Other books that might interest you

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  The Medici Manuscript - The...

  C.J. Archer

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  One book can change your life. 
  Finding an old manuscript in the attic has always been a fantasy of Sylvia’s. She just never expected the fantasy to come true, or for it to lead her to answers about her mysterious family. 
  The silver clasps binding the pages contain rare magic – the same magic that might run through Sylvia’s veins. To discover a link to her ancestors means understanding the book itself, but it’s written in a code that proves difficult to crack. The only thing she knows for certain is that it was once owned by the Medicis, the powerful family that controlled Renaissance Florence.  
  With the help of Gabe and his friends, Sylvia investigates the book’s origins. But following the clues throws up more questions – questions they need help answering. Trusting others is not Sylvia’s strong suit, but with Gabe at her side, she becomes capable and confident. Until their trust is shattered when the book is stolen.  
  Uncovering the thief proves dangerous, particularly when someone is also trying to kidnap Gabe. With his own mysteries to unravel, Gabe’s private life becomes more complicated. Sylvia tries to keep her distance but staying away from someone as magnetic as Gabe is impossible.  
  With so many distractions, can they find the thief before the book is lost forever? Or will the secrets contained within its pages remain unsolved and will Sylvia’s past continue to be a mystery?

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  Big Red - A Novel Starring Rita...

  Jerome Charyn

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  Since he first appeared on the American literary scene, Jerome Charyn has dazzled readers with his "blunt, brilliantly crafted prose" (Washington Post). Yet Charyn, a beloved comedic novelist, also possesses an extraordinary knowledge of Golden Age Hollywood, having taught film history both in the United States and France.With Big Red, Charyn reimagines the life of one of America's most enduring icons, "Gilda" herself, Rita Hayworth, whose fiery red tresses and hypnotic dancing graced the silver screen over sixty times in her nearly forty-year career. The quintessential movie star of the 1940s, Hayworth has long been objectified as a sex symbol, pin-up girl, and so-called Love Goddess. Here Charyn, channeling the ghosts of a buried past, finally lifts the veils that have long enshrouded Hayworth, evoking her emotional complexity—her passions, her pain, and her inner turmoil.Reanimating such classic films as Gilda and The Lady from Shanghai, Big Red is a bittersweet paean to Hollywood's Golden Age, a tender yet honest portrait of a time before blockbusters and film franchises—one that promises to consume both Hollywood cinephiles and neophytes alike. Lauded for his "polymorphous imagination" (Jonathan Lethem), Charyn once again has created one of the most inventive novels in recent American literature.

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  Sealskin

  Su Bristow

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  “The Scottish myth of the selkie—a seal that can transform into human form—inspires a tale of life on the margins, forgiveness and redemption” (The Guardian).   Donald, a young fisherman, is overwhelmed when he comes across a group of exotic women dancing on the shore beneath the moonlight. They are selkies—seals that shed their skin once a year and become human for a few hours. Overcome by their beauty and magic, Donald kidnaps one—a choice that will determine his future.   Now, back home in his close-knit Scottish village, he must take responsibility for what he has done. Donald has been bullied and isolated all his life, but thanks to his mother and his stolen selkie wife, he finds the courage to question, then change the culture of the town that has been mired in the past for generations. Yet despite their mutual happiness, he can never truly forgive himself for the thoughtless act that brought his wife to him.   This enchanting story works its way to a surprising yet satisfying ending. Based on a beloved Scottish legend, Sealskin is a timeless tale of the responsibilities of love—and the inner strength required to atone for terrible wrongs.   “A haunting tale of family and consequences . . . The writing is sorrowful and lovely, with a well-earned, satisfying conclusion.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)   “A powerful tale of love, learning and forgiveness, Sealskin is a bold and moving read that I was sad to put down.” —The Bookbag   “Well-written and atmospheric . . . Bristow paints a vivid setting and knows how to tug on the heartstrings.” —Fantasy Literature

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  The Last Road Home

  Danny Johnson

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  From Pushcart Prize nominee Danny Johnson comes a powerful, lyrical debut novel that explores race relations, first love, and coming of age in North Carolina in the 1950s and '60s.  
  At eight years old, Raeford "Junebug" Hurley has known more than his share of hard lessons. After the sudden death of his parents, he goes to live with his grandparents on a farm surrounded by tobacco fields and lonesome woods. There he meets Fancy Stroud and her twin brother, Lightning, the children of black sharecroppers on a neighboring farm. As years pass, the friendship between Junebug and bright, compassionate Fancy takes on a deeper intensity. Junebug, aware of all the ways in which he and Fancy are more alike than different, habitually bucks against the casual bigotry that surrounds them - dangerous in a community ruled by the Klan.  
  On the brink of adulthood, Junebug is drawn into a moneymaking scheme that goes awry - and leaves him with a dark secret he must keep from those he loves. And as Fancy, tired of saying yes'um and living scared, tries to find her place in the world, Junebug embarks on a journey that will take him through loss and war toward a hard-won understanding.  
  At once tender and unflinching, The Last Road Home delves deep into the gritty, violent realities of the South's turbulent past, yet evokes the universal hunger for belonging.

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  Sometimes They Want Revenge

  Jason Wallace

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  Two Union soldiers get lost in a dense fog and captured by Confederate deserters, soon taken to an abandoned cabin for information about a federal payroll shipment, but there is a bloody history to the place, one that involves more secrets of torture than anyone will admit. Sometimes, the dead can do no less than take vengeance into their own rotted hands. 

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  A Child Called Happiness -...

  Stephan Collishaw

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  A story of love, race, power and consequences that spans generations 
  Three days after arriving in Zimbabwe, Natalie discovers an abandoned newborn baby on a hill near her uncle’s farm.  
   Years earlier, the hill was home to the Mazowe village where Chief Tafara governed at a time of great unrest. Faced with taxation, abductions and loss of their land at the hands of the white settlers, Tafara joined forces with the neighbouring villages in what becomes the first of many uprisings.  
  A Child Called Happiness is a beautiful and emotive work of historical fiction. This is a story of hope, resilience and reclamation, proving that the choices made by our ancestor’s can echo for many generations to come.  
  'Collishaw's characters are delicately created and endearingly human' Celeste Hicks 
  'An incredibly timely book about the human upheaval in all its emotional forms' Rosie Garthwaite 
  ‘Steeped in the beautiful smells and sounds of Zimbabwe and evidences Stephan Collishaw’s love of the country… His balanced treatment of an emotive issue will challenge and provoke many readers’ Phillip Barclay 
  'Deftly weaves together two stories set in different periods of Zimbabwe's history, always taking the reader with him. The vexed issue of land in Zimbabwe and who it belongs to is the common thread. Collishaw creates atmosphere and a sense of place, bringing to life the characters, the history and the politics' Mary Harper 
  'A gripping yet tender story, played out under a burning African sun, and shot through with thought-provoking authenticity' Nick Brownlee

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