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Historical Fiction July 2020
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Recent Releases on Library Shelves |
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Truths I Never Told You by Kelly Rimmer The premise: Beth Walsh is dealing with postpartum depression when she stumbles upon a copy of her deceased mother Grace's journals, which detail her own struggle with the disease in the 1950s.
The problem: Instead of the solace and validation she expected to find reading her mother's story, Beth uncovers a disturbing family secret that can only be explained by her father, who would have been uncooperative even before he developed advanced dementia. | |
The Girls With No Names
by
Serena Burdick
What it is: an intricately plotted story of sisterly love, teenage rebellion, and the limited options available to young women in Gilded Age America, inspired by Ireland's notorious Magdalene Laundries.
Read it for: The moving bond between courageous sisters Effie and Luella, who will do anything they can to find each other again after a family secret drives them apart.
Reviewers say: "exquisitely wrought and meticulously researched" (Publishers Weekly).
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Westering women : a novel
by
Sandra Dallas
What it's about: Joining other mail-order brides on a dangerous wagon journey to the gold mines of 1852 Chicago, a seamstress with painful secrets discovers strengths she did not know she possessed among a growing sisterhood of fellow women pioneers.
The problem: None are prepared for the hardships they face on the trek or for the strengths they didn't know they possessed. Maggie discovers she's not the only one looking to leave dark secrets behind. And when her past catches up with her, it becomes clear a band of sisters will do whatever it takes to protect one of their own.
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Recent Releases on CMRLS.Freading.com (eBooks)
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The Girl from the Hermitage
by
Molly Gartland
What it's about: It is December 1941, and eight-year-old Galina and her friend Katya are caught in the siege of Leningrad, eating soup made of wallpaper, with the occasional luxury of a dead rat. Galina's artist father Mikhail has been kept away from the front to help save the treasures of the Hermitage. Its cellars could now provide a safe haven, provided Mikhail can navigate the perils of a portrait commission from one of Stalin's colonels.
What goes wrong: Nearly 40 years later, Galina herself is a teacher at the Leningrad Art Institute. What ought to be a celebratory weekend at her forest dacha turns sour when she makes an unwelcome discovery. The painting she embarks upon that day will hold a grim significance for the rest of her life, as the old Soviet Union makes way for the new Russia and Galina's familiar world changes out of all recognition.
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No Place That Far
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Bruce Wilson
What it's about: Leaving behind a marked trail of evil deeds and havoc as an enforcer for powerful men, J.D. seeks refuge in the American Southwest in 1908. Hounded by the law and haunted by his own memories and his fear of getting caught, he discovers a flaw which smolders at the core of his being. Can a man run away from trouble, from himself? There ain't no place that far.
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The queen's secret : a novel of England's World War II queen
by
Karen Harper
What it's about: Endearing herself to the British people with her kindness and strength, Elizabeth the Queen Mother, the wife of George VI and mother of a future Elizabeth II, orchestrates Edward VIII's exile while hiding damaging secrets.
For fans of: Jennifer Robson or The Crown you will love New York Times bestselling author Karen Harper’s novel about Elizabeth, The Queen Mother.
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Above the Bay of Angels by Rhys Bowen The setup: A tragic accident presents an unexpected opportunity for Bella Waverly to pursue her seemingly impossible dream of becoming a chef, but only if she's willing to lie about who she is.
What goes wrong: Now known as Helen, Bella is able to get a job working in Queen Victoria's kitchens, where she begins to make a name for herself. But when a duke dies by poison, Bella is a suspect and must find a way to save herself without revealing that she entered the Queen's service under false pretenses. | | His Bloody Project: Documents Relating to the Case of Roderick Macrae by Graeme Macrae Burnet What it's about: Everyone agrees that the young crofter Roderick Macrae is obviously guilty of the 1869 brutal triple murder that occurred in his remote Scottish village, but no one -- not the investigators, not his neighbors, not the courts -- can agree on why.
Why you might like it: The story is told from multiple perspectives and is framed as a journey through the documents generated over the course of the investigation, including newspapers, the testimony of Roderick's community, extracts from the book of an "expert" in the emerging field of forensics, and trial transcripts. | | Chariot on the Mountain by Jack Ford What it is: Based on a real trial, this compelling and suspenseful novel tells the story of Kitty Payne, a freed slave who successfully brought a court case against a white man in antebellum Virginia who kidnapped and attempted to make her a slave again.
About the author: Emmy and Peabody Award-winning journalist Jack Ford is also the author of The Walls of Jericho, a murder mystery set in Mississippi during the Civil Rights era. | | The Unquiet Grave by Sharyn McCrumb What it is: an atmospheric and richly detailed look at the 1897 "Greenbrier Ghost" murder case, in which a West Virginia mother convinced the authorities to reopen the investigation of her daughter's death after testifying that the young woman's ghost paid her a visit.
Why you might like it: The story of the trial is told through the eyes of James Gardner, a black attorney who was part of the defense team during the Greenbrier trial and who readers first meet in 1930, after he has been committed to an insane asylum. | |
Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Central Mississippi Regional Library System
100 Tamberline Street
Brandon, Mississippi 39042
601-825-0100
http://www.cmrls.lib.ms.us
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