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Historical Fiction May 2026 |
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| The Strong family farms, hunts, and makes moonshine in the Ozark Mountains during Prohibition, but when tragedy strikes, the three Strong sisters move to Hot Springs, Arkansas. Because the youngest has a talent for moonshine, they try to keep the family business going despite all odds in this richly detailed novel. You may also like Jess Montgomery's Kinship novels, starting with The Widows and Jeannette Walls' Hang the Moon. |
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| Railsongby Rahul BhattacharyaAfter her mother's death, five-year-old Charu Chitol takes on domestic chores for her railway foreman father and her two brothers while India endures a labor strike and a famine. At 16, she leaves for 1970s Bombay, where she works as a sales assistant and attends college. After her father's death in 1981, she finds work with his former employer, the Northeast Frontier Railway. This moving and deeply felt coming-of-age tale carries the reader on a fascinating journey. You may also like Alka Joshi's The Henna Artist. |
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| A Bad, Bad Place by Frances CrawfordIn 1979 Glasgow, 12-year-old Janey Devine, an orphan who lives with her nana, is out walking her dog, Sid Vicious, when she finds a dead body. It is the body of college-aged Samantha Watson, daughter of the local crime boss. Janey is traumatized, and she knows something she can't share with anyone, though the cops keep questioning her. Samantha's grieving dad also visits Janey. This evocative, leisurely paced debut is gritty, but it has threads of humor throughout. Readalikes include Marie Tierney's Deadly Animals and Jennie Godfrey's The List of Suspicious Things. |
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| The Shock of the Light by Lori Inglis HallWorld War II separates tight-knit twins Theo and Tessa when Theo joins the Royal Air Force, and French-speaking Tessa trains as a Special Operations Executive (SOE) operative. Afterwards, a wounded Theo mourns war casualties, hides his homosexuality since it is illegal, and wonders about his still-missing sister. Decades later, PhD candidate Edie researches women in the SOE, and she and Theo team up to investigate what happened to Tessa. Also try Lucy Caldwell's These Days. |
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| I Hope You Find What You're Looking for by Bsrat MezghebeThis thoughtful novel flashes back to pivotal 1970s events in the lives of Eritrean immigrants in 1991 Alexandria, Virginia. Widowed ex-rebel fighter Elsa and her 13-year-old daughter, Lydia, host a newly arrived teenaged cousin, and he pushes Lydia learn more about her dad, who died fighting for independence. Meanwhile, an older relative ponders
her last chance at marriage. This book is perfect for fans of moving immigrant stories. You may also like One Blood by Denene Millner. |
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| The Sisters of Book Row by Shelley NobleIn 1915 New York, the three Applebaum sisters live together and run the rare bookshop they inherited from their dad. Olivia handles repairs while friendly Daphne and the youngest sister Celia run the store. Each sister has her secrets, including Celia's distribution of banned women's health articles. With classic literature and art also at risk due to the censorious Comstock Laws, New York's Book Row shopkeepers work together. This book is perfect for fans of timely historical tales and well-researched, slow-burn novels. |
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| Evil Genius by Claire OshetskyIn 1970s San Francisco, 19-year-old Celia works at the telephone company when a scandal erupts: an adulterous coworker has been murdered by her husband. Unhappily married to a controlling man 11 years her senior, Celia finds the sex and violence of the story tantalizing, and she begins to dream of freedom and killing her spouse in this slightly surreal and darkly humorous novel. You may also like Dear Monica Lewinsky by Julia Langbein. |
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| Where the Girls Were by Kate SchatzIn 1968 California, strait-laced Elizabeth Baker Phillips is a high school valedictorian who's headed to Stanford in the fall. But after falling for a guy at a party, Elizabeth discovers she's pregnant. Forced by her
mother to hide away at a San Francisco home for unwed mothers, she navigates her new reality. Readalikes include Susan Wiggs' The Wayward Girls; Leila Mottley's The Girls Who Grew Big; and Laura Anthony's The Women on Platform Two. |
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| Fatherland by Victoria ShorrA family is broken apart when the father, feckless physician Martin, leaves to be with his pregnant mistress. Dealing with her pain and the embarrassment of divorce in a well-to-do 1950s Ohio suburb, Martin's beautiful wife Lora adjusts to life as a single mom. The eldest, seven-year-old daughter Josie, especially misses her dad. Focusing on Martin, Lora, and Josie over several decades, this layered novel is great for book clubs. For fans of Buckeye by Patrick Ryan. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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