The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Historical Fiction

An Extravagant Death by Charles Finch

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Extravagant Death
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Another entertaining addition to one of Righton Books’ favorite mystery series. Charles Lenox travels to the United States and becomes swept up in high society Newport, Rhode Island, where a beautiful young woman has died a suspicious death.

An Extravagant Death by Charles Finch (List Price: $27.99, Minotaur Books, 9781250767134, February 2021)

Reviewed by Anne Peck, Righton Books in St. Simons Island, Georgia

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The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

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The Four Winds
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A stunning tale of perseverance, family, friendship, and hope, The Four Winds absolutely blew me away. Kristin Hannah describes a time in American history that is often overlooked through the eyes of characters so human I’m amazed they aren’t real people. Hannah weaves the struggles of the time seamlessly with ones any mother can relate to: working ten hours a day for mere pennies and a son who gets into fights at school; using a rope to guide her to the barn because the dust in the air is so thick she can’t see, then coming inside to an obstinate teenage daughter who just wants her dad. The reader can relate to Elsa enough that they can easily see themselves even in her most dire circumstances. The Four Winds tells the story of an American dream that isn’t meant for everyone, and how those left behind can band together to make that dream work for them. It’s one I will not soon forget.

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah (List Price: $28.99, St. Martin’s Press, 9781250178602, 2/2/2021)

Reviewed by Tia at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, North Carolina

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Trouble Is What I Do by Walter Mosley

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I loved this short but intense detective novel. For me, it doesn’t get better than Leonid McGill for a P.I. protagonist. Morally ambiguous, wily and cunning, he is instantly likable and someone I hope to see in future Mosley books.

Trouble Is What I Do by Walter Mosley (List price: $24.00, Mulholland Books, January 2021)

Reviewed by Jamie Southern Bookmarks, Winston-Salem, NC.

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Wild Rain by Beverly Jenkins

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Wild Rain
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Wild Rain is great historically representative, slow burn romance between a lady rancher and a city slicker reporter. I loved seeing the diversity of the West as it really was, and the chemistry between the two leads sizzled. When can I get more of this series?

Wild Rain by Beverly Jenkins (List Price: $7.99, Avon, 9780062861719, 2/9/2021)

Reviewed by Lizy Coale, Copperfish Books in Punta Gorda, Florida

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The Good Doctor of Warsaw by Elisabeth Gifford

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The Good Doctor of Warsaw
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Janusz Korczak ran an orphanage for Jewish children in Warsaw, where conditions became increasingly harsh during WWII. Gifford tells with great detail of their daily lives–struggling to find food to eat and to not be killed by the Nazis. Over 95% of the 350,000 Jews in Warsaw did not survive the war. A sad story to read but one we must not forget.

The Good Doctor of Warsaw by Elisabeth Gifford (List Price: $25.95, Pegasus Books, 9781643136363, 1/5/2021)

Reviewed by Beth Carpenter, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina

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The Rib King by Ladee Hubbard

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The Rib King
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A brilliant exploration of class, race, and exploitation in early 20th century New Orleans. Mr. Sitwell runs the house in all but name. Like all great houses, there are many secrets inside and all of Hubbard’s characters are well-drawn with complex pasts. Hubbard studied under Toni Morrison and you can really tell with the way she treats her characters–normal people with complicated lives — drawing you as a reader deep into their minds and feelings. It’s a fantastic book and I’m so excited to share it.

The Rib King by Ladee Hubbard (List Price: $27.99, Amistad, 9780062979063, 1/19/2021)

Reviewed by Jamie Southern, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly

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The Last Garden
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Inspired by early female garden designers, this is a tale of the gardens in an estate and the three generations of women who live and work in them–from the design of the gardens, to their use during WWII, and to their restoration after years of neglect. An easy read and one that makes you want to visit the gardens of England.

The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly (List Price: $28, Gallery Books, 9781982107826, 1/12/2021)

Reviewed by Beth Carpenter, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina

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The Princess and the Rogue by Kate Bateman

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The Princess and the Rogue
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I love a secretly royal romance, and The Princess and the Rogue nails it. There’s dangerous intrigue, a rake turned servant of the Crown, boiling sexual tension, and an ice cold heroine who proves herself more than capable of taking on anything.

The Princess and the Rogue by Kate Bateman (List Price: $7.99, St. Martin’s Paperbacks, 9781250306098, 12/29/2020)

Reviewed by Sami Thomason, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi

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The War Widow by Tara Moss

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War Widow
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The War Widow was an intriguing mystery, an interesting and informative look at post war Australia in 1946 and an overall totally delightful read. Ms. Billie Walker has returned home after being a war correspondent in Europe to take over the Private Inquiry Agency of her late father. She is a fun, elegant, feisty and determined character who investigates the “old-fashioned” way: no internet, no cell phones, no data bases. The book is filled with intrigue, nasty criminals, beautiful fashions and lots of daring moves by Ms. Walker. I cannot wait to see what kind of trouble Ms. Walker finds herself in next.

The War Widow by Tara Moss (List Price: $26, Dutton, 9780593182659, 12/29/2020)

Reviewed by Nancy McFarlane, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina

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The Liar’s Dictionary by Eley Williams

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The Liar's Dictionary
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A quirky, clever novel about words: the words we create to describe our world and the words we use to define ourselves. The entertaining story alternates between lexicographer Peter Winceworth in 1899 who spends his time placing mountweasels into Swansby’s New Encyclopaedic Dictionary and Mallory, the young intern who is tasked with finding these words a century later.

The Liar’s Dictionary by Eley Williams (List Price: $26.95, Doubleday, 9780385546775, 1/5/2021)

Reviewed by Kelley Barnes, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina

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Outlawed by Anna North

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Outlawed
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A Winter 2021 Read This Next! Title

I inhaled this propulsive and inventive story of a reimagined American West in the late 1800s. Ada, a midwife who finds herself unable to get pregnant is facing expulsion (or worse) in her village. She falls in with a charismatic outlaw named Kid and is whisked into a gang filled with autonomous women. Escapades ensue. Great writing, strong characters and a plot that moves along in a book that comes in just under 300 pages. Very impressive! I definitely recommend this genderbent Hole in the Wall Gang reimagining!

Outlawed by Anna North (List Price: $26, Bloomsbury Publishing, 9781635575422, 1/5/2021)

Reviewed by Chelsea Bauer, union ave books in knoxville, Tennessee

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The House on Vesper Sands by Paraic O’Donnell

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The House on Vesper Sands
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Read This Next A Winter 2021 Read This Next! Title

Paraic O’Donnell’s The House on Vesper Sands is a whip-smart Victorian murder mystery featuring a remarkable cast of characters. Young girls are going missing and Inspector Cutter’s on the case with the help of a fake police officer (Cambridge drop out Gideon Bliss) and a young female journalist determined to write more than society pages. The disappearances seem to have a spiritual element to them and the first death scene is puzzling and compelling. O’Donnell’s 1893 London is so brilliantly written you’ll find yourself shivering instinctively.

The House on Vesper Sands by Paraic O’Donnell (List Price: $26.95, Tin House Books, 9781951142247, 1/12/2021)

Reviewed by Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict

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the mystery of mrs christie
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Agatha Christie went missing for 11 days in 1926, and this novel tells Christie’s story, building the events of her life and her disappearance to a crescendo right at the end of the book. This is an amazing story of one woman who subjugated herself to the benefit of her husband and the detriment of herself and her daughter, but eventually stood up for herself to the benefit of all who read her novels. I loved this book.

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict (List Price: $26.99, Sourcebooks Landmark, 9781492682721, 1/12/2021)

Reviewed by Beth Carpenter, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina

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The Children’s Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin

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the children's blizzard
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Melanie Benjamin is at her best in this historical fiction account of the terrifying blizzard of 1888. It seemingly came out of nowhere and caught the residents of the Midwest by surprise, especially the children and teachers who were preparing to go home for the day. Benjamin looks at the lives of two sisters–both teachers at different schools–and how their decisions that day meant life or death for their students. I spent several late nights on this one!

The Children’s Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin (List Price: $28, Delacorte Press, 9780399182280, 1/12/2021)

Reviewed by Linda Hodges, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina

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Nick by Michael Farris Smith

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nick
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Author Michael Farris Smith has pulled off a tremendous literary feat. His latest novel, Nick, can play two roles. The first, a magnificent stand alone novel for readers unfamiliar with Fitzgerald’s classic, The Great Gatsby. The second, Gatsby fans will have a deeply satisfying lens to observe the life of narrator, Nick Carraway, and the events that formed one of literature’s most beloved voices.

Nick by Michael Farris Smith (List Price: $27, Little, Brown and Company, 9780316529761, 1/5/2021)

Reviewed by Damita Nocton, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina

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