Books like 'A Murky Business'
Readers who enjoyed A Murky Business by Honoré de Balzac also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical mystery military, war & conflict classics historical-fiction crime politics war literary-fiction
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Kane & Abel by Jeffrey Archer
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsBorn on the same day near the turn of the century on opposite sides of the world, both men are brought together by fate and the quest of a dream. These two men -- ambitious, powerful, ruthless -- are locked in a relentless struggle to build an empire, fuelled by their all-consuming hatred...Categorized as:
classics crime historical-fiction literary-fiction politics war 20th-century action-adventure -
![Confessions by Jaume Cabré]()
Confessions by Jaume Cabré
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAt 60, Adrià Ardèvol re-examines his life before his memory is systematically deleted. He recalls a loveless childhood where the family antique business and his father’s study become the centre of his world; where a treasured Storioni violin retains the shadows of a crime committed many years earlier...Categorized as:
classics crime historical-fiction literary-fiction war 21st-century action-adventure adult -
![The Captains by W.E.B. Griffin]()
The Captains by W.E.B. Griffin
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsIt was more than an incident. It was a deadly assault across the 38th parallel. It was the Korean War. In the fear and frenzy of battle, those who had served with heroism before were called again by America to man the trenches and sandbag bunkers...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Mila 18 by Leon Uris]()
Mila 18 by Leon Uris
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsIt was a time of crisis, a time of tragedy and a time of transcendent courage and determination. Leon Uris's novel is set in the midst of the ghetto uprising that defied Nazi tyranny, as the Jews of Warsaw boldly met Wehrmacht tanks with homemade weapons and bare fists...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction politics war 20th-century action-adventure adult -
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![Behind the Lines by W.E.B. Griffin]()
Behind the Lines by W.E.B. Griffin
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsBehind the Lines is W. E. B. Griffin's powerful novel of World War II -- and the courage, patriotism, and sacrifice of those who fought it.By 1942, the Japanese have routed the outnumbered American forces and conquered the Philippines. But deep in the island jungles, the combat continues. Refusing to surrender, a renegade Army officer organizes a resistance force and vows to fight to the last man... -
![The Secretary by Catherine Hokin]()
The Secretary by Catherine Hokin
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsThe Tower House. Down a secluded path, hidden by overgrown vines, the crumbling villa echoes with memories. Of the family who laughed and sang there, until the Nazis tore them from their home. And of the next woman to walk its empty rooms, whose courage in the face of evil could alter the course of history…Germany 1940... -
![The Colonels by W.E.B. Griffin]()
The Colonels by W.E.B. Griffin
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsThey were the professionals, the men who had been toughened by combat in the mine-laden fields of Europe, in Korea, in Greece, in Indochina. Now, in the twilight of a dying decade, they must return to the United States to forge a new type of American soldier--one to be tested on the beaches of Cuba and in a new war yet to come.. -
![The Majors by W.E.B. Griffin]()
The Majors by W.E.B. Griffin
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsDien Bien Phu. Saigon. Hanoi. In 1954, they were only exotic names from a French campaign halfway around the world. But now American fighting men--proven on the bloody beaches of Normandy and in the minefields of Korea--are summoned to help beat back the guerilla forces of Ho Chi Minh. To some, the "secret" war in Indochina was the depth of folly... -
![Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada, Geoff Wilkes]()
Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada, Geoff Wilkes
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsInspired by a true story, Hans Fallada's Alone in Berlin is the gripping tale of an ordinary man's determination to defy the tyranny of Nazi rule. This Penguin Classics edition contains an afterword by Geoff Wilkes, as well as facsimiles of the original Gestapo file which inspired the novel. Berlin, 1940, and the city is filled with fear...Categorized as:
classics crime historical-fiction literary-fiction politics war 20th-century action-adventure -
![Tomorrow They Won't Dare to Murder Us by Joseph Andras]()
Tomorrow They Won't Dare to Murder Us by Joseph Andras
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWinner of the Prix Goncourt for first novel, one of the most prestigious literary awards in FranceA young revolutionary plants a bomb in a factory on the outskirts of Algiers during the Algerian War. The bomb is timed to explode after work hours, so no one will be hurt. But the authorities have been watching...Categorized as:
historical-fiction politics literary-fiction war crime fiction historical 21st-century -
![The Skipper's Dog Called Stalin by David Black]()
The Skipper's Dog Called Stalin by David Black
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSpring, 1941. France has fallen but the Free French naval forces are in no mood to surrender. Royal Navy Sub-Lieutenant Harry Gilmour is also ready for action, despite the horrors of his first taste of submarine warfare.When he is appointed as British Navy Liaison Officer aboard the Free French submarine Radegonde, he finds it anarchic, disorientating—and very French...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Trustee from the Toolroom by Nevil Shute]()
Trustee from the Toolroom by Nevil Shute
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA novel tells the story of a man who leads an ordinary, uneventful life, until overnight he becomes the trustee of his 10-year-old niece, and involved in the search for some missing money...Categorized as:
classics crime historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Sivakamiyin Sabadham by Kalki, Nandini Vijayaraghavan]()
Sivakamiyin Sabadham by Kalki, Nandini Vijayaraghavan
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“Sivakami! If you agree, I will leave the kingdom to its fate and stay with you. You are more important to me than the kingdom…” Momentous words uttered by Narasimha Varmar, whose political stature has grown considerably after defeating Durvineethan, King of Ganga Nadu, at the historic Battle of Pullalur. But there are more obstacles to overcome... -
![Odin's Wolves by Giles Kristian, Джайлc Кристиан]()
Odin's Wolves by Giles Kristian, Джайлc Кристиан
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThey came from the North and fought their way through France and Spain. Now this fearless band of brothers sets sail for the greatest city in the world... -
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![The Great Swindle by Pierre Lemaitre]()
The Great Swindle by Pierre Lemaitre
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsOctober 1918: the war on the Western Front is all but over. Desperate for one last chance of promotion, the ambitious Lieutenant Henri d'Aulnay Pradelle sends two scouts over the top, and secretly shoots them in the back to incite his men to heroic action once more...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century 21st-century action-adventure adult -
![Pereira Declares: A Testimony by Antonio Tabucchi]()
Pereira Declares: A Testimony by Antonio Tabucchi
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsDr. Pereira is an aging, overweightjournalist who has failed to noticethe menacing cloud of fascism overSalazarist Portugal, until one day hemeets an aspiring young writer andanti-fascist. Breaking out of his apolitical torpor, Pereira reluctantly rises to heroism...Categorized as:
classics crime historical-fiction literary-fiction politics war 20th-century action-adventure -
![Rich Man, Poor Man by Irwin Shaw]()
Rich Man, Poor Man by Irwin Shaw
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsRich Man, Poor Man is the story of two brothers whose contrasting natures reflect the turmoil of post-war America. Rudy is the rich man - a romantic who would let no one stand between him and success. Tom is the poor man - the black sheep of the family on the run from his violent past... -
![Legacy of War by Wilbur Smith, David Churchill]()
Legacy of War by Wilbur Smith, David Churchill
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA brand-new Courtney Series adventure.The action-packed new book in the Courtney Series and the sequel to Courtney's War. The war is over, Hitler is dead - and yet his evil legacy lives on. Saffron Courtney and her beloved husband Gerhard only just survived the brutal conflict, but Gerhard's Nazi-supporting brother, Konrad, is still free and determined to regain power... -
![A Few Good Men by Aaron Sorkin]()
A Few Good Men by Aaron Sorkin
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThis Broadway hit about the trial of two Marines for complicity in the death of a fellow Marine at Guantanamo Bay sizzles on stage. The Navy lawyer, a callow young man more interested in softball games than the case, expects a plea bargain and a cover up of what really happened... -
![Sharpe's Regiment by Bernard Cornwell]()
Sharpe's Regiment by Bernard Cornwell
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsSharpe returns to England and discovers an illegal recruiting ring that sells soldiers like cattle to other divisions. The ringleaders know Sharpe is on their trail, and they try to kill him at every turn... -
![The Young Lions by Irwin Shaw]()
The Young Lions by Irwin Shaw
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe Young Lions is a vivid and classic novel that portrays the experiences of ordinary soldiers fighting World War II. Told from the points of view of a perceptive young Nazi, a jaded American film producer, and a shy Jewish boy just married to the love of his life, Shaw conveys, as no other novelist has since, the scope, confusion, and complexity of war...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction politics war 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![The Girl from Vichy by Andie Newton]()
The Girl from Vichy by Andie Newton
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsShe's done running. Now she fights. 1942, occupied France.With the war raging in Europe, Adèle Ambeh dreams of a France that is free from the clutches of the Nazis. As the date of her marriage to a ruthless man draws closer, she only has one choice: she must run.Adèle flees to Lyon and seeks refuge at the Sisters of Notre Dame de la Compassion... -
![Brodeck by Philippe Claudel]()
Brodeck by Philippe Claudel
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsSet in an unnamed time and place, Brodeck blends the familiar and unfamiliar, myth and history into a work of extraordinary power and resonance. Readers of J. M. Coetzee's Disgrace, Bernhard Schlink's The Reader and Kafka will be captivated by Brodeck...Categorized as:
classics crime historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century 21st-century adult -
![Fields of Fire by James Webb]()
Fields of Fire by James Webb
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsOriginally published in 1978, Webb's classic novel of the Vietnam War follows three soldiers from different worlds who are plunged into a white-hot murderous realm of jungle warfare as it was fought by one Marine platoon in the An Hoa Basin in 1969.'They each had their reasons for being a soldier. They each had their illusions. Goodrich came from Harvard...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
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![The King of Warsaw by Szczepan Twardoch]()
The King of Warsaw by Szczepan Twardoch
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA city ignited by hate. A man in thrall to power. The ferociously original award-winning bestseller by Poland’s literary phenomenon―his first to be translated into English.It’s 1937. Poland is about to catch fire.In the boxing ring, Jakub Szapiro commands respect, revered as a hero by the Jewish community... -
![The Guns of Navarone by Alistair MacLean]()
The Guns of Navarone by Alistair MacLean
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAn entire navy had tried to silence the guns of Navarone and failed. Full-scale attacks had been driven back. Now they were sending in just five men, each one a specialist in dealing death...Categorized as:
classics crime historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Star of the North by D.B. John, Linda Park]()
Star of the North by D.B. John, Linda Park
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsA propulsive and ambitious thriller about a woman trying to rescue her twin sister from captivity in North Korea, and the North Korean citizens with whom she forms an unlikely allianceStar of the North opens in 1998, when a Korean American teenager is kidnapped from a South Korean beach by North Korean operatives...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction literary-fiction politics war 21st-century action-adventure adult -
![Sharpe's Honor by Bernard Cornwell]()
Sharpe's Honor by Bernard Cornwell
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsThe Vittoria Campaign is February to June 1813. Victory depends on the increasingly fragile alliance between Britain and Spain. Majpr Sharpe's enemy, Pierre Ducos, seizes a chance to both destroy the alliance and take revenge on Sharpe. The lovely spy, La Marquesa, traps Sharpe in a web of deadly intrigue; he is hunted by allies and enemies alike... -
![Highways to a War by Christopher J. Koch]()
Highways to a War by Christopher J. Koch
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn a riveting new novel of wartime Cambodia and Vietnam--part thriller, part mystery, part heroic epic--the author of The Year of Living Dangerously offers the story of a likeable, brave, but ultimately mysterious war photographer who has disappeared into the jungles of Cambodia... -
![While Still We Live by Helen MacInnes]()
While Still We Live by Helen MacInnes
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsEnglish girl Sheila Matthews’ innocent holiday to Poland becomes a nightmare when the German Army invade in the summer of 1939. Working for the Polish underground as a double-agent, she plays a dangerous game, and is soon suspected by the Germans. Forced to flee to the forest and hunted by a ruthless German officer, she must rely on the dashing Captain Adam Wisniewski to help her home... -
![World's End by Upton Sinclair]()
World's End by Upton Sinclair
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWorld's End is the first novel in Upton Sinclair's Lanny Budd series. First published in 1940, the story covers the period from 1913 to 1919. This is the beginning of a monumental 7,340 page novel, the story of Lanny Budd, a young American, beginning in Europe in 1913. It is also an intimate record of a great world which fell victim to its own civilization. A new world was about to be born...Categorized as:
historical-fiction classics politics war literary-fiction fiction historical 20th-century -
![The Sins of the Father by Jeffrey Archer]()
The Sins of the Father by Jeffrey Archer
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsOn the heels of the international bestseller Only Time Will Tell, Jeffrey Archer picks up the sweeping story of the Clifton Chronicles.Only days before Britain declares war on Germany, Harry Clifton, hoping to escape the consequences of long-buried family secrets, and forced to accept that his desire to marry Emma Barrington will never be fulfilled, has joined the Merchant Navy...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction literary-fiction politics war 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Seven Days in May by Fletcher Knebel, Charles W. Bailey II]()
Seven Days in May by Fletcher Knebel, Charles W. Bailey II
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"Gentleman Jim" Scott was a brilliant magnetic general. Like a lot of people, he believed the President was ruining the country. Unlike anyone else, he had the power to do something about it, something unprecedented and terrifying. Colonel "Jiggs" Casey was the Marine who accidentally stumbled onto the plot... -
![El Dorado: Further Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy]()
El Dorado: Further Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe elusive Pimpernel returns for another swashbuckling adventure in El Dorado. The still-raging French Revolution continues to claim lives, and the shadow of the guillotine draws ever nearer to the young Dauphin, son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction war 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book -
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![Sapphire Skies by Belinda Alexandra]()
Sapphire Skies by Belinda Alexandra
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA love bigger than a war. A beautiful woman lost. A mystery unsolved … until now. 2000: The wreckage of a downed WWII fighter plane is discovered in the forests near Russia’s Ukrainian border. The aircraft belonged to Natalya Azarova, ace pilot and pin-up girl for Soviet propaganda, but the question of her fate remains unanswered... -
![Dark Star by Alan Furst]()
Dark Star by Alan Furst
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe acclaimed author of Night Soldiers offers a dramatic and exciting spy thriller of Eastern Europe on the brink of World War II. In the back alleys and glittering salons of Europe, there is a thin line between survival and betrayal, as Soviet NKVD agents and the Nazi Gestapo confront each other in a brilliant duel of espionage. Like watching Casablanca for the first time.--Time...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction literary-fiction politics war 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Texas by James A. Michener]()
Texas by James A. Michener
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsSpanning four and a half centuries, James A. Michener’s monumental saga chronicles the epic history of Texas, from its Spanish roots in the age of the conquistadors to its current reputation as one of America’s most affluent, diverse, and provocative states...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction politics war action-adventure adult audiobook -
![The Great Swindle by Pierre Lemaitre]()
The Great Swindle by Pierre Lemaitre
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsOctober 1918: the war on the Western Front is all but over. Desperate for one last chance of promotion, the ambitious Lieutenant Henri d'Aulnay Pradelle sends two scouts over the top, and secretly shoots them in the back to incite his men to heroic action once more... -
![The Titans by John Jakes]()
The Titans by John Jakes
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsRaging with the heartbreaks and tragedies of our nation's darkest hours, this passionate saga follows a dynamic generation of Kents through the hell of Civil War--from New York, where the Kent empire fears destruction...to Washington, where the family is drawn into the rank web of espionage...to the battlefields of the South, where the youngest Kents rally with pride and honor..Categorized as:
classics crime historical-fiction literary-fiction politics war action-adventure adult -
![Two Storm Wood by Philip Gray]()
Two Storm Wood by Philip Gray
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn this thriller set on the battlefields of the Somme after the end of World War I, a woman investigates the disappearance of her fiancé.The Great War has ended, but for Amy Vanneck there is no peace. Her fiancé, Edward Haslam, a lieutenant in the 7th Manchesters, is missing, presumed dead. Amy travels to the desolate battlefields of northern France to learn his fate and recover his body... -
![The Rise of Robin Hood by Angus Donald]()
The Rise of Robin Hood by Angus Donald
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA legend is born in this short-story prequel to Angus Donald's masterly series The Outlaw Chronicles, perfect for devoted fans and newcomers alike... -
![Those Jensen Boys! by William W. Johnstone, J.A. Johnstone]()
Those Jensen Boys! by William W. Johnstone, J.A. Johnstone
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Greatest Western Writers Of The 21st Century A bold, sprawling epic of the American West, the Jensen family saga has captivated readers for nearly three decades. Now comes the untold story of Smoke Jensen's long-lost nephews, Ace and Chance, a pair of young-gun twins as reckless and wild as the frontier itself. .Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction literary-fiction action-adventure adult audiobook book fiction -
![The Dark Side of Love by Rafik Schami]()
The Dark Side of Love by Rafik Schami
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAn international bestseller available in English for the first time,a story of forbidden love set against the background of Arabic culture and endless feuds between clansA dead man hangs from the portal of St Paul s Chapel in Damascus. He was a Muslim officer and he was murdered...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction politics war action-adventure adult book fiction -
![The Case of Comrade Tulayev by Victor Serge]()
The Case of Comrade Tulayev by Victor Serge
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsOne cold Moscow night, Comrade Tulayev, a high government official, is shot dead in the street, and the search for his killer begins. In this panoramic vision of the Soviet Great Terror, the investigation leads all over the world, netting a whole series of suspects whose only connection is their innocence—at least of the crime of which they stand accused...Categorized as:
classics crime historical-fiction literary-fiction politics war 20th-century action-adventure -
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![The Investigation by Jung-Myung Lee]()
The Investigation by Jung-Myung Lee
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWatanbe Yuichi, a young guard with a passion for reading, is ordered to investigate a murder. The victim, Sugiyama, also a guard, was feared and despised throughout the prison and inquiries have barely begun when a powerful inmate confesses... -
![Winter Pilgrims by Toby Clements]()
Winter Pilgrims by Toby Clements
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFebruary, 1460: in the bitter dawn of a winter's morning a young nun is caught outside her priory walls by a corrupt knight and his vicious retinue. In the fight that follows, she is rescued by a young monk and the knight is defeated... -
![Hell at the Breech by Tom Franklin]()
Hell at the Breech by Tom Franklin
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn 1897, an aspiring politician is mysteriously murdered in the rural area of Alabama known as Mitcham Beat. His outraged friends -- mostly poor cotton farmers -- form a secret society, Hell-at-the-Breech, to punish the townspeople they believe responsible. The hooded members wage a bloody year-long campaign of terror that culminates in a massacre where the innocent suffer alongside the guilty... -
![The Girl in Green by Derek B. Miller]()
The Girl in Green by Derek B. Miller
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom the author of Norwegian by Night, a novel about two men on a misbegotten quest to save the girl they failed to save decades before.1991. Near Checkpoint Zulu, one hundred miles from the Kuwaiti border, Thomas Benton meets Arwood Hobbes... -
![The One I Was by Eliza Graham]()
The One I Was by Eliza Graham
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsRestless, troubled Rosamond Hunter has spent most of her life running away from the past, filled with guilt about her involuntary role in her mother’s death. When her nursing job brings her back to Fairfleet, her childhood home, to care for an elderly refugee, she is forced to confront the ghosts that have haunted her for so long... -
![Best Kept Secret by Jeffrey Archer, Otakar Brousek ml.]()
Best Kept Secret by Jeffrey Archer, Otakar Brousek ml.
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsThe third novel in Jeffrey Archer’s compelling saga, the Clifton Chronicles1945. The vote in the House of Lords as to who should inherit the Barrington family fortune has ended in a tie. The Lord Chancellor’s deciding vote will cast a long shadow on the lives of Harry Clifton and Giles Barrington...Categorized as:
crime historical-fiction literary-fiction politics war 20th-century action-adventure adult
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