THE LIFEBOAT by Charlotte Rogan

The year is 1914:  Grace, age 22, survives three weeks in an overcrowded lifeboat and then goes on trial for murder.  Great suspense and fascinating moral questions.

THE ABSOLUTIST by John Boyne

 

At the end of World War I,  a young soldier travels to return a packet of letters to the sister of a fellow soldier who was killed in the war.  This is a sorrowful, beautiful meditation on war, love, and shame.

306.875 Colt, George Howe: BROTHERS: George Howe Colt on his Brothers and Brothers in History

 

Colt, one of four brothers, tells great family stories;  in between, he tells the stories of famous brothers such as the Booths, the Marx brothers, and many others (who knew there were so many?)  Glimpses into many lives, engagingly written.

THE INVISIBLE ONES by Stef Penney

The mysterious Romany culture is at the heart of this mesmerizing book, as a part-Romany detective searches for a missing young woman.  Nothing is as it seems, everything is secret.  A wonderful read.

A THRILLING PAIR by ERIN KELLY

Paul and Louisa, twenty years apart in age, meet and sparks fly.  Paul's story moves forward from the recent past, Louisa's from twenty years ago.  Atmospheric, a bit gothic, original.

A privileged family gathers to mourn their matriarch, unaware that a revengeful outsider is in their midst.  Creepy, suspenseful, terrific.

THE TRAIN OF SMALL MERCIES by David Rowell

 

In 1968, the train carrying Robert F. Kennedy’s body traveled from New York to Washington D.C.  This debut novel imagines several lives, from among the thousands who gathered along the tracks, and how this national tragedy affected them.

THE SCHOOLMASTER’S DAUGHTER by John Smolens

 

Boston on the brink of revolution provides the setting for the story of Abigail, one of three children of the headmaster of the Boston Latin School.  Her father is loyal to the Crown;  his children feel differently.  Abigail is increasingly torn between family loyalty and belief in independence.

IF JACK’S IN LOVE by Stephen Wetta

 

Twelve-year-old Jack narrates the story of his troubled family and its impact on his romantic feelings toward the lovely Myra, in this sometimes dark but mostly charming debut novel.