Recommendations based on "A Pair of Aces"

A hauntingly powerful and emotionally charged novel about family secrets, love and loss, identity and belonging.Two children trapped in the same attic, almost a century apart, bound by a shared secret.Early 1900s London: Taken from his homeland, twelve-year-old Celestine spends most of the time locked away in the attic of a large house by the sea. The only time Celestine isn’t bound by confines of the small space is when he is acting as an unpaid servant to English explorer Sir Richard Babbington, As the years pass, he desperately clings on to memories of his family in Africa, even as he struggles to remember his mother’s face, and sometimes his real name . . .1974: Lowra, a young orphan girl born into wealth and privilege whose fortunes have now changed, finds herself trapped in the same attic. Searching for a ray of light in the darkness of the attic, Lowra finds under the floorboards an old-fashioned pen, a porcelain doll, a beaded necklace, and a message carved on the wall, written in an unidentifiable language. Providing comfort for her when all hope is lost, these clues will lead her to uncover the secrets of the attic.

A London actor was dying for a star billing...From the leading lady's liaison to the harassment of an aging juvenile lead-there's never a dull moment, darling, at the Vulcan Theatre. But vanity and hysterics, suspicion and superstition, brandy and jealousy, are upstaged by a death on opening night. Was it really suicide? Or a macabre encore to a long-ago murder in the same backstage room? Scotland Yard's cast of suspects for the final curtain.

Lucia, mayor of Tilling and leader of local society faces a new challenge from her social rival Elizabeth Mapp-Flint

Not wishing to cause a scandal within the Joneses' household, Emma chooses to make a clean break from her old life and takes a train to the sea. As chance would have it, Emma finds herself sharing a car with another maid, one who serves at a large manor in the country. A big house bustling with servants seems an ideal place in which to move forward after losing her mistress and leaving her love back in London. Learning the precise dance of domestic service in her new environment is a welcome challenge, but how long can hard work divert Emma's mind from the longing of her heart?

Brenda Joyce has enthralled millions of readers with her New York Times bestselling novels. Now, join us in the next chapter of her unforgettable storytelling: the Francesca Cahill novels. Step into the glittering world of New York City's high society at the turn of the last century, where murder and pleasure are one and the same, and love becomes the ultimate weapon...Francesca Cahill comes from one of New York's best families. Her mother is a leading socialite, her father, a millionaire. Their expectations for their daughter are simple-- marry well, and soon. But the intrepid and self-styled "Crime-Solver Extraordinaire" has other plans...Francesca discovered she had a penchant for sleuthing when she met Rick Bragg, New York City's powerful and enigmatic Police Commissioner. Together, they solved what was known as the crime of the century. Now, their paths are destined to come together once again, but this time far more dangerously and fatefully. For Francesca is tempted to give in to the desire she and Rick have been resisting. And when Bragg's arch-rival Calder Hart arrives in town, a respectable man is suddenly found dead, and now murder is the name of the game...

Clodia Metelli: The Tribune's Sister is the first full-length biography of a Roman aristocrat whose colorful life, as described by her contemporaries, has inspired numerous modern works of popular fiction, art, and poetry. Clodia, widow of the consul Metellus Celer, was one of several prominent females who made a mark on history during the last decades of the Roman Republic. As the eldest sister of the populist demagogue P. Clodius Pulcher, she used her wealth and position to advance her brother's political goals. For that she was brutally reviled by Clodius' enemy, the orator M. Tullius Cicero, in a speech painting her as a scheming, debauched whore. Clodia may also have been the alluring mistress celebrated in the love poetry of Catullus, whom he calls "Lesbia" in homage to Sappho and depicts as beautiful, witty, but also false and corrupt. From Cicero's letters, finally, we receive glimpses of a very different woman, a great lady at her leisure. This study examines Clodia in the contexts of her family background, the societal expectations for a woman of her rank, and the turbulent political climate in which she operated. It weighs the value of the several kinds of testimony about her and attempts to extract a picture as faithful to historical truth as possible. The manner in which Clodia was represented in writings of the period, and the motives of their authors in portraying her as they did, together shed considerable light on the role played by female figures in Roman fiction and historiography.

* THE UNMISSABLE SHORT STORY COLLECTION FEATURING MODESTY BLAISE *'The finest escapist thrillers ever written' THE TIMES'Before Buffy, before Charlie's Angels, before Purdy and Emma Peel, there was Modesty Blaise' OBSERVERDiscover new Modesty Blaise stories in the final collection from legend Peter O'Donnell, spanning his heroine's career from running her criminal empire, the Network, to working for British Intelligence. Including 'Bellman', 'The Dark Angels', 'Old Alex', The Girl With the Black Balloon' and 'Cobra Trap', this collection reveals the untold tales of the world's most famous agent. From her youth in the criminal underworld, to fighting rebels in the jungles of central America and pitched battles on board a moving train, this collection featuring the classic duo of Modesty Blaise and her loyal lieutenant Willie Garvin is an essential part of any Modesty fan's library.

Peaky Blinders--but with women! In the thrilling final installment of Beezy Marsh's riveting crime trilogy about a real-life London gang that began with Queen of Thieves, we go back to crime queen Alice Diamond's bold beginnings in 1920s Soho. London, 1922. Orphan girl Alice dreams of more than toiling long hours in Pink's jam factory. Inspired by stories about the legendary Queen of Thieves, Mary Carr, who terrorized the streets of Victorian London, Alice decides to set up her own gang: the Forty Thieves. She has an accomplice too: sly seamstress Kate Felix from Whitechapel persuades Alice they'd make the perfect team. Before long, the pair are making headlines in the glitzy world of 1920s Soho, known for their daring heists and for the row of heavy diamond rings that Alice uses like brass knuckles in her frequent brawls. What Alice soon discovers is that a life of crime makes her powerful enemies, including some who are closer to home than they'd like. Alice must sacrifice more than she ever imagined--but the toughest and most beautiful diamonds are formed under pressure. From squalid slums and the grim confines of Holloway Prison to the glittering nightclubs of London in the roaring twenties, Queen of Diamonds is a fast-paced, gritty story of love, loss, and loyalty to the gang. Women's fiction with brass knuckles on!

An inspirational true story of a 4 year old girl who fell into the power of a man whose evil knew no bounds. She encountered terrifying mental and physical torture from her psychopathic stepfather for a period of 17 years until she managed to break free, her spirit still unbrokenJane Elliott fell into the hands of her sadistic and brutal stepfather when she was 4 years old. Her story is both inspiring and horrifying. Kept a virtual prisoner in a fortress-like house and treated to daily and ritual abuse, Jane nonetheless managed to lose herself in a fantasy world which would keep her spirit alive. Equally as horrifying as the physical abuse Jane suffered, were the mental games her tormentor played -- getting his kicks from seeing Jane humiliated, confused, crushed and defeated at every turn. Her family and neighbourhood were all terrified of Jane's stepfather so no-one held out a rescuing hand. So Jane had to help herself. When she was 21 she ran away with her baby daughter and boyfriend to start a new life in hiding. Several years on she found the courage to go to the police. A court case followed where Jane bravely stood up against the unrepentant aggressor she so feared. He was j

Gin Kelly, the wicked redhead, is back! Readers will delight in next installment of the Wicked City series by New York Times bestselling author Beatriz Williams. June 1925. Audacious Appalachian flapper Geneva "Gin" Kelly prepares to trade her high-flying ways for respectable marriage to Oliver Anson Marshall, a steadfast Prohibition agent who happens to hail from one of New York's most distinguished families. But just as wedding bells chime, the head of the notorious East Coast rum-running racket--and Anson's mortal enemy--turns up murdered at a society funeral, and their short-lived honeymoon bliss goes up in a spectacular blaze that sends Anson back undercover...and into the jaws of a trap from which not even Gin can rescue him. As violence explodes around her, Gin must summon all her considerable moxie to trace the tentacles of this sinister organization back to their shocking source, and face down a legendary American family at a rigged game it has no intention of losing. June 1998. When Ella Dommerich's ninetysomething society queen aunt Julie ropes her into digging up dirt on Senator (and Presidential candidate) Franklin Hardcastle in order to settle old family scores, she couldn't be less enthusiastic. Pregnant Ella's recently ditched her unfaithful husband and settled into cozy--if complicated--domesticity with her almost-too-good-to-be-true musician boyfriend, Hector. But then the Hardcastle secrets lead to a web of shady dealings Ella's uncovered in her job as a financial analyst, and the bodies start to tumble out of the venerable woodwork. With the help of her ex-husband and her mysterious connection to a certain redheaded flapper, Ella digs up more than mere dirt...only to discover herself standing alone between a legendarily ruthless family and the prize it's sought for generations. What ugly secrets lurk in the opulent enclaves--and bank accounts--of America's richest families? And can two determined women from two different generations thwart the murderous legacy of the demon liquor?