Jane Austen enthusiasts will love this mystery and others will find it an entertaining late Regency period romp through a British house party gone terribly wrong (or right if you see it as many might). As the title and descriptions of this mystery suggest, all of the characters were first found in Jane Austin novels, … Continue reading The Murder of Mr. Wickham – Claudia Gray
Tag: #historicalfiction
The School for German Brides – Aimie K. Runyan
Fans of historical fiction, like me, have read lots of books about people in the resistance during WWII or about those who politically opposed Hitler or those who hid Jews. Any decent thinking person will ask from time to time, "why did so many people allow this to happen?" I've gotten cynical enough to say … Continue reading The School for German Brides – Aimie K. Runyan
In the Face of the Sun – Denny S. Bryce
"In the Face of the Sun" is a portrait of several generations of a Los Angeles family, initially living in a Sears Roebuck home, built from a kit, living a fairly middle class/working class life. In 1928, Daisy and Henrietta still live at home with their parents, but their mother is seriously ill. She suffered … Continue reading In the Face of the Sun – Denny S. Bryce
Dream Town – David Baldacci
I'm loving the Archer series, with the third entry confirming that David Baldacci has successfully nailed the hard boiled detective genre. When visiting his friend and aspiring star Liberty Callahan on New Years Eve 1953, Archer is drawn into a case when Liberty's friend, Ellie Lamb runs into them at dinner. Ellie is afraid someone … Continue reading Dream Town – David Baldacci
The Book Woman’s Daughter – Kim Michele Richardson
There's background to this story that is relayed in The Book Woman's Daughter such that this can be read as a stand alone book or the two books can be read out of order. If you asked me which I'd prefer, I'm glad I read the earlier book first. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. … Continue reading The Book Woman’s Daughter – Kim Michele Richardson
The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare -Kimberly Brock
When I was around 9, my family's summer road trip (always ten days, meticulously planned by my father) took us to Roanoke Island and we saw the play about the lost colony. 1587! I didn't understand in 1963 or so how old that was. At that age, the U.S. Colonial times melted together with Columbus … Continue reading The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare -Kimberly Brock
Shadows of Berlin – David R. Gilliam
Rachel Perlman is married to Aaron, a "Flatbush Jew." It is the early/mid- 1950s. She is a displaced person from Berlin, Germany, a Jew who survived the Holocaust and is left with the knowledge her mother perished in a gas chamber. Rachel has suffered deep trauma over part of what she did to survive. Rachel's … Continue reading Shadows of Berlin – David R. Gilliam
148 Charles Street – Tracy Daugherty
148 Charles Street is a truly interesting piece of historical fiction that covers periods in the lives of Willa Cather and Elizabeth "Elsie" Sergeant. It is less a day to day description of their long friendship and more a study of how they influenced one another, despite their significantly different world views and life choices. … Continue reading 148 Charles Street – Tracy Daugherty
On A Night of a Thousand Stars – Andrea Yaryura Clark
On a Night of a Thousand Stars takes place in 1976 and 1998. In 1976, Santiago Lerea is a law student from a prosperous family in Argentina. In 1998, he and his wife Lila live very well in the United States with a house in the Hamptons and an apartment in Manhattan. Thye have one … Continue reading On A Night of a Thousand Stars – Andrea Yaryura Clark
Last Dance on the Starlight Pier – Sarah Bird
Evie Grace Devlin was only five when her father died and her mother put her to work as the breadwinner. He was a phenomenal dancer on the vaudeville circuit and her memories are warm and joyous, except for those in the hospital where the nurses set up a cot because Mamie didn't visit. Mamie will … Continue reading Last Dance on the Starlight Pier – Sarah Bird