Read A-Likes March 2023
Do you ever finish reading a book and wonder what to try next?
Try these suggestions for popular titles.
Try these suggestions for popular titles.
The Seven Sisters
By Lucinda Riley
A fabulous, secluded castle situated on the shores of Lake Geneva--having been told that their beloved father, who adopted them all as babies, has died. Each of them is handed a tantalizing clue to her true heritage--a clue which takes Maia across the world to a crumbling mansion in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Once there, she begins to put together the pieces of her story and its beginnings. Eighty years earlier in Rio's Belle Epoque of the 1920s, Izabela Bonifacio's father has aspirations for his daughter to marry into the aristocracy. Meanwhile, architect Heitor da Silva Costa is devising plans for an enormous statue, to be called Christ the Redeemer, and will soon travel to Paris to find the right sculptor to complete his vision. Izabela--passionate and longing to see the world--convinces her father to allow her to accompany him and his family to Europe before she is married. There, at Paul Landowski's studio and in the heady, vibrant cafes of Montparnasse, she meets ambitious young sculptor Laurent Brouilly, and knows at once that her life will never be the same again
By Lucinda Riley
A fabulous, secluded castle situated on the shores of Lake Geneva--having been told that their beloved father, who adopted them all as babies, has died. Each of them is handed a tantalizing clue to her true heritage--a clue which takes Maia across the world to a crumbling mansion in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Once there, she begins to put together the pieces of her story and its beginnings. Eighty years earlier in Rio's Belle Epoque of the 1920s, Izabela Bonifacio's father has aspirations for his daughter to marry into the aristocracy. Meanwhile, architect Heitor da Silva Costa is devising plans for an enormous statue, to be called Christ the Redeemer, and will soon travel to Paris to find the right sculptor to complete his vision. Izabela--passionate and longing to see the world--convinces her father to allow her to accompany him and his family to Europe before she is married. There, at Paul Landowski's studio and in the heady, vibrant cafes of Montparnasse, she meets ambitious young sculptor Laurent Brouilly, and knows at once that her life will never be the same again
Silver Tears
By Camilla Lackberg Faye Adelheim is living a delicious lie. She is wealthy beyond imagination, she is the Chairman of her self-made global cosmetics brand, and her ex-husband, the monster who killed her beloved daughter Julienne, is living out the remainder of his days behind bars. But unbeknownst to journalists, police officers, and investors, and even the lovers she occasionally invites to her bed, Faye has a secret: her daughter is, in fact, alive and well and so is her mother, the woman Faye’s father was sentenced for allegedly killing years ago. Together, three generations of women have survived in hiding from the men who sought to destroy them. But unfortunately for Faye, cages are meant to be opened, pillow talk can lead to betrayal, and secrets always end in tears. |
The Wild Rose
By Jennifer Donnelly It is London, 1914. World War I looms on the horizon, women are fighting for the right to vote, and explorers are pushing the limits of endurance in the most forbidding corners of the earth. Into this volatile time, Jennifer Donnelly places her vivid and memorable characters: Willa Alden, a passionate mountain climber who lost her leg while summiting Kilimanjaro with Seamus Finnegan and will never forgive him for saving her life; Finnegan, a polar explorer who tries to forget Willa as he marries a beautiful young schoolteacher back home in England; Max von Brandt, a handsome German sophisticate who courts high society women, but has a secret agenda in wartime London. Many other beloved characters from The Winter Rose continue their adventures in The Wild Rose as well.With myriad twists and turns, thrilling cliffhangers, and fabulous period detail and atmosphere, The Wild Rose provides a highly satisfying conclusion to an unforgettable trilogy. |
House of Gold
By Natasha Solomons Twenty-one-year-old Greta Goldbaum has always hungered after what's forbidden: secret university lectures, unseemly trumpet lessons, and most of all, the freedom to choose her life's path. The Goldbaum family has different expectations. United across Europe by unsurpassed wealth and power, Goldbaum men are bankers, while Goldbaum women marry Goldbaum men to produce Goldbaum children. Greta will do her part. So Greta moves to England to wed Albert, a distant cousin. The marriage is not a success. Yet, when Albert's mother gives Greta a garden, things at Temple Court begin to change. First Greta falls in love with her garden, then with England, and finally with her husband. But when World War I sends both Albert and Greta's beloved brother, Otto, to the front lines--one to fight for the Allies, one to fight for the Central Powers--the House of Gold is left vulnerable as never before, and Greta must choose: the family she's created or the one she was forced to leave behind. Set against a nuanced portrait of World War I, this is a sweeping family saga rich in historical atmosphere and heartbreakingly human characters. House of Gold is Natasha Solomons's most dazzling and moving novel yet. |
Easter Bunny Murder
By Leslie Meier
Spring has sprung in Tinker's Cove, and Lucy Stone has a mile-long to-do list from painting eggs with her grandson, to preparing the perfect Easter feast, to reviving her garden after a long, cold winter, she hardly has time to search for a killer with a deadly case of spring fever. Lucy has always loved covering the annual Easter egg hunt for the Penny-Saver. Hosted by elderly socialite Vivian Van Vorst at Pine Point, her luxurious oceanfront estate, it's a swanky event where the grown-ups sip cocktails while their children search for eggs that are as likely to contain savings bonds as they are jelly beans. But when Lucy arrives with her three-year-old grandson, VV's normally welcoming gates are locked, and a man dressed as the Easter Bunny emerges only to drop dead moments later. Lucy discovers that the victim is Van Vorst Duff, VV's grandson, and soon learns that not all is as it seems at idyllic Pine Point. As Lucy gathers a basketful of suspects, she's convinced that someone's been hunting for a lot more than eggs. And she'll have to chase the truth down a rabbit hole before the killer claims another victim.
This Pen for Hire
By Laura Levine Smarmy personals ads. Daring declarations of love. Freelance writer Jaine Austen has penned them all. But no one needs her help more than geeky, gawky Howard Murdoch. His request is simple enough: a letter proclaiming his undying love for Stacy Lawrence, a gorgeous aerobics instructor. The fact that he's never actually met the woman gives Jaine pause--yet she soon overcomes her misgivings, and the unlikely Romeo lands a date! But his triumph is short-lived. On Valentine's Day, Howard finds Stacy bludgeoned to death with a Thigh Master--and is quickly named the prime suspect. Jaine is shocked. Sure, Howard's awkward and eccentric. But a murderer? That's hard to believe. Especially after a little sleuthing reveals a plethora of people who harbored less-than-loving feelings towards the svelte Stacy. Now Jaine had better wrangle her clues quickly, before a crafty killer catches on--and puts a whole new spin on her ghost writing career. . . |
A Catered Mother's Day
By Isis Crawford Mother's Day in sleepy Longely, New York…what could go wrong? When an overworked mother's prank turns deadly, catering sisters Bernie and Libby Simmons must cook up a plan to clear her name… Bernie's college roommate Ellen Hadley is burning the candle at both ends. And after her children forget her birthday and her husband forgets their anniversary, her Mother's Day expectations are understandably modest. When Bernie jokingly suggests Ellen fake her own kidnapping to set her family straight, she never imagined the stunt would find Ellen in a hotel room next to a dead body. Bernie can't help but feel guilty for helping her friend concoct a recipe for disaster, so she and her sister Libby enlist the help of Ellen's kids, and together, they must race to find the true culprit--before Mother's Day is postponed indefinitely… |
Color Me Murder
By Krista Davis By day, Florrie Fox manages Color Me Read bookstore in Georgetown, Washington D.C. By night, she creates her own intricately detailed coloring books for adults, filling the pages with objects that catch her eye. There's plenty of inspiration in her new apartment--a beautiful carriage house belonging to Professor John Maxwell, Florrie's boss. He offers the property to Florrie rent-free with one condition--she must move in immediately to prevent his covetous sister and nephew from trying to claim it. When the professor's nephew, Delbert, arrives, he proves just as sketchy as Florrie feared. But the following morning, Delbert has vanished. It's not until she visits the third floor of the store that Florrie makes a tragic discovery--there's a trap door in the landing, and a dead Delbert inside. The esteemed Professor Maxwell is an obvious suspect, but Florrie is certain this case isn't so black and white. |
House Witness
By Mike Lawson
In House Witness, the twelfth novel in the Joe DeMarco series, Mike Lawson puts his likable protagonist on the trail of a different kind of fixer―one whose job is to influence, and sometimes disappear, witnesses in seemingly airtight criminal cases.Minority Leader of the House and DeMarco’s long-time employer John Mahoney has kept more than one secret from his wife over the years, but none so explosive as this: He has a son, and that son has just been shot dead in a bar in Manhattan. Mahoney immediately dispatches DeMarco to New York to assist prosecutor Justine Porter, but with five bystanders willing to testify against the killer―rich-boy Toby Rosenthal―the case seems like a slam-dunk. That is, until Porter begins to suspect that someone is interfering with those witnesses, and that this may be connected to a pattern of cases across the country. Is there someone who is getting witnesses out of the way when the fate of a wealthy defendant is on the line?
With the help of Porter’s intern, as outrageously smart as she is young, DeMarco becomes determined to follow that question through to its violent resolution in what turns out to be this series’ most unexpected plot yet.
By Mike Lawson
In House Witness, the twelfth novel in the Joe DeMarco series, Mike Lawson puts his likable protagonist on the trail of a different kind of fixer―one whose job is to influence, and sometimes disappear, witnesses in seemingly airtight criminal cases.Minority Leader of the House and DeMarco’s long-time employer John Mahoney has kept more than one secret from his wife over the years, but none so explosive as this: He has a son, and that son has just been shot dead in a bar in Manhattan. Mahoney immediately dispatches DeMarco to New York to assist prosecutor Justine Porter, but with five bystanders willing to testify against the killer―rich-boy Toby Rosenthal―the case seems like a slam-dunk. That is, until Porter begins to suspect that someone is interfering with those witnesses, and that this may be connected to a pattern of cases across the country. Is there someone who is getting witnesses out of the way when the fate of a wealthy defendant is on the line?
With the help of Porter’s intern, as outrageously smart as she is young, DeMarco becomes determined to follow that question through to its violent resolution in what turns out to be this series’ most unexpected plot yet.
Blood Island
By H. Terrell Griffin Matt Royal never has to look far for excitement. Excitement-and sometimes trouble-has a way of finding him first. But for this fun-loving lawyer turned beach bum, things are about to get serious. Dead serious. When his ex-wife asks for help in tracking down her stepdaughter, last seen in Matts hometown of Longboat Key, Matt agrees to do a little searching. But what looks like the case of one missing girl turns out to be something much bigger-and much more dangerous. Enlisting the aid of his buddies Jock Algren and Logan Hamilton, Matt launches a full-speed-ahead search that leads from Longboat Key to Key West to an ominous strip of land called Blood Island. But this is no island paradise. Blood Island is home base to a cult of religious zealots. And they're making devastating plans that could change the world forever. Bullets fly, and as the clock ticks down, it will be up to Matt to make sure that what happens on Blood Island stays on Blood Island. |
A Death in Live Oak
By James Grippando When the body of Jamal Cousin, president of the preeminent black fraternity at Florida's flagship university, is discovered hogtied in the stygian swamps of the Suwanee River, his death sets off a firestorm. And when a fellow student, Mark Towson, the president of a prominent white fraternity, is accused of the crime, the fire threatens to rage out of control. Contending with rising political tensions, racial unrest, and a sensational media, Towson's defense attorney, Jack Swyteck, knows that the stakes could not be higher--inside or outside the old Suwanee County Courthouse. The evidence against his client, which includes a threatening text message referencing "strange fruit" on the river, seems overwhelming. Then Jack gets a break that could turn the case. Jamal's gruesome murder bears disturbing similarities to another lynching that occurred back in the Jim Crow days of 1944. Are the chilling parallels purely coincidental? |
Shadow of the Dragon
By Marc Cameron Aboard an icebreaker in the Arctic Ocean, a sonar operator hears an unusual noise coming from the ocean floor. She can't isolate it and chalks the event up to an anomaly in a newly installed system. Meanwhile, operatives with the Chinese Ministry of State Security are dealing with their own mystery - the disappearance of brilliant but eccentric scientist, Liu Wangshu. They're desperate to keep his crucial knowledge of aerospace and naval technology out of their rivals' hands. Finding Liu is too great an opportunity for any intelligence service to pass up, but there's one more problem. A high-level Chinese mole, codenamed Surveyor, has managed to infiltrate American intelligence. President Jack Ryan has only one choice: Send John Clark and his Campus team deep into China to find an old graduate student of the professor's who may hold the key to his whereabouts. It's a dangerous gamble, but with John Clark holding the cards, Jack Ryan is all in. |
The Unfinished Gift
By Dan Walsh
Can a gift from the past mend a broken heart? Ian Collins is an old man without his son. Patrick Collins is a young boy without his father. On his Christmas list are only three items. He wants the army to find his father. He wants to leave his grandfather's house. And he wants the dusty wooden soldier in Grandfather's attic - the one he is forbidden to touch.
Set at Christmastime in 1943, The Unfinished Gift is the engaging story of a family in need of forgiveness. With simple grace, it reminds us of the small things that affect powerful change in our hearts: a young boy's prayers, a shoe box of love letters, and even a half-carved soldier, long forgotten. This nostalgic story of reconciliation will touch your heart.
By Dan Walsh
Can a gift from the past mend a broken heart? Ian Collins is an old man without his son. Patrick Collins is a young boy without his father. On his Christmas list are only three items. He wants the army to find his father. He wants to leave his grandfather's house. And he wants the dusty wooden soldier in Grandfather's attic - the one he is forbidden to touch.
Set at Christmastime in 1943, The Unfinished Gift is the engaging story of a family in need of forgiveness. With simple grace, it reminds us of the small things that affect powerful change in our hearts: a young boy's prayers, a shoe box of love letters, and even a half-carved soldier, long forgotten. This nostalgic story of reconciliation will touch your heart.
Hidden Agenda
By Lisa Harris Eight months ago, Michael Hunt was killed in an explosion. But he didn't die. The Atlanta Police Department decided to use his "death" as a way to introduce him, undercover, into a Georgia-based drug cartel headed by Antonio Valez. Unfortunately, Sam Kendall, a federal officer, has outed him and now they both are in danger. Michael Hunt is alive--and on the run. Presumed dead by friends and family, the undercover assignment he's been working for the past eight months has just been blown. With a hit out on his life and corruption inside the Atlanta police department, Michael finds himself hunted by both the cartel and the law. His only hope is the daughter of the man who wants him dead. |
Rorey's Secret
By Leisha Kelly The Worthams and Hammonds are as close as two families could be, sharing almost everything on their Depression-era Illinois farms. So when a raging fire breaks out and threatens to destroy the Hammond farm, both families are affected by the tragedy. But how did the fire start? Several of the kids know the truth, but no one is talking. As the families try to overcome aching loss, misplaced blame, troubled relationships, and an upsetting secret, they once again find themselves clinging desperately to their trust in God. In this compelling tale of faith, hardship, and community, acclaimed author Leisha Kelly continues the much-loved story of the Wortham family, who with courage and determination discover the power of forgiveness to restore and heal. |
Who I Am With You
By Robin Lee Hatcher Jessica was pregnant and facing divorce when her husband and daughter were killed in a car accident months ago. Left to endure the tragedy and her pregnancy alone, she pulls away from her friends and community instead of leaning on them for care and support. She feels far away from God, lost and floating without an anchor. Then at her grandmother's funeral, Jessica receives a gift--her great-grandfather's Bible--which she relegates to a shelf in her house to gather dust alongside the other remnants of her faith. Ridley has suffered loss too. Disgraced in his job, his career seems to be over for good. He is both bitter and shamed. Adding insult to injury, his girlfriend of more than a year leaves at the first sign of trouble. Ridley retreats to a vacation property owned by his parents to lick his wounds and hide from the press. When he first arrives, he meets Jessica, his closest neighbor in this mountain community. |
