#historical fiction mystery author

[shitty-check-please-aus]

I love Martha Wells' books because there has dependably been kickass fight scenes in both the sci-fi and fantasy books (and I do love Murderbot so much), and because every time her worldbuilding seems like it's going to be generic sci-fi or fantasy she throws in an absolutely wild curveball

I love Seanan McGuire books because the worldbuilding is done so deftly and thoroughly, and her books also have a lot of characters in "well shit, I don't know what I'd do here but I can't disagree with your choices" situations

I love Jacqueline Winspear books because I do like historical fiction, and she shows a very interesting perspective on a lot of issues and topics, also the mysteries are all good and I love Maisie Dobbs (I'm so sad the series wrapped up, I need to find something else to fill this niche in my reading)

[haveyoureadthispoll]

In the summer of 1974 a heatwave blankets Boston and Mary Pat Fennessy is trying to stay one step ahead of the bill collectors. Mary Pat has lived her entire life in the housing projects of “Southie,” the Irish American enclave that stubbornly adheres to old tradition and stands proudly apart. One night Mary Pat’s teenage daughter Jules stays out late and doesn’t come home. That same evening, a young Black man is found dead, struck by a subway train under mysterious circumstances. The two events seem unconnected. But Mary Pat, propelled by a desperate search for her missing daughter, begins turning over stones best left untouched—asking questions that bother Marty Butler, chieftain of the Irish mob, and the men who work for him, men who don’t take kindly to any threat to their business. Set against the hot, tumultuous months when the city’s desegregation of its public schools exploded in violence, Small Mercies is a superb thriller, a brutal depiction of criminality and power, and an unflinching portrait of the dark heart of American racism. It is a mesmerizing and wrenching work that only Dennis Lehane could write.

[angelicathedaisy]

I’m not a romance book reader it’s just not my thing and I don’t have a problem with people who do like reading romance but what the fuck is ALI HAZELWOOD doing on my cover of my gender bent Sherlock Holmes mystery books

i know this is just to get good press for the book but i don’t think their preaching to the right audience. I’m not saying that romance readers can’t/don’t read or want to read these books but marketing wise this feels WAY out of left field. before they had reviews from Julia Quinn and Deanna Raybourn on the covers which seemed a lot more relevant considering genre but hey if a booktok famous author is going to get people to read this book series why should I complain. I’m probably the only one who noticed the review tbh no one pays attention to them anyways

[bookwormchocaholic]

Author Promo

For those who are interested I have a professional author site on wordpress and tumblr. 

My wordpress is:

http://veronicaleighauthor.wordpress.com

And my tumblr is:

http://www.tumblr.com/veronicaleighauthor

I’d appreciate it if you’d follow me on either, and/or share this. Thanks!

[rockislandadultreads]

Beautiful Book Covers: Hispanic Heritage Month Picks

Portrait of an Unknown Lady by María Gainza, Thomas Bunstead (Translator)

In the Buenos Aires art world, a master forger has achieved legendary status. Rumored to be a woman, she seems especially gifted at forging canvases by the painter Mariette Lydis, a portraitist of Argentine high society. But who is this absurdly gifted creator of counterfeits? What motivates her? And what is her link to the community of artists who congregate, night after night, in a strange establishment called the Hotel Melancólico? On the trail of this mysterious forger is our narrator, an art critic and auction house employee through whose hands counterfeit works have passed. As she begins to take on the role of art-world detective, adopting her own methods of deception and manipulation, she warns us “not to proceed in expectation of names, numbers or dates . . . My techniques are those of the impressionist.” What follows is a highly seductive and enveloping meditation on what we mean by “authenticity” in art, and a captivating exploration of the gap between what is lived and what is told. Portrait of an Unknown Lady is, like any great work, driven by obsession and full of subtle surprise.

Bindle Punk Bruja by Desideria Mesa

Yo soy quien soy. I am who I am. Luna--or depending on who's asking, Rose--is the white-passing daughter of an immigrant mother who has seen what happens to people from her culture. This world is prejudicial, and she must hide her identity in pursuit of owning an illegal jazz club. Using her cunning powers, Rose negotiates with dangerous criminals as she climbs up Kansas City's bootlegging ladder. Luna, however, runs the risk of losing everything if the crooked city councilmen and ruthless mobsters discover her ties to an immigrant boxcar community that secretly houses witches. Last thing she wants is to put her entire family in danger. But this bruja with ever-growing magical abilities can never resist a good fight. With her new identity, Rose, an unabashed flapper, defies societal expectations all the while struggling to keep her true self and witchcraft in check. However, the harder she tries to avoid scrutiny, the more her efforts eventually capture unwanted attention. Soon, she finds herself surrounded by greed and every brand of bigotry--from local gangsters who want a piece of the action and businessmen who hate her diverse staff to the Ku Klux Klan and Al Capone. Will her earth magic be enough to save her friends and family? As much as she hates to admit it, she may need to learn to have faith in others--and learning to trust may prove to be her biggest ambition yet.

A Woman of Endurance by Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa

A Woman of Endurance, set in nineteenth-century Puerto Rican plantation society, follows Pola, a deeply spiritual African woman who is captured and later sold for the purpose of breeding future slaves. The resulting babies are taken from her as soon as they are born. Pola loses the faith that has guided her and becomes embittered and defensive. The dehumanizing violence of her life almost destroys her. But this is not a novel of defeat but rather one of survival, regeneration, and reclamation of common humanity. Readers are invited to join Pola in her journey to healing. From the sadistic barbarity of her first experiences, she moves on to receive compassion and support from a revitalizing new community. Along the way, she learns to recognize and embrace the many faces of love—a mother’s love, a daughter’s love, a sister’s love, a love of community, and the self-love that she must recover before she can offer herself to another. It is ultimately, a novel of the triumph of the human spirit even under the most brutal of conditions.

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

In the overthrow of the Mexican government, Beatriz’s father is executed and her home destroyed. When handsome Don Rodolfo Solórzano proposes, Beatriz ignores the rumors surrounding his first wife’s sudden demise, choosing instead to seize the security his estate in the countryside provides. She will have her own home again, no matter the cost. But Hacienda San Isidro is not the sanctuary she imagined. When Rodolfo returns to work in the capital, visions and voices invade Beatriz’s sleep. The weight of invisible eyes follows her every move. Rodolfo’s sister, Juana, scoffs at Beatriz’s fears—but why does she refuse to enter the house at night? Why does the cook burn copal incense at the edge of the kitchen and mark its doorway with strange symbols? What really happened to the first Doña Solórzano? Beatriz only knows two things for certain: Something is wrong with the hacienda. And no one there will help her. Desperate for help, she clings to the young priest, Padre Andrés, as an ally. No ordinary priest, Andrés will have to rely on his skills as a witch to fight off the malevolent presence haunting the hacienda and protect the woman for whom he feels a powerful, forbidden attraction. But even he might not be enough to battle the darkness. Far from a refuge, San Isidro may be Beatriz’s doom.

[seven-saffodils]

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[cupofteajones]

Upcoming Author Talks in December

Upcoming Author Talks in December

December is jampacked with author discussions! Looking for something to take your mind off all the holiday shopping and cooking you might have to do? Don’t worry! December is packed with great and compelling author talks that will take your mind off everything! Get an in-dept look into a country house murder, here from award-winning authors and here again from a returning favorite…Cup of Tea…

[danielleurbansblog]

Review: What You Leave Behind

Synopsis: Award-winning author Wanda Morris returns with a powerful, haunting thriller following a lawyer who after the mysterious disappearance of a local landowner and the death of his sister just months before, uncovers a conspiracy that dates back to Reconstruction and persists in half the United States today. Deena Wood’s life has fallen apart in the aftermath of losing her beloved mother,…

[haveyoureadthispoll]

From the attic of Lyntons, a dilapidated English country mansion, Frances Jellico sees them—Cara first: dark and beautiful, then Peter: striking and serious. The couple is spending the summer of 1969 in the rooms below hers while Frances is researching the architecture in the surrounding gardens. But she's distracted. Beneath a floorboard in her bathroom, she finds a peephole that gives her access to her neighbors’ private lives. To Frances' surprise, Cara and Peter are keen to get to know her. It is the first occasion she has had anybody to call a friend, and before long they are spending every day together: eating lavish dinners, drinking bottle after bottle of wine, and smoking cigarettes until the ash piles up on the crumbling furniture. Frances is dazzled. But as the hot summer rolls lazily on, it becomes clear that not everything is right between Cara and Peter. The stories that Cara tells don’t quite add up, and as Frances becomes increasingly entangled in the lives of the glamorous, hedonistic couple, the boundaries between truth and lies, right and wrong, begin to blur. Amid the decadence, a small crime brings on a bigger one: a crime so terrible that it will brand their lives forever.

[jolenes-book-journey]

Wages of Empire by Michael J Cooper

“A Young Indiana Jones–style adventure.” –KIRKUS reviews Title: Wages of Empire Author: Michael J. Cooper Genre: YA Historical WWI Fiction Grand prize winner – 2022 CIBA Dante Rossetti Award for YA fiction First place honors – 2022 CIBA Hemingway Award for wartime fiction #1 Amazon Best Seller—Jan 2024—Historical World War I Fiction In the summer of 1914, sixteen-year-old Evan Sinclair leaves…

[samanthajameswriter]

Supernatural Historical Fiction: A Medium's Peril Series Review

[bookreviewdirectory]

Fire in the Rectory - Editorial Review

  Title: Fire in the Rectory and two more John Nolan detective novellas Author: Stan Freeman Genre: Historical fiction / Historical detective / Mystery   This collection of three short detective stories offers a chronological continuation of John Nolan’s career as a private investigator in New York City from 1915–1918. A recent immigrant from Ireland, he finds himself struggling to make a name…

[rachel-sylvan-author]

"The Bombay Prince (A Perveen Mistry Novel)" by Sujata Massey book recommendation by Rachel Sylvan

Book 3 of 4

[blogthefiresidechats]

Do you ever find yourself stuck?

Do you ever find yourself stuck in a genre/series/author? Do you only read books from a specific genre/series/author? If so, why? Are you happy reading books from that genre/series/author? If not, what have you found that works to get yourself unstuck? I’ve never found myself in this particular situation. Thanks to my ADHD, I don’t tend to linger on one genre or author for very long. Don’t get…

[booksformks]

Book Review: Kenilworth

Kenilworthby Walter Scott 4 out of 5 stars Robert Dudley, the Earl of Lancashire, has a secret marriage with Amy Robsart. He is keeping it hidden from Queen Elizabeth I, hoping to win favor at court and perhaps a crown of his own. His lies are supported by his evil servant, Varney, who schemes on his behalf. Together they keep Amy locked up at Cumnor Place, hiding her from the world. The noble…

[jaycetorbendarkbooks]

Coming Soon

A queer Sherlock Holmes variation