New Releases in Historical Fiction: January 2-8

Happy New Year, dear readers! 2017 is starting off with some very interesting releases in historical fiction.

The Echo of Twilight by Judith Kinghorn

Paperback Release Date: January 3, 2017

From the acclaimed author of The Last Summer, a captivating and moving story of the unlikely relationship between a lady and her maid on the eve of World War I.

As I watched him—his long legs striding the narrow path through the heather, his golden hair catching the sun—I had a hideous feeling in the pit of my stomach. For it seemed as though he was already marching away from me.

In 1914, despite the clouds of war threatening Europe, Pearl Gibson’s future is bright. She has secured a position as a lady’s maid to a wealthy Northumberland aristocrat, a job that will win her not only respect but an opportunity to travel and live in luxury. Her new life at Lady Ottoline Campbell’s Scottish summer estate is a whirlwind of intrigue and glamour, scandals and confidences—and surprisingly, a strange but intimate friendship with her employer.

But when violence erupts in Europe, Pearl and Ottoline’s world is irrevocably changed. As the men in their lives are called to the front lines, leaving them behind to anxiously brace for bad news, Pearl realizes she must share one final secret with her mistress—a secret that will bind them together forever...

The Tumbling Turner Sisters by Juliette Fay

Paperback Release Date: January 3, 2017

For fans of Orphan Train and Water for Elephants, a compelling historical novel from “one of the best authors of women’s fiction” (Library Journal). Set against the turbulent backdrop of American Vaudeville, four sisters embark on an unexpected adventure—and a last-ditch effort to save their family.

It’s 1919, and the Turners are barely scraping by. When their father loses his job, their irrepressible mother decides that vaudeville is their best chance to make the rent—and create a more exciting life for herself in the process.

Traveling by train from town to town, teenagers Gert, Winnie, and Kit, and recent widow Nell soon find a new kind of freedom in the company of performers who are as diverse as their acts. There is a seamier side to the business, however, and the young women face dangers and turns of fate they never could have anticipated. Heartwarming and surprising, The Tumbling Turner Sisters is ultimately a story of awakening—to unexpected possibilities, to love and heartbreak, and to the dawn of a new American era.

The Mark of the King by Jocelyn Greene

Release Date: January 3, 2017

Sweeping Historical Fiction Set at the Edge of the Continent

After being imprisoned and branded for the death of her client, twenty-five-year-old midwife Julianne Chevalier trades her life sentence for exile to the fledgling 1720s French colony of Louisiana, where she hopes to be reunited with her brother, serving there as a soldier. To make the journey, though, women must be married, and Julianne is forced to wed a fellow convict.

When they arrive in New Orleans, there is no news of Benjamin, Julianne's brother, and searching for answers proves dangerous. What is behind the mystery, and does military officer Marc-Paul Girard know more than he is letting on?

With her dreams of a new life shattered, Julianne must find her way in this dangerous, rugged land, despite never being able to escape the king's mark on her shoulder that brands her a criminal beyond redemption.

Escape from Saigon: A Novel Hardcover by Michael Morris & Dick Pirozzolo

Release Date: January 3, 2017

Few thirty-day periods in history have been more tumultuous than the fall of Saigon in April of 1975. With US military gone for two years, the North Vietnamese Army routed South Vietnam's forces. Refugees poured into a city once known as the Paris of the Orient. The world watched and waited for what many expected would be a bloodbath.

"Escape from Saigon" follows the people trapped in the besieged city. Among them: a former GI attempting to rescue his Vietnamese wife's relatives; a Vietnamese-American network TV reporter; an American businessman risking his life to smuggle out his employees; and the remaining US diplomats, military liaisons, and CIA operatives. The NVA onslaught is spearheaded by two officers--one intent on restraint, the other bent on revenge in this final chapter of a war that has already taken millions of lives.

"Escape from Saigon" is a story of a city and its inhabitants struggling to survive in its most desperate hours--a tale that stays true to the historic record while recounting moments of human hardship, courage, and triumph.