Books like 'Entertaining Mr Pepys: A thrilling, sweeping historical page-turner'
Readers who enjoyed Entertaining Mr Pepys: A thrilling, sweeping historical page-turner by Deborah Swift also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
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The Charlatan by D.K. Hamlin, Hyperion Knight
INTRODUCING A TIMELESS MASTERPIECENow appearing for the first time in English, The Charlatan, a tale of high drama, forbidden love, medicine, and mystery, was the masterpiece of Polish novelist Tadeusz Dolega-Mostowicz.Set in 1930s Warsaw, an era of prosperity and aristocracy, renowned heart surgeon Rafal Wolf suffers a heartbreak that culminates in severe memory loss... -
Two Dragons by Octavia Randolph
Rated: 4.77 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsTwo DragonsDragons are said to guard treasure with their lives...Ceric, beset with madness from the trauma of the losses he has suffered, wanders the forests of Kilton. An urgent need to stave off the hunger of his folk calls his younger brother Edwin, Lord of Kilton, to the Kingdom of Mercia, and though he fulfils his mission, finds the greater prize he sought out of reach... -
Water Borne by Octavia Randolph
Rated: 4.76 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsWater Book Ten of The Circle of Ceridwen SagaIt is water Dwynwen lifted in her cup of silver. Water, too, the Lady Luned uses in her scrying bowl. And it is over water one must travel to resolve an old conflict.Set high upon its seaside cliff, the hall of Kilton is racked by inner turmoil. Ceric, on the margin of sanity, finds strength and even bliss returning to him... -
Lady's Well by L.J. Ross
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsTHERE'S SOMETHING IN THE WATER...When the ancient waters of Lady’s Well in the rural village of Holystone begin to run red, it seems to be a nasty Hallowe’en prank and nothing more. But things take a sinister turn when the entire village suffers severe poisoning, and one old man turns up dead... -
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The Dance Teacher of Paris by Suzanne Fortin
Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars · 24 ratings'But how will I look after them? Where can I hide them?' She looked up at me and didn't try to stop the tears from falling. 'I'm begging you. Please, save our children.'Paris, 1942. As the Germans occupy the city she calls home, Adele Basset is determined to keep her pupils' spirits up. Their dance class offers a moment of solace in the dark days of occupation... -
For Me Fate Wove This by Octavia Randolph
Rated: 4.72 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsIn an Angle-land riven by contesting Danes…Hrald of Four Stones has fallen in love with Dagmar, the daughter of dead King Guthrum, who once ruled all Anglia. Dagmar is beautiful and poised; very much a King's daughter. Yet she owns nothing but the jewels about her neck – and the secrets she carries with her... -
The Lantern's Dance by Laurie R. King
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsMary Russell and Sherlock Holmes are caught up in a case that turns intensely personal, shining light on a past that even Holmes himself did not suspectAfter their recent adventures in Transylvania, Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes look forward to spending some time getting to know Holmes' son, the artist Damian Adler, and his family... -
The Spring of the Ram by Dorothy Dunnett
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsWith the bravura storytelling and pungent authenticity of detail she brought to her acclaimed Lymond Chronicles, Dorothy Dunnett, grande dame of the historical novel, presents The House of Niccolò series. The time is the 15th century, when intrepid merchants became the new knighthood of Europe... -
A Storm of Infinite Beauty by Julianne MacLean
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of Beyond the Moonlit Sea comes an atmospheric tale of how one woman’s search for the truth uncovers long-hidden secrets and rocks the very foundation of her world.Scarlett Fontaine is a true Hollywood legend—a singer, actress, and beloved fashion icon. But Scarlett dies tragically at just thirty-six years old, leaving behind no children... -
The Art of Inheriting Secrets by Barbara O'Neal
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 48 ratingsWhen Olivia Shaw’s mother dies, the sophisticated food editor is astonished to learn she’s inherited a centuries-old English estate—and a title to go with it. Raw with grief and reeling from the knowledge that her reserved mother hid something so momentous, Olivia leaves San Francisco and crosses the pond to unravel the mystery of a lifetime... -
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 76 ratingsWhen a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collideEarly morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents... -
Where the Sky Begins by Rhys Bowen
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsA woman’s future is determined by fate and choice in a gripping WWII novel about danger, triumph, and second chances by the New York Times bestselling author of The Venice Sketchbook and The Tuscan Child.London, 1940. Bombs fall and Josie Banks’s world crumbles around her. Her overbearing husband, Stan, is unreachable, called to service. Her home, a ruin of rubble and ash... -
Finding Friends on Beamer Street by Sheila Riley
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsThe start of a brand new series from Sheila Riley, bestselling author of the Reckoner's Row saga series!Liverpool 1921 Pregnant, Mary Jane Starlings secret wedding to Paddy Redfern ends in disaster when her fiancé is murdered on the way to the church. Paddy’s wayward twin ‘Red’ intercepts Mary Jane and warns that they must flee Ireland for fear of reprisals from her family, never to return... -
Locked Rooms by Laurie R. King
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsBONUS: This edition contains excerpts from Laurie R. King's The God of the Hive and Pirate King.En route to San Francisco to settle her family’s estate, Mary Russell, in the company of husband Sherlock Holmes, falls prey to troubling dreams—and even more troubling behavior. In 1906, when Mary was six, the city was devastated by a catastrophic earthquake... -
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Love's Bright Tomorrow by Naomi Rawlings
Rated: 4.68 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsShe’s just trying to start a new life for herself. If only it wasn’t so hard… It’s not as though there are a lot of options for a woman with barely two pennies to rub together.At least not in 1884.Or in the small town where she’s settled.Or anywhere else.It’s even harder when her past keeps coming back to haunt her. Aileen has tried putting it behind her. Truly she has... -
Time and Chance by Sharon Kay Penman
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThe long-awaited sequel to Sharon Kay Penman's acclaimed novel When Christ and His Saints Slept, Time and Chancerecounts the tempestuous marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II in a magnificent story of love, power, ambition-and betrayal. He was nineteen when they married, she eleven years his senior, newly divorced from the King of France... -
Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsAn alternative cover edition for this ASIN can be found here.The great Dorothy L. Sayers is considered by many to be the premier detective novelist of the Golden Age, and her dashing sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey, one of mystery fiction’s most enduring and endearing protagonists... -
Taken to the Grave by Cara Devlin
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsThe Bow Street Duchess Mystery series comes to a thrilling conclusion in the seventh and final book, Taken to the Grave.As Audrey Sinclair reaches the end of her mourning period, she and Hugh Marsden, the Viscount Neatham, are at long last looking toward their future together — and hoping for a respite from the dangerous criminal investigations they’ve found themselves entrenched in... -
Beyond the Moonlit Sea by Julianne MacLean
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of These Tangled Vines comes a gripping novel about one woman’s search for answers when her husband vanishes in the night.Olivia Hamilton is married to the love of her life, Dean, a charismatic pilot who flies private jets for the rich and famous. But when he vanishes over the Bermuda Triangle, Olivia’s idyllic existence unravels... -
Jim and Katherine by Traci Hunter Abramson
Rated: 4.51 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsJim Whitmore has lofty dreams of a bright political career. So when a well-connected friend invites him home for the weekend, the promise of rubbing shoulders with her congressman father and his professional associates is thrilling. What he doesn’t anticipate is meeting his friend’s sister, Katherine, an intriguing woman who immediately steals his heart... -
Secrets at Cedar Cabin by Colleen Coble
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsUSA Today bestselling author Colleen Coble delivers her signature blend of romance and suspense when Brenna Fleming flees to a cabin in Lavender Tides only to discover that everything she believed about herself has been a lie. Six months after her wedding, Bailey Fleming discovers she wasn't really married to Kyle Bearcroft... -
The Gilded Lily by Irina Shapiro
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsEvery old house has its secrets, so it comes as no surprise when a relic of a noble Victorian family is discovered in the new home of historical author Nicole Rayburn and her husband Kyle. Curious about the lovely young woman in the sepia photograph, Nicole delves into the history of the family and stumbles on a long-forgotten mystery... -
The Orphan Daughter by Sheila Riley
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsWinter, Liverpool 1947. Evie Kilgaren is a fighter. Abandoned by her mother and with her father long gone, she is left to raise her siblings in dockside Liverpool, as they battle against the coldest winter on record. But she is determined to make a life for herself and create a happy home for what's left of her family... -
The Incredible Winston Browne by Sean Dietrich
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsBeloved writer Sean Dietrich—also known as Sean of the South—will warm your heart with this rich and nostalgic tale of a small-town sheriff, a mysterious little girl, and a good-hearted community pulling together to help her.Folks in Moab live for ice cream socials, baseball, and the local paper’s weekly gossip column... -
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Who Buries the Dead by C.S. Harris
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsThe grisly murder of a West Indies slave owner and the reappearance of a dangerous enemy from Sebastian St. Cyr’s past combine to put C. S. Harris’s “troubled but compelling antihero” (Booklist) to the ultimate test in this taut, thrilling mystery.London, 1813. The vicious decapitation of Stanley Preston, a wealthy, socially ambitious plantation owner, at Bloody Bridge draws Sebastian St... -
A Corruption of Blood by Ambrose Parry
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsSHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA HISTORICAL DAGGER 2022A Raven and Fisher Book 3Edinburgh, 1850. This city will bleed you dry.Sarah Fisher is keeping a safe distance from her old flame Dr Will Raven. Having long worked at the side of Dr James Simpson, she has set her sights on learning to practise medicine herself. A notion everyone seems intent on dissuading her from... -
No Stone Unturned by Pam Lecky
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsLucy Lawrence stared down at her husband, his once handsome face now a twisted mask of death. She shivered and pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders. His life had held so many secrets, and now his sins were hers to bear… England, 1886. In the flickering gaslights of Victorian London, 28-year-old Lucy Lawrence's future hangs in the balance... -
When Falcons Fall by C.S. Harris
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsAyleswick-on-Teme, England, 1813. Sebastian has come to this seemingly peaceful Shropshire village to honor a slain friend and to learn more about his own ancestry. But when the body of a lovely widow is found on the banks of the River Teme, a bottle of laudanum at her side, the village’s inexperienced new magistrate turns to St. Cyr for help... -
The God of the Hive by Laurie R. King
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsIn Laurie R. King’s latest Mary Russell–Sherlock Holmes mystery, the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author delivers a thriller of ingenious surprises and unrelenting suspense—as the famous husband and wife sleuths are pursued by a killer immune from the sting of justice... -
The Whisper Sister by Jennifer S. Brown
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsThe author of Modern Girls delivers an atmospheric coming-of-age story set in Prohibition-era New York, tracing one immigrant family’s fortunes and a young girl’s journey from the schoolyard to the speakeasy.The streets of New York in 1920 are most certainly not paved with gold, as Minnie Soffer learns when she arrives at Ellis Island... -
Velvet, Vol. 2: The Secret Lives of Dead Men by Ed Brubaker, Steve Epting
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe white-hot spy series from the creators of Captain America: The Winter Soldier is back!Everything Velvet Templeton ever believed about the worst night of her life has turned out to be a lie, and now she's coming back to London, taking the hunt back to the hunters, to find the truth or die trying... -
What Remains of Heaven by C.S. Harris
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsThe latest request for help from Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin--from the Archbishop of Canterbury, no less--is undeniably intriguing: The bodies of two men have been found in an ancient crypt, their violent deaths separated by decades. One is the Bishop of London, the elderly Archbishop's favored but controversial successor... -
Deadly Betrayal by Carla Simpson
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 10 ratings"Ghosts of the past…The very case that made Brodie leave the Metropolitan Police returns to jeopardize his private inquiry business, his relationship with Mikaela Forsythe, and perhaps even his life.Ten years earlier, after Brodie refused to divulge the name of his source in a murder case, Chief Inspector Abberline threatened to have charges brought against him for withholding evidence... -
The Woman on the Orient Express by Lindsay Jayne Ashford
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsHoping to make a clean break from a fractured marriage, Agatha Christie boards the Orient Express in disguise. But unlike her famous detective Hercule Poirot, she can’t neatly unravel the mysteries she encounters on this fateful journey. Agatha isn’t the only passenger on board with secrets... -
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Nature of the Crime by Cara Devlin
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Bow Street Duchess Mystery series continues in January 2024 with the sixth Audrey Sinclair and Hugh Marsden investigation...When a fellow passenger is found dead on Audrey’s packet ship from France, a mysterious note on the body points to her as the killer... -
Murder Makes Waves by Anne George
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsThose hilarious southern sisters, who prove that sibling rivalry never ends, are heading for a vacation at the beach... -
Thunder of Heaven: A Joshua Jordan Novel by Tim LaHaye
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsEconomies have fallen, freedom has been suppressed, and peace is a distant memory. The world is falling apart. Joshua Jordan's protege Ethan March, along with Jimmy Louder and Rivka Reuban have been left behind in a world that is rapidly coming under the complete influence of the Antichrist... -
What the Devil Knows by C.S. Harris
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsSebastian St. Cyr thought a notorious killer had been brought to justice until a shocking series of gruesome new murders stuns the city in this thrilling historical mystery from the USA Today bestselling author of Who Speaks for the Damned.It's October 1814. The war with France is finally over and Europe's diplomats are convening in Vienna for a conference that will put their world back together... -
Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsThe ad men at Pym’s can sell anything—even murder...The iron staircase at Pym’s Publicity is a deathtrap, and no one in the advertising agency is surprised when Victor Dean tumbles down it, cracking his skull along the way. Dean’s replacement arrives just a few days later—a green copywriter named Death Bredon... -
The Marriage of Mary Russell by Laurie R. King
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsLaurie R. King takes readers way back in her bestselling series with this exclusive ebook short story, as Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes embark upon the riskiest adventure of their their wedding. Includes a special preview of the highly anticipated new mystery from Laurie R... -
Deadly Kin by Lucinda Brant, Matthew Lloyd Davies
Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsAlec is back! Summer 1764. Alec and Selina anxiously await the birth of their first child at their estate in Kent. It should be a time of family celebration, but the death of a young poacher has Alec investigating murder. And when renovations to his sprawling manor unearth a secret burial chamber, a shocking family secret comes to light... -
The Murder of Mary Russell by Laurie R. King
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsMary Russell is used to dark secrets—her own, and those of her famous partner and husband, Sherlock Holmes. Trust is a thing slowly given, but over the course of a decade together, the two have forged an indissoluble bond. And what of the other person to whom Mary Russell has opened her heart: the couple’s longtime housekeeper, Mrs... -
The French for Murder by Verity Bright
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA grand villa, croissants for breakfast and a dead body in the wine cellar… Lady Swift can’t seem to take a vacation from murder!Summer 1923. Lady Eleanor Swift is finally persuaded by her butler, Clifford, to take a villa in the south of France for the season. She plans to do what a glamorous lady abroad should: long lunches on the balcony followed by lazy afternoons lounging by the pool... -
The Waiting Hours by Ellie Dean
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsTHE NEW CLIFFEHAVEN NOVEL BY SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR ELLIE DEAN'Ellie Dean’s loyal readers will be thrilled with this new novel.' Helen Carey*******Slapton Sands, 1943 War has not been kind to Carol Porter. It took her husband and baby, and with them her heart. At last she’s found some peace, working as a land girl at Coombe Farm... -
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The Mersey Girls: A gritty family saga by Sheila Riley
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe latest instalment in Sheila Riley's brilliant Reckoner's Row seriesLiverpool 1950When Evie Kilgaren takes over the running of the back office at Skinner and Son's haulage yard, she has no idea she is walking into a hive of blackmail, secrets and lies... -
The Orphan in the Peacock Shawl by AnneMarie Brear
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsYorkshire Dales 1850As a terrible storm rages, Annabelle Wallis is shocked to find a distressed young woman at her cottage door, heavy with child. Moments later a baby girl is born. But by dawn, the mother has vanished, leaving behind the helpless child wrapped only in a silk peacock shawl... -
The Mersey Mothers by Sheila Riley
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsLiverpool 1953January sees the dawn of the Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation year as the mothers of Reckoners Row unite in preparation for the celebration of the new Queen.Meanwhile Evie Kilgaren is dreaming of her summer wedding to Danny Harris, but trouble looms for Skinner & Sons with a new rival trying to put them out of business, but no-one knows why... -
Codes of Courage by A.L. Sowards
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn a battle of torpedoes, depth charges, and secret codes, nothing is as vulnerable as the human heart. 1940: Austrian refugee Karl Lang has lost everything―his country, his home, and his family. All that is left to him is a burning ambition to see the Nazis defeated... -
The Sapphire Intrigue: A Crown Jewels Regency Mystery by Lynn Morrison, Anne Radcliffe
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA stolen code, a locked-down Pavilion, and a love on the line—Regency Brighton’s season of secrets is just beginning.Brighton, 1813: The upper class departs London’s bustling streets for the serene seaside elegance of the Royal Pavilion. A summer of relaxation and romance beckons, especially for Lord Roland Percy and Lady Grace Tilbury... -
Carnage from the Cursed Crown by Deb Marlowe
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsKara and Niall explore a new phase, a new estate . . . and another murder? Niall Kier’s life is changing in unexpected ways, but his latest forge art installation is a triumph. He’s thrilled with the result, until his patron sends payment in the form of an ancient crown, dripping in emeralds and rubies . . . and bringing along an ancient curse...
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