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Historical Fiction December 2025 |
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The Wasp Trap by Mark EdwardsSix friends reunite in London to celebrate the life of their recently deceased ex-employer, a professor that brought them together in 1999 to help build a dating website based on psychological testing, but a night of bittersweet nostalgia soon becomes a twisted and deadly game. An ultimatum is given: reveal their darkest secrets to the group or pick each other off one-by-one. It soon becomes clear that their current predicament is related to the love questionnaire they helped develop in 1999 for the dating site which was also turned into a tool for weeding out psychopaths: The Wasp Trap. This experiment and the other tragic events of that summer long ago may help reveal the truth behind a killer hiding in plain sight. Try this next: Things Don't Break on Their Own by Sarah Easter Collins.
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| Boleyn Traitor by Philippa GregorySet during the turbulent reign of Henry VIII, this latest from bestselling British author Philippa Gregory explores the life of Jane Boleyn, the wife of Anne Boleyn's brother. Jane serves five of Henry’s wives as lady-in-waiting and works with Thomas Cromwell as a spy in this atmospheric novel full of court intrigue. Fans of Gregory’s The Other Boleyn Girl and The Boleyn Inheritance will be glad to revisit the family here. |
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| The Elopement by Gill HornbyFanny Austen, a niece of Jane Austen, marries widowed Sir Edward Knatchbull in 1820 and parents his children, including teenage Mary Dorothea. Though she’s not fond of her new stepmother, Mary Dorothea does like the rest of the family, especially Fanny’s handsome brother Edward. For more witty novels about Jane Austen or her family, try: Gill Hornby’s Godmersham Park or Paula Byrne’s Six Weeks by the Sea. |
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| Christmas at the Women's Hotel by Daniel M. LaveryAt 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. |
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| The Silver Book by Olivia LaingLeaving London after an unspecified incident, art student Nicholas Wade heads to Italy in 1974. In Venice, he has a one-night stand with famed production and costume designer Danilo Donati and becomes his assistant, working with celebrated directors Federico Fellini and Pier Paolo Pasolini. But the country is in turmoil, which leads to murder in this “mesmerizing, contemplative, and haunting work” (Kirkus Reviews). Try this next: Retrospective by Juan Gabriel Vasquez. |
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| Bog Queen by Anna NorthThis immersive dual-timeline novel follows a young druid priestess from two thousand years ago and an American forensic anthropologist, Dr. Agnes Linstom, who’s been called to examine a body found in an English bog. As Agnes battles both a corporation and climate activists for access, the priestess deals with local rivals and an influx of Romans. Author Anna North “reaches new heights with this brilliant novel,” raves Publishers Weekly. Try this next: Circle of Days by Ken Follett. |
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The Gossip Columnist's Daughter by Peter OrnerJust days after the JFK assassination, Karyn 'Cookie' Kupcinet was found dead in her Hollywood apartment. The press reported that the 22-year-old was strangled, yet unanswered questions linger to this day. Cookie's parents, Chicago royalty Irv and Essee Kupcinet, had been close friends with author Jed Rosenthal's grandparents, but in the aftermath of her death, their friendship abruptly and inexplicably ended. Decades later, Jed pores over family stories, newspaper archives, old photos, and crime scene notes, believing that if he can divine the truth of Cookie's death, whether it was suicide, murder, or part of a larger conspiracy, it might shed light on a mystery closer to home. Try this next: The Nix by Nathan Hill.
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| The Hitchhikers by Chevy StevensAfter 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. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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