What are you reading for Historical Fiction in September

I am reading a good Historical Mystery

Seven for a Secret (Timothy Wilde, Bk 2) :: Lyndsay Faye

Set in 1846 NYC. Lots of good background on the city and its people during that time.

I'm reading Palisades Park by Alan Brennert, a recent game win here on PBS.  Moloka'i  by this author was a "top five" favorite in 2012.

Linda

So do you have the song Palisdades park going through your head now?

I'm reading Shadow of the Raven by Tessa Harris. I put this off because of the cliffhanger ending but since she has one coming out after this, I broke down and decided to give it a try. I really like the Thomas Silkstone series but I hate it when authors leave us hanging!

I've picked up Dead Wake by Erik Larson.  I really enjoy this author.  Not far into it but I've seen it on several WLs in the games.  Mine is a library copy.  Yesterday the library came through with six more books that I had on my request list for some time.  All holds were released.  

It's been interesting without an internet connection.  Once we checked out the computers and our connections we determined it was the internet provider.  A quiet older gent came in and checked it out.  Yup, it was their connection so he brought us a new modem.  It's working better but sometimes  slow which is what happened before it quit for hours.  If this is a sign of things to come the provider will probably have to dig up our line and check it.  

I'm reading The Siege Winter by the late Ariana Franklin and her daughter, Samantha Norman.

I'm currently reading The Squire's Tale by Margaret Frazer. I used to really enjoy the Dane Frevisse series but I find I'm speed reading through it, and I'm having trouble understand in her writing style...

I'm almost through "Agincourt" by Bernard Cornwell.  Good story, I love this time in history, but man...bloody and gory!  I'm sure it's realistic, but I find myself screwing my face up into horrible expressions as I go along.   

I loved Agincourt and all the other Cornwell books involving the remarkable English archers.

I just finished a delightful novel by Annie Barrows, the co-author of Guernsey Literary Society.....  This is set in a small West Virginia community with quirky characters, complicated family relationships, a bit of mystery, lots of humor, during the Depression era:  The Truth According to Us.

Linda

Linda, you always fins such interesting books!

Finished Dead Wake by Erik Larson.  Wow!  It was depressing as the Germans sunk not just Lusitania but ship after ship .  So many lives lost due to submarine activity by the Germans.  I hadn't realized what a toll was taken on the seas.  Almost managed to defeat Great Britain.  Poor Captain Turner.  Somehow he survived it all with his strong character and outlook on life.  The Brits never acknowledged their role in the disaster.  Politics!  It seemed that it was all to pull America into the war.  And, of course, it did after Germany began to sink everything they found - fishing trawlers, passenger ships, merchant ships and more from any country.

Need to get onto something lighter such as A Touch of Stardust by Kate Alcott.  Beginning Frog Music by Emma Donoghue, too.

I just finished A Study in Death by Anna Lee Huber. I am up to date in this series and really liking it. This was a very good read. I love the characters and the mystery was well done!

Now on to another author that I've found I like a lot- Lloyd Shepherd. I accidentally discovered that he had a third book in the Charles Horton series and I snagged it. It's titled Savage Magic and takes place in the Covent Garden area in 1814. Horton works for the River Police Office and gets himself into some really nasty cases. I'm hoping that this one will be as good as the others (The English Monster and The Poisoned Island).

Im reading the 4th India Black book in the series (India Black and the Gentleman Thief). I am loving this series!! However , I tried going to Carol Carr's website to see if there was news on the next book in the series, and the page doesn't exist -www.carolkcarr.com.

Has anyone heard any news about the next book?

Carolyn, I haven't heard anything yet either. Amazon will sometimes list upcoming releases, but they don't show anything yet.

I just started "The Wild Irish" by Robin Maxwell. Two titans, Elizabeth I and Grace O'Malley, meet and the queen asks Grace to tell her about her life, and so they pour some wine, cozy up to the fire, and Grace begins to talk.  I rolled my eyes.  I was going to be TOLD the story, not see it unfold; that's a device I ordinarily hate.  But I'm being sucked into the story anyway.   They are both 63 years old at this point, and it's very disconcerting to hear them called 'old women.'  

LOVED Cornwell's Agincourt.  I just hated that everyone got stabbed in the eye. But other than that, great storytelling from our Bernard, as usual.

Finished A Touch of Stardust by Kate Alcott.  It's a light read about the making of the movie, Gone with the Wind.  Made me want to watch the movie again.  The author does very well at capturing the glitzy and unreal world of movie making.  There is room for a sequel to follow the lead characters whose romance is coupled with the making of Gone in this tale.  We'll have to wait and see.

Help!  I'm looking for a copy of Fields of Light: A Son Remembers His Heroic Father by Joseph Hurka.  Does anyone have one?  It is on my WL.  

By the way I finished Frog Music by Emma Donoghue.  I liked it very much.  The reader gets a clear picture of what it's like to be a woman in San Francisco in the 1870s.  This is a tale of two women who are making their way in very different ways.  When they meet their lives become entangled until one is murdered.  The rest of the book is devoted to who murdered Jenny Bonnet and why.  The truth leads to a quite unexpected ending and the survivor finds her life changed, too.  I gave it five stars.  Not all readers agree but I really liked this read.

I started Winter in Madrid by CJ Sansom.  Very interesting so far.  And quite different from Sansom's Shardlake series.

Am reading Beautiful Ghosts by Elliot Pattison.  I like Inspector Shan very much.  His respect for the Tibetans and their culture is awesome This case finds him investigating from Tibet to the U.S.  I really enjoyed this book.  Rated it five stars.

Just finished Margaret of Anjou (aka Trinity) - book two of Conn Iggulden's Wars of the Roses trilogy.  I read Stormbird, book one, a couple of months ago.  I have really enjoyed both novels; after finishing the first one I remarked to Kelly that it seemed the  author was more sympathetic to the Lancasters.  But I've revised that opinion since reading book two.  The writing is very even-handed with a POV regarding Richard of York that I have not encountered before.  Iggulden tells a good story and I'm anxiously awaiting book three.  Highly recommended.

Linda

Last night I finished Chateau of Secrets :: Melanie Dobson  A very good Historical mystery set in Occupied France. Not and good as the Nightingale but very good.

Not historical fiction but I was able to snare The Girl in the Spider's Web by David Lagercrantz just after it was shelved in our library.  It picks up and continues with the characters from The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.  The publishers found a rather skilled writer to continue the series.  I'll soon find out.

Reading Epitaph: A Novel of the O.K. Corral - the sequel to Doc. It's a pretty fast read but not capturing my interest as much as Doc. It's well researched, though, and with regard to the famous shootout, I think it might be a myth buster.

R E K - I will be interested in your take on The Girl in The Spider's Web. I've been wondering if this author could possibly match up his writing to the rest of the series.

Donna - I couldn't get into Epitaph and so far, it's a DNF for me. I certainly  had a different experience with Doc!!!

I started a good Historical mystery last night Claws of the Cat (Shinobi, Bk 1) :: Susan Spann

It is set in 1546 Japan. the story deals with a Portuguese Jesuit and guard Hiro. Good historical and cultural information. Highly recommend

I finished The Anatomy of Death (Dody McCleland, Bk 1) :: Felicity Young

Been sitting on my shelf for a while. Very interesting turn of 20th century set in London. Suffragette movement and female doctor I want to get book 2