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Historical Fiction

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Too Good to Miss - January 2025

Posted by Jane J on Jan 10, 2025
A review of New Titles by

Every month there are new titles purchased for the Too Good to Miss collections at our libraries. If you're not familiar with TGTM (as we call it here in library-world), it's a special collection of popular books that are truly too good to miss. Some are new and popular titles, others are older titles that might not have had as much media attention as a bestseller or celebrity book club selection but are still great reads that deserve another look.

Polostan

Cover of Polostan
Neal
Stephenson
2024

Born in the American West, Dawn Rae Bjornberg spent her early years in Russia before growing up as a teenager in Montana, where she's drawn into gunrunning and revolution. When a surprising revelation puts her in the crosshairs of US authorities, Dawn returns to Russia, where she is groomed as a spy by the organization that later becomes the KGB.

The Women

Cover of The Women
Kristin
Hannah
2024

Raised on idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, twenty-year-old nursing student Frances "Frankie" McGrath has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in 1965 the world is changing, and she suddenly imagines a different choice for her life. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she impulsively joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

Murder at the club

Posted by Jane J on Nov 26, 2024
Harin
Nagendra

Kaveri Murthy has recently joined her doctor husband, Ramu, in Bangalore in 1921 India. And while Kaveri is happy with her new husband, she's chafing a bit under the watchful eye of her new mother-in-law and her expectations of what a "good" wife should be. Kaveri is smart and has dreams of continuing her education, but knows that much will depend on what her husband may allow. When Kaveri witnesses strange interactions at the club and a murder occurs directly after? Kaveri is determined to investigate.

Crime and the city

Posted by Katie H on Nov 7, 2024
A review of Historical Mysteries by
Chris
Nickson

Chris Nickson really, really loves his hometown of Leeds, England. The music journalist and mystery novelist has written, by this point, four detective series spanning two hundred years set in Yorkshire’s largest city. While each series could loosely be considered police procedurals, what makes Nickson’s series stand out is the portrait of the city itself—a place largely off the beaten path for many crime readers—as it progresses from a regional center of the wool and agricultural trade to sprawling industrial boom town bursting with late Victorian optimism.

A Council of Dolls

Cover of A Council of Dolls
Mona Susan
Power
2023

From the mid-century metropolis of Chicago to the windswept ancestral lands of the Dakota people, to the bleak and brutal Indian boarding schools, A Council of Dolls is the story of three women, told in part through the stories of the dolls they carried.

What price mercy?

Posted by Jane J on Oct 21, 2024
A review of Small Mercies by
Dennis
Lehane

At a recent book discussion of the Mystery Book Group at Lakeview we talked about Dennis Lehane's powerful (though incredibly tough to read) novel, Small Mercies. One description of the books says "this novel dives into the dark heart of American racism, weaving a complex tale of family, power, and revenge set against the backdrop of Boston's tumultuous history.

Too Good to Miss - October 2024

Posted by Jane J on Oct 10, 2024

Every month there are new titles purchased for the Too Good to Miss collections at our libraries. If you're not familiar with TGTM (as we call it here in library-world), it's a special collection of popular books that are truly too good to miss. Some are new and popular titles, others are older titles that might not have had as much media attention as a bestseller or celebrity book club selection but are still great reads that deserve another look.

The Song of Achilles

Cover of The Song of Achilles
Madeline
Miller
2012

Patroclus, an awkward young prince, follows Achilles into war, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they have learned, everything they hold dear. And that, before he is ready, he will be forced to surrender his friend to the hands of Fate. Set during the Trojan War.

The God of the Woods

Cover of The God of the Woods
Liz
Moore
2024

In 1975, Barbara Van Laar vanishes from her family’s Adirondack summer camp, fourteen years after her brother similarly disappeared, never to be found. As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds, unveiling the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow.