A more generic setting than “strong sense of place” but prominent in the story.
Three Pines, Cormoran Strike’s London, Sherlock Holmes, Longbourn (and other historicals)
In 2014, journalist Fiona Sheridan finds out that an elderly woman plans to re-open the long-abandoned boarding school where the body of Fiona’s sister was found 20 years ago. In 1950, the school was where “troubled” girls were sent. Four roommates from very different backgrounds form a friendship in the strict, dreary school. When one… Read More The Broken Girls by Simone St. James
Loo’s whole world revolves around her father. At age 12, he’s the only parent she’s ever known. Loo’s mother, Lily, drowned when she was just a baby. Hawley and Loo have lived many places since and they never stayed in one place for too long – Hawley was always ready to pack up and move… Read More The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti
As the author describes it, this is a playful reimagining of how Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol that incorporates historical facts but sometimes changes or embellishes them to fit the story. Silva captures the tone of Dickens’ era and quite probably what his life was like at times – he was well-known and popular… Read More Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva
The Grisha #1 A boy and a girl, orphaned by war, grow up to be best friends. Alina feels something more for Mal but he’s still playing the field. When their military unit is sent forth by The Darkling, a most powerful and unique Grisha who leads the Second Army, to cross the Shadow Fold,… Read More Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
1st in series – Her Majesty’s Psychic Service Alex Pendlebury is a forensic psychic reader, able to detect the emotions of people, even after they’ve left. Her skills come in handy, serving as a lie detector and a good start to uncovering a perpetrator’s motive. But when she’s called to a hanging suicide just before… Read More The Hanged Man by P.N. Elrod
This novel is pure enjoyment. It doesn’t try to explore deep issues, it focuses on depicting the lives of a few 14-year-olds coming of age in the 1980s. The inclusion of cultural detail is sometimes clunky but not heavy-handed. The boys do pretty stupid things but, hey, they’re 14! Treatment of female characters is refreshingly… Read More The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak
A 5-year-old boy is struck and killed in a hit-and-run. Detective Inspector Ray Stevens of the Bristol police puts his team on the case. Kate, new to the Criminal Investigation Department, is already proving to be smart and dedicated to the job. With few leads, however, the investigation is going to be difficult. The… Read More I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
