The House of Doors

Longlisted for the Booker Prize, this novel was inspired by a story about author W. Somerset Maugham who visited Penang in 1921 to write about the story of a murder committed by an Englishwoman in Kuala Lumpur. The Booker judges called it "a magisterial and haunting tale of forbidden love and loss in the shadow of revolution and empire. This is historical fiction at its finest.”

The Tears and Prayers of Fools

This ode to Jewish life before the Holocaust from the celebrated late Lithuanian writer Grigory Kanovich, takes place in a small Lithuanian town in the late nineteenth century. The story is constrcuted around the arrival of an enigmatic stranger who seems to know the secrets of everyone in the town, leading the locals to wonder who the man is and why he has come.

Straw Dogs of the Universe

Ye Chun’s debut follows 10-year-old Sixiang who is sold into quasi-slavery and bound for California. But rather than accept a life of servitude, Sixiang decides to take her fate into her own hands and find her missing father who came to America to build railroads. Layered throughout the story are instances of anti-Asian racism and violence which Kirkus says creates, “a ghastly and luridly perilous world reminiscent of a horror story.”

Hazardous Spirits

Here we are taken to 1920s Edinburgh where we meet Evelyn and her husband, Robert. The couple live a typically comfortable middle class lifestyle until one day Robert declares that he can communicate with the dead. The revelation ushers the couple down a path which leads Evelyn to question everything that she knows to be true and threatens all that she holds most dear.

The Square of Sevens

Set in 18th century England, this story follows a young girl named Red who learns of an ancient Cornish method of predicting fortunes, known as the ‘Square of Sevens,’ from her father shortly before his death. After being entrusted by her father to a wealthy academic, Red is raised in opulence, and her fortune telling is adored by high society. But mysteries around her family and their enemies remain, and Red’s pursuit of answers leads her towards great danger.

The Madstone

"Elizabeth Crook is already a household name in Texas, but The Madstone should establish her as a national figure,” writes Molly Odintz for CrimeReads. The book evokes “the works of Charles Portis and Larry McMurtry as we go on a harrowing (and sometimes humorous) ride through 1868 Texas," as we follow Nell, a young pregnant mother, her child, and a frontiersman try to escape the grip of Nell’s cruel husband.

The Little Liar

Set in the midst of the Second World War, Albom’s latest is based on the real experiences of 50,000 Jewish people living in Greece during the Holocaust. The story follows young Nico who inadvertently sends nearly everyone he knows and loves to their deaths at Auschwitz, and the consequences of his actions across decades. Rob Merrill of the Associated Press wrote, “As with all Albom books, the pages turn quickly... But no matter how long it takes, it will stay with you.”

The Frozen River

Based on the decades of diary entries from Martha Ballard, a real-life 18th-century midwife, the story develops over the course of a winter as Martha investigates an alleged rape and the subsequent death of one of the potential perpetrators. Kirkus called it “a richly satisfying drama that moves suspensefully between childbed, courtroom, and the banks of the Kennebec River... from one of our most interesting authors of historical fiction.”

A True Account: Hannah Masury's Sojourn Amongst the Pyrates, Written by Herself

The AP’s Donna Edwards calls this swashbuckling tale, ”a dazzlingly fun historical fiction... [with] a slow start that picks up quickly into a wild voyage of satisfying twists and an even more satisfying ending.” Howe invites us to follow Hannah Masury as she abandons her life in servitude to a Boston inn and seeks to win her freedom aboard a pirate crew in search of a rumored treasure in the Caribbean.

The Temple of Fortuna: Volume 3

The third and final chapter in Elodie Harper's bestselling Wolf Den Trilogy, “cements Harper’s place alongside other game-changers in this genre space like Hilary Mantel and Ken Follett,” wrote Lacy Baugher Milas in Paste. Our heroine, the courtesan Amara, is now making power plays in Rome, but those closest to her remain in Pompeii where a now-infamous volcano is nearly ready to burst.

The MANIAC

A mesmerizing dive into the mind and legacy of the brilliant mathematician John von Neumann from the author of the International Booker Prize-nominated When We Cease to Understand the World. It’s a time-spanning scientific saga exploring the visionary Hungarian’s startling influence on the current age of Artificial Intelligence.

Learned by Heart

The dazzling and true story of two girls falling in love at a 19th-century English boarding school, from the Booker Prize-nominated author of Room. The Atlantic called this historical drama the “culmination of Donoghue’s long obsession with Lister, the real-life 19th-century figure whose exhaustive, coded diaries describe her many affairs with other women.... The novel is ultimately a tender, sad account of first love.”

The Vaster Wilds

A historical adventure set in the American colonial era from a three-time National Book Award finalist. When a pious servant girl flees the famine-wracked Jamestown settlement in 17th century Virginia, she must brave a terrifying wilderness in an “absorbing, visceral study of survival,” per Vanity Fair.

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store

An uplifting tale of community and hope from the celebrated author of the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird. When workers dig up a skeleton on a construction site in 1972 Pennsylvania, a gritty neighborhood’s long-buried secrets resurface in “a wondrous ode to the strength of humanity in a small town,” per TIME’s best-of-August round-up.

The Romantic

The latest by the bestselling author of Any Human Heart recounts a swashbuckling Irishman’s globe-trotting adventures during the 19th century. The Economist described the book, which moves from Cork to Zanzibar and beyond, as “both a vivid portrait of a life and a sweeping panorama of an age... Packed with passion, adventure, suspense, comic interludes and a range of colourful characters.”

California Golden

Two sisters with a legendary surfer mom come of age in Southern California during the 1960s in a sun-soaked family saga that “pairs the surf culture of the Beach Boys with the sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll of Daisy Jones & The Six," per Entertainment Weekly.

The House of Eve

Reese Witherspoon's February book club pick, this novel follows two ambitious women in 1950s Philly and DC who are both involved in taboo love affairs. Their stories collide in the most unexpected of ways.

The Apartment

From the author of In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd and Loving Che comes this multifaceted novel about the various tenants who’ve called a single South Beach apartment their home over the last seventy years.

The Invisible Hour

In this time-hopping historical saga from the author of Here on Earth, a rebellious girl raised in an oppressive cult where books are banned discovers the wonders of reading after finding a copy of The Scarlet Letter. Magically transported to the 1800s, she meets the book’s author Nathaniel Hawthorne, changing both of their lives forever.

The Fraud

Based on a real-life legal trial that divided and captivated Victorian England, this is a novel about who gets to tell their story and who is believed.

Nineteen Steps

A coming-of-age story set in London during WWII, written by the multi-talented star of the Netflix smash Stranger Things. It’s a love story about an English girl and an American airman that’s inspired by the actor’s own grandmother, who lived through the war.

The Enchanters

In the Black Dahlia author's latest LA crime caper, it’s the summer of 1962 and infamous LAPD officer-cum-private eye Fred Otash (the real life inspiration for Jack Nicholson’s character Jake Gittes in Chinatown) is trying to unravel Marylin Monroe’s mysterious death. From Jimmy Hoffa to the Kennedys, this feverish rollercoaster from the undisputed master of LA crime fiction leaves no stone unturned.

Absolution

The oft-overlooked story of American women on the fringes of the Vietnam War from a three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist. Two corporate wives accompany their ambitious husbands to 1963 Saigon in a tale Oprah Daily found "damning and dazzling, this is the story of a Vietnam we never got in history class--a story of innocence lost, the bounds of womanhood tested, and our nation held to account."

Crook Manifesto

Crime fiction meets social history in the second book in Whitehead's Harlem Trilogy.

Let Us Descend

A major literary event of the year, two-time National Book Award winner Ward releases her first book set in the pre-Civil War era with this story of an enslaved teenage girl who narrates a journey from the rice fields of the Carolinas to the slave markets of New Orleans. Preorder for an October 24 release.

The Wind Knows My Name

The latest from the celebrated Chilean writer tells a poignant tale of war, family and migration through the interwoven lives of a little girl fleeing El Salvador to seek refuge in the US, and a child escaping Nazi-occupied Vienna. *A Tertulia staff pick for June.

The Postcard

This French bestseller now in translation is a fictionalized memoir following the author's family after the arrival of a cryptic postcard that includes the names of four ancestors who were Holocaust victims. The narrator begins a suspenseful quest to find out who sent it and why.

Hang the Moon

Set in Virginia during Prohibition, Hang the Moon charts the life of the daring and complex bootlegging heroine Sallie Kincaid. Sent away by her stepmother at a young age, she returns home as a woman to fight for her place in a town brimming with secrets.

Good Night, Irene

Based on the experiences of his own mother, Urrea's latest novel follows two Red Cross "Donut Dollies" who are tasked with bringing comfort to the front line soldiers fighting amidst the indescribable horrors of World War II.

The Trackers

In this captivating trek through Great Depression America, Val Welch, a talented painter, ventures to Dawes, Wyoming, where destiny intertwines him with an enigmatic couple. When Eve, the captivating wife, disappears with a priceless painting, Val becomes her reluctant tracker.

Moonrise Over New Jessup

With her 2021 PEN/Bellwether Prize-winning debut, Minnicks delivers a heartfelt exploration of joy and a timely examination of the diverse perspectives surrounding desegregation, as Alice, a Black woman, fights to protect everything she holds dear in the tumult of 1950s Alabama.

The Mitford Affair

Dive into the world of the glamorous Mitford sisters in this gripping novel set in England during the lead-up to WWII. A tale of love, loyalty, and the perils of politics, this gripping book explores the fine line between personal loyalties and the fate of a nation.

The First Ladies

And don't miss Marie Benedict's other recent novel about the extraordinary partnership between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune—an unlikely friendship that changed the world.

Homecoming: A Historical Mystery

A gruesome crime in 1959 Australia reverberates across generations when a journalist happens upon a true crime book with shocking connections to her own family. This spellbinding tale explores the lengths we go to protect our loved ones and the enduring power of family stories.

Clytemnestra

Delve into the captivating world of ancient Greece with Costanza Casati's mesmerizing debut. In this gripping tale of prophecies and retribution, follow the unforgettable journey of the notorious queen who defied expectations and left a trail of death in her wake.

The Secret Book of Flora Lea

Decades after her little sister mysteriously disappears while playing in the English countryside, Hazel has her peaceful and stable life turned upside down after receiving a package containing a secret that only her lost sister could know about.

American Ending

This immersive tale weaves Russian fairy tales and fables into the story of an immigrant family as they navigate the challenges of assimilation and cultural identity in early 20th-century Appalachia.

The Brightest Star: A Historical Novel Based on the True Story of Anna May Wong

Anna May Wong, the daughter of Chinese immigrants at the turn of the century, was the first Asian Amercian woman to gain stardom in the early days of Hollywood. This tribute to her remarkable life celebrates her legacy as a beacon of resilience and inspiration.

Lady Tan's Circle of Women

See skillfully reimagines the life of an extraordinary 15th-century Chinese woman physician, who defied societal expectations and, with the help of her midwife friend, sought to treat women from all walks of life, ultimately leaving a lasting impact on Chinese medicine.

Only the Beautiful

Split between 1938 California and 1947, post-war Austria, Susan Meissner tells a poignant story of a young mother's fight to protect her daughter against the winds of misfortune, weaving a captivating narrative set against the backdrop of history's darkest moments.

Crow Mary

Set amidst the splendor of the untamed 19th-century northwest and Canada, "Crow Mary" follows the indomitable spirit of Goes First, a Crow Native woman, as she navigates marriage to a white fur trader and experiences a horrific tragedy that happens before their eyes.

Skull Water

With its autobiographical roots and vivid sense of time and place, "Skull Water" is a compelling coming-of-age narrative that captures the essence of a South Korean nation in transition in the wake of the Vietnam War.

Code Name Sapphire: A World War 2 Novel

A gripping tale of courage and resistance set amidst the darkness of Nazi-occupied Europe. It is 1942, and Hannah Martel, a survivor of the horrors in Nazi Germany, is determined to rescue her cousin's family from an Auschwitz-bound train.

Coronation Year

Amid the grandeur of Queen Elizabeth's 1953 Coronation, three residents of London's Blue Lion hotel find themselves entangled in a web of secrets and threats that place Coronation Day, the hotel, and even the queen herself in grave danger.

The Cuban Heiress

Catherine, a faux New York heiress, and Elena, who is widely believed to be dead, see their pasts resurface and their paths intertwine in a high-stakes voyage from New York to Havana aboard the SS Morro Castle.