Best New Historical Fiction - December 2024
Before We Turn To Dust by Clara Sneed
Publisher: Blue Handle Publishing
Release Date: December 7, 2024
Synopsis:
It’s 1911 in the Texas Panhandle and Lena Snyder Sneed is madly in love. The only problem is, it’s not with her husband Beal.
Beal Sneed, a cattle broker and rancher, is often away from their home in the wealthiest part of Amarillo, leaving Lena to care for the house and their two daughters.
And inadvertently to her own devices.
And in the booming town of Amarillo, gossip spreads like wildfire, especially if it involves the rich.
When Beal gets wind of how far things have gone with Lena and Al, jealousy, revenge and pride brew up a biblical storm that consumes three prominent families and leaves tragedy in its wake.
Based on one of the most infamous feuds in Texas history, and incorporating family archives, newspaper accounts and trial transcripts, Before We Turn to Dust is an honest, shocking and masterfully written glimpse into sex, society and justice in early 20th century Texas.
Why We Recommend It!
A gripping exploration of love and betrayal, Before We Turn to Dust by Clara Sneed delves into the real-life feud of three families in 1911 Texas, where jealousy and revenge ignite a scandal that echoes through history.
Untethered by Angela Jackson-Brown
Publisher: Harper Muse
Release Date: December 3, 2024
Synopsis:
Sometimes family is found in the most unlikely of places . . .
In the small college town of Troy, Alabama, amidst the backdrop of 1967, Katia Daniels lives a life steeped in responsibility. At the Pike County Group Home for Negro Boys, she pours her heart into nurturing the young lives under her care, harboring a longing for children of her own. Katia's romantic entanglement with an older man brings comfort but also stirs questions about the path she's chosen.
The weight of her family's history bears down on her; a twin brother is missing in action in the heart of the Vietnam War. Having lost her father to cancer, Katia took up the mantle of caretaker, ensuring her mother and brothers were looked after. Her sense of duty extends to the boys at the group home, creating a web of obligations that stretches her emotional bandwidth thin.
Amidst a power struggle at work with the board, Katia finds solace in the pages of romance novels and the soothing melodies of Nina Simone. When Seth Taylor, a familiar face from her high school days, reenters Katia's life, he brings with him a breeze of nostalgia and a reminder of a time when her dreams felt less tethered. As their friendship rekindles, Katia grapples with the idea of making choices for herself, even as the realization that she can no longer have children weighs heavily on her.
This novel is a poignant tale of a woman torn between the demands of her heart and the responsibilities she's shouldered for so long. Set against the backdrop of a changing South, this novel delves into the complexities of love, family, and self-discovery in a time of transformation and upheaval.
Why We Recommend It!
A poignant tale of love and self-discovery, Untethered by Angela Jackson-Brown explores the intricate balance between personal desires and familial obligations in 1967 Alabama, as Katia Daniels navigates her responsibilities and rekindles an old friendship amidst a backdrop of societal change.
The Silent Resistance by Anna Normann
Publisher: Allison & Busby
Release Date: December 5, 2024
Synopsis:
One mother's impossible choice. One daughter's epic search.
Occupied Norway, 1944. As the war rages on, Anni is surviving as best she can, contributing to the resistance whenever possible and standing firm without her sailor husband Lars, who she hasn't heard from in three years. Her daughter Ingrid is the bright spot in her life and Anni is determined to keep her safe and happy. When a German official is billeted at their house the situation for them both becomes far more dangerous, and Anni faces an impossible choice.
In the years since the war and since she moved to London to live with her father, young Ingrid has been trying to make sense of the disappearance of her mother just as peace in Norway was declared. Ingrid desperately holds onto the fact that Anni promised she would always come back for her. Undaunted, Ingrid sets out to discover what happened to her mother all those years ago...
Why We Recommend It!
A heart-wrenching story about the bond between mother and daughter, The Silent Resistance by Anna Norman brings to light the devastating impacts of war and its aftermath to a nation and individuals as they are left with impossible choices.
The Resurrectionist by A. Rae Dunlap
Publisher: Kensington
Release Date: December 24, 2024
Synopsis:
Edinburgh, Scotland, 1828. Naïve but determined James Willoughby has abandoned his posh, sheltered life at Oxford to pursue a lifelong dream of studying surgery in Edinburgh. A shining beacon of medical discovery in the age of New Enlightenment, the city's university offers everything James desires--except the chance to work on a human cadaver. For that, he needs to join one of the private schools in Surgeon's Square, at a cost he cannot afford. In desperation, he strikes a deal with Aneurin "Nye" MacKinnon, a dashing young dissectionist with an artist's eye for anatomy and a reckless passion for knowledge. Nye promises to help him gain the surgical experience he craves--but it doesn't take long for James to realize he's made a devil's bargain . . .
Nye is a body snatcher. And James has unwittingly become his accomplice. Intoxicated by Nye and his noble mission, James rapidly descends into the underground ranks of the Resurrectionists--the body snatchers infamous for stealing fresh corpses from churchyards to be used as anatomical specimens. Before he knows it, James is caught up in a life-or-death scheme as rival gangs of snatchers compete in a morbid race for power and prestige.
James and Nye soon find themselves in the crosshairs of a shady pair of unscrupulous opportunists known as Burke and Hare, who are dead set on cornering the market, no matter the cost. These unsavory characters will do anything to beat the competition for bodies. Even if it's cold-blooded murder . . .
Exquisitely macabre and delightfully entertaining, The Resurrectionist combines fact and fiction in a rollicking tale of the risks and rewards of scientific pursuit, the passions of its boldest pioneers, and the anatomy of human desire.
Why We Recommend It!
A thrilling exploration of ambition and morality, The Resurrectionist by A. Rae Dunlap shows readers the dark underworld of 1828 Edinburgh, where James Willoughby’s quest for surgical knowledge entangles him with body snatchers and the deadly schemes of Burke and Hare.
White Mulberry by Rosa Kwon Easton
Publisher: Lake Union
Release Date: December 1, 2024
Synopsis:
1928, Japan-occupied Korea. Eleven-year-old Miyoung has dreams too big for her tiny farming village near Pyongyang: to become a teacher, to avoid an arranged marriage, to write her own future. When she is offered the chance to live with her older sister in Japan and continue her education, she is elated, even though it means leaving her sick mother--and her very name--behind.
In Kyoto, anti-Korean sentiment is rising every day, and Miyoung quickly realizes she must pass as Japanese if she expects to survive. Her Japanese name, Miyoko, helps her find a new calling as a nurse, but as the years go by, she fears that her true self is slipping away. She seeks solace in a Korean church group and, within it, finds something she never expected: a romance with an activist that reignites her sense of purpose and gives her a cherished son.
As war looms on a new front and Miyoung feels the constraints of her adopted home tighten, she is faced with a choice that will change her life--and the lives of those she loves--forever.
Why We Recommend It!
A story of transformation amidst struggle, White Mulberry by Rosa Kwon Easton follows Miyoung as she navigates the challenges of 1928 Japan-occupied Korea, where her dreams of education and self-determination clash with societal expectations, leading her to a life-altering decision amidst rising tensions and newfound love.
