Tags:historical
The Scent of Almonds: A Novella
Closely linked to the Fjällbacka-series, THE SCENT OF ALMONDS is a charming novella in the style of Agatha Christie from No.1 international bestseller and Swedish crime sensation Camilla Lackberg. Perfect for fans of Stieg Larsson and Jo Nesbo. THE SCENT OF ALMONDS – It’s less than a week until Christmas and policeman Martin Mohlin is begrudgingly accompanying his girlfriend to a family reunion on the tiny island of Valön outside of Fjällbacka. The connection to the mainland is cut off by a snowstorm and when the domineering patriarch Ruben collapses during Christmas dinner, Martin is forced to intervene. He soon establishes that Ruben was murdered and since they are completely isolated on the island, one of the family members must be murderer...
The Hidden Child (Patrik Hedstrom and Erica Falck, Book 5)
In this official TV Summer Book Club pick, worldwide bestseller Camilla Lackberg weaves together another brilliant contemporary psychological thriller with the chilling struggle of a young woman facing the darkest chapter of Europe's past... Crime writer Erica Falck is shocked to discover an old Nazi medal among her late mother's belongings. Inspired to dig deep into her past, she visits a retired history teacher for answers. Two days later, he’s dead. Detective Patrik Hedström is on paternity leave. But his wife’s enquiries appear to have set off a chain of murders and he’s finding it hard to keep out of the investigation. A terrible secret from the darkest days of World War II is coming to light – and their families’ histories are right at the heart of it.
Frostborn Omnibus One
Combined for the first time in one volume are the first three books of the internationally bestselling FROSTBORN saga - FROSTBORN: THE GRAY KNIGHT, FROSTBORN: THE EIGHTFOLD KNIFE, FROSTBORN: THE UNDYING WIZARD, and the prequel novel FROSTBORN: THE FIRST QUEST.RIDMARK ARBAN was once a Swordbearer, a knight of renown. Now he is a branded outcast, stripped of his sword, and despised as a traitor.But he alone sees the danger to come, and undertakes the dangerous quest to stop the return of the Frostborn.
Frostborn: The Gorgon Spirit (Frostborn #7)
RIDMARK ARBAN is the Gray Knight. Outcast and exile, he seeks to stop the return of the terrible Frostborn to the realm of Andomhaim. At last he knows how the Frostborn shall return. A weapon of great magical power waits in a ruined dwarven city, a weapon with the power to stop the return of the Frostborn.Assuming the ruined city's guardians do not kill Ridmark first...
The Mermaid from Jeju
An “entrancing” historical fiction debut “brimming with lyricism and magic” that explores what it means to truly love in the wake of devastation—inspired by true events on Korea’s Jeju Island (Jennifer Rosner, The Yellow Bird Sings). In the aftermath of World War II, Goh Junja is a girl just coming into her own. She is the latest successful deep sea diver in a family of strong haenyeo. Confident she is a woman now, Junja urges her mother to allow her to make the Goh family's annual trip to Mt. Halla, where they trade abalone and other sea delicacies for pork. Junja, a sea village girl, has never been to the mountains, where it smells like mushrooms and earth. While there, she falls in love with a mountain boy Yang Suwol, who rescues her after a particularly harrowing journey. But when Junja returns one day later, it is just in time to see her mother take her last breath, beaten by the waves during a dive she was taking in Junja's place. Spiraling in grief, Junja sees her younger siblings sent to live with their estranged father. Everywhere she turns, Junja is haunted by the loss of her mother, from the meticulously tended herb garden that has now begun to sprout weeds, to the field where their bed sheets are beaten. She has only her grandmother and herself. But the world moves on without Junja. The political climate is perilous. Still reeling from Japan's forced withdrawal from the peninsula, Korea is forced to accommodate the rapid establishment of US troops. Junja's canny grandmother, who lived through the Japanese invasion that led to Korea's occupation understands the signs of danger all too well. When Suwol is arrested for working with and harboring communists, and the perils of post-WWII overtake her homelands, Junja must learn to navigate a tumultuous world unlike anything she's ever known. “Hahn creates a world alive with dreams, with gods, with tradition, and the richness of a rural Korean culture.” —New York Journal of Books
Can't I Go Instead
Two women's lives and identities are intertwined—through World War II and the Korean War—revealing the harsh realities of class division in the early part of the 20th century.“Lee Geum-yi has a gift for taking little-known embers of history and transforming them into moving, compelling, and uplifting stories.” —Heather Morris, #1 New York Times bestselling authorCan't I Go Instead follows the lives of the daughter of a Korean nobleman and her maidservant in the early 20th century. When the daughter’s suitor is arrested as a Korean Independence activist, and she is implicated during the investigation, she is quickly forced into marriage to one of her father’s Japanese employees and shipped off to the United States. At the same time, her maidservant is sent in her mistress's place to be a comfort woman to the Japanese Imperial army.Years of hardship, survival, and even happiness follows. In the aftermath of WWII, the women make their way home, where they must reckon with the tangled lives they've led, in an attempt to reclaim their identities, and find their place in an independent Korea.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
A Crane Among Wolves
A devastating and pulse-pounding tale that will feel all-too-relevant in today's world, based on a true story from Korean history.Hope is dangerous. Love is deadly. 1506, Joseon. The people suffer under the cruel reign of the tyrant King Yeonsan, powerless to stop him from commandeering their land for his recreational use, banning and burning books, and kidnapping and horrifically abusing women and girls as his personal playthings.Seventeen-year-old Iseul has lived a sheltered, privileged life despite the kingdom's turmoil. When her older sister, Suyeon, becomes the king's latest prey, Iseul leaves the relative safety of her village, traveling through forbidden territory to reach the capital in hopes of stealing her sister back. But she soon discovers the king's power is absolute, and to challenge his rule is to court certain death. Prince Daehyun has lived his whole life in the terrifying shadow of his despicable half-brother, the king. Forced to watch King Yeonsan flaunt his predation through executions and rampant abuse of the common folk, Daehyun aches to find a way to dethrone his half-brother once and for all. When staging a coup, failure is fatal, and he'll need help to pull it off-but there's no way to know who he can trust.When Iseul's and Daehyun's fates collide, their contempt for each other is transcended only by their mutual hate for the king. Armed with Iseul's family connections and Daehyun's royal access, they reluctantly join forces to launch the riskiest gamble the kingdom has ever seen:Save her sister. Free the people. Destroy a tyrant. 'June Hur reigns supreme in making the past come alive.' CHLOE GONG'Gripping and devastating.' ANN LIANG 'There were literally moments in this book where I forgot to breathe.' ELLEN OH
The Investigation
'Jung-Myung Lee's extraordinary The Investigation, translated by Chi-Young Kim, is set in a period of Korean history that isn't widely known in the West . . . a heart-wrenching novel with many unexpected twists.' – Sunday TimesLonglisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction PrizeFukuoka Prison, 1944. Beyond the prison walls the war rages; inside a man is found brutally murdered.Yuichi Watanabe, a young guard with a passion for reading, is ordered to investigate. The victim, Sugiyama – also a guard – was feared and despised throughout the prison and inquiries have barely begun when a powerful inmate confesses. But Watanabe is unconvinced; and as he interrogates both the suspect and Yun Dong-ju, a talented Korean poet, he begins to realize that the fearsome guard was not all he appeared to be . . . As Watanabe unravels Sugiyama's final months, he begins to discover what is really going on inside this dark and violent institution, which few inmates survive: a man who will stop at nothing to dig his way to freedom; a governor whose greed knows no limits; a little girl whose kite finds her an unlikely friend. And Yun Dong-ju – the poet whose works hold such beauty they can break the hardest of hearts. As the war moves towards its devastating close and bombs rain down upon the prison, Watanabe realizes that he must find a way to protect Yun Dong-ju, no matter what it takes. This decision will lead the young guard back to the investigation – where he will discover a devastating truth . . . At once a captivating mystery and an epic lament for lost freedom and humanity in the darkest of times, The Investigation – inspired by a true story – is a sweeping, gripping tale perfect for fans of The Shadow of the Wind.'It's a thriller, and a war story, and so much more besides. I tore through the last 100 pages, my heart literally racing at times. An intense, captivating achievement, inspired by reality.' - Matt Haig, author of The Midnight Library
Mater 2–10
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE International Booker–nominated virtuoso Hwang Sok-yong is back with another powerful story — an epic tale that threads together a century of Korean history. In contemporary Seoul, a laid-off worker stages a months-long sit-in atop a sixteen-storey factory chimney. During the long and lonely nights, he talks to his ancestors, chewing on the meaning of life, on wisdom passed down the generations. Through the lives of those ancestors, three generations of railroad workers, Mater 2-10 vividly portrays the struggles of ordinary Koreans, starting from the Japanese colonial era, continuing through Liberation, and right up to the twenty-first century. It is at once a gripping account of a nation’s longing to be free from oppression, a lyrical folktale that reflects the blood, sweat, and tears shed by modern industrial labourers, and a culmination of Hwang’s career — a masterpiece thirty years in the making. A true voice of a generation, Hwang shows again why he is unmatched when it comes to depicting the roots and reality of a divided nation and bringing to life the trials and tribulations of the Korean people.
Beasts of a Little Land
Winner of the Yasnaya Polyana Award * Finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize 'Unforgettable' Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, author of The Mountains Sing As the Korean independence movement gathers pace, two children meet on the streets of Seoul. Fate will bind them through decades of love and war. They just don’t know it yet. It is 1917, and Korea is under Japanese occupation. With the threat of famine looming, ten-year-old Jade is sold by her desperate family to Miss Silver's courtesan school in the bustling city of Pyongyang. As the Japanese army tears through the country, she is forced to flee to the southern city of Seoul. Soon, her path crosses with that of an orphan named JungHo, a chance encounter that will lead to a life-changing friendship. But when JungHo is pulled into the revolutionary fight for independence, Jade must decide between following her own ambitions and risking everything for the one she loves. Sweeping through five decades of Korean history, Juhea Kim's sparkling debut is an intricately woven tale of love stretched to breaking point, and two people who refuse to let go. Longlisted for the HWA Debut Crown Longlist 2022 * Longlisted for the Nota Bene Prize 2023 'A stunning achievement' TLS
The Apothecary's Poison
PRAISE FOR C.J. ARCHER'S GLASS AND STEELE SERIES:"Part romance, part mystery, part magic; all of which a joy to read." - Dreamer J's Book Reviews"This story has everything I look for in a quality, entertaining piece of fiction. 1) A strong female lead, 2) a dark and mysterious male character (I admit, they are my weakness), 3) eloquent writing, and 4) lots of quirky humor and banter." - Danaye from Young @ Art book reviewsDESCRIPTION: THE APOTHECARY'S POISONWhen a newspaper report of a medical miracle catches Matt's eye, he and India go in search of Dr. Hale in the hope he is more magical doctor than miracle worker and can lead them to Chronos. But Hale turns out to be an apothecary magician keen to educate the public about magic. Their disappointment at not finding Chronos is soon forgotten when Hale is murdered, and Matt becomes a suspect. With Matt's nemesis Sheriff Payne influencing the investigating detective, India and Matt know they must find the real killer, or risk his freedom, and ultimately his life. Time is running out as they hunt for a killer capable of turning medicine into poison with a magic spell, as well as continue the search for Chronos. A search that must end in success before Matt's malfunctioning watch stops altogether.
Gods of Jade and Shadow
The Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this dark, one-of-a-kind fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore.“A spellbinding fairy tale rooted in Mexican mythology . . . Gods of Jade and Shadow is a magical fairy tale about identity, freedom, and love, and it's like nothing you've read before.”—BustleNEBULA AWARD FINALIST • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR • Tordotcom • The New York Public Library • BookRiot The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning the floors of her wealthy grandfather’s house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own. Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it—and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea’s demise, but success could make her dreams come true. In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed with her wits, Casiopea begins an adventure that will take her on a cross-country odyssey from the jungles of Yucatán to the bright lights of Mexico City—and deep into the darkness of the Mayan underworld.Praise for Gods of Jade and Shadow“A dark, dazzling fairy tale . . . a whirlwind tour of a 1920s Mexico vivid with jazz, the memories of revolution, and gods, demons, and magic.”—NPR“Snappy dialog, stellar worldbuilding, lyrical prose, and a slow-burn romance make this a standout. . . . Purchase where Naomi Novik, Nnedi Okorafor, and N. K. Jemisin are popular.”—Library Journal (starred review)“A magical novel of duality, tradition, and change . . . Moreno-Garcia’s seamless blend of mythology and history provides a ripe setting for Casiopea’s stellar journey of self-discovery, which culminates in a dramatic denouement. Readers will gladly immerse themselves in Moreno-Garcia’s rich and complex tale of desperate hopes and complicated relationships.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)