Historical FictionSeptember 2025
Recent Releases
Mob Queen
by Erin Bledsoe

Virginia Hill leaves her small Georgia town to move to 1930s Chicago with her abusive husband. Divorcing him, she works as a waitress at a restaurant owned by the mafia and soon embraces that life. Rising through the ranks, she moves to New York, dates Bugsy Siegel, and more. Based on a real woman, Mob Queen offers a fascinating look at mafia history. Try this next: Lou Berney's Crooks.
When Sleeping Women Wake
by Emma Pei Yin

Set during the Japanese invasion and occupation of Hong Kong in 1941, this moving debut follows three women: a Chinese wife who was unable to birth the son her wealthy husband desired; her maid, who's been like a sister to her for decades; and her beloved daughter. Navigating a new world, each will resist in her own way. Read-alikes: Andrew X. Pham's Twilight Territory; Eve J. Chung's Daughters of Shandong.
The English Masterpiece
by Katherine Reay

At London's Tate Modern Gallery, Lily Summers happily works as powerful curator Diana Gilden's assistant. But after viewing a painting Diana has authenticated at a 1973 Picasso exhibit, Lily blurts out that it's a fake, shocking the crowd and threatening her own career. Digging into the past, Lily tries to uncover the truth. Well-researched and evocative, this compelling novel has intrigue, memorable characters, and a bit of romance. For fans of: Kate Quinn; Fiona Davis.
The Art of a Lie
by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

After her husband's violent murder, Hannah Cole still runs her confectionary shop in 1749 London, but money is tighter than ever. She gets a bit of help from a stranger who knew her husband, but Chief Magistrate Henry Fielding thinks she may have been involved in her husband's death, leading her to look for the killer. Read-alikes: Katharine Schellman's The Body in the Garden; Kate Saunders' The Secrets of Wishtide.
Contact your librarian for more great books!
Gail Borden Public Library District


Main Library
- 270 N. Grove Ave., Elgin, IL 60120 - 847-742-2411

Rakow Branch - 2751 W. Bowes Rd., Elgin, IL 60124 - 847-531-7271

South Elgin Branch - 127 S. McLean Blvd., South Elgin, IL 60177 - 847-931-2090

http://www.gailborden.info/


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