Historical Fiction

New Books Tuesday @ RRPL

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There are many exciting new book releases coming and you don’t want to miss it…

The Choice

When the enemy’s witches, traitorous and power-mad, appear to her in a dream, practicing black magick and sacrificing the innocent, Breen, united with Keegan and all of Talamh, must save those in need of rescue and, with every weapon she has, confront the darkness once and for all.

The Whittiers

When a devastating tragedy takes their parents from them, the eldest four adult Whittier children must put aside their personal issues and grief to keep the family together and support each other and their two youngest siblings.

Hunting Time

A wealthy entrepreneur hires Colter Shaw to track down and protect his employee, Allison Parker, a brilliant engineer, who is on the run from her ex-husband with her teenage daughter, in the fourth novel of the series following Hunting Time.

A Christmas Memory

Reeling from the loss of his brother in Vietnam, Richard moves with his family from California to his grandmother’s abandoned house in Utah where he finds the holiday spirit with the help of an elderly neighbor and his dog.

NYPD RED 7

When a network of professional assassins, trained by the U.S. military, terrorize New York City, NYPD Red detectives Kylie MacDonald and Zach Jordan must hunt down these elusive mercenaries—the biggest challenge they’ve ever faced, which forever changes their lives.

The Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee Book

Hand-picking the keenest insights and funniest exchanges from 84 episodes of the groundbreaking streaming series, this gorgeously designed and carefully curated book collects casual yet intimate conversations with the funniest people alive, becoming the most important historical archive about the art of comedy ever amassed.

Defending Alice: A Novel of Love and Race in the Roaring Twenties

Roaring Twenties New York society is set ablaze when a working-class black woman marries the son of a wealthy, prominent family and makes international headlines after he sues for annulment accusing her of hiding her “Negro blood.”

All the Blood We Share: A Novel of the Bloody Benders of Kansas

The family of a gifted medium who can receive messages from Beyond are welcomed by the town of Cherrvale, but no one knows about their other business, in a novel based on the true story of old West serial killers.

~Semanur

A Read You’ll Race Through

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Geraldine Brook’s new novel Horse weaves together real and imagined history to tell the story of Lexington, one of the most famous racehorses of the 19th-Century.

In Georgetown in 2019, Theo, an art history grad student, discovers an abandoned painting of a racehorse in his neighbor’s trash. Intrigued, he visits the nearby Smithsonian to research pre-Civil War horse paintings. There, he crosses paths with Jess, an Australian osteopath who oversees the animal bones in the Smithsonian’s collections, including, coincidentally, those of Lexington’s. The two work together to uncover the stories behind Theo’s found painting.

Moving back and forth in time and told through the eyes of multiple characters, this novel is about more than the mystery of a painting of a famous horse. It also tells the imagined story of Lexington’s Black groom, an enslaved man named Jarrett, whose dedication to Lexington costs him everything.

By the end of this riveting read about art, race, slavery, and antebellum South, readers are left wondering how little life has changed through the decades. A great choice for book clubs, Horse is a fascinating blend of historical and literary fiction that is well-researched, imaginative, and unforgettable.

-Carol

The Seven Husbands…

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79-year-old former Hollywood actor Evelyn Hugo is ready to tell her story. She handpicks an inexperienced magazine journalist, Monique Grant, to write her biography. Monique is confused but delighted to be hired to write the legendary film actor’s life story. One requirement Evelyn insists upon is that the book must be published after her death. Evelyn also promises that all proceeds from the sale of the book will go to Monique.

Evelyn has much to share. She was born to Cuban immigrants in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. She knew she needed more than that life. So, in the 1950’s Evelyn changed her appearance, got married, and headed to Hollywood. The book follows her life for the next 30+ years. Beautiful Evelyn became an adored Oscar winning movie icon who just happened to get married seven times.

This is an incredible story of old Hollywood glamour. Finally at the end of the book, Monique discovers why she was chosen to write Evelyn’s story.

~Emma

Historical Fiction

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In September 1938 a hurricane ripped through the East Coast. This is the story of two young giraffes that crossed the Atlantic in shipping crates and survived the storm. Their eventual destination would be the San Diego Zoo where Belle Benchley was the zoo’s director. The trip to California would be a twelve-day road trip and the person telling their story is the rig’s driver, Woodrow (Woody) Wilson Nickle. (Woody was a dustbowl orphan from the Texas panhandle.) Now at 105 years old Woody, who is living in a VA nursing home, is writing down the adventures before it is too late.

The trip cross country made headlines and won the hearts of Depression-era America. The trip was dangerous at times. The roads and the weather were often rough. A couple of times different people tried to steal the giraffes. The “Old Man” who oversaw the giraffes and was employed by the Zoo named them “Boy” and “Girl”.

This is a witty, charming, heartwarming, not to-be-forgotten tale

~Emma

This Book is Your Perfect Match

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Sara Glickman made waves in her New York Lower East Side neighborhood as a female matchmaker in a Jewish community where devout men traditionally played that role. Sara discovered her talent as a young girl in 1910, and despite having to keep it secret, she used her gift to bring couples together for decades.

When Sara dies, her granddaughter Abby, a high-powered Manhattan divorce attorney, inherits Sara’s collection of handwritten journals. At the same time, Abby begins to have notions that a couple she is helping to divorce shouldn’t untie the knot. Despite her jaded outlook on love, Abby realizes that she has inherited her grandmother’s gift. With her eyes newly opened, Abby begins to think that love at first sight might truly exists. But, is she willing to sacrifice her career in order to fulfill her destiny?

The Matchmaker’s Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman is a charming novel that is filled with fascinating details about Jewish history and culture. Part historical fiction, part contemporary fiction and with a sprinkling of magic realism, this funny and poignant read is about people finding each other. This book is sure to delight.

-Carol

New Historical Fiction

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This is the story of three Korean “picture brides” during the first quarter of the twentieth century. Many young women left everything they had known in Korea to become brides in Hawaii. The only contact these women had with their future husbands was in the form of photographs. The pictures may or may not have been that of their future husbands. Many brides were disappointed when they finally met their husbands.

Arriving in 1918, Willow’s husband is Taewan. He did not want to get married. The woman he loved died. Willow’s friend Hongju, a young widow, was disappointed after meeting her new husband. Songwha, the daughter of an outcast in Korea, is stuck with an abusive old husband.

Willow agreed to become a picture bride because she believed she would attend school in Hawaii. That did not happen. Instead, she needed to take care of her father-in-law and support her family. Willow’s husband joined the movement to gain Korea’s independence from Japan. He even traveled to China to fight the Japanese.

Lee Geum-yi is a popular prolific Korean author. This is the first of her books that have translated into English. It is a story for fans of historical fiction revealing what it was like to become a “picture bride”.

~Emma

Fall into a “Hot” Mystery

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Hot Time
by W. H. Flint

New York City is in the middle of its hottest summer in history in August 1896, and the heat is causing a record number of deaths, amplifying the divide between the have and have-nots.

Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt is touring the city to assess the situation in the slums, while also attempting to eliminate the corruption in the police force. His assistant, Otto “Rafe’ Raphael, the first Jewish officer on the force and victim of perpetual abuse from his fellow officers, feels the divide more than most when he goes home each night to the Lower East Side.

When wealthy newspaper owner William Mann is found murdered, Rafe sees solving the crime as a chance for a promotion, but Roosevelt tells him to back off. Rafe refuses and soon finds himself entwined in a case involving the blackmail of many of New York’s elite and a possible plot to kill the Democratic candidate for President.

Hot Time by author W. H. Flint is impeccably drawn historical fiction with a fast-paced plot that alternates between Rafe’s point of view and that of Dutch, a ten-year-old newsboy who was witness to the crime. This suspenseful mystery blends real and fictional characters expertly and is a perfect read for fans of The Alienist. Grab a copy of Hot Time and warm yourself up on these cool Autumn nights.

-Carol

What we’re reading now…..

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Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng 

 In the dystopian world of Celeste Ng’s latest novel, books are banned, children are re-homed, and Asian Americans are outcasts. Amidst it all, twelve-year old Bird is left with a handful of memories of his mother. Her presence and poetry have faded from his life, but a familiar image sparks his curiosity and forces him to revisit her disappearance. Melinda

The Making of Her by Bernadette Jiwa

Raised in a Dublin housing estate by an alcoholic father toward the end of the 1940s, Joan and her sister had to grow up fast. Working in a factory by age fourteen it made sense she would find the love of her life at eighteen. Martin Egan, son of a successful business owner, promised Joan the world until she became pregnant and he persuaded her to place the baby up for adoption. Thirty years later when their secret child makes contact, how will they each respond? Family relationships are seen from the women’s perspective and as we get to know the characters better, we understand how difficult and limited their choices truly were, making Joan, in particular, even more endearing. If you enjoy spending time with interesting characters, this is the book for you! Stacey

Juniper and Thorn by Ava Reid

A sheltered wizard’s daughter falls in love with a ballet dancer while a monster stalks the streets and the bodies of brutalized men appear all over the city. A reimagining of the classic fairy tale “The Juniper Tree.” Shannon

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher 

Marra is a princess on a quest to save her sister with the help of a reluctant grave-witch and a dog she creates out of bone and wire. Along the way, their party grows, with the addition of Marra’s fairy godmother, whose blessings turn out to be curses and a loveable disgraced knight, whose heart is in desperate need of rescuing. Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher is an adult, revenge-filled fairy-tale that is equal parts action-packed, humorous, and original – a perfect feminist fantasy novel.  Carol

The Divorce Colony:  How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom on the American Frontier by April White

In the 19th century, Sioux Falls, SD, became a haven for women seeking a divorce. Among the laxest laws in the country, women came from all the States and Europe to gain their freedom during a time that women had few rights. The book explores not only the  social drama but political and religious drama, while telling detailed and entertaining stories of the women who took hold of their futures. Christine

Murder in the Park by Jeanne M. Dams

This story takes place in 1925 in Oak Park, an affluent suburb of Chicago. Elizabeth Fairchild is a close friend of Mr. Anthony, owner of a quaint antique store. Mr. Anthony is found stabbed to death and the local police think they have the killer. Elizabeth and a few others, including Mrs. Hemingway are certain the police have arrested the wrong man. At this point in the story the search is on for the real killer. Please stay tuned… Emma

The Inugami Curse by Seishi Yokomizo

In post-WWII Japan, Detective Kindaichi is called and warned that the reading of a local magnate’s will is certain to set off a series of murders. Though skeptical of the prognostication, Detective Kindaichi travels to the small town and awaits the reading. However, immediately upon his arrival, he is witness to a life-threatening accident that portends the danger to the magnate’s family yet to come. The detective must first uncover the family secrets to unravel the mystery. Trent

The Winners by Fredrik Backman

The final installment in the Beartown trilogy, about the resilient and closely knit community that puts hockey above all else. Taking place over two weeks, Beartown residents must prove their love for each other and for their town, struggling to move on from the past in the wake of numerous changes. Told in Backman’s signature reflective style, it’s hard to put this one down. Linnea

Dirt Creek by Hayley Scrivenor

When a 12-year-old girl goes missing in a rural Australian town during the worst heat wave in decades, tempers flare and townspeople with skeletons in their closets, and long histories together, begin to fall apart, and also to come together to search for the young girl. Kept me guessing for quite awhile. Sara

New Fall Mystery

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The story takes place in 1925 in Oak Park, an affluent suburb of Chicago. Young, attractive, wealthy Elizabeth Fairchild has been living with her parents Mildred and Kenneth Walker since the death of her soldier husband in WWI and unborn child seven years ago. Elizabeth’s friend, Mr. Anthony (Enrico Antonelli) is the owner of a quaint antiques shop she likes to shop at. Sadly Mr. Anthony is found stabbed to death and the local police quickly arrest a local music teacher as the killer.

Elizabeth announces publicly that she is determined to find the real killer with the help of a few friends including: Mrs. Grace Hemingway, lawyer-friend Fred Wilkins, Fred’s Aunt Lucy, her father, and a sympathetic police officer. With the public announcement Elizabeth and others are in danger from gangsters and the Women of the Ku Klux Klan, an auxiliary group that supported the Ku Klux Klan.

The first installment of the Oak Park Village mystery series is a slow-paced, old fashioned mystery with a little romance. I look forward to the next installment.

~Emma