Books like 'The Venice Sketchbook'
Readers who enjoyed The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical war 20th century mystery
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The Secret Midwife by Soraya M. Lane
Rated: 4.61 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsLondon, 1995: When on the fiftieth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz a news broadcast runs an appeal for information on the identity of a midwife who saved hundreds of lives, Emilia knows it is time to finally tell her story... -
![A Fire Sparkling by Julianne MacLean]()
A Fire Sparkling by Julianne MacLean
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 45 ratingsAn Amazon Charts and Washington Post bestseller. From the USA Today bestselling author of A Curve in the Road comes a spellbinding novel about one woman’s love, loss, and courage during wartime... -
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![The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear]()
The Comfort of Ghosts by Jacqueline Winspear
A milestone in historical mystery fiction as Maisie Dobbs takes her final bow! Psychologist and investigator Maisie Dobbs unravels a profound mystery from her past in a war-torn nation grappling with its future. London, 1945: Four adolescent orphans with a dark wartime history are squatting in a vacant Belgravia mansion—the owners having fled London under heavy Luftwaffe bombing...Categorized as:
mystery war 20th century historical suspense heroine sleuth length-medium glimpses-kisses -
![The Violinist of Auschwitz by Ellie Midwood]()
The Violinist of Auschwitz by Ellie Midwood
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsBased on the unforgettable true story of Alma Rosé, this novel brings to life one of history’s most fearless, inspiring, and courageous heroines.In Auschwitz, every day is a fight for survival. Alma is inmate 50381, the number tattooed on her skin in pale blue ink. She is cooped up with thousands of others, torn from loved ones, trapped in a maze of barbed wire... -
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![A View Across the Rooftops by Suzanne Kelman]()
A View Across the Rooftops by Suzanne Kelman
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsAn unforgettable story of love, hope and betrayal, and a testament to the courage of humanity in history’s darkest days. As Nazis occupy his beloved city, Professor Josef Held feels helpless. So when he discovers his former pupil Michael Blum is trying to escape the Gestapo, he offers Michael a place to hide in his attic... -
![The Midnight Rose by Lucinda Riley]()
The Midnight Rose by Lucinda Riley
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsSpanning four generations, The Midnight Rose sweeps from the glittering palaces of the great maharajas of India to the majestic stately homes of England, following the extraordinary life of a remarkable girl, Anahita Chaval, from 1911 to the present day . . -
![Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer]()
Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 68 ratingsWilliam Lowell Kane and Abel Rosnovski, one the son of a Boston millionaire, the other a penniless polish immigrant-born on the same day near the turn of the century on opposite sides of the world-are brought together by fate and the quest of a dream. Two men - ambitious, powerful, ruthless - are locked in a relentless struggle to build an empire, fueled by their all-consuming hatred... -
![Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman, Robert Chandler]()
Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman, Robert Chandler
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsBased around the pivotal WWII battle of Stalingrad (1942-3), where the German advance into Russia was eventually halted by the Red Army, and around an extended family, the Shaposhnikovs, and their many friends and acquaintances, Life and Fate recounts the experience of characters caught up in an immense struggle between opposing armies and ideologies... -
![The Star and the Shamrock by Jean Grainger]()
The Star and the Shamrock by Jean Grainger
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsAriella Bannon has no choice: she must put her precious children, Liesl and Erich, on that train or allow them to become prey for the Nazis. Berlin 1939... -
![The Girl with the Diary by Shari J. Ryan]()
The Girl with the Diary by Shari J. Ryan
Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars · 24 ratings“What if you never come back?” I asked.“I will find you, Amelia. I promise I will find you.”“What if you die trying?”Nazi-occupied Prague, 1942: Amelia is hiding in her closet when flashlights blind her and she’s captured by the SS. Out on the cobblestone street, she is shoved onto a freight train with hundreds of others. Hours pass as they travel in darkness... -
![The Dance Teacher of Paris by Suzanne Fortin]()
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... -
![The Paris Network by Siobhan Curham]()
The Paris Network by Siobhan Curham
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 22 ratingsParis, 1940: He pressed the tattered book into her hands. ‘You must go to the café and ask at the counter for Pierre Duras. Tell him that I sent you. Tell him you’re there to save the people of France... -
![Home Sweet Home by Lizzie Lane]()
Home Sweet Home by Lizzie Lane
Rated: 4.53 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsWill they meet again? Frances Sweet can’t really remember her real parents. Brought up by her uncle, her cousins Ruby and Mary have always treated her like their little sister.As the war continues to keep her cousins separated from the men they love – Frances is growing up fast enough to catch the eye of dashing American soldier Declan... -
![The Paris Secret by Natasha Lester]()
The Paris Secret by Natasha Lester
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Orphan comes an unforgettable historical novel about a secret collection of Dior gowns that ties back to the first female pilots of WWII and a heartbreaking story of love and sacrifice.England, 1939: The Penrose sisters couldn't be more different. Skye is a daring and brash pilot, and Liberty the one to defy her at every turn... -
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![My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie]()
My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 45 ratingsFrom the New York Times bestselling authors of America’s First Daughter comes the epic story of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton—a revolutionary woman who, like her new nation, struggled to define herself in the wake of war, betrayal, and tragedy... -
![The Keeper of Stars by Buck Turner]()
The Keeper of Stars by Buck Turner
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsWho says you can’t rewrite the stars?1962—Twelve years removed from the summer when she first gave her heart away, Dr. Elizabeth (Ellie) Spencer, Professor of Astronomy at Indiana University, receives a mysterious package that has her asking that very question.Inside the unmarked box is a novel written by Ellie’s first love, Jack Bennett... -
![The Words We Whisper by Mary Ellen Taylor]()
The Words We Whisper by Mary Ellen Taylor
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsAs a hospice nurse, Zara Mitchell has already seen more death than most people will experience in a lifetime. So when her older sister asks her to help care for their ailing grandmother, Zara agrees—despite strained family relationships.Though pale and tired, Nonna has lost none of her sharp mind... -
![The Parisians by Marius Gabriel]()
The Parisians by Marius Gabriel
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsParis, 1940. The Nazis have occupied the city—and the Ritz. The opulent old hotel, so loved by Parisians, is now full of swaggering officers, their minions and their mistresses.For American Olivia Olsen, working as a chambermaid at the hotel means denying her nationality and living a lie, every day bringing the danger of discovery closer... -
![The German Midwife by Mandy Robotham]()
The German Midwife by Mandy Robotham
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsFor readers of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Kate Furnivall comes a gritty tale of courage, betrayal and love in the most unlikely of places. Germany, 1944. Taken from the camps to serve the Fuhrer himself, Anke Hoff has been assigned as midwife to one of Hitler’s inner circle. If she refuses, her family will die... -
![New Neighbors for Coronation Close by Lizzie Lane]()
New Neighbors for Coronation Close by Lizzie Lane
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsBristol 1936Jenny Crawford has resigned herself to a loveless marriage living hand to mouth with their two children. Like many others, husband Roy struggles to find work at the docks but a chance encounter turns his outlook and the family's fortunes around.Not only does he get regular work but they are also allocated a council house on Coronation Close on the outskirts of the city... -
![Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada, Michael Hofmann]()
Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada, Michael Hofmann
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsInspired by a true story, Hans Fallada's Alone in Berlin is the gripping tale of an ordinary man's determination to defy the tyranny of Nazi rule. This Penguin Classics edition contains an afterword by Geoff Wilkes, as well as facsimiles of the original Gestapo file which inspired the novel. Berlin, 1940, and the city is filled with fear... -
![The Skylark's Secret by Fiona Valpy]()
The Skylark's Secret by Fiona Valpy
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsLoch Ewe, 1940. When gamekeeper’s daughter Flora’s remote highland village finds itself the base for the Royal Navy’s Arctic convoys, life in her close-knit community changes forever. In defiance of his disapproving father, the laird’s son falls in love with Flora, and as tensions build in their disrupted home, any chance of their happiness seems doomed... -
![When the World Goes Quiet by Gian Sardar]()
When the World Goes Quiet by Gian Sardar
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsIn the final days of World War I, an aspiring artist’s courageous journey is just beginning in a powerful novel about love, danger, and survival by the author of Take What You Can Carry.It’s 1918 in German-occupied Bruges, Belgium. With luck, Evelien will make it to the end of the war and be given what she was a prized painting in exchange for safeguarding her employer’s possessions... -
![The Ops Room Girls: An uplifting and romantic WW2 saga by Vicki Beeby]()
The Ops Room Girls: An uplifting and romantic WW2 saga by Vicki Beeby
Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsWhen Evie’s dreams come crashing down, she’s determined to still make something of herself in these trying times…It is 1939 and working class Evie Bishop has received a scholarship to study mathematics at Oxford when tragedy turns her life upside down... -
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![The Girl from Guernica by Karen Robards]()
The Girl from Guernica by Karen Robards
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsInspired by Picasso’s great masterpiece Guernica, New York Times bestselling author Karen Robards returns with a riveting story of love, intrigue, deception and bravery in the face of war…On an April day in 1937, the sky opens and fire rains down upon the small Spanish town of Guernica. Seventeen-year-old Sibi and her family are caught up in the horror... -
![Murder in an Irish Castle by Verity Bright]()
Murder in an Irish Castle by Verity Bright
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsIrish whiskey, rolling green hills, a traditional Christmas feast and… a murder? Lady Swift will need the luck of the Irish to survive this holiday season!Christmas, 1924. Lady Eleanor Swift has received a rather unexpected invitation to the village Christmas party in the tiny, rural hamlet of Derrydee in the west of Ireland... -
![All My Tomorrows by Ellie Dean]()
All My Tomorrows by Ellie Dean
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe compelling new Second World War novel from the author of Always in My Heart. In defending herself against her brutal husband, eighteen-year-old Ruby Clark is forced to flee London. She has no idea where Cliffehaven is, or what she will find there, but she knows that she will never be able to return home again. At first it seems she's fallen on her feet... -
![Right Ho, Jeeves: Jeeves & Wooster Series by P.G. Wodehouse]()
Right Ho, Jeeves: Jeeves & Wooster Series by P.G. Wodehouse
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsBertie returns to London from several weeks in Cannes spent in the company of his Aunt Dahlia Travers and her daughter Angela... -
![Tears of Amber by Sofía Segovia, Simon Bruni]()
Tears of Amber by Sofía Segovia, Simon Bruni
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of The Murmur of Bees comes a transportive novel of two families uprooted by war and united by the bonds of love and courage.With war looming dangerously close, Ilse’s school days soon turn to lessons of survival. In the harshness of winter, her family must join the largest exodus in human history to survive... -
![The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham]()
The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe Home for Unwanted Girls meets Orphan Train in this unforgettable novel about a young girl caught in a scheme to rid England’s streets of destitute children, and the lengths she will go to find her way home—based on the true story of the British Home Children... -
![The Girls in Blue by Fenella J. Miller]()
The Girls in Blue by Fenella J. Miller
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsJane Hadley has nothing to lose when she runs away to join the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. Whatever faces her in war-torn London can't be any worse than staying at home with her abusive father...The city is nothing like she could have imagined, but she's soon on the move, travelling from base to base for her top-secret training... -
![People Like Us by Louise Fein]()
People Like Us by Louise Fein
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsFor fans of The Nightingale and All the Light We Cannot See, a spellbinding story of impossible love set against the backdrop of the Nazi regime.As the dutiful daughter of a high-ranking Nazi officer, Hetty Heinrich is keen to play her part in the glorious new Thousand Year Reich... -
![Where the Sky Begins by Rhys Bowen]()
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... -
![Half in Shadow by Gemma Liviero]()
Half in Shadow by Gemma Liviero
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of In a Field of Blue comes an unforgettable novel about courage, love, and consequences at the dawn of World War I.1915. In German-occupied Belgium, a tragic loss forces Josephine Descharmes to navigate dangerous new territory. By day it’s compliance, serving German officers at the Hotel Métropole... -
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![Shelter from the Storm by Ellie Dean]()
Shelter from the Storm by Ellie Dean
Rated: 4.66 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsNineteen-year-old April Wilton has just enlisted in the WRENs in Portsmouth, where she works servicing engines on ships. She finds herself immersed in dockyard life and surrounded by soldiers - from England and America. The atmosphere is one of spontaneity and impulsiveness, brought on by the unpredictability of war... -
![Once an Eagle by Anton Myrer]()
Once an Eagle by Anton Myrer
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsOnce An Eagle is the story of one special man, a soldier named Sam Damon, and his adversary over a lifetime, fellow officer Courtney Massengale. Damon is a professional who puts duty, honor, and the men he commands above self interest. Massengale, however, brilliantly advances by making the right connections behind the lines and in Washington's corridors of power... -
![Night Angels by Weina Dai Randel]()
Night Angels by Weina Dai Randel
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsFrom the author of The Last Rose of Shanghai comes a profoundly moving novel based on the true story of a diplomat and his wife who risked their lives to help Viennese Jews escape the Nazis.1938. Dr. Ho Fengshan, consul general of China, is posted in Vienna with his American wife, Grace... -
![The Woman in the White Kimono by Ana Johns]()
The Woman in the White Kimono by Ana Johns
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsOceans and decades apart, two women are inextricably bound by the secrets between them.Japan, 1957... -
![Finding Friends on Beamer Street by Sheila Riley]()
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... -
![Rosa's Gold by Ray Kingfisher]()
Rosa's Gold by Ray Kingfisher
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsNicole Sutton’s world has been turned upside down. Sixteen and suffering the fallout of a devastating family tragedy, she is forced to move away from her London home to the quiet town of Henley—and a new life she never wanted nor expected. In the dusty cellar of her strange new house, Nicole stumbles upon a worn old journal left behind by a previous occupant... -
![The Girl Who Escaped from Auschwitz by Ellie Midwood]()
The Girl Who Escaped from Auschwitz by Ellie Midwood
Rated: 4.59 of 5 stars · 13 ratings“We must die standing up for something.”“And what are we standing up for?”“The most important thing there is. Freedom.”Millions of people walked through Auschwitz’s gates, but she was the first woman who escaped. This powerful novel tells the inspiring true story of Mala Zimetbaum, whose heroism will never be forgotten, and whose fate altered the course of history…Nobody leaves Auschwitz alive... -
![The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris by Daisy Wood]()
The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris by Daisy Wood
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsFrom an exciting new voice in WWII historical fiction—and the author of The Clockmaker’s Wife—comes a tale of love and a betrayal that echoes through generations…Paris, 1940: War is closing in on the city of love. With his wife forced into hiding, Jacques must stand by and watch as the Nazis take away everything he holds dear... -
![The Oceans Between Us by Gill Thompson]()
The Oceans Between Us by Gill Thompson
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsInspired by heartrending real events, a mother fights to find her son and a child battles for survival in this riveting debut novel.For readers of Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly, The Letter by Kathryn Hughes, and Remember Me by Lesley Pearse.A woman is found wandering injured in London after an air raid.She remembers nothing of who she is... -
![Dragonfly by Leila Meacham]()
Dragonfly by Leila Meacham
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsFrom the New York Times bestselling author of Roses comes a gripping new novel about five young spies embedded among the highest Nazi ranks in occupied Paris At the height of World War II, a handful of idealistic young Americans receive a mysterious letter from the government, asking them if they are willing to fight for their country... -
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![Only the Brave by Danielle Steel]()
Only the Brave by Danielle Steel
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsFrom #1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel comes a powerful, sweeping historical novel about a courageous woman in World War II Germany.Sophia Alexander, the beautiful daughter of a famous surgeon in Berlin, has had to grow up faster than most young women... -
![Within These Walls of Sorrow: A Novel of World War II Poland by Amanda Barratt]()
Within These Walls of Sorrow: A Novel of World War II Poland by Amanda Barratt
Rated: 4.73 of 5 stars · 10 ratings"As superbly written as it is haunting in its truth." --Kate Breslin, best-selling author of For Such a TimeZosia Lewandowska knows the brutal realities of war all too well. Within weeks of Germany's invasion of her Polish homeland, she lost the man she loves... -
![The Girl From the Island by Lorna Cook]()
The Girl From the Island by Lorna Cook
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsA world at war.One woman will risk everything.Another will uncover her story.1940: When the island of Guernsey is invaded by the Nazis, two sisters are determined to rebel in any way they can. But when forced to take in a German soldier, they are shocked to find a familiar face on their doorstep – a childhood friend who has now become their enemy... -
![The Lost Daughter by Gill Paul]()
The Lost Daughter by Gill Paul
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsFrom Gill Paul, the author of Another Woman’s Husband and The Secret Wife, comes a powerful new chapter in her Romanov saga… a gripping journey through the decades and across the continents, a novel of eternal love, devastating loss, and courage against all odds. Summer 1918: Pretty, vivacious Grand Duchess Maria Romanova faces an uncertain future... -
![The Midwife of Berlin by Anna Stuart]()
The Midwife of Berlin by Anna Stuart
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAuschwitz, 1943: I stroke my beautiful baby's hair. It's a miracle it's blonde because it will keep her alive, it will keep her safe. Soon they will come and take Pippa out of Auschwitz-Birkenau - and out of my arms. But while there's life, there's hope I might find my daughter again.. -
![The Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri]()
The Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri
Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFamily secrets come to light as a young woman fights to save herself, and others, in a Nazi-run baby factory—a real-life Handmaid's Tale—during World War II.In a sleepy German village, Allina Strauss’s life seems idyllic: she works at her uncle’s bookshop, makes strudel with her aunt, and spends weekends with her friends and fiancé...
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