs point to a supernatural killer, but Liebermann the scientist is not so easily convinced. Set in the Vienna of Freud, Klimt, and Mahler, a time of unprecedented activity in the worlds of philosophy, science, and art, A Death in Vienna (original title: Mortal Mischief) is an elegantly written novel, taut with suspense and rich in historical details.