HISTORICAL FICTION: TARA HENLEY
Sold on a Monday By Kristina McMorris, Sourcebooks, 352 pages, $22.99
When New York Times bestselling author Kristina McMorris stumbled upon an old photograph from a 1948 copy of the Vidette-Messenger of Valparaiso, Ind., she was stunned. The image depicted a group of children huddled together on the front steps of a Chicago apartment complex, in front of a sign that read “Four Children For Sale: Inquire Within,” their agonized mother shielding her face in the background. The Oregon author found the desperation of the family’s poverty so heartbreaking, she decided to dive into their narrative and rewrite history. “The book in your hands,” she writes in the author note, “was my attempt to give the children in the photo the loving and compassionate outcome that, in my heart, I felt they deserved.” As such, “Sold on a Monday” sees a pair of young up-and-comers — secretary and aspiring newspaper columnist Lillian Palmer and pal Ellis Reed, a reporter for the society pages — embroiled in a complex relationship with just such a family, in this case in 1931, during the Depression. As the duo intervene in the kids’ lives, they must navigate both ethical dilemmas and their own rising stars in the world of journalism. And, in the process, define their complex relationship with one another. A riveting tale that holds surprising resonance for today’s news climate.
Miss Kopp Just Won’t Quit By Amy Stewart Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 320 pages, $37.00
The trail-blazing New Jersey deputy sheriff Constance Kopp is an actual historical figure from the early 1900s, a hero to some and a “demon deputy” and “troublesome lady policeman” to others. New York Times bestselling author Amy Stewart has won legions of loyal fans bringing her back to life on the page. Here, in the fourth instalment in the Kopp Sisters series, we find Deputy Sherriff Kopp a year into her job, in 1916. She chases down thieves and saves the lives of lunatics who jump into the river, all the while attempting to aid her boss, Sheriff Heath win a seat in Congress in a high-stakes election season. But Heath’s compassionate views on prisoner reform prove unpopular during uncertain times, and together the pair face all manner of obstacles as they pursue office and care for the wayward women in their jail. This is a fast-paced, enormously fun novel, written in the most compelling of voices. “Miss Kopp Just Won’t Quit” is a pleasure not to be missed.
Transcription By Kate Atkinson Doubleday Canada, 352 pages, $32.00
A release of documents from Britain’s secret service to the National Archives provided the fodder for this much-anticipated title from award-winning British novelist Kate Atkinson, famous for a detective series that inspired the BBC show “Case Histories.” The M15 files tell the story of an ordinary bank clerk who was an agent during the First World War, infiltrating circles of fascist sympathizers in the U.K. Interestingly, these documents included transcriptions of his many interviews while posing as a Gestapo agent. Atkinson began wondering about the women who would have typed up such recordings, and “Transcription” was born. The novel follows headstrong 18-year-old Juliet Armstrong, who’s been cherry-picked for this post. It chronicles both the perils of her clandestine spy activities, and, a decade after the war, the aftermath as she serves as a BBC radio producer. Ambitious and cerebral.
Daughters of Castle Deverill By Santa Montefiore Simon & Schuster UK, 592 pages, $22.00
In the second instalment of her blockbuster series, previously published in the U.K. and the U.S., Santa Montefiore revisits her three plucky heroines, who’ve grown up together on the grounds of the imposing Castle Deverill in the Irish countryside, in the shadow of a longstanding curse. When our story picks up, rebels have burned down the English ancestral seat, and the conflict has separated Kitty from her true love. Her cousin Celia, meanwhile, has purchased the castle, planning to restore it to its previous glory, and former maid Bridie has made her fortune in America, returning as a rich — and resentful — widow. Now, in 1925, with the Great Depression on the horizon, the childhood friends face further adversity, and show themselves to be hugely compelling characters. Montefiore, herself raised in British high society (her father is Charles Palmer-Tomkinson, a close friend of Prince Charles), offers an insider’s look at the life of the aristocracy, writing with skill and insight. Those hooked on the daughters of Ireland series will no doubt wait with bated breath for the next instalment..