Top new historical-fiction books out this week: 7 Apr - 13 Apr 2024
Last updated:
April 13, 2024
This week featuring new releases by Robert Dugoni, Leigh Bardugo, Chanel Cleeton, K.J. Charles, Kristy Cambron, Nell Freudenberger, Daisy Wood, Joanna Davidson Politano, Megan Campisi, Jen Silverman and many more.
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A Killing on the Hill by Robert Dugoni
A gripping new thriller from New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni.The Great Depression. High-level corruption. And a murder that’s about to become Seattle’s hottest mystery. It’s the kind of story that can make a reporter’s career. If he lives to write about it.Seattle, 1933. The city is in the grips of the Great Depression, Prohibition, and vice...mystery · historical-fiction · historical · thriller · murder · legal · crime · fiction · book · adult -
![The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo]()
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
From the New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House, Hell Bent, and creator of the Grishaverse series comes a highly anticipated historical fantasy set during the Spanish Golden Age In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion...romance · fantasy · historical-fiction · historical · fiction · magic · early-modern · magical-realism · paranormal · book -
![The House on Biscayne Bay by Chanel Cleeton]()
The House on Biscayne Bay by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide in New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton’s atmospheric new novel.With the Great War finally behind them, thousands of civilians and business moguls alike flock to South Florida with their sights set on making a fortune...historical-fiction · gothic · mystery · fiction · historical · horror · audiobook · marriage · hispanic · book -
![Death in the Spires by K.J. Charles]()
Death in the Spires by K.J. Charles
The newspapers called us the Seven Wonders. We were a group of friends, that’s all, and then Toby died. Was killed. Murdered. 1905. A decade after the grisly murder of Oxford student Toby Feynsham, the case remains hauntingly unsolved. For Jeremy Kite, the crime not only stole his best friend, it destroyed his whole life...romance · mystery · historical · historical-fiction · lgbtq · mlm · crime · fiction · audiobook · dark-academia -
![The British Booksellers by Kristy Cambron]()
The British Booksellers by Kristy Cambron
Inspired by real accounts of the Forgotten Blitz bombings, The British Booksellers highlights the courage of those whose lives were forever changed by war—and the stories that bind us in the fight for what matters most.A tenant farmer’s son had no business daring to dream of a future with an earl’s daughter, but that couldn’t keep Amos Darby from his secret friendship with Charlotte Terrington .romance · historical-fiction · christian · fiction · ww2 · historical · audiobook · ww1 · family · drama -
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![The Limits by Nell Freudenberger]()
The Limits by Nell Freudenberger
The most thrilling work yet from the best-selling, prize-winning author of The Newlyweds and Lost and Wanted , a stunning new novel set in French Polynesia and New York City about three characters who undergo massive transformations over the course of a single year... -
![The Royal Librarian by Daisy Wood]()
The Royal Librarian by Daisy Wood
A royal palace. A closed book. A betrayal that will echo through generations…Windsor, 1940: War rages, and as bombs rain down across Britain, nowhere is safe: not even a royal palace.Secretly tasked with foiling a suspected plot, Sophie Klein is placed in the Royal Library at Windsor castle, where the princesses reside...historical-fiction · fiction · historical · ww2 · royalty · magic · war · 20th-century · romance · alternate-history -
![The Elusive Truth of Lily Temple by Joanna Davidson Politano]()
The Elusive Truth of Lily Temple by Joanna Davidson Politano
Peter Driscoll, an underground investigator to the wealthy, has never met anyone like Lily Temple. The beautiful silent-film actress spins fairy tales and plays frivolous roles in front of the cine-camera, but beneath the costumes and stage makeup is a woman with a quick wit--and a murky past...romance · historical-fiction · christian · mystery · fiction · historical · audiobook · industrial-era · edwardian · wholesome -
![The Widow Spy by Megan Campisi]()
The Widow Spy by Megan Campisi
The author of the “magnificent…complex, vivid” (New York Journal of Books) Sin Eater returns with a rousing and propulsive novel based on the astonishing true story of the first female Pinkerton detective whose next assignment could end the Civil War.Kate Warne is many the country’s first female detective, a Pinkerton agent, and a union spy... -
![There's Going to Be Trouble by Jen Silverman]()
There's Going to Be Trouble by Jen Silverman
A woman is pulled into a love affair with a radical activist, unknowingly echoing her family's dangerous past and risking the foundations of her future in this electrifying novel.The course of your life can change with one split-second decision.Minnow has always tried to lead the life her single father modeled—private, quiet, hardworking, apolitical...fiction · historical · historical-fiction · literary-fiction · lgbtq · audiobook · action-adventure · politics · family · book -
![The Garden by Clare Beams]()
The Garden by Clare Beams
The discovery of a secret garden with unknown powers fuels this page-turning and psychologically thrilling tale of women desperate to become mothers and the ways the female body has always been policed and manipulated, from the award-winning author of The Illness Lesson (“A masterpiece” – Elizabeth Gilbert)In 1948, Irene Willard, who’s had five previous miscarriages in a quest to give her...horror · historical-fiction · fiction · historical · fantasy · gothic · literary-fiction · mystery · audiobook · spooky -
![The Wartime Book Club by Kate Thompson]()
The Wartime Book Club by Kate Thompson
From enchanting cliff tops and white sandy bays to the pretty cobbled streets of St Helier, Jersey is known as the land of milk and honey. But for best friends Bea Rose, the local postwoman, and Grace Le Motte, who works in the island's only library, it becomes the frontline to everyday resistance when their beloved island is occupied by German forces in 1940...historical-fiction · ww2 · fiction · historical · audiobook · war · female-mc · 20th-century · romance · friendship -
![The Girl with a Secret by Kate Hewitt]()
The Girl with a Secret by Kate Hewitt
Rosa’s blood runs cold. He hasn’t seen her yet, but she would recognize those blue eyes anywhere. Will he reveal her secret? And if he does, how will she ever survive?Germany, 1939: When Rosa Herzelfeld boards the SS St Louis, she doesn’t believe its promise of freedom. Surely there can be no escape from the Nazis, not even on the other side of the world...historical-fiction · ww2 · fiction · female-mc · 20th-century · romance · historical · friendship · book · adult -
![Aurelia by Minerva Spencer, S.M. LaViolette]()
Aurelia by Minerva Spencer, S.M. LaViolette
Aurelia Bellamy is tired of being the responsible oldest daughter. It’s time to finally take charge of her own fate. So, when an opportunity to work for one of England’s most famous naturalists comes along, she jumps at the chance...romance · historical · historical-fiction · age-gap · fantasy · fiction · industrial-era · victorian · regency · book -
![Rough Trade by Katrina Carrasco]()
Rough Trade by Katrina Carrasco
Alma Rosales is back and trouble is hot on her heels in this sexy queer historical thriller from the critically acclaimed author of The Best Bad Things.After destroying all evidence of their opium-smuggling operation in Port Townsend, Alma Rosales and Delphine Beaumond have set up shop in Tacoma, where the risk is high but the profits are higher...historical-fiction · fiction · historical · lgbtq · audiobook · mystery · crime · literary-fiction · murder · book -
![Death in the Details by Katie Tietjen]()
Death in the Details by Katie Tietjen
Inspired by the real life Frances Lee Glessner and featuring a whip-smart, intrepid sleuth in post-WWII Vermont. Maple Bishop is ready to put WWII and the grief of losing her husband Bill behind her...mystery · historical-fiction · fiction · historical · suspense · law-enforcement · audiobook · murder · mental-illness · friendship -
![A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland]()
A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland
Once a young woman uncovers a dark secret about her neighbor and his mysterious new wife, she’ll have to fight to keep herself—and the woman she loves—safe in this stunning queer reimagining of the classic folktale The Selkie Wife.When a sharp cry wakes Jean in the middle of the night during a terrible tempest, she’s convinced it must have been a dream...romance · fantasy · historical · wlw · retellings · lgbtq · historical-fiction · fiction · myths · lesbian-mc -
![The Final Curse of Ophelia Cray by Christine Calella]()
The Final Curse of Ophelia Cray by Christine Calella
Storms and pirates are nothing compared to the evil within men’s hearts.After a lifetime of abuse at the hands of superstitious townsfolk, Ophelia Young, a bastard child of the notorious pirate queen, is tired of paying for the sins of her mother. Despite playing by the rules her whole life, she’s earned nothing but spite and suspicion...fantasy · young-adult · outlaws · lgbtq · wlw · historical · historical-fiction · fiction · audiobook · romantic-love -
![The Borrowed Hills by Scott Preston]()
The Borrowed Hills by Scott Preston
"Viscerally vivid . . . a sucker-punch of a novel, edged with knife-sharp black humour and shot through with moments of startling beauty . . . half Tarantino and half pitch-black northern realism" —Guardian (book of the day)"Precisely focused with flavour, intensity, and oodles of character' —The Times"Arrives like a punch to the gut . .fiction · historical-fiction · contemporary · literary-fiction · western · season-spring · myths · drama · industrial-era · book -
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![A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke]()
A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue meets Life of Pi in this dazzlingly epic debut that charts the incredible, adventurous life of one woman as she journeys the globe trying to outrun a mysterious curse that will destroy her if she stops moving.Paris, 1885: Aubry Tourvel, a spoiled and stubborn nine-year-old girl, comes across a wooden puzzle ball on her walk home from school... -
![To Look Upon the Sun by Shannon St Hilaire]()
To Look Upon the Sun by Shannon St Hilaire
In the shadow of pre-WWII Germany, 17-year-old Ilse finds herself alone, pregnant, and penniless—betrayed by her family and thrust into the arms of Lebensborn, the Nazis' secretive program designed to propagate Aryan purity. Yet, Ilse harbors a perilous secret within the walls of her unborn child's father is Jewish... -
![Walk the Earth as Brothers: A Novel by Henry Rozycki]()
Walk the Earth as Brothers: A Novel by Henry Rozycki
Two Jewish brothers plan futures full of achievement and maybe fame. But Warsaw in the summer of 1939 is no place for dreamers. Ian is thrown west to Paris. There, he unexpectedly falls in love with Alicia, a mysterious Frenchwoman, but then must leave her to race across France to safety in Casablanca... -
![Off-White by Astrid Roemer]()
Off-White by Astrid Roemer
It’s 1966 in Suriname, on the Caribbean coast of South America, and the long shadow of colonialism still hangs over the country. Grandma Bee is the proud, cigar-smoking matriarch of the Vanta family, which is an intricate mix of Creole, Maroon, French, Indian, Indigenous, British, and Jewish backgrounds. But Grandma Bee is dying, a cough has settled deep in her lungs...fiction · historical-fiction · female-author · literary-fiction · family · black-mc · female-mc · poc-mc · book · adult
