Forsyth County Public Library: Historical Fiction: December 2025

Recent Releases

The Gun Man Jackson Swagger
by Stephen Hunter

In 1897 Arizona Territory, sharpshooter and Civil War vet Jack Swagger takes a job guarding deliveries to and from Mexico for prosperous rancher Colonel Callahan. But not everything is as it seems in this western by Pulitzer Prize winner Stephen Hunter, which is “reminiscent of Larry McMurtry” (Booklist). For fans of: Hunter’s Bob Lee Swagger novels (which star a descendent of Jack); William W. Johnstone’s westerns.

Deeper Than the Ocean
by Mirta Ojito

One hundred years after the shipwreck of the Valbanera, known to history as the 'poor man's Titanic,' Mara Denis gets an assignment to report on the Canary Islands, where her ancestors lived before they moved to Cuba. Unexpectedly, she discovers that the grandmother her mother cherished was listed among the dead of the Valbanera, years before Mara's mother was even born. This fateful twist changes everything Mara thought she knew about her family and herself, and sends her on a quest to find the truth.

Christmas at the Women's Hotel
by Daniel M. Lavery

At New York’s Biedermeier Hotel in the 1960s, where unmarried working class women of all ages live, Christmas means jobs, some more legal than others. Meanwhile, the hotel manager ponders a large phone bill, secretive tenants, and missing jewels. Full of period charm and witty narration, this holiday follow-up novella to Women's Hotel will please fans.

Shadow Ticket
by Thomas Pynchon

Milwaukee 1932, the Great Depression going full blast, repeal of Prohibition just around the corner, Al Capone in the federal pen, the private investigation business shifting from labor-management relations to the more domestic kind. Hicks McTaggart, a one-time strikebreaker turned private eye, thinks he's found job security until he gets sent out on what should be a routine case, locating and bringing back the heiress of a Wisconsin cheese fortune who's taken a mind to go wandering. By the time Hicks catches up with her he will find himself entangled with Nazis, Soviet agents, British counterspies, swing musicians, practitioners of the paranormal, outlaw motorcyclists, and the troubles that come with each of them.

The Last Spirits of Manhattan
by John A. McDermott

In 1956, 20-something Midwesterner Carolyn Banks ponders her future and visits her Aunt Bella in Manhattan. Bella is selling the family mansion there, but not before renting it to Alfred Hitchcock for a “haunted” party with guests like Henry Fonda and Charles Addams. Since there really are ghosts there, Carolyn attends, hoping to keep her late relatives from causing too much trouble in this evocative and banter-filled debut novel. Try this next: Fiona Davis’ The Spectacular.

Cape Fever
by Nadia Davids

From award-winning South African author Nadia Davids comes a gothic psychological thriller set in the 1920s, where a young maid finds herself entangled with the spirits of a decaying manor and the secrets of its enigmatic owner. For readers of works by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Daphne du Maurier.

The Hitchhikers
by Chevy Stevens

After a loss, Tom and Alice try to save their marriage and heal by taking an RV trip across Canada in 1976. But giving a ride to a young couple who are far more dangerous than they appear leads to stunning consequences in this gritty, slow-burn historical thriller that’ll please fans of twisty plotting and memorable characters. For fans of: Simone St. James’ Murder Road.

American Achilles: A Novel of the South and the Great War
by Douglas Shouse

The year is 1917. Europe's disastrous 3-year war has now drawn America into its fiery vortex. The Clayton family, like many in the country, is torn and at odds with the looming involvement. The sequel to American Janus in the Southern Warrior Series, it continues the story of the Claytons, a proud, multi-generational North Carolina family.

Contact your librarian for more great books!