★★★★☆ Krueger weaves a strong sense of place and respect for the land into his historical fiction novels. In the case of The River We Remember, the Alabaster River, which flows through Black Earth County, is as integral to the story as the main characters, Sheriff Brody Dern and several other residents of Jewel, Minnesota.
Category: Historical Fiction
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
★★★★☆ This beautifully written book opens with estranged siblings Byron and Benedetta Bennett reluctantly meeting after the death of their mother, Eleanor, to hear her final wishes. She leaves them an hour-long recording and a frozen Black Cake to eat together “when the time is right.”
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
★★★★★ History was always my favorite subject in high school and college. This love for history is probably why I am a fan of historical fiction novels, especially ones that teach me about an unfamiliar part of history. This was the case with Kate Quinn’s The Alice Network, a Reese's Book Club selection based on … Continue reading The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
★★★☆☆ In Madeline Miller’s retelling of the Iliad, we see the story of the great Greek warrior, Achilles through the eyes of his friend Patroclus. After being exiled from his homeland, a young Patroclus meets Achilles. We follow Patroclus and Achilles as they grow up, train together, and ultimately, join the quest to capture Troy in honor of the kidnapped Helen of Sparta.
What Could be Saved by Liese O’Halloran Schwarz
★★★☆☆ Told in dual timelines, this historical fiction/mystery book follows the lives of the Preston family. In the early timeline, Genevieve and Robert, an American intelligence agent, are raising their three children in Bangkok.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
★★★★★
This literary fiction novel tells the story of Stella and Desiree Vignes, twins who grew up in Mallard, a small community in Louisiana. At 16, the twins run away to New Orleans together from home – a decision that ultimately leads them to live separate lives.
A Hundred Years to Arras by J.M. Cobley
★★★★☆ In this historical fiction work, Private Robert Gooding Henson leaves the family farm to enlist in the Somerset Light Infantry against his father’s wishes.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
★★★★★ Elizabeth Zott is a chemist in the early 1960s, a time when it was unheard of for a woman to be in a lab. She receives so little support from the all-male research team at Hastings Institute that she has to resort to stealing beakers to keep her research going. Calvin Evans, the Nobel prize-nominated scientist whose lab Elizabeth pilfers, ends up becoming her romantic partner.
The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict
★★★☆☆ In this novel, Marie Benedict hypothesizes about what happened during Agatha Christie’s most famous unsolved mystery, her own 11-day disappearance. The book alternates between Agatha’s life when she first met and married Archie Christie and each day of her disappearance. In many ways, Archie Christie was the main character of this historical fiction work, … Continue reading The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict
The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont
4 stars The Christie Affair I picked up The Christie Affair because it is my book club’s pick this month. A historical fiction work, the novel imagines what happened during Agatha Christie’s brief, unexplained disappearance. Told from the point of view of Nan O’Dea, Archie Christie’s mistress, the story opens with a glimpse into O’Dea’s … Continue reading The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont