Books have a fantastic knack for bringing the past to life when you feel the need to escape the present day. If you’re interested in historical fiction or mysteries, the Lititz Public Library has many new titles to satisfy you.
“Montauk” by Nicola Harrison
1938. When Beatrice spends her summer at a Long Island hotel while her husband is preoccupied with investments, she grows increasingly uncomfortable with the glamorous world she has married into and longs for a simpler life.
“The Orphan’s Song” by Lauren Kate
Two orphans, Violette and Mino, fall in love at the Hospital of Incurables in eighteenth-century Venice, only to be torn away when a Maestro discovers Violetta has a rare gift for singing and Mino decides to go off in search of his family.
“Paris, 7 A.M.” by Liza Wieland
The journals of poet Elizabeth Bishop are silent regarding one year, 1937, when she is a college student abroad in Paris, helping a secretive group save Jewish children from the Holocaust.
“The Almanack” by Martine Bailey
A young woman’s mother drowns unexpectedly and she suspects murder, especially once she discovers some notes her mother has written about an ominous man in this mystery set in 1752.
“The Irishman’s Daughter” by V. S. Alexander
As one of a family of tenant farmers in Ireland, 1845, serving a brutal landowner makes life difficult enough for Briana. Once there is a wide-spread potato blight, life takes a downward spiral through which she struggles to pull her family.
“City of Girls” by Elizabeth Gilbert
A woman reminisces of her experiences in 1940 New York City when she was expelled from college and dove into the wild and risky life of the theater scene; ultimately, she comes to terms with her outrageous past.
“The Flight Portfolio” by Julie Orringer
An American journalist’s quest to save Jewish writers and artists during the Holocaust turns out to be more complicated than anticipated when a mission of a few weeks turns into a little over a year.
“The Western Wind” by Samantha Harvey
In 1491, a priest struggles to find out what has caused the death of a village’s most prestigious resident, a loss that affects his entire congregation.
“The Road to Grantchester” by James Runcie
For fans of the British series “Grantchester,” here is the prequel in which Sidney Chambers, recently returned home after WWII, feels called to become an Anglican priest—much to the surprise of those close to him.
“The Darwin Affair” by Tim Mason
In 1860 London, a sharp increase in crime and murder turns out to be the result of a large and complex conspiracy reacting to Darwin’s newly published “On the Origin of Species.”
“The Last Collection: A Novel of Elsa Schiaparelli and Coco Chanel” by Jeanne Mackin
1938. In Paris, a woman gets caught in the middle of a war between Schiaparelli and Chanel, a rivalry that extends far beyond fashion design.
“Fatal Inheritance” by Rachel Rhys
1948. When Eve inherits a French villa from a stranger, life goes from dull to glamorous. However, with the bequest comes danger, for many are jealous of her good fortune.
“Lost Roses” by Martha Hall Kelly
1914. When Eliza Ferriday visits her friend Sofya in Russia, war strikes and forces Eliza to return to America. She does her best to keep in touch with Sofya, but when no more replies come in the mail, Eliza realizes Sofya and her family are in danger.
“The Tubman Command” by Elizabeth Cobbs
Working under the alias “Moses” and through great courage and ingenuity, Harriet Tubman frees 750 slaves and manages to evade many dangers in the process.
“Mistress of the Ritz” by Melanie Benjamin
The clientele at the Ritz in Paris has taken a change for the worse—once a hotel favored by the famous, it has now become Nazi headquarters… and the mistress and master of the Ritz play their secretive role against the Nazis.
“Call Your Daughter Home” by Deb Spera
Three women from different backgrounds team together against the wrongdoings in their South Carolina town in 1924.
Kathryn Raynor
July 31, 2019