Historical Psychological Thriller

Situated on a Turkish island, Portmantle might be the strangest, most exclusive artists' colony around. Its brilliant residents linger for years, all expenses paid and living under assumed names. Relieved of the burdens of time and ego, they are free to create their next masterpieces. Elspeth Conroy (aka "Knell") is a Scottish painter who has been at Portmantle for a decade, a refugee from the hectic London art scene. Her fellow longtimers include Quickman, whose sole book became a classic and paralyzed his muse.

As America plunges into the Great Depression, Marthanne Hendrix finds herself in rural Vidalia, Georgia, with no memory of how she got there.

Bewildered when the neighbors call her Oma, Marthanne is haunted by memories of another life—and another self. With the help of Comfort, a domestic worker living with her own tremendous loss, Marthanne discovers that Oma is another distinct personality inhabiting her body. In a time when mental illness is taboo, Marthanne and Oma’s simple, small-town life is fraught with complexity and danger.

With gossip running rampant, Marthanne and Oma will do anything to avoid their greatest fear: commitment to an insane asylum. Only by relying on Comfort’s kindness can they navigate their uncertain future. Friendship becomes sanctuary, and the quest for an ordinary life leads to an extraordinary bond.

Deeply moving and exquisitely wrought, Show Me a Kindness is a haunting novel of love, survival, and hiding in plain sight.

Andres Faulques, a world-renowned war photographer, has retired to a life of solitude on the Spanish coast. He spends his days painting a huge mural that pays homage to history's classic works of war art and that incorporates a lifetime of disturbing images.

The Darkness of Rashid by Steven Detmers is a paranormal and supernatural mystery novel set in Victorian London during the late 19th century. This gripping tale weaves a web of intrigue, exploring the enigmatic life of Rashid-Zahirah and his uncanny abilities to manipulate and predict the future. In the heart of London's bustling theater district, a fresh interpretation of Shakespeare's Hamlet draws an elite crowd, but it is the mysterious Rashid-Zahirah who steals the spotlight. With his striking appearance and unsettling aura, Rashid captivates the audience and commands the attention of ...

When Josephine Tey unexpectedly inherits Red Barn Cottage from her estranged godmother, the will stipulates that she must personally claim the house in the Suffolk countryside. But Josephine is not the only benefactor - a woman named Lucy Kyte is also in Hester's will. Sorting through the artifacts of her godmother's life, Josephine is intrigued by an infamous death committed on the cottage's grounds a century before. Yet this old crime - dubbed the Red Barn murder - still seems to haunt the tight-knit village and its remote inhabitants.

It's July 1940, and 11-year-old Lydia has just run away from life as a child evacuee in Wales. She arrives in her English village, gas mask in tow, only to find it abandoned. Her family's house is shuttered and empty, the windows covered by black-out blinds - but Lydia settles in, determined to wait there until they return.

Vienna, 1904. The body of a man is discovered in an abandoned piano factory on the outskirts of the city. Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt calls on his good friend Doctor Max Lieberman to assist in an investigation that draws them both into the unconventional world of fringe political activism. An appalling act of terror has been planned, and Rheinhardt must hope that Liebermann, with his profound knowledge of psychology and science, will be able to prevent the coming catastrophe.

In Romancing the Heart of the Volcano, volcanologist Elena Pinto arrives in Indonesia to decode deadly signals from Mount Merapi—but her mission is shaken by Reza Dharma, a temple guardian bound to ancient traditions. As lava stirs and tensions rise, Elena and Reza must bridge science and faith—while resisting a growing attraction neither expected. Amid secrets, eruptions, and betrayal, love may be their only chance to survive the fire threatening to consume everything they hold dear.

It’s just before Christmas, 1953. Grasby and Juggers are investigating a puzzling murder in the remote village of Uthley’s Bay. A fisherman has been found dead on the beach, with a stocking wound tight round his throat. Hundreds of pairs of stockings, in neat cellophane bags, soon wash up on the shore. A blizzard cuts off Grasby and Juggers from help, and the local innkeeper is murdered. Any remaining Christmas cheer goes up in smoke as the villagers refuse to talk, leaving the two detectives chasing false leads in the snow.

Between fending off a lecherous parole officer and trying to get by in 1978 San Francisco, private investigator Colleen Hayes struggles to put her life back together so she can reconnect with her runaway teenage daughter. Then, her life changes dramatically. She accepts a case from wealthy, retired industrialist Edward Copeland. The old man is desperate to solve the brutal murder of his daughter, a murder that took place in Golden Gate Park 11 years earlier - during the Summer of Love. The case has since gone cold, her murderer never found.

In 1944, 23-year-old Tess DeMello abruptly ends her engagement to the love of her life when she marries a mysterious stranger and moves to Hickory, North Carolina. Hickory is a small town struggling with racial tension and the hardships imposed by World War II. Tess' new husband, Henry Kraft, is a secretive man who often stays out all night, hides money from his new wife and shows no interest in making love. Tess quickly realizes she's trapped in a strange and loveless marriage with no way out.

In 1856 Boston, Katherine Ann Taylor was the picture of a perfect daughter—until she defied her father. Declared mentally unfit, she is forcibly committed to Ridgefield Asylum, a place where disobedient women are silenced under the guise of care. Stripped of her freedom, subjected to cruel treatments, and haunted by the eerie presence of Dr. Julian Aldridge, Katherine struggles to hold onto her sanity as Ridgefield threatens to consume her. Beyond the asylum’s iron gates, those who love Katherine refuse to let her disappear.

Detective Superintendent Jack Hawksworth of Scotland Yard has headed up three major serial operations, and in each of these cases, it seems he has lost a part of himself. He is burnt out and taken a shift sideways for a while, taking on a low-profile role of desk investigator out of London that's looking into whether a global crime scam exists. But when a number of young women start returning home ill and dying after travels in Europe, Jack uncovers a shocking black-market operation, with links that lead him all the way to a crime syndicate in South Australia.

Justice Three by H. Wilhelm Starkweather is a psychological fiction book set in London and Africa during the early 20th century. Justice Three is an intricately woven psychological thriller that delves into the minds of its characters, exploring themes of justice, deceit, and the moral complexities of revenge. Set against the vibrant backdrop of early 20th century London and the dangerous, untamed African landscape, this novel will captivate readers from the first page to the last. A young woman, Mirabelle Davis, finds herself entangled in a deadly game after answering an intriguing job ...

Utopia Lost by H. Wilhelm Starkweather is a psychological fiction book set in Blithedale, a small community near Boston, during the mid-19th century. Utopia Lost is a masterful blend of psychological fiction and historical narrative that delves deep into the human psyche. Set against the backdrop of a utopian community in the 19th century, this gripping novel follows the journey of Mister Armstrong as he grapples with his ideals and the harsh realities of human nature. Starkweather's intricate storytelling and profound character development make this a must-read for fans of psychological ...

For several years, time and circumstance have managed to separate Hallie Knight and her old friend Susan Trench. But when Susan disappears from her grandfather's seaside home on historic Topsail Island, it is Hallie whom Nicholas Trench calls for help. Wealthy, ill, and irascible, he refuses to believe that his beloved granddaughter and the heir to his fortune has been lost to him.

England, 1873. Clara Blackstone has just been released after one year in a private asylum for the insane. Clara has two goals: to reunite with her husband, Henry, and to never - ever - return to the asylum. As she enters Durham, Clara finds her carriage surrounded by a mob gathered to witness the imprisonment of Mary Ann Cotton - England’s first female serial killer - accused of poisoning nearly 20 people, including her husbands and children.

Biff Temperance, a gentle and withdrawn yet brilliant commodity futures trader, experiences a devastating emotional attack triggered by childhood memories. His breakdown is bad enough, but the timing is even worse. It occurs on a chaotic trading floor and leads to a catastrophic financial loss for his firm. His future in shambles, Biff abandons the meticulously structured life disengaged from the world, which he built for himself in New York City. He embarks on a trip to find his estranged father, who he hasn’t seen since he was five. His only clue about him is a recent letter containing ...

Cambodia, 1978. Amid the Khmer Rouge's crazed genocide, soldier of fortune Jack Elliott is given the impossible task of rescuing a family from the regime. Eighteen-year-old orphan and budding journalist Lisa Robinson has received the impossible news that her father is, in fact, alive. His name - Jack Elliott. As Jack tracks the hostages and Lisa traces her heritage, each is intent on reuniting a family. Yet to succeed, so must run a dangerous gauntlet of bullets and betrayal.

The seductive story of a dangerous love triangle, inspired by the infamous Nabokov marriage, with a spellbinding psychological thriller at its core. In the 1920s, Zoya Andropova, a young refugee from the Soviet Union, finds herself in the alien landscape of an elite all-girls New Jersey boarding school. Having lost her family, her home, and her sense of purpose, Zoya struggles to belong, a task made more difficult by the malice her peers heap on scholarship students and her new country's paranoia about Russian spies.