The Assistant by Kjell Ola Dahl, Oslo, 1938. War is in the air and Europe is in turmoil. Hitler ’s Germany has occupied Austria and is threatening Czechoslovakia; civil war rages in Spain and Mussolini reigns in Italy.
When a woman turns up at the office of police-turned-private investigator Ludvig Paaske...
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In the Company of Men by Veronique Tadjo, Two boys venture from their village to hunt in a nearby forest. They shoot down bats and cook them over an open fire. Within a month, the boys are dead, their bodies ravaged by an unknown disease.
In the Company of Men by Veronique Tadjo, Experts caution against touching the sick. But their warning comes too late...
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Read MoreA Marriage of Equals by Elizabeth Rolls, Risking everything…For love!
Having struggled so hard to become a successful business owner, Jamaica-born Psyché Winthrop-Abeni has no interest in relinquishing her freedom. Or being property to a husband...
The Duke Undone by Joanna Lowell, Janine: About a year ago, I read and reviewed Joanna Lowell’s Dark Season. Layla read it too and we had a fun offline conversation. We both agreed that the author had potential and that we were interested in her next book. When The Duke Undone appeared on the horizon, we jumped on it.
The year is 1881 and the place is England ...
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Bad Penny Blues by Cathi Unsworth, When Bad Penny Blues was published in 2009, it became a cult classic, the kind of novel other writers refer to as a landmark. If you’ve not yet discovered it this new edition, with an introduction by Greil Marcus and insightful afterword by the author, is for you...
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Read MoreFather of the Bride by Edward Streeter, Poor Mr. Banks! His jacket is too tight, he can’t get a cocktail, and he’s footing the bill…He’s the father of the bride.
Stanley Banks is just your ordinary suburban dad. He’s the kind of guy who believes that weddings are simple affairs in which two people get married...
Read MoreThe Marriage Bureau by Penrose Halson, A riveting glimpse of life and love during and after World War II—a heart-warming, touching, and thoroughly absorbing true story of a world gone by.
The Marriage Bureau by Penrose Halson, In the spring of 1939, with the Second World War looming, two determined twenty-four-year-olds, Heather Jenner and Mary Oliver, decided...
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, the novelist who put the American West on the literary map through his works, best known for his Pulitzer Prize–winning novel Lonesome Dove, has died at the age of 84. The death was confirmed by Amanda Lundberg, a spokeswoman for the family. No cause was specified.
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, Spanning a career of over f...
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Read MoreTalk of the Town by Joan Smith, Daphne Ingleside’s visit to her Aunt Effie in London was meant to add a little spark to her placid country life. And it did—once the two women decided to write Effie’s memoirs. For Effie, a faded divorcée, had been the beauty of London in her day, and many of the ton feared their misbehavior would be disclosed.
The Duke o...
Read MoreThe Missing Queen by Sally Watson, King Tutankhamon is dead. The possibly-divine ivory cat Nefru is still (perhaps) putting a paw into royal Egyptian affairs. Lord Ay wants a royal wife-Tut’s widow, actually-to give him the blood-right to the throne. She flees marriage with him and finds long-lost relatives...
A Prince and a Spy by Rory Clements. At the centre of the intrigue in each of Rory Clements’ World War II espionage novels sit true historical events. A Prince and a Spy by Rory Clements, Cambridge history professor Tom Wilde’s task is to step in and save the world from the iron glove of Nazi tyranny. One false move and the consequences will be lethal.
No p...
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Under the Bridge by Jack Byrne, A debut crime novel with a title echoing that of a Red Hot Chilli Peppers song. Must be set in Los Angeles, then? Nope, put all thoughts of the US aside, because this Under the Bridge refers to a part of Garston, a run down docklands area of Liverpool.
We arrive there in 2004, as developers are starting to tear down the old and repla...
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Read MoreThe Left Behind Bride by Mahrie Reid, Maggie Conrad’s husband of ten days is sent overseas in WW1 and never comes home. A second suitor is lost at sea in Nova Scotia’s August Gale. Turning thirty, and on her own, she resolves to make a life for her herself and her younger brother, Ivan.
Against her wishes, Ivan goes to work for the rum runners and operates a ...
Edge of the Grave by Robbie Morrison, Glasgow has a hard reputation, as anyone who has been ‘kissed’ by one of its residents will tell you. In his first novel he takes us back to the 1930s.. The city and its denizens are at the heart of Edge of the Grave, the debut crime novel by Robbie Morrison. Shipbuilding was still a booming industry on the Clyde...
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Bridgerton: A Discussion, Part I, Please welcome my friend Layla, who is joining DA as an additional book reviewer. When we were watching Bridgerton, Layla and I texted back and forth about it. It was so much fun that we decided to write a series of posts that included our thoughts on different aspects of the show. –Janine
Production Values / Worldbuilding
Janin...
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On 24 March 1976, three generals overthrew the government of Argentina and began ruling the country as a military dictatorship, waging the Dirty War against their political opponents. Thousands disappeared – trade unionists, university students, members of left-wing political parties – and were tortured and killed by right-wing death squads...
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Timepiece by Merinda Brayfield, Frank Martin used to be a police officer, with a wife and two children. It was neither a great life, nor a happy one, but he did well enough. Now, he’s a corporal in the English army fighting in the deadliest war ever recorded...
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The Long Long Afternoon by Inga Vesper, It’s the summer of 1959, and the well-trimmed lawns of Sunnylakes wilt under the California sun.
At some point during the long, long afternoon Joyce Haney, a seemingly happy housewife and mother, vanishes from her home, leaving behind only two terrified young children and a bloodstain on the kitchen floor.
With the stifli...
