Historical Fiction Books

Book SynopsisIn Depression-era Arkansas, something wicked has come to a haunted mountain town in a novel of uncanny suspense by the author of Parting the Veil. Blood and power bind three generations of women in the Ozark Mountains. So does an evil that’s followed them across the decades. 1931. Gracelynn Doherty lives peacefully on Tin Mountain, helping her adoptive granny work her cures. Despite whispers that the women are witches, the superstitious locals still seek them out, whether to remedy arthritis or a broken heart. But when evangelist Josiah Bellflower comes to town promising miracle healing, full bellies, and prosperity, his revivals soon hold Tin Mountain in thrall—and Granny in abject fear. Granny recognizes Josiah. Fifty years ago, in a dark and desperate moment, she made a terrible promise. Now Josiah, an enemy, has returned to collect his due. As Granny sickens and the drought-ridden countryside falls under a curse, Gracelynn must choose: flee Tin Mountain and the only family she knows, or confront the vengeful preacher whose unholy mission is to destroy her.Trade Review“With LGBTQ representation, Kennedy’s captivating second novel is perfect for historical fiction readers who enjoy a bit of witchcraft, folklore, and mystery.” —Booklist “The antagonist, the demon, goes by three different names and is incredibly real. So real that images from the novel lingered for days in my mind.” —Historical Novels Review “Kennedy weaves an achingly beautiful tale full of dark folklore, powerful women, and spine-tingling suspense. Deirdre’s and Gracelynn’s stories will grab you by the heart and stay with you long after the last page.” —Hester Fox, author of A Lullaby for Witches “Brilliant and enthralling, The Witch of Tin Mountain left me breathless. Gracie and Deirdre are two unforgettable characters, and their stories twine in an intricate braid of complex beauty. Kennedy has secured her place as one of the very best in historical fiction.” —Olivia Hawker, bestselling author of One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow “Kennedy’s sophomore novel weaves a mysterious, gorgeous tale that spans three generations of witches living in Arkansas—and the man who haunts them. A stunning work filled with fear, dark folklore, an Ozarkian voice that grabs you by the throat, and suspense that will keep you guessing, The Witch of Tin Mountain is the perfect read for a bleak winter’s day under the covers…with a flashlight.” —Maria Tureaud, author of The Last Hope in Hopetown “Hauntingly atmospheric and crackling with life, The Witch of Tin Mountain is an unforgettable story of family, magic, love, hypocrisy, and the power—for good or evil—we all carry with us. The richly painted Ozark setting leaps from the page, and all three interlaced story lines are captivating, heartbreaking, and triumphant in equal measure. I inhaled this book in two days. Witchy readers won’t want to miss it.” —Allison Epstein, author of A Tip for the Hangman “Atmospheric and haunting, The Witch of Tin Mountain flawlessly weaves folklore and history into a compelling generational story of love, evil, and magic. With vivid characters and an immersive dive into the beauty and superstitions of her native Ozarks, Paulette Kennedy delivers a darkly captivating novel that readers will devour.” —Erin Litteken, author of The Memory Keeper of Kyiv “Paulette Kennedy has surely cast a spell with The Witch of Tin Mountain. This multigenerational saga beautifully illuminates a little-known (and often misunderstood) corner of America and its history while also providing spine-tingling, eerie chills and thrills along the way. I absolutely devoured this spooky, atmospheric book!” —Alyssa Palombo, author of The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel “Kennedy beautifully captures the earthy, rural, charismatic traditions in her native Ozarks…Gritty and atmospheric, her alluring sophomore novel weaves spiritualism, demons, feminism, and folklore with more than a few twists before the book’s satisfying ending. I loved every page!” —Constance Sayers, author of The Ladies of the Secret Circus and A Witch in Time “The Witch of Tin Mountain is a skillfully plotted home run about three generations of strong women who are bound by history and a curse. Kennedy will delight you with unexpected twists and turns where suspicions and accusations rule the land. Thoroughly enjoyed, a true feast for readers everywhere.” —Andie Newton, USA Today bestselling author of A Child for the Reich “The Witch of Tin Mountain is lush, gripping, and deliciously creepy. Paulette Kennedy, author of the standout debut, Parting the Veil, transports readers to the heart of the Ozarks, a place as brutal as it is hauntingly beautiful, and the home of three generations of women whose special powers make them the target of an evil man set on destroying them. With elegant prose and captivating storytelling, Kennedy spins a fiercely feminist page-turner about the power of love, loyalty, and family—reminding us that it’s the women in our lives who give us strength and provide a light during our darkest hours. This spectacular sophomore novel proves that Kennedy is an author to watch, in the world of gothic fiction and beyond.” —Elissa Grossell Dickey, author of The Speed of Light and Iris in the Dark “The Witch of Tin Mountain drew me in from the very first chapter. Paulette Kennedy takes readers on a journey across generations into the heart of the Ozark mountains where women rise above sexism with cleverness, strength, and—if you listen to the ne’er-do-well traveling preacher—witchcraft.” —Jennifer Bardsley, author of Sweet Bliss “Electrifying! This multigenerational tale that travels across time and space is woven together like a delicate tapestry, and it will stay with you long after the last page.” —Mansi Shah, author of The Taste of Ginger and The Direction of the Wind “Rich with sense of place, brimming with historical detail, and deliciously spiced with authoritative dialect, this tale of women’s resourcefulness and passion and power is pure magic. Kennedy knows the Ozarks and is uniquely qualified to bring the Ozarks culture alive. A thoroughly readable novel!” —Louisa Morgan, author of The Great Witch of Brittany “Paulette Kennedy’s The Witch of Tin Mountain cleverly interweaves the lives of three generations of women, and what starts as a quiet, simmering horror turns into a bubbling and brewing revenge against an insidious returning evil.” —Desirée M. Niccoli, author of Called to the Deep

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Book SynopsisNew York in the 1920s—a time when fortunes are made and a woman’s dreams are challenged against all odds in a sweeping historical novel by the international bestselling author of The Light After the War. 1926, Hyde Park, New York. Born to modest means but befriended by the wealthy, aspiring dress designer Pandora Carmichael has been surrounded by privilege yet never at home in it. That hasn’t stopped her from dreaming—of a romance in a rarified world that could also give her the status and resources to start a business of her own. When she’s introduced to a charismatic Princeton student, Pandora’s future begins to fall into place. Marriage provides Pandora with a devoted husband, comfortable love, and the prominence and affluence to open a boutique. It’s a fantasy realized, until scandal and tragedy upend Pandora’s life and she flees Hyde Park with a heart-wrenching secret. As the Depression looms, Pandora must rethink everything she’s ever wanted. From sprawling Gilded Age mansions in New York to the seedy underbelly of Greenwich Village and the stunning coastal vistas of the French Riviera, Pandora’s escape is a journey of self-discovery, adventure, true love, and ambition. There are new dreams to be had, and Pandora is betting on herself to make them come true.Trade Review“This is a fast-paced historical read that examines the roles of men and women in the 1920s, what was accepted and what was not, and the idea that sometimes what you are looking for is right in front of you.” —Booklist “The Life She Wanted transports readers to glittering Jazz Age New York as Pandora Carmichael seeks to have it all…” —Historical Novels Review “A delightful read from cover to cover. The Life She Wanted is the story of Pandora Carmichael, a woman of modest means thrust into a world of privilege and opportunity. When she finally finds her happily ever after, a devastating secret shatters Pandora’s world, forcing her to rethink her dreams. Abriel weaves a stunning tale of love and friendship while taking the reader on a masterful journey of self-discovery, where at the very heart is a woman of courage, loyalty, and ambition.” —Rochelle B. Weinstein, author of When We Let Go “The Life She Wanted is a vividly crafted story of self-discovery and resilience set in one of the most transformational periods in America’s history: the Roaring 1920s, a time of radical social, artistic, and cultural change, especially for women. Abriel did such a masterful job painting the brilliant backdrop of this heartfelt novel, I found myself dreaming about it long after the last page was turned.” —Suzanne Redfearn, bestselling author of In an Instant “A compulsively readable coming-of-age story set against a dazzling Roaring Twenties backdrop, The Life She Wanted had me flipping pages late into the night. Full of intricately researched history and characters you’ll root for, Anita Abriel’s latest proves it might be a long and winding road, but true love always finds a way. Fans of The Gilded Age will devour this treat of a novel!” —Kristy Woodson Harvey, New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Veil “Anita Abriel’s The Life She Wanted is the captivating story of Pandora Carmichael, a young woman growing up among the elite upper class of 1920s New York, though she is merely a spectator to the extraordinary privilege that money provides. But with dreams of both romance and a career of her own as a fashion designer, Pandora blends into New York society and ultimately finds herself on a path in life that is both heartbreaking and illuminating. With meticulous historical detail and a protagonist you root for from the very first page, The Life She Wanted is a charming tale of one woman’s quest to shape a future for herself that is authentically her own.” —Jane Healey, bestselling author of The Secret Stealers “The Life She Wanted radiates with realistic, lovable characters; stunning plot twists; and the glorious description of the opulent life of the elite class in New York. Told with care and tenderness, the novel is a mesmerizing and triumphant tale of love, loyalty, and how a talented woman discovers herself, desire, marriage, and success in a world full of prestige and prejudice. Spellbinding, joyful, and timeless, The Life She Wanted is a gemstone of a novel. I couldn’t put the book down!” —Weina Dai Randel, author of The Last Rose of Shanghai “The glamorous cast of characters in Anita Abriel’s The Life She Wanted captivated me from the start, while the unforgettable setting had me dreaming about stepping inside every mansion in wealthy 1920s New York. But I adored Pandora most, the novel’s plucky heroine whose single father works at one of the region’s grand estates, giving Pandora entrée into a world of glittery formal balls and suitors with deep pockets. And while Pandora seems like she’s on a path to good fortune, her story shows us it’s rare that life turns out as planned—no matter how much money you have. For anyone who loves a sweeping rags-to-riches tale, Anita Abriel’s novel delights!” —Brooke Lea Foster, author of On Gin Lane

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Book SynopsisIn Roswell, New Mexico, the mystery of the unknown grips a sheltered novitiate in a haunting historical novel about fate, agency, and faith by the bestselling author of October in the Earth. It's 1947 when Sister Mary Agnes arrives in New Mexico. Her mission is to establish a monastery in the town of Roswell, where weeks before rumors of the crash landing of an unidentified craft have triggered a crisis of faith. Residents are drifting away from the divine, awed no longer by the heavens but rather the stars. In service to the frightened and confused, Sister Mary Agnes soon befriends Betty Campbell, a teenager marked both physically and psychically by the inexplicable event. Mary Agnes is also unsettlingly drawn to Harvey, an attentive handyman refurbishing the monasteryand a firsthand witness to the crash. But as Mary Agnes tries to guide her wayward friends back to the church, it's the fantastic and the forbidden that begin to loom large in her imagination. Thrown into her own crisis of doubt, Mary Agnes must choose whether to uphold the order in which she came of age or embrace the truth she feels in her heart, despite its terrifying complexity.

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Book SynopsisIn Depression-era Kentucky, a defiant wife embarks on an impulsive and liberating journey in a powerful novel by the bestselling author of One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow and The Ragged Edge of Night. Del Wensley, wife of the most celebrated preacher in Harlan County, tries to mind her place. Until her husband’s infidelity pushes an already strained marriage to a breaking point. Clinging to her last hope for self-respect, Del turns her back on the rigid life she’s known. A coal train is rolling through the valley. With her eyes wide open to the unfamiliar, and to the freedom she craves, Del takes to the rails. Rumbling across America, Del is soon drawn into a transient community among outcasts—and finds a special friend in Louisa Trout. A nomadic single mother, Louisa teaches Del the ways of the boxcars and promises to help her reach a migrant enclave where Del can learn the skills she’ll need to survive. But as they move forward together under desperate circumstances, even the closest of bonds threatens to break. With the Depression taking its toll, Del must gather her strength and faith. As she carries on toward one unknown after another, her life becomes a fulfilling, sometimes dangerous, and exhilarating adventure. But no matter the risks, it’s a life that she alone controls.Trade Review“Time and place are exceptionally well depicted, and the strong female characters make this a worthy read.” —Booklist “This is a fully realized portrait of an era, as well as of a relationship between two women where no male heroes appear to save anyone.” —Historical Novels Review “Fans of Olivia Hawker will delight in her masterful new novel. October in the Earth is a singular work of art—a testament to unexpected love and resilience during one of America's most challenging eras. Hawker's Dust Bowl heroines rise from their respective ashes, and will captivate readers with their spirited, sweeping journey through a starkly beautiful landscape ravaged by poverty and drought. Moving, lyrical, and completely unforgettable.” —Paulette Kennedy, bestselling author of The Witch of Tin Mountain

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Book SynopsisA novel about the magical lure of books and summoning the courage to rewrite our stories by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Keeper of Happy Endings and The Last of the Moon Girls. Rare-book dealer Ashlyn Greer’s affinity for books extends beyond the intoxicating scent of old paper, ink, and leather. She can feel the echoes of the books’ previous owners—an emotional fingerprint only she can read. When Ashlyn discovers a pair of beautifully bound volumes that appear to have never been published, her gift quickly becomes an obsession. Not only is each inscribed with a startling incrimination, but the authors, Hemi and Belle, tell conflicting sides of a tragic romance. With no trace of how these mysterious books came into the world, Ashlyn is caught up in a decades-old literary mystery, beckoned by two hearts in ruins, whoever they were, wherever they are. Determined to learn the truth behind the doomed lovers’ tale, she reads on, following a trail of broken promises and seemingly unforgivable betrayals. The more Ashlyn learns about Hemi and Belle, the nearer she comes to bringing closure to their love story—and to the unfinished chapters of her own life.Trade Review“[The] dueling timelines, packed with twists and turns, should appeal to fans of Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life and Taylor Jenkins Reid’s The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.” —Booklist “The author’s ability to present two different, but related, heartbreaking stories inside her own novel and keep all the voices distinct is so impressive. The fascinating characters and the beauty of the writing pull the reader in…Highly recommended.” —Historical Novels Review “Delightful! …very satisfying. Barbara Davis endings usually are!” —Midwest Book Review “I’ve voraciously consumed all of Barbara Davis’s books, but this gem of a dual timeline, which features a protagonist who owns an antique bookshop, has woven its way into my heart. The Echo of Old Books is a shining testament to the redemptive power of love. I took my time reading this story, savoring all the beautiful sentences, because I didn’t want it to end. Highly recommend.” —Terry Lynn Thomas, USA Today bestselling author of The Silent Woman “Woven with intriguing historical elements, The Echo of Old Books celebrates an enduring romance that overcomes all obstacles and the transformative power of love to heal the pain of past secrets. A big-hearted gem of a novel sure to delight true book lovers everywhere.” —Christine Nolfi, bestselling author of A Brighter Flame “I knew from page one that I would fall in love with this ambitious jewel of a story. Two books within a book. Two love stories within a story. And a bit of the unbelievable as only Davis can weave. All of this done in a manner I’ve not seen before. This book has everything readers want: family drama, deceit, lies, and corruption set against one of the most horrifying periods in history. And love. Davis may have reached a new height in her career.” —Barbara Conrey, bestselling author of My Secret To Keep “With her latest novel, Barbara Davis has delivered a beautiful gift to readers who enjoy a true passion for books. I was entranced by The Echo of Old Books from the very first page. A story within a story, it has all the elements I love—unforgettable characters, an old mystery begging to be solved, a well-researched historical backstory that is both romantic and tragic, and a touch of magical realism that swept me into the delightful world of my imagination. I couldn’t have loved it more!” – Julianne MacLean, bestselling author of Beyond the Moonlit Sea “A new book by Barbara Davis is cause for celebration, and The Echo of Old Books is a carefully woven, brilliant, beautiful, complex story of finding family and rediscovering lost love. Davis's characters are living, breathing people that you miss when you get to the last page. I loved every single page of this historical, lyrical, magical novel." —Maddie Dawson, bestselling author of Matchmaking for Beginners and Snap Out of It

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Book SynopsisIn seventeenth-century England, a female healer enflames the fury of a witchfinder in this propulsive novel about murder, revenge, and the dangerous power of knowledge. Mary Fawcett refines the healing recipes she’s inherited from generations of women before her—an uncanny and moral calling to empathize with the sick. When witchfinder Matthew Hopkins arrives in her small village, stoking the fires of hate, he sees not healing but the devil at work. Mary’s benevolent skills have now cast her and her young brother under suspicion of witchery. Soon, the husband of one of Mary’s patients is found murdered, his body carved with strange symbols. For Hopkins, it’s further evidence of dark arts. When the whispering village turns against her, Mary dares to trust a stranger: an enigmatic alchemist, scarred body and soul, who knows the dead man’s secrets. As Hopkins’s fervor escalates, Mary must outsmart the devil himself to save her life and the lives of those she loves. Unfolding the true potential of her gifts could make Mary a more empowered adversary than a witchfinder ever feared.Trade Review“This historical-fiction novel set in 1640s England showcases the hysteria that can grip a small village, causing people to turn on their own neighbors and friends. It's an emotional story, full of flawed characters who are just trying to survive in a world full of suspicion and betrayal.” —Booklist “The multiple plot threads keep tensions high, the plot twists will keep readers guessing, and the characters (both good and ill-intentioned) are nuanced and well-written. All this, along with its immersive historical details and a sprinkle of fantasy, have conjured up an entrancing read.” —Historical Novels Review “A stunning achievement in historical fiction. The Village Healer’s Book of Cures is by turns a work of luminous beauty and a harrowingly dark exploration of the perilous role cunning women played in a society rife with suspicion. Mary Fawcett is an unforgettable heroine, and Roberts’s nimble prose enchants with its honesty. An exquisite, wise, and ambitious debut.” —Paulette Kennedy, author of The Witch of Tin Mountain “A firecracker of a debut, packed with well-researched historical details, a tense mystery, and a few twists I never saw coming. Mary—a strong, independent woman trapped in a gender-centric panic—is the perfect character to take the reader on a perilous journey…one that could almost happen today.” —Olivia Hawker, bestselling author of The Fire and the Ore “In this exciting debut, I discovered a character who is now one of my favorite heroines…a suspenseful read with characters to root for, an intriguing mystery to solve, and well rendered historical atmosphere to savor.” —Nancy Bilyeau, author of The Orchid Hour

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Book SynopsisTwo women disturb the dark history of a deceptively quiet postwar Cornwall village in a haunting novel by the bestselling author of A Feather on the Water and The Woman on the Orient Express.It’s winter 1947 when newlyweds Ellen and Tony Wylde move into an abandoned Cornish farmhouse overlooking the sea. For both, it’s a new beginning in the country, and together they’re bringing Carreg Cottage back to life. Yet Ellen can’t hide a creeping unease. There’s the ominous iconography painted on their bedroom ceiling, the sinister doll hidden away in the chimney. And Tony seems more familiar with the peculiar villagers than he’s letting on.Meanwhile, after nearly a decade away, young Iris returns to Cornwall seeking sanctuary in memories and longing for what she lost as a child. It was here that her mother died on the moors under a shroud of mystery and rumor—and was last seen alive in the isolated, long-shuttere

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Book SynopsisIn South Carolina, a woman discovers her aunt's profound secrets in an emotional novel spanning decades about trauma, survival, and the bonds of female friendship by a USA Today bestselling author. Since Bailey Rae Rigby's adoptive aunt Winnie passed, Bent Oak, South Carolina, doesn't have much of a hold on her anymore. So it seems. Bailey Rae aims to settle the small estate and, armed with her aunt's inspiring personal cookbook, buy a food truck with an ocean view in Myrtle Beach. Everything goes awry when a distraught young mother arrives in town clutching a copy of that same cookbook. Embedded inside is a code that promises a safe place in Bent Oak for desperate women on the run. For Bailey Rae it opens up a world of questions. Who really was the beloved aunt she's known most of her life?Winnie Ballard's story reaches back fifty yearsone of a Southern debutante's harrowing marriage, of her escape and reinvention, and the galvanizing friendship of three resilient women who overcame their traumas, created a shelter, and found purpose. But there's more to Winnie's deliverance and long-held secrets than Bailey Rae imagines. With each revelation, Bailey Rae draws on her aunt's courage to find purpose herself. For now, whatever threats may come, Bailey Rae isn't going anywhere.

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Book SynopsisFrom the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Night Angels comes the epic story of a brilliant young woman's dangerous rise to fame in the perilous world of jewelry in 1920s Shanghaiand the power of love and friendship. Harbin, China, 1925. Fifteen-year-old Anyu Zhang discovers a priceless Fabergé egg in the snow and returns it to the owner, Isaac Mandelburg, a fugitive and former master jeweler for Russia's imperial palace. In gratitude, he leaves her his address in Shanghai and a promise of hospitality, forever altering her fate. A dazzling world of jewelry shrouded in secrecy and greed awaits, when later Anyu arrives at Mandelburg's jewelry shop as an orphan. Single minded and relentless, Anyu will stop at nothing until she masters the craft of jewelry making. But she soon finds herself entangled in a treacherous underbelly of the city, where violent gangsters stalk the streets, vicious rivals seek to exploit her, and obsessive collectors conspire to destroy the people she loves. From snow-crowned land to diamond-sparkling showrooms to a pristine island on the brink of war, The Master Jeweler chronicles an exciting journey of a bold prodigy artisanincluding her losses and triumphsin a glamorous yet perilous world of treasure.

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Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of The Queen of Paris comes a glittering new novel about youth, beauty, and having the courage to carve your own path in a world on the brink of war.Pamela Binnings Ewen?s newest novel reveals the story of Émilienne, once the most beautiful, sought-after woman in Paris during the Belle Époque, the era of peaceful years just before World War I. As a girl, Émilienne fights her way through poverty in Montmartre, drawn to the lights of Paris below. Soon, she stars at the Folies Bergère, mistress of kings and princes, known as the most beautiful woman in Europe. But, happiness is elusive, and youth and beauty are fragile. And where is love? As clouds of war begin darkening Europe, Émilienne?s young friend, Coco Chanel, has other ideas of how to survive in a man?s world. Strong ideas. Now, as Émilienne fights to survive, Coco?s star rises.

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Book SynopsisA startling and vivid debut novel in stories from acclaimed poet and translator Fiona Sze-Lorrain featuring deeply compelling Asian women who reckon with the past, violence, and exile—set in Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore, Paris, and New York.“Cooking for Madame Chiang,” 1946: Two cooks work for Madame Chiang Kai-shek and prepare a foreign dish craved by their mistress, which becomes a political weapon and leads to their tragic end. “Death at the Wukang Mansion,” 1966: Punished for her extramarital affair, a dancer is transferred to Shanghai during the Cultural Revolution and assigned to an ominous apartment in a building whose other residents often depart in coffins. “The White Piano,” 1996: A budding pianist from New York City settles down in Paris and is assaulted when a mysterious piano arrives from Singapore. “The Invisible Window,” 2016: After their exile following the Tiananmen Square massacre, three women gather in a French cathedral to renew their friendship and reunite in their grief and faith. Evocative, vivid, disturbing, and written with a masterly ear for language, Dear Chrysanthemums renders a devastating portrait of diasporic life and inhumanity, as well as a tender web of shared memory, artistic expression, and love.Trade ReviewPraise for Dear Chrysanthemums "In nimble, evocative prose, these stories follow Chinese women from 1946 to 2016 as they brave moments of personal and national turmoil." —New York Times Book Review “A haunting debut… At once brutal and tender, this novel of women’s lives has the power to move and complicate our understanding of the long shadow cast by revolution as well as the inextinguishable longing every person has for beauty, love, art, and selfhood.” —Asymptote "Dear Chrysanthemums may be short at just 160 pages, but the unique structure of connecting the stories through the many decades of modern Chinese history and some of the same characters gives it the feel of a longer novel." —Asian Review of Books “Attention to detail, especially with respect to numbers and music, is part of what makes the novel a joy to read… Sze-Lorrain pushes the boundaries of the Asian American novel into a global conversation... Dreamy and haunting...” —Columbia Journal of Literary Criticism "Sze-Lorrain is to be praised for her ornate, intimate stories. Sze-Lorrain has a gift for capturing distinctive voices, and this shines through in all of her characters." —No Man is an Island "Provocative... In Dear Chrysanthemums, women try to free their bodies to be instruments of life as much as death, of self-expression as much as silence..." —Mekong Review “Sze-Lorrain does not only shed light on the losses but also on the hypocritical nature of communist regimes. Perspectives on modern Chinese history like these are rare — and for a reason. A recommended read to those who wonder, but do not seek answers.” —Mochi Magazine “Elegant… Sze-Lorrain's lyrical writing suggests that rebellion, even if it has tragic consequences in the present, might bear fruit in the future through artistic expression.” —Shelf Awareness “With shattering clarity, Sze-Lorrain teases apart the layers of complicity and survival that create a web of secrets, casting doubt on ever knowing the full truth behind each person’s story.” —Booklist “Graceful… Sze-Lorrain effortlessly evokes the spirit of each setting, be it the ardent fervor of nationalism during the Chinese Civil War or the seedy glamor of a dive bar in Paris, and she imbues her characters with haunting melancholy as victims ‘doomed to the mishaps of verity and the equally hurtful edges of fiction.’ This author is one to watch.” —Publishers Weekly "Sze-Lorrain excels in the lyrical mode as her attention to sensory observation illustrates how seemingly minor details such as the play of light from a shattered stained-glass window or the geometrically interlocking joints in a table can become microcosmic worlds if one knows how to look. Weaving these details together with an orchestral sensibility, the novel serves as a multilayered meditation on intergenerational trauma, memory, and resilience... By turns delicate and wild, this novel will linger like a chrysanthemum’s fragrance long after the last page." —Kirkus “In Dear Chrysanthemums, Fiona Sze-Lorrain collects the shards of modern Chinese history and builds a prismatic, gorgeously intimate story of women who face impossible choices and losses in order to survive. Unflinching and haunting, the novel is a vivid portrayal of disillusionment and exile. Step by step, Sze-Lorrain constructs an intricate and deeply moving web that will leave you stunned by the end.” —Tsering Yangzom Lama, author of We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies, shortlisted for the 2022 Giller Prize “How can a book be simultaneously so beautiful and so heartbreaking? Dear Chrysanthemums explores the repercussions of the major events of modern Chinese history—the Chinese civil war, the Cultural Revolution, the Tiananmen Square massacre—as they echo throughout lives in the diaspora. Sze-Lorrain’s storytelling is graceful yet fierce—this is an important novel about histories that have changed the world.” —Shawna Yang Ryan, author of Green Island and Water Ghosts "Dear Chrysanthemums weaves together the stories of Asian women whose lives are shaped, with and without their knowledge, by the storm of history and cultural upheaval. The political is always personal in this remarkable debut, in which the practice of art—dance, music, writing, even the art of cooking—is opposed to oppression, violence, loneliness, displacement, and death. With uncompromising detail, in language that is at once precise and evocative, author Sze-Lorrain takes us inside the individual struggles of her characters to reveal fascinating patterns of connection and hidden truth." —Mary Helen Stefaniak, author of The World of Pondside and The Cailiffs of Baghdad, Georgia "I read this book with my heart in my throat. Taken one by one, each of these delectable stories offers an intimate, sensuous portrait of the life of otherwise mysterious girls and women, their desires and obsessions and griefs. Taken as a whole, the novel is a heady, energetic, global mosaic that conveys just how deeply one human soul can relate to another." —Susanna Daniel, author of Sea Creatures and Stiltsville "Just beneath the precisely-rendered quotidian world of these linked narratives lies a fathomless well of menace. Given this, Sze-Lorrain seems to ask, what are life’s chances?" —Frederick Turner, author of The Go-Between: A Novel of the Kennedy Years and 1929: A Novel of the Jazz Age "Exquisite… Dear Chrysanthemums achieves the aesthetic ambitions of a novel with lyrical prose and imagery. Sze-Lorrain probes into our complex, volatile society, expressing her thought and lucidity." —Ma Jian, author of China Dream, The Dark Road, and Beijing Coma

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Book SynopsisAfter the tragic death of her mother and a cold rejection from her father, young Caroline Bryer lands back at the home of her controlling grandfather. But this time, she may just beat him at his own game. From #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Flowers in the Attic series and Landry seriesnow popular Lifetime movies.

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Book SynopsisBottle fever has Nels Jensen by the throat. Swindled out of his summer? s pay, he heads to the logging camps of Northern Minnesota, only to discover he is blacklisted at reputable operations. He is neither a thief nor a liar, but he cannot prove his innocence.Widow Solveig Rognaldson is left alone with heartache and a mortgage. Without a well-paying job, she will lose her Foxhome farm. Her son marries and moves away. Though she feels too old, she musters courage to strike out on her own. She has to save the farm by herself. She has no one else.Trouble follows Sister Magdalena, a jolly nun who struggles with rules. A giant of a woman, she is sent to sell hospital tickets to lumberjacks working the forests of Minnesota. It is dangerous work, and those with a ticket receive free health care if they are injured. She travels alone to isolated logging camps in thedead of winter, sometimes by snowshoes. The jacks call her Sister Lumberjack.These three lives intersect at Starkweather Timber, a haywire logging camp, where everything goes wrong. Their unique friendship turns their lives in unexpected directions.

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Book SynopsisInspired by Velázquez’s baroque masterpiece, Las Meninas, The Queen’s Prophet is an imagined account of the dwarfess Maribarbola of Spain (featured prominently in Velázquez’s painting) and her struggle for survival and self-determination at a time when dwarfs were kept by aristocracy as pets, prophets, and good luck charms. When the Countess of Walther dies at her German estate, her loyal dwarfess Maria-Barbara is forced to work as a prophet for a traveling magician, who betrays her by selling her to the Queen of Spain. At the royal court in Madrid, Mari finds herself in a bizarre, enchanted world, a society culturally splendid but intellectually isolated. There she becomes Maribarbola, prophet to the Queen, and, her survival at stake, endeavors to outsmart the Spaniards. Mari's wits and loyalties are tested as she becomes embroiled in palace intrigue alongside the politically embattled Queen. When Mari's carefully schemed prophecies dazzle all of Spain, she and the Queen climb to dizzying heights of power, a place as intoxicating as it is dangerous. But even as Mari survives and thrives at the Spanish court, the loss of identity she suffers from living a lie makes her question whether she is really surviving at all.Trade Review“The Queen’s Prophet offers masterful storytelling, memorable characters, and an imaginative depiction of a world that is as layered and enthralling as the Velázquez painting the novel brings to vivid life.”—Deborah Davis, author of Strapless: John Singer Sargent and the Fall of Madame X "Impeccably researched, The Queen’s Prophet offers a rare glimpse into an age that was at once colorful, magical, and beautiful but also brutal and violent—a world few people today can begin to imagine, but wonderfully and vividly rendered by the author. The reader is drawn into a world of passions, loyalties, betrayals and ruthless court intrigue filled with twists and surprises. In Mari we have a heroine who is unique, sympathetic, strong, and we pull for her all the way. An impressive debut."—New York Times best-selling author, Barbara Wood "Patitucci did my very favorite thing: write characters and create a world so lush, vivid and rich that the story sucked me in and swept me away to another land until I reluctantly turned the very last page. This novel is a page-turning look at a particular place and moment in history — Spain in the 1600s—and a thought-provoking exploration of what it meant to be a dwarfess when they were considered property but also magical beings. I also loved all the questions it raises about the nature and stability of power."—Naomi McDougall Jones "The Queen's Prophet is an extraordinary reenactment of the life of Maribarbola, dwarf-prophet of Mariana, the wife-niece of Felipe IV of Spain. This captivating tale, written in elegant and sumptuous prose, is an exquisite portrayal of court life in a well-rendered historical fiction, one that kept me turning pages into the wee hours, wanting to read the conclusion yet sorrowful to know it would soon end."—Nina Romano, The Secret Language of Women, Lemon Blossoms, and In America "Mari is a sympathetic protagonist, and Patitucci does a good job of depicting the precarious, often heartbreaking, existence of dwarves in the 1600s. The court politics are fascinating, as are many of the players, especially fellow court dwarf Nicolas. Inspired by the life of the dwarf Maribáribola, depicted in Velázquez's masterpiece Las Meninas, this debut novel will likely appeal to fans of Philippa Gregory and the HBO series Game of Thrones."—Library Journal "Patitucci masterfully builds a compelling narrative around a seemingly minor servant. What sets this author apart from many other historical fiction writers is that she clearly did very careful research to prop up her fictional accounts. The sufferings and triumphs of the queen and her dwarfess are believable, and I found myself unable to put the book down on many a night. Kudos to Patitucci on her first foray into historical fiction!"—San Francisco Book Review "Patitucci is to be commended for tackling a tricky location and time in history. Early modern Spain doesn’t receive attention from most historical fiction authors, who might prefer the same period, but in England or France (under the reigns of Charles II or Louis XIV). She really does make the extravagance of every jewel on the king’s finger apparent, as well as the cruelty of society, come to vivid life."—Bookreporter.com

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Book SynopsisArmed with extraordinary medical talent and a winning smile, newly trained surgeon, Chase Callaway, enters the world of private practice in Los Angeles, only to be greeted by a wall of stunning peer rejection. A charge of malpractice is levied a mere three days into his career, followed by professional attacks intended to ruin, effectively ending his surgical practice after only one month. Battling back to respectability takes many years, but even then, dark clouds linger. Significant mental injuries still fester, reinforcing his growing fear and belief in a multi-generational family curse, eventually prompting a return to academic medicine at his alma mater, Far West Texas University. Under the direction of his former mentor, he is given the charge to develop a multidisciplinary breast center, a new concept in the late 1980s, in the midst of a controversial revolution in breast cancer management. Energized by his abiding belief that the California experience served a Providential purpose to strip away personal gain in favor of group excellence, Dr. Callaway''s indomitable spirit meets head-on with unrelenting tribulation.

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Book Synopsis2021 Indie Best Contest Winner2021 Finalist for American Book Fest’s for Best Book AwardA 2023 Next Generation Indie Book Award Winner for Best Cover DesignA 2023 Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist for Best Second NovelRural Missouri, a hot summer day on the Mississippi River during the Great Recession. The four Fehler sisters want to be more than “bug girls” in their family’s fourth-generation pest control business, but their path is fixed. When the patriarch suddenly dies, and his succession goes according to plan but not expectation, they each must plot a course for themselves in uncertain and changing times. Through it all, their mother, Grace, weighs her own choices, and whether her passion to save her family as a doomsday prepper also includes blowing up her world with a forbidden romance. In their small town and around the dinner table, the Fehlers embody Midwestern resilience as they come together to save the company’s finances and the family’s future, and work to preserve what they have by evolving as a hive. Once again, Flood author Melissa Scholes Young has readers buzzing with the story of an unforgettable family, grieving, and rising again.Trade Review"You’ll buzz through The Hive, Melissa Scholes Young’s vibrant second novel about a close family and their closely held secrets . . . A loving portrait of a family that closes ranks even as it opens its heart." —Mary Kay Zuravleff, author of Man Alive!"I love books about sisters, and I love The Hive, which has all the eccentricity and yearning of some of my favorite sister stories, like We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson and Sisters by a River by Barbara Comyns. From the very first chapter, The Hive is a deft, delightfully weird, and often comical family saga." —Timothy Schaffert, author of The Perfume Thief“The Hive [is] the kind of authentic and deeply felt novel that could only be crafted from personal experience . . . Melissa Scholes Young gracefully and compassionately captures the moving story of four young women seeking out their own independence while drawn, inexorably, back, and back again, into the family business.” —Dean Bakopoulos, author of Summerlong“I love when an author takes me someplace I’ve never been. Much like an epic Jane Smiley novel, Melissa Scholes Young transports us to rural America, inside a family-owned pest control business and four sisters’ struggle to keep it afloat in a changing political landscape. The Hive is a moving and completely immersive reading experience.” —Marcy Dermansky, author of Very Nice"The Hive by Melissa Scholes Young is real and raw and will pin you back in your seat. It’s a powerful portrait of a family coming to terms with a changing world that some are ready for, and others are not. The Fahler family is beautifully rendered in their messy complexity―flawed, tragic, and hopeful, all at once. I loved it." —Alex George, author of The Paris Hours, owner of Skylark Bookshop"The Hive has so many things that readers look for in a novel—great characters and musings on family dynamics, feminism, and grief. The sisters will stay with you long after you make the journey with them to break free, take adventures, accept risks, make choices, have hope. Kudos to Melissa Scholes Young. The Hive is the family saga I have been waiting for." —Pamela Klinger-Horn, Valley Bookseller“Filled with the messiness of family emotions and presumptions, along with the age-old question of 'Who do I want to be, and how do I fit in?' this sweet and delightfully quirky novel will draw you in and not let go.” —Betsy Von Kerens, The Bookworm Omaha"The Hive is a rich and complex family narrative . . . Imperfect, real, and true-to-life characters are presented in a page-turning story line that book clubs will devour!" —Mary Webber O'Malley, Skylark Bookshop"I know a book is good when I wake up at 4 a.m. on a Sunday and pick up where I left off . . . a front row seat to the challenges women face in a small town in Midwest America." —Shelf Unbound"Readers won’t easily forget the voices of the Fehler women." —Portland Book Review“The Hive puts a finger on what American media has been chasing since the Tea Party formed and through Donald Trump’s term as president: small-town Midwest Americans’ motivations . . . What carries The Hive more than the themes and the characters is the gorgeousness of the prose. Scholes Young invites us into the Fehler family dynamic and the fascination of white Midwestern lifestyles with potent language." —Mom Egg Review"A captivating story . . . The Hive is a novel worth reading." —Washington Independent Review of Books"How about a nice, new family drama with more than its share of comic spirit, marked by its Midwestern flavor? The Hive by Melissa Scholes Young." —Chicago Tribune"The Hive is a memorable saga of sisterhood, life-testing challenges, and ties that bind, highly recommended." —Midwest Book Review "An honest and stunningly beautiful portrait of life in rural America that readers from all walks of life will appreciate." —Travis Naughton, Boone County Journal "A book with a heart that grows bigger than its central metaphor . . . It’s the love that Scholes Young instills in The Hive that makes this book such a memorable, complex, and layered study of a family whose hearts have grown beyond the various institutions that underpin their values." —Megan Cummins, The Rumpus "[Melissa] Scholes Young artfully paints vibrant pictures of the Fehler women . . . and highlights their trials and triumphs while navigating life in rural Missouri." —Corinne Ahrens, Ms. magazine “Melissa Scholes Young defines what it truly means to be a family . . . A moving portrait . . . With five distinct voices, the Fehler womens’ stories are guaranteed to connect with readers and remind them of the importance of family as the Fehler’s learn that each day is not guaranteed. The Hive centers on the feeling we all crave: a sense of belonging.” —Sundress Reads “Grace Fehler is so authentic one wouldn’t be surprised to meet her at a Walmart store in her hometown of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, or at a camp where survivalists learn to prepare for the end of the world . . . Scholes Young writes that story by peeling away the mask of motherhood layer by layer, ultimately exposing what Maushart describes as ‘a countenance of infinite expressiveness.’ Through the lens of Grace’s experience, Scholes Young gifts readers with a mother figure who ‘womans up’ in the best conceivable way.” —Teresa Burns Murphy, Literary Mama “This compelling family drama by a local author explores family and identity in moving, gorgeous prose.” —Hannah Grieco, Washingtonian “The narratives are woven masterfully against the backdrop of the election of President Barack Obama—an election about which the family members have differing opinions. Despite their differences, the Fehler women are resilient and resourceful in this story of sisters and survival.” —Jen Roberts, St. Louis Magazine

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Book SynopsisA 2023 Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist for Best First Novel“Debut novelist Tector captures European life and her characters beautifully as she interweaves the perspectives of four women seeking fulfillment and success in this satisfying adventure. Keep an eye on this author.” —Booklist Alice Ahmadi has never been certain of where she belongs. When she discovers a famed emerald necklace while interning at a struggling Parisian magazine, she is plunged into a glittering world of diamonds and emeralds, courtesans and spies, and the long-buried secrets surrounding the necklace and its glamorous former owners. When Alice realizes the mysterious Honeybee Emeralds could be her chance to save the magazine, she recruits her friends Lily and Daphne to form the “Fellowship of the Necklace.” Together, they set out to uncover the romantic history of the gems. Through diaries, letters, and investigations through the winding streets and iconic historic landmarks of Paris, the trio begins to unravel more than just the secrets of the necklace’s obsolete past. Along the way, Lily and Daphne’s relationships are challenged, tempered, and changed. Lily faces her long-standing attraction to a friend, who has achieved the writing success that eluded her. Daphne confronts her failing relationship with her husband, while also facing simmering problems in her friendship with Lily. And, at last, Alice finds her place in the world―although one mystery still remains: how did the Honeybee Emeralds go from the neck of American singer Josephine Baker during the Roaring Twenties to the basement of a Parisian magazine?Trade Review“Debut novelist Tector captures European life and her characters beautifully as she interweaves the perspectives of four women seeking fulfillment and success in this satisfying adventure. Keep an eye on this author.” —Booklist “The Honeybee Emeralds is a lighthearted novel peopled by diverse and interesting individuals, each of whom is determined, for their own reasons, to solve the mystery of a necklace’s origins.” —Foreword Reviews “Tector’s characters are a delight to follow, both through the streets of modern Paris and through the histories they uncover of three strong, unconventional women from the past. This novel, as beguiling as the jeweled necklace at the center of the story, celebrates the power of friendship and of following your heart with an irresistible mix of action, humor, and empathy. A fantastic debut!” —Stacey Swann, author Olympus, Texas “Amy Tector's gorgeous writing had me hooked from the first pages of The Honeybee Emeralds. This propulsive, atmospheric novel whisked me off to the bustling streets of Paris; I could feel the cool shadows on the walkways of Place Vendome and smell the old letters and books in dark European archives while following Alice's discovery of the honeybee necklace and her adventure as she, along with a stellar cast of supporting characters, delved into the necklace's storied past. Prepare to be mesmerized by this gem of a debut.” —Liv Stratman, author of Cheat Day “In Tector's intriguing novel, a rich set of characters are brought together by Paris and its secrets. Women who have come to Paris in search of a new life, women who never left, women whose lives passed away many years ago. The book bubbles over with Tector's warm humour, but don't be fooled. A seriousness and a poignancy lies in each woman's longing for love, for belonging and for an achievement to call her own.” —Alette Willis, author of Dancing with Trees “Amy Tector has created a story with mystery, romance, history, and a hefty dose of brilliant humor. I found myself genuinely interested in every character (and, of course, the intriguing honeybee emeralds). I attribute my improved mood to this book. It is, in a word, delightful.” —Kim Hooper, author of People Who Knew Me and No Hiding in Boise “Amy Tector delivers a fun and intelligent mystery wrapped in the exciting world of expat Paris. Along with chronicling four women's challenges with career, friendship, motherhood and love, she carries us away in a wildly entertaining story that includes missing emeralds, a storied diva, imperial sex scandals and a pinch of espionage. The Honeybee Emeralds anchors you in contemporary Paris while taking you on an intriguing journey across centuries.” —Wayne Ng, author of Letters From Johnny, Finding the Way, Guernica Prize shortlist finalist

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Book Synopsis“When I’m dead and buried . . . you get the hell out of here . . . Make a life somewhere else . . . a life that I can’t even imagine.” Jo Salter, a woman from the North Carolina mountains, sets about constructing a new life for herself in Asheville in the wake of her mother’s death. A life that no one—including her mother—could have imagined. Jo has a gift. She is a mathematical prodigy—a woman who sees and thinks in numbers. She secures a job as a teller at Central Bank & Trust, where she recreates herself as a modern woman and rises through the professional ranks. While working at the bank, Jo becomes fascinated by Levi Arrowood, the dark and mysterious manager of the Sky Club, an infamous speakeasy and jazz club on the mountainside above town. When the Great Depression brings Central Bank & Trust down in a seismic crash, Jo is forced to find a new home and job. She finds both at the Sky Club, where she strikes a partnership with the alluring Arrowood as she is drawn deeper into a glamorous and precarious life of bootlegging, jazz, and love.The Sky Club is the story of money, greed, and life after the crash from the eyes of one remarkable woman as she creates her own imagined life.Trade Review“Fans of historical and American Southern fiction will breeze through this action-packed, fast-paced novel.” —Library Journal“Roberts has captured a moment in Asheville’s history that to this day affects our way of life. It is a well-told tale, reminiscent of John Ehle’s great novel, Last One Home. I think Ehle would have been proud of The Sky Club.” —Wayne Caldwell, author of Cataloochee“Ever since Terry Roberts took up writing about his ancestors in Western North Carolina, he has produced a remarkably varied and valuable shelf of novels . . . but The Sky Club is the best one yet! Wildly original, this is a truly Appalachian novel all about money, sex, drinking, and the Great Depression . . . along with the more familiar themes of place and family. I especially admire the apparent ease with which Roberts has created the tough, true, funny, and unforgettable Jo Salter, an independent pistol of a woman who tells this lively tale set in a speakeasy on top of a mountain.” —Lee Smith, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Girls“The Sky Club is a wagonload of perilous fun. Terry Roberts has engaged, with customary vigor, many of his favorite themes: local Appalachian history, mountain cultures rural and urban, personal and communal courage, individuality. The resulting story is sprightly and steady in the manner of its heroine, the gifted Jo Salter. Every page here shines with truthful surprise. Bravo!” —Fred Chappell, author of I Am One of You Forever“The Sky Club portrays diverse, unexpected facets of the Appalachian region in the years of the Great Depression. It is a novel of climbing—social, financial, emotional, romantic—to a mountaintop, to The Sky Club, to risk and wealth, to danger, and, ultimately, to enduring love.” —Robert Morgan, author of Gap Creek and Chasing the North Star“With an uncanny ability to make you feel as if you were there—when the Great Depression hit Asheville—Terry Roberts gives voice to Jo Salter, a fiercely independent woman determined to honor her Mama’s dying request that she create a life hard to imagine. Not since Memoirs of a Geisha has a male author portrayed a woman’s life so convincingly.” —Mark Kaufman, Story and Song Bookstore

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Book SynopsisGet ready for a thrilling new mystery series from the author of The Honeybee Emeralds.Ottawa, January 2010. Canada’s historic Dominion Archives.Junior archivist Jess Novak is struggling to find her footing in her new role. Her colleagues undermine her, her boss hates her, and her only romantic prospect hides a whiskey bottle in his desk. Desperate to make a good impression, Jess’s luck begins to change when she discovers a series of mysterious letters chronicling life in Paris at the start of the Great War. Thinking she has landed her ticket to career advancement, Jess dives into research in Dominion’s art vault, where she stumbles upon the body of one of her colleagues.As if finding a corpse isn’t frightening enough, Jess soon notices she is being stalked by a menacing figure. It’s only when Jess makes the connection between the letters, the murder, and a priceless Rembrandt that she realizes just how high the stakes are. Can Jess salvage her career, unravel a World War I–era mystery, shake off her ominous stalker, solve a murder, and—oh yeah—save her own life before it’s too late?Trade Review“Amy Tector has created a fascinating, hugely likeable main character in Jessica Novak. The Foulest Things follows archivist Jess from discovering letters hidden in antique books, to the underbelly of the art world. With twists and turns, action and dashes of humor, we are sent on a literary joyride. I can only hope this is the start of a wonderful series.” —Louise Penny, New York Times bestselling author of the Chief Inspector Gamache novels“Readers will eagerly look forward to Jess’s further adventures.” —Publishers Weekly“The Foulest Things raises the bar with hilarity, sophisticated prose, and delightfully drawn characters. Reminiscent of the great Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum, lead character Jess Novak is as charming and quirky as she is smart and wily. I can hardly wait for the next entry in the Dominion Archives Mystery series. Highly recommended—be prepared for a wild ride as you laugh out loud!” —Daco S. Auffenorde, award-winning author of Cover Your Tracks“The Foulest Things is a fast-paced romp through the world of archives, art history, and murder. Jess has to use her archivist training to solve a century-old mystery while also unraveling a present-day murder. A great read and the first in a series.” —Wayne Ng, award-winning author of Letters from Johnny“The first book in the Dominion Archives Mystery series is a marvel. It’s impossible not to fall in love with Jess as she unravels secrets, solves mysteries, traces a tragic love story unveiled in letters, and begins to find her own footing in Ottawa’s national archives. Well-researched and filled with tension, The Foulest Things is truly unputdownable.” —Lindsay Zier-Vogel, author of Letters to Amelia

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Book SynopsisGet ready for a thrilling new mystery series from the author of The Honeybee Emeralds.Ottawa, January 2010. Canada’s historic Dominion Archives.Junior archivist Jess Novak is struggling to find her footing in her new role. Her colleagues undermine her, her boss hates her, and her only romantic prospect hides a whiskey bottle in his desk. Desperate to make a good impression, Jess’s luck begins to change when she discovers a series of mysterious letters chronicling life in Paris at the start of the Great War. Thinking she has landed her ticket to career advancement, Jess dives into research in Dominion’s art vault, where she stumbles upon the body of one of her colleagues.As if finding a corpse isn’t frightening enough, Jess soon notices she is being stalked by a menacing figure. It’s only when Jess makes the connection between the letters, the murder, and a priceless Rembrandt that she realizes just how high the stakes are. Can Jess salvage her career, unravel a World War I–era mystery, shake off her ominous stalker, solve a murder, and—oh yeah—save her own life before it’s too late?Trade Review“Amy Tector has created a fascinating, hugely likeable main character in Jessica Novak. The Foulest Things follows archivist Jess from discovering letters hidden in antique books, to the underbelly of the art world. With twists and turns, action and dashes of humor, we are sent on a literary joyride. I can only hope this is the start of a wonderful series.” —Louise Penny, New York Times bestselling author of the Chief Inspector Gamache novels“Readers will eagerly look forward to Jess’s further adventures.” —Publishers Weekly“The Foulest Things raises the bar with hilarity, sophisticated prose, and delightfully drawn characters. Reminiscent of the great Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum, lead character Jess Novak is as charming and quirky as she is smart and wily. I can hardly wait for the next entry in the Dominion Archives Mystery series. Highly recommended—be prepared for a wild ride as you laugh out loud!” —Daco S. Auffenorde, award-winning author of Cover Your Tracks“The Foulest Things is a fast-paced romp through the world of archives, art history, and murder. Jess has to use her archivist training to solve a century-old mystery while also unraveling a present-day murder. A great read and the first in a series.” —Wayne Ng, award-winning author of Letters from Johnny“The first book in the Dominion Archives Mystery series is a marvel. It’s impossible not to fall in love with Jess as she unravels secrets, solves mysteries, traces a tragic love story unveiled in letters, and begins to find her own footing in Ottawa’s national archives. Well-researched and filled with tension, The Foulest Things is truly unputdownable.” —Lindsay Zier-Vogel, author of Letters to Amelia

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Book Synopsis“With a scholar’s commitment to accurate detail, and the heart of a lover of beauty, Kathleen B. Jones’s engaging and well-crafted parallel story is as colorful and lucid as the illuminated manuscripts at the center of her novel.” —Laurel Corona, author of The Mapmaker’s DaughterA deeply affecting dual narrative separated by several centuries, Cities of Women examines the lives of women who dare to challenge the social norms of their days, risking their reputations and livelihoods for the sake of their passions.In the twenty-first century, we meet Verity Frazier, a disillusioned history professor who sets out to prove that the artist responsible for the illuminated artwork in Christine de Pizan’s medieval manuscripts was a remarkable woman named Anastasia. As Anastasia’s story unfolds against the exquisitely-rendered medieval backdrop of moral disaster, political intrigue, and extraordinary creativity, Verity finds her career on the brink of collapse by her efforts to uncover evidence of the lost artist’s existence.Inspired by a decade of research, Jones has woven together a luminous and incisive masterpiece of historical fiction, evoking the spare joys and monumental pitfalls facing medieval women artists and a contemporary woman who becomes obsessed with medieval books.Trade Review“At its heart, Cities of Women is both a detective story about the search for, and love letter to, the women who worked on the beautiful illuminated manuscripts of the medieval era. The novel is both sensitive and well researched, an accomplished debut which marks Jones out as one to watch.” —Laura Shepperson, author of Phaedra“With a scholar’s commitment to accurate detail, and the heart of a lover of beauty, Kathleen B. Jones’s engaging and well-crafted parallel story brings to light female creativity in medieval France. Jones’s writing is as colorful and lucid as the illuminated manuscripts at the center of her novel, and the unforgettable story makes Cities of Women a must read for anyone interested in finding and honoring the forgotten women of western art.” —Laurel Corona, author of The Mapmaker’s Daughter"Kathleen B. Jones’ great talent is her ability to slide through history showing how the past is inextricably alive inside of every present moment. With witty dialogue and lovingly rendered descriptions of beauty, Cities of Women is both a page turning mystery and an intricate tapestry that entwines academic research, medieval history, art, love, and most importantly, the enduring friendships of women." —Karen Osborn, author of The Music Book"Cities of Women is a vivid and absorbing dual-timeline novel following a 21st century historian as she uncovers the life of a forgotten medieval female artist. Illuminating and smart, it reads like a love letter to curiosity and creativity. This is an empowering tale of two women separated by the centuries, but united in their determination to pursue their passions at all costs.” —Nikki Marmery, author of On Wilder Seas and the forthcoming Lilith"A meticulously researched and colourfully written exploration of female creativity and tenacity." —Victoria MacKenzie, author of For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain

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