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Fool's Gold
by Caro Peacock
A series of anonymous letters leads to a case of cold-blooded murder for 19th-century private investigator Liberty Lane. September, 1841. A new arrival has taken London society by storm. Lord Byron's handsome illegitimate son, George, recently arrived from the exotic island of Cephalonia in the company of his guardian, the mysterious Mr Vickery, has been setting female hearts aflutter. But not all the attention George attracts is welcome. Mr Vickery has been receiving disturbing letters from a woman who calls herself Helena, and he hires Liberty Lane to find out who Helena is and what she wants. As Liberty is to discover, there is more to this case than meets the eye. When Liberty comes across a body shot dead near Mr Vickery's home in Muswell Hill, the investigation takes a shocking turn.
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Wonderful feels like this
by Sara Lövestam
Steffi, a bullied misfit, finds solace in jazz music and befriends Alvar, a senior citizen jazz musician who endured persecution in World War II, and their developing friendship provides Steffi with the ambition to audition for Stockholm's prestigious music school.
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A note yet unsung: A Belmont mansion novel
by Tamera Alexander
Despite her training as a master violinist, Rebekah Carrington was denied entry into the Nashville Philharmonic by young conductor Nathaniel Whitcomb, who bowed to public opinion. Now, with a reluctant muse and a recurring pain in his head, he needs her help to finish his symphony.
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The Night Mark
by Tiffany Reisz
Transported back in time by the tides, a woman awakens to find herself in 1921, reunited with the husband she has been mourning for four years, in a novel that is centred around an isolated South Carolina lighthouse where a power greater than love works its magic.
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| The drowning king by Emily HollemanThis sequel to Cleopatra's Shadows opens with Egyptian ruler Ptolemy XII Auletes ("the Piper") on his deathbed as his surviving children, waiting in the wings, conspire against him and each other. Favourite daughter Cleopatra surpasses her siblings in intelligence and ambition, but her younger brother has the support of powerful advisers. Meanwhile, the Roman Empire seeks to consolidate its power by bringing Egypt under its rule. Dysfunctional family dynamics and courtly intrigue lead to the downfall of a dynasty in this 2nd book of the Fall of Egypt trilogy. Readers interested in the legendary Queen of the Nile may enjoy Stacy Schiff's biography Cleopatra, which gives ample historical context. |
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| The women in the castle: A novel by Jessica ShattuckOnce a fashionable gathering place for Germany's smart set, the Bavarian castle of Burg Lingenfels is now, in the immediate aftermath of World War II, a crumbling ruin. This character-driven novel follows Marianne von Lingenfels, who offers shelter to Benita Fledermann and Ania Grabarek, the widows of men who fought for the resistance alongside her late husband. Their harrowing experiences forge strong bonds of friendship, but changing circumstances introduce tensions that will tear them apart. With its flawed characters and unflinching examination of the moral dilemmas faced by ordinary people living under authoritarian regimes, this novel may appeal to readers who enjoyed Maria Hummel's Motherland. |
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| Before the war by Fay WeldonAlthough ungainly, socially awkward Vivien "Vivvie" Ripple seems destined to remain a spinster (despite her family's wealth) in 1922 London, an unplanned pregnancy requires that she find a husband, any husband. She proposes a marriage of convenience to Sherwyn Sexton, an aspiring novelist and editor at her father's publishing house -- prompting her scheming socialite mother, Adela, to intervene. Indeed, the vain and ruthless Adela will upstage her daughter in this sardonic, slyly meta-fictional novel. Fans of family sagas (and scandals) that take place in England between the wars may also enjoy Penny Vincenzi's Spoils of Time trilogy, which begins with No Angel. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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