Books like 'The Coward's Way'
Readers who enjoyed The Coward's Way by Kate Aaron also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical romance mystery mlm suspense lgbtq family cozy historical-fiction
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The Mistletoe Countess by Pepper Basham
Rated: 4.70 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWill the magic of Christmas bring these two newlyweds closer together, or will the ghosts of the past lead them into a destructive discovery from which not even a Dickens’s Christmas can save them? Mistletoe is beautiful and dangerous, much like the woman from Lord Frederick’s Percy’s past, so when he turns over a new leaf and arranges to marry for his estate, instead of his heart, he never... -
Fatal by Design by Cara Devlin
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA summer house party in the English countryside.A missing rare jewel.An abducted viscountess.The secrets and complications keeping Audrey and Hugh apart begin to unravel when they team up to solve a puzzling mystery surrounding the disappearance of Audrey’s sister, the Viscountess Redding, and a long-lost ring worth a fortune... -
Murder Book by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn the second of the Boystown mysteries to be a finalist for the Lambda Award, it’s fall 1982 and Chicago is gripped by panic after five people die from poisoned Tylenol capsules. Amid the chaos, the Bughouse Slasher takes his eighth victim, this time striking close to private investigator Nick Nowak. With the Chicago Police Department stretched to its limit, Nick takes matters into his own hands... -
Once Upon a Temptingly Ruinous Kiss (The Whickertons in Love) by Bree Wolf
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn this Regency romance by USA Today bestselling and HOLT Medallion winning author Bree Wolf, a brooding marquess and a bookish lady realize that love can conquer all...particularly when one least expects it.A marquess hell-bent on revenge.A lady haunted by her past.And an encounter that just might save them both.England 1802: Lady Leonora, daughter to the Earl of Whickerton, longs to understand. -
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Lady Osbaldestone’s Plum Puddings by Stephanie Laurens
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratings#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens brings you the delights of a long-ago country-village Christmas, featuring a grandmother, her grandchildren, an artifact hunter, the lady who catches his eye, and three ancient coins that draw them all together in a Christmas treasure hunt... -
The Shadow Palace (The House of Closed Doors) by Jane Steen
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFor unwed mother Nell Lillington, 1876 Chicago—and her new wealth—offer the promise of longed-for independence. She dreams of a place in society for her daughter Sarah and contentment for her friend Tess... -
A Gentleman Fallen on Hard Times by Grace Burrowes
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA man dwelling in darkness...Lord Julian Caldicott has come home from the war in ragged health and with a reputation in tatters. All he wants is to recuperate in private without bringing any further scandal on the family’s good name... -
The Stationmaster's Cottage by Phillipa Nefri Clark
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsChristie is happy in her life... or so she tells herself. Despite the tragedy in her childhood, she has a satisfying career, a city apartment, and a long-term relationship. But deep down she yearns for a simpler life. Family. A garden. And a place to heal her heart.The decision to attend a funeral in a town she's never heard of throws her safe world into disarray, exposing the holes in her life... -
At the Corner of King Street by Mary Ellen Taylor
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe author of The Union Street Bakery presents a new novel about a woman searching for a fresh start—while unable to forget the past… Adele “Addie” Morgan grew up in a house filled with pain and loss. Determined to live life on her own terms, Addie moves to the country and finds a job at a vineyard where she discovers stability, happiness, and—best of all—love with the kind owner, Scott... -
From the Ashes by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIt’s winter 1984. Private Investigator Nick Nowak has allowed his life to fall to pieces: He’s stopped taking cases, given up his apartment and taken a job as a bartender at a sleazy joint tucked under the El. All he wants to do is stay hidden and lick his wounds after the death of his lover, Detective Bert Harker... -
The Gilded Lily by Irina Shapiro
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsEvery old house has its secrets, so it comes as no surprise when a relic of a noble Victorian family is discovered in the new home of historical author Nicole Rayburn and her husband Kyle. Curious about the lovely young woman in the sepia photograph, Nicole delves into the history of the family and stumbles on a long-forgotten mystery... -
Deadly Kin by Lucinda Brant, Matthew Lloyd Davies
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAlec is back! Summer 1764. Alec and Selina anxiously await the birth of their first child at their estate in Kent. It should be a time of family celebration, but the death of a young poacher has Alec investigating murder. And when renovations to his sprawling manor unearth a secret burial chamber, a shocking family secret comes to light...Categorized as:
historical-fiction suspense family romance industrial-era georgian mystery audiobook -
The Secrets of Lord Grayson Child by Stephanie Laurens
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratings#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens returns to the world of the Cynsters’ next generation with the tale of an unconventional nobleman and an equally unconventional noblewoman learning to love and trust again... -
The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K.J. Charles
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsBridgerton meets Poldark in this sweeping LGBTQIA+ Regency romance from award-winning author KJ CharlesAbandoned by his father as a small child, Sir Gareth Inglis has grown up prickly, cold, and well-used to disappointment. Even so, he longs for a connection, falling headfirst into a passionate anonymous affair that's over almost as quickly as it began... -
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The Lies That Bind by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe eighth book of the best-selling Boystown Mystery Series begins with a phone call in the middle of the night. Private investigator Nick Nowak is pulled into the troubled world of freelance journalist, and all around pain-in-the-ass, Christian Baylor. When Christian can’t stop lying about the corpse in his bathroom things slip slowly out of control... -
Bloodlines by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn the latest book in the Boystown Mystery series, Private Investigator Nick Nowak finds himself simultaneously working two cases for his new client, law firm Cooke, Babcock and Lackerby. A suburban dentist has just been convicted of murdering her adulterous husband, Nick is asked to interview witnesses for the penalty phase of the trial—and possibly find the dead man’s mistress... -
Josh Lanyon Collected Novellas #1 by Josh Lanyon
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn Dangerous Ground a casino robbery finds government agents Taylor and Will playing a game of cat-and-mouse with remorseless killers in the wilderness of California's High Sierras. Snowball in Hell introduces police detective Lt. Matthew Spain and reporter Nathan Doyle, men thrown together by murder. But, in post-WWII Los Angeles consequences of their attraction are serious, even for good guys... -
The Favored Son by Sarah Woodbury
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNovember 1147. Gareth and Gwen have again been called to a castle belonging to Robert, Earl of Gloucester, this time by Prince Henry, who insists his uncle was murdered. Allying with Normans doesn't come easily to Gareth and Gwen, but initial doubts are swept aside as more losses come to light... -
A Lark's Conceit by Lynn Messina
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsVerity Lark is in a new flap!Bedeviled by Colson Hardwicke’s treatment—summarily dumping her via tersely worded message!—Verity Lark is lying awake in her bed seething over his behavior when she hears a floorboard creak. Immediately alert to the presence of a late-night intruder, she deftly thwarts the attack. Taking her would-be kidnapper captive is easy... -
The Time for Love by Stephanie Laurens
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratings#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens explores what happens when a gentleman intent on acquiring a business meets the unconventional lady-owner, only to discover that she is not the biggest or the most lethal hurdle they and the business face... -
The Unlikely Spy by Sarah Woodbury
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAugust 1146. Prince Hywel has called all the bards of Wales to him for a music festival to mark the third anniversary of his rule over Ceredigion. He has invited all the lords of Wales too, including his father, his uncle, and his neighbor to the south, King Cadell. But with the highborn also come the low: thieves, spies, and other hangers-on... -
Golden Terrace, Vol. 2 by Cang Wu Bin Bai, 苍梧宾白
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAs the bond between Fu Shen and Yan Xiaohan deepens, the looming threat above the empire of Great Zhou remains omnipresent. After the settlement of the Kuangshan Academy case, Yan Xiaohan accompanies Prince Qi southward to Jingchu. However, an unexpected storm traps Prince Qi’s party inside a mysterious temple and leads Yan Xiaohan into a hidden lion’s den... -
Late Fees by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIt’s Thanksgiving, 1992 and Noah Valentine is late picking his mother up from the airport. When he arrives he discovers that she’s made a friend on the flight whose also waiting for her son. When women’s son doesn’t show up, they eventually take the woman home for breakfast with neighbor’s Marc and Louis... -
Shoulder the Sky by D.E. Stevenson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratings‘Consistently charming’ The Times Rhoda, an artist from London and her childhood sweetheart James finally wed, following a lot of deliberation — particularly on Rhoda’s side... -
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The Royal Assassin: A Victorian era clean cozy mystery by Kate Parker
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen the Duke of Blackford enters her bookstore, Georgia knows the Archivist Society is in need of her services. The Tsar of Russia and his family are visiting Queen Victoria on the auspices of the engagement of the Russian princess Kira to the son of the Queen’s cousin...Categorized as:
historical-fiction cozy suspense romance mystery historical industrial-era victorian -
Safe at the Edge of the World by Jean Grainger
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratings'What you get with a Jean Grainger book is warm, authentic writing that welcomes you into the heart of Ireland' Kate Kerrigan, New York Times bestselling author of the Ellis Island trilogy.A tranquil Irish vacation, music, scenery, food... but someone on this tour has a secret he's desperate to keep concealed.Sequel to the #1 Bestseller, The Tour... -
The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA high society amateur detective at the heart of Regency London uses her wits and invisibility as an 'old maid' to protect other women in a new and fiercely feminist historical mystery series from New York Times bestselling author Alison Goodman.Lady Augusta Colebrook, "Gus," is determinedly unmarried, bored by society life, and tired of being dismissed at the age of forty-two... -
The Apothecary Diaries (Light Novel): Volume 4 by Natsu Hyuuga
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsThough her main duty is still looking after Consort Gyokuyou, Maomao finds time to help her friends and acquaintances in the rear palace, including Xiaolan, who will need a job after her term of service ends, and Consort Lishu, who’s convinced she’s seen a ghost! When complications arise with Gyokuyou’s pregnancy, however, Maomao knows she’s not skilled enough to handle a situation that could... -
Hidden Treasures by Marshall Thornton
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt’s about a dress. A valuable blue sequined dress worn by a famed actress in a film from the 1940s. For some reason everyone thinks video storeowner Noah Valentine has it. Which might not be a big deal except that it’s connected to the murder of a prominent Hollywood costumer.In the second of the Pinx Video Mysteries, Noah attempts to solve the mystery of the dress... -
All Lessons Learned: A classic mystery romance by Charlie Cochrane
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“A sparkling, intelligent series, not to be missed” – The Historical Novel Society The Great War is over. Freed from a prisoner of war camp and back at St. Bride’s College, Orlando Coppersmith is discovering what those years have cost.... All he holds dear—including his beloved Jonty Stewart, lost in combat... -
The Dragon Lady by Louisa Treger
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings'A daring blend of romance, crime and history, and an intelligent exposé of the inherent injustice and consequences of all forms of oppression' Tsitsi Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions Opening with the shooting of Lady Virginia 'Ginie' Courtauld in her tranquil garden in 1950s Rhodesia, The Dragon Lady tells Ginie's extraordinary story, so called for the exotic tattoo snaking up her leg... -
The Tycoon Murderer by Maureen Driscoll
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTHE TYCOON MURDERER is the first book in a new time-travel romance/cozy mystery series set in the Pacific Northwest. When Josie Matthews buys a Victorian mansion with a notorious past, she hopes to turn it into a successful inn... -
Speculations in Sin by Jennifer Ashley
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTo save an innocent man’s life, amateur sleuth and cook Kat Holloway must expose a financial scam that could ruin the most powerful aristocrats in Victorian-era London, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Secret of Bow Lane... -
A Shimmer in the Night by Kelley York
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBenjamin Prichard has spent much of his life feeling like an outsider. Growing up, his odd behaviour and visions of ghosts left him isolated, not to mention being the child of an immigrant mother and an absent father. Benjamin walks the line between not being Chinese enough for one community, and not English enough for the other.Whisperwood School for Boys changes everything... -
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The Fourth Horseman by Sarah Woodbury
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMay 1144. Newly wedded, Gareth and Gwen travel across the border into England on a diplomatic mission with Prince Hywel of Wales. But when the mission goes awry and a murder case drops (literally) at their feet, Gareth and Gwen race to uncover a plot that threatens not only their lives, but the life of the future King of England himself... -
The Burning Plain by Michael Nava
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsGay Mexican American lawyer Henry Rios has fought bigotry and prejudice, battled alcoholism, and watched his lover die from AIDS. In The Burning Plain, he's wrongly accused of murder after a male prostitute he spent an evening with is savagely murdered... -
Howtown by Michael Nava
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWinner of six Lambda Literary awards, the Henry Rios mystery series is iconic and Michael Nava has been hailed by the New York Times as "one of our best" crime writers. Upon its original publication, the Los Angeles Times said of Howtown and its author: "Nava's mysteries are faithful to the conventions of the genre, but they are set apart by their insight, compassion, and sense of social justice. -
The Hidden Law by Michael Nava
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWinner of six Lambda Literary awards, the Henry Rios mystery series is iconic. In The Hidden Law, Rios delves deeply into his Latino identity as he defends a young man charged with assassinating a prominent Los Angeles Latino politician... -
Lessons in Power by Charlie Cochrane
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe ghosts of the past will shape your future. Unless you fight them. Cambridge Fellows Mysteries, Book 4 Cambridge, 1907 After settling in their new home, Cambridge dons Orlando Coppersmith and Jonty Stewart are looking forward to nothing more exciting than teaching their students and playing rugby... -
The Silent Order by Melanie Dobson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsCleveland, Ohio, 1928. Secrets bind the notorious Cardano family together, but Detective Rollin Wells is close to exposing the family’s dark secrets. The Cardanos are working in the hills south of Cleveland, and when Rollin travels to Sugarcreek to investigate, he discovers that the Cardanos want him dead... -
How Goes The World? by K.J. Charles
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe Positively Final Appearance: a two-part epilogue with Daniel and Archie at a house party and Kim and Will in a gentleman's club, because those are definitely settings that go well for them... -
Lady Violet Pays a Call by Grace Burrowes
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhile Lady Violet Belmaine is busy sorting out the odd turns her life has recently taken, Hugh St. Sevier repairs to his Kent estate in hopes of embarking on the placid life of a rural physician. Alas, for St. Sevier, the village of St. Ivo has more secrets than it has pots of heartease, and the good doctor will once again find himself the target of rumors and threats.Somebody is rigging St... -
City of Schemes by Victoria Thompson
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsElizabeth Miles is preparing for her wedding to Gideon Bates, when a menacing shadow from her past threatens to destroy the life she has built for herself in this all-new Counterfeit Lady Novel from USA Today bestselling author Victoria Thompson.The Great War is over, and Elizabeth and Gideon are busily planning their wedding and welcoming home old friends now discharged from the army... -
An Ominous Explosion by Lynn Messina
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTo be clear: Beatrice, Duchess of Kesgrave, does not think every dead person in London is the victim of a sinister plot. The city is large, after all, and some of its inhabitants had to have died from innocent causes. Like Peter Huzza, who was killed in a horrifying steam engine accident... -
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To Trust Man On His Oath by K.J. Charles
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA Will Darling Adventures interlude.Set a week after the ending of The Sugared Game (so containsmild spoilers for that book)... -
Whistling in the Dark by Tamara Allen
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsNew York, 1919. His career as a concert pianist ended by a war injury, Sutton Albright returns to college, only to be expelled after an affair with a teacher. Unable to face his family, he heads to New York with no plans and little money–only a desire to call his life his own.Jack Bailey’s life has changed as well... -
A Disappearance in Drury Lane by Ashley Gardner
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLate December, 1818 As Captain Gabriel Lacey prepares for his upcoming wedding, his former neighbor, Marianne Simmons, comes to him about an actress friend who’s gone missing. Lacey agrees to help look for the actress, little realizing that the search will pit him against men who think nothing of abduction, assault, or sending incendiary devices to the innocent... -
Masters in This Hall by K.J. Charles
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsJohn Garland was in love: now he's in disgrace. He's jobless, alone, and determined to avenge himself on the thief who ruined his life. All he wants for Christmas is to see Barnaby Littimer in gaol.Barnaby has secured a job running the extravagant traditional Christmas at a rich man's country house. John intends to thwart whatever he's up to... -
The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond by Jaime Jo Wright
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFor over a century, the town of Gossamer Grove has thrived on its charm and midwestern values, but Annalise Forsythe knows painful secrets, including her own, hover just beneath the pleasant faade. When a man is found dead in his run-down trailer home, Annalise inherits the trailer, along with the pictures, vintage obituaries, and old revival posters covering its walls... -
Shadow at the Morgue by Cara Devlin
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAn acquaintance with death Haunted by the unsolved murder of her family fifteen years ago, Leonora Spencer has always been familiar with death. And now, as an assistant to her uncle in his London morgue, she uses her photographic memory to catalogue details for his coroner’s reports...
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