Posts

The Sisters Brothers (2011) by Patrick deWitt is a dip into Westerns that I wasn't expecting to take.

The Australian author Geraldine Brooks is known for her sweeping historical novels. A meticulous researcher, she infuses her characters, settings, and plots with a wealth of detail and insight. She typically picks subject matter that has yet to be explored by other novelists, which makes her work interesting and enlightening too.

Emma Donoghue’s latest work of historical fiction, The Paris Express (2025), takes place in 1895 during a single, doomed train ride in fin de siècle France. As the train prepares to depart from Normandy, a large cast of characters is introduced, including both railroad employees and passengers from all walks of life.

In this compelling historical adventure, siblings Lizzie (14) and Jakob (19) contribute to the war effort in 1940s England while also investigating what happened to their mother. Told in alternating points of view, reserved Jakob and precocious Lizzie share how they arrived at Bletchley Park, the epicenter of Allied codebreaking efforts to unlock the German Enigma machine (hint: one was recruited at school and the other evaded efforts to send her to America).

Tananarive Due’s The Reformatory (2023) is a hauntingly beautiful masterpiece of historical fiction that lingers in your soul long after the final page. Set against the backdrop of a racially segregated South in 1930s Florida, the novel is both a riveting exploration of systemic injustice and a hallucinatory journey into the supernatural.

The Murderess (2024) by Laurie Notaro is a historical true crime novel based on notorious “trunk murderess” Winnie Ruth Judd. In October 1931, Judd arrives from Phoenix at the Los Angeles train station and her trunks soon attract attention from the station porters, as there appears to be blood oozing from them.

For anyone looking for a mix of 'We need to defeat the evil overlord to free our world' and 'I was bored so I decided to join up with the hero and save the world', look no further!

Amanda Peters is a Canadian writer of Mi’kmaq and settler descent, who lives in Nova Scotia. The Berry Pickers (2023), her first novel, was inspired by stories of her father's family, who, like so many other First Nations' people, faced hardships and challenges as they struggled to survive within a larger post-colonial culture.

Signe Pike’s third installment of the The Lost Queen Series, The Shadowed Land (2024), is a wonderfully researched story based on the real people from the time of King Arthur.

I really enjoyed listening to Whale Fall (2024) by Elizabeth O’Connor, and at just 4 hours, you can finish it one afternoon or on a weekend road trip!

Author Bridget Collins writes highly atmospheric gothic historical fiction with a splash of fantasy. Her books are always unique and otherworldly. The Silence Factory (2024) is no exception.

North Woods (2023) is the first work of fiction I’ve read by author Daniel Mason. It won’t be the last. Vivid, compelling, and historically resonant, this collection of interlinked stories, or this novel, if you prefer, revolves around a particular dwelling built in northwestern Massachusetts during the early years of the colonial era.