Books like 'His Illegal Self'
Readers who enjoyed His Illegal Self by Peter Carey also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary mystery literary-fiction family historical-fiction drama kidnapping
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Have You Seen Luis Velez? by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsRaymond Jaffe feels like he doesn't belong. Not with his mother's new family. Not as a weekend guest with his father and his father's wife. Not at school, where he's an outcast...Categorized as:
drama family historical-fiction literary-fiction audiobook book coming-of-age contemporary -
![They Call Her Dirty Sally by Amy Matayo]()
They Call Her Dirty Sally by Amy Matayo
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFor years, the town of Silver Bell, Arkansas has quietly mourned the hospital fire that claimed the lives of nine of its residents—the town doctor, a young expectant mother, and seven infants...Categorized as:
historical-fiction drama literary-fiction fiction mystery contemporary womens-fiction small-town -
![When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin]()
When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsA man with a painful past. A child with a doubtful future. And a shared journey toward healing for both their hearts.It begins on the shaded town square in a sleepy Southern town. A spirited seven-year-old has a brisk business at her lemonade stand. But the little girl's pretty yellow dress can't quite hide the ugly scar on her chest... -
![The Devoted by Suzanne Woods Fisher]()
The Devoted by Suzanne Woods Fisher
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Amish life is all she's ever known--but will it satisfy her soul? Restless and adventurous, Ruthie Stoltzfus is right on the cusp of leaving her Amish home. Secretly, she's earned her GED, saved her money--but she can't quite set her journey into motion. Just as everything falls into place, along comes Patrick Kelly. Patrick is a young man on a journey of his own... -
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![Emily, Gone by Bette Lee Crosby]()
Emily, Gone by Bette Lee Crosby
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA missing child sets the lives of three women on a collision course in this powerful and compelling novel by USA Today bestselling author Bette Lee Crosby.1971.When a music festival rolls through the sleepy town of Hesterville, Georgia, the Dixon family’s lives are forever changed...Categorized as:
kidnapping historical-fiction literary-fiction family north-america usa georgia fiction -
![The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters]()
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA four-year-old Mi’kmaq girl goes missing from the blueberry fields of Maine, sparking a tragic mystery that haunts the survivors, unravels a community, and remains unsolved for nearly fifty years.July 1962. A Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia arrives in Maine to pick blueberries for the summer. Weeks later, four-year-old Ruthie, the family’s youngest child, vanishes...Categorized as:
historical-fiction drama literary-fiction family fiction mystery contemporary indigenous-mc -
![Leaving Blythe River by Catherine Ryan Hyde]()
Leaving Blythe River by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author Catherine Ryan Hyde returns with an unforgettable story of courage. Seventeen-year-old Ethan Underwood is totally unprepared to search for his father in the Blythe River National Wilderness. Not only is he small, scrawny, and skittish but he’s barely speaking to the man after a traumatic betrayal... -
![The Wishing Tide by Barbara Davis]()
The Wishing Tide by Barbara Davis
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFrom the acclaimed author of The Secrets She Carried comes a novel about the pull of the past and the power of love. As offseason begins on the Outer Banks, a storm makes landfall, and three unlikely strangers are drawn together... Five years ago, Lane Kramer moved to Starry Point, certain the quaint island village was the place to start anew...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction literary-fiction adult book contemporary female-mc fiction -
![Don't Let Me Go by Susan Lewis]()
Don't Let Me Go by Susan Lewis
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsCharlotte Nicholls has a secret that haunts her.She and three-year-old Chloe have left their home and friends, and are now building a new life for themselves in New Zealand.All Charlotte wants to do is to forget the past, to blot out what went before, and to look only to the future.At last she and Chloe feel safe... -
![Angelica And Francesca by Kenneth Jarrett Singleton]()
Angelica And Francesca by Kenneth Jarrett Singleton
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAngelica and Francesca are the identical twin daughters of Pellrue, Duke of Doretay. Doretay is a state within a kingdom called Vidien, which Angelica's and Francesca's great uncle, King Oscar, rules. Pellrue attempts to keep control of his wicked, evil daughters as they keep entering his city and raising havoc by torturing and murdering the common citizens within...Categorized as:
drama historical-fiction literary-fiction anthologies contemporary crime fiction horror -
![Kane and Abel / The Prodigal Daughter / Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer]()
Kane and Abel / The Prodigal Daughter / Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThis collection of Jeffrey Archer novels includes "Kane and Abel" the sequel "The Prodigal Daughter" and the novel "Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less"... -
![The Secret Child by Kerry Fisher]()
The Secret Child by Kerry Fisher
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsJust for a moment, I was young and invincible again, back before I made the decision that changed the rest of my life… Susie did something that she knows she will always regret: giving her baby son up for adoption, to keep her infidelity secret from her family... -
![His Secret Daughter by Melissa Wiesner]()
His Secret Daughter by Melissa Wiesner
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsNot Noah. Not my husband . But there he is, unconscious in the hospital bed. Our daughter sobs into my shoulder. We love him so much. What if he never wakes up? And who is the little girl beside him, gazing up at us with big, tear-filled brown eyes? Eyes that look just like my husband’s…Our family of three is perfect. Just me, Noah and our teenage daughter Maya...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction literary-fiction fiction mystery audiobook contemporary womens-fiction -
![Where The Story Starts by Imogen Clark]()
Where The Story Starts by Imogen Clark
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA strange encounter. An unlikely friendship. But will it survive when they both know the truth?As single mother Leah struggles to get her children ready one morning, the doorbell rings. Standing on the doorstep of their terraced house in Whitley Bay is a well-dressed stranger, Clio, who feels an emotional tie to the house that she can’t explain... -
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![Postcards from a Stranger by Imogen Clark]()
Postcards from a Stranger by Imogen Clark
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsWhat if everything you thought you knew about your life turned out to be a lie? A dark secret nestles at the heart of Cara's family but it is only when her dominating father becomes ill with Alzheimer's that the lies begin to unravel. When Cara stumbles across a box of old postcards, she is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her past... -
![Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett]()
Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"A lost young woman returns to small-town New Hampshire under the strangest of circumstances in this one-of-a-kind novel of life, death, and whatever comes after from the acclaimed author of Rabbit Cake. The Starlings live in Everton, an ordinary enough New Hampshire town... -
![No Time To Blink by Dina Silver]()
No Time To Blink by Dina Silver
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA profoundly moving story of impossible risks and love without boundaries. Told from alternating points of view––that of a daughter whose past is a mystery, and that of a mother with painful secrets to share.Catherine Clarke defied her family’s expectations when she married Gabriel, a handsome Lebanese businessman...Categorized as:
literary-fiction family historical-fiction fiction mystery contemporary audiobook suspense -
![Lady Luck's Map of Vegas by Barbara Samuel]()
Lady Luck's Map of Vegas by Barbara Samuel
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA successful Web designer, forty-year-old India has a fabulously hip life in Denver and a sexy Irish lover in New York who jets out to see her on bi-weekly visits. The long-distance romance suits India just fine: Though Jack is the only man who has ever made India feel truly alive, she doesn’t want things to get too serious...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction literary-fiction adult audiobook book contemporary female-mc -
![In a Thousand Different Ways by Cecelia Ahern]()
In a Thousand Different Ways by Cecelia Ahern
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFinding your way is never a simple journey…Alice sees the best in people.She also sees the worst.She sees a thousand different emotions and knows exactly what everyone around her is feeling.Every. Single. Day.But it’s the dark thoughts.The sadness. The rage.These are the things she can’t get out of her head. The things that overwhelm her... -
![A Borrowed Path by Imogen Clark]()
A Borrowed Path by Imogen Clark
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsHome is where the heartache is.Eve has always had a tricky relationship with her mother, Agatha, and returning to Fox House, the family home, hasn’t made it any easier. When Eve’s daughter, Lyra, and granddaughter, Skye, unexpectedly turn up, it becomes clear that four generations of women under one roof is a recipe for trouble. Not least because Lyra clearly needs help but refuses to say why...Categorized as:
family drama historical-fiction literary-fiction audiobook fiction suspense season-summer -
![Forgive Me by Lesley Pearse]()
Forgive Me by Lesley Pearse
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsCheltenham, 1991 When Eva Patterson returns home from work one day, a devastating scene awaits her. Her mother, Flora, lies dead in the bath. Beside her is a note saying only: 'Forgive Me'. Until then, Eva always believed her family's life would be comfortable and secure - but Flora's suicide changes everything... -
![Lesser Evil by Lesley Pearse]()
Lesser Evil by Lesley Pearse
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWould you cross the street if wickedness lived there? When Fifi moves to London with her bricklayer boyfriend Dan, her mother is outraged. Despite initial feelings of horror at her new surroundings, Fifi finds the freedom from her middle-class family background exhilarating... -
![When I Was Invisible by Dorothy Koomson]()
When I Was Invisible by Dorothy Koomson
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratings'Do you ever wonder if you've lived the life you were meant to?' I ask her. She sighs, and dips her head. 'Even if I do, what difference will it make?' In 1988, two eight-year-old girls with almost identical names and the same love of ballet meet for the first time. They seem destined to be best friends forever and to become professional dancers... -
![June Bug by Chris Fabry]()
June Bug by Chris Fabry
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom the best-selling author of War Room comes a Christy Award finalist, now a Lifetime original movie called Child of Grace."I believed everything my daddy told me until I walked into Wal-Mart and saw my picture on a little poster . . -
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![Sweet Liar by Jude Deveraux]()
Sweet Liar by Jude Deveraux
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIt was her father's dying wish that Samantha Elliot search for her grandmother, who'd disappeared from Louisville when she was a baby. So here she was, in big, dirty New York City...her parents were dead, her divorce was final, and she was all alone.... Michael Taggert was Samantha's landlord, and he was easily the most beautiful man she'd ever seen... -
![Cancel the Wedding by Carolyn T. Dingman]()
Cancel the Wedding by Carolyn T. Dingman
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA heartfelt fiction debut that will appeal to fans of Emily Giffin’s Southern charm and Jennifer Weiner’s compelling, emotionally resonant novels about the frustrations of blood ties, Cancel the Wedding follows one woman’s journey to discover the secrets of her mother’s hidden past—and confront her own uncertain future... -
![Her Mother's Shadow by Diane Chamberlain]()
Her Mother's Shadow by Diane Chamberlain
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAnnie A loving mother and wife, Annie O'Neill was the heart of the small community of Kiss River. But her generous nature hid a darker side that remained secret for years after her tragic death. Lacey When Lacey O'Neill finally learns the shattering truth about the mother she's spent a decade emulating, the foundation of her life begins to crumble... -
![The Passing Storm by Christine Nolfi]()
The Passing Storm by Christine Nolfi
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA gripping, openhearted novel about family, reconciliation, and bringing closure to the secrets of the past.Early into the tempestuous decade of her thirties, Rae Langdon struggles to work through a grief she never anticipated. With her father, Connor, she tends to their Ohio farm, a forty-acre spread that itself has enjoyed better days... -
![The MacGregors: Serena & Caine by Nora Roberts]()
The MacGregors: Serena & Caine by Nora Roberts
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom the #1 "New York Times" bestselling author come the first two stories in her classic MacGregor family saga, featuring Serena MacGregor in "Playing the Odds," and Caine MacGregor in "Tempting Fate." Reissue... -
![A Simple Spring by Rosalind Lauer]()
A Simple Spring by Rosalind Lauer
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA CHANCE TO FOLLOW HER HEART, A CHOICE THAT WILL LAST A LIFETIME Although Sadie King is blessed with the voice of an angel, she never thought that following the song in her heart would take her far beyond the strict boundaries of her Amish faith and away from the only home she’s ever known...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction literary-fiction audiobook book christian contemporary fiction -
![Another's Child: A Gripping Novel by Einat Danon]()
Another's Child: A Gripping Novel by Einat Danon
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsImagine inheriting a child that you don’t even know! One morning, Yael and Arik Katz are startled by a surprise inheritance: Noa, the ten-year-old daughter of Canadian friends with whom they had made a long-forgotten will-exchange agreement, is delivered to their doorstep with no warning...Categorized as:
family drama literary-fiction romance contemporary fiction action-adventure female-mc -
![Among the Lesser Gods by Margo Catts]()
Among the Lesser Gods by Margo Catts
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratings“Tragedy and blessing. Leave them alone long enough, and it gets real hard to tell them apart.”Elena Alvarez is living a cursed life. From the deadly fire she accidentally set as a child, to her mother’s abandonment, and now to an unwanted pregnancy, she knows better than most that small actions can have terrible consequences...Categorized as:
drama family historical-fiction literary-fiction audiobook book coming-of-age contemporary -
![The Halo Effect by Anne D. LeClaire]()
The Halo Effect by Anne D. LeClaire
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn this tour de force, a father, shaken by tragedy, tries to avenge his daughter’s murder—and restore his family’s shattered life. It was supposed to be a typical October evening for renowned portrait artist Will Light... -
![The Ones We Choose by Julie Clark]()
The Ones We Choose by Julie Clark
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsLisa Genova meets 23andMe in this exploration of the genetic and emotional ties that bind, as debut author Julie Clark delivers a compelling read about a young boy desperate to find his place in this world, a mother coming to terms with her own past, and the healing power of forgiveness... -
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![The Secret Daughter by Kelly Rimmer]()
The Secret Daughter by Kelly Rimmer
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAs I saw my new-born baby’s face for the first time I tried desperately to capture her face in my mind—to stamp it onto my eyelids. As she was taken from me I knew I might never see my daughter again. 38 years later… ‘You were adopted’. Three short words and Sabina’s life fractures. There would forever be a Before those words, and an After... -
![The Olive Tree by Lucinda Riley]()
The Olive Tree by Lucinda Riley
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIt is said that anyone who comes to stay at 'Pandora' for the first time will fall in love . . . It has been twenty-four years since a young Helena spent a magical holiday in Cyprus, where she fell in love for the first time. When the now crumbling house, 'Pandora', is left to her by her godfather, she returns to spend the summer there with her family... -
![Secrets She Left Behind by Diane Chamberlain]()
Secrets She Left Behind by Diane Chamberlain
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsOne afternoon, single mother Sara Weston says she's going to the store--and never returns. In her absence, she leaves her teenage son alone with his damaged past and a legacy of secrets... -
![Secret Lives by Diane Chamberlain]()
Secret Lives by Diane Chamberlain
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn 1977, pregnant Genevieve Russell disappeared. Twenty years later, her remains are discovered and Timothy Gleason is charged with murder. But there is no sign of the unborn child.CeeCee Wilkes knows how Genevieve Russell died, because she was there. And she also knows what happened to the missing infant, because two decades ago she made the devastating choice to raise the baby as her own... -
![The Cross-Country Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini]()
The Cross-Country Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsJulia, Megan, Donna, Grace, and Vinnie are cross-country friends who are about to begin work on a challenge quilt. A piece of fabric is divided among the women, with the understanding that the following year they will all meet at the Elm Creek Quilt Camp to sew the sections together into a single quilt... -
![A Year on Ladybug Farm by Donna Ball]()
A Year on Ladybug Farm by Donna Ball
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsTheir husbands were gone, their families were grown, and the future stretched out before them like an unfulfilled promise . . . Tired of always dreaming and never doing, Cici, Lindsay, and Bridget make a life-altering decision. Uprooting themselves from their comfortable lives in the suburbs, the three friends buy a run-down mansion, nestled in the picturesque Shenandoah Valley... -
![My Name Is Venus Black by Heather Lloyd]()
My Name Is Venus Black by Heather Lloyd
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsVenus Black is a straitlaced A student fascinated by the study of astronomy—until the night she commits a shocking crime that tears her family apart and ignites a media firestorm. Venus refuses to talk about what happened or why, except to blame her mother. Adding to the mystery, Venus’s developmentally challenged younger brother, Leo, goes missing...Categorized as:
drama family historical-fiction kidnapping literary-fiction 20th-century abuse audiobook -
![Handling Sin by Michael Malone]()
Handling Sin by Michael Malone
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOn the Ides of March, our hero, Raleigh Whittier Hayes (forgetful husband, baffled father, prosperous insurance agent and leading citizen of Thermopylae, North Carolina), learns that his father has discharged himself from the hospital, taken all his money out of the bank and, with a young black female mental patient, vanished in a yellow Cadillac convertible... -
![Stolen by Susan Lewis]()
Stolen by Susan Lewis
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLucy Winters' parents have always been there for her. Loving, gentle and kind they have given her everything she could have wished for. Now, estranged from her husband, she has moved to the country to take over their thriving auction business. The moment she begins to prepare for her first sale she knows she's made the right decision... -
![Eddie's Bastard by William Kowalski]()
Eddie's Bastard by William Kowalski
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratings"Eddie's Bastard" is William Amos Mann IV, known as Billy -- the son of a heroic pilot killed in Vietnam and an unknown woman. The last in a line of proud, individualistic Irish-American men, Billy is discovered in a basket at the door of the dilapidated mansion where his bitter, hard-drinking grandfather, Thomas Mann, has exiled himself... -
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![The House by the Creek by Elizabeth Bromke]()
The House by the Creek by Elizabeth Bromke
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsMorgan Jo Coyle has been trying to escape her past but when she receives a heart-breaking call from her mother, telling her that her Memaw Essie is on her deathbed, Morgan drops everything to go home to the small town of Brambleberry Creek and face her family—before it’s too late... -
![When I Found You by Catherine Ryan Hyde]()
When I Found You by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsWhile duck hunting one morning, childless, middle-aged Nathan McCann finds a newborn abandoned in the woods. To his shock, the child—wrapped in a sweater and wearing a tiny knitted hat—is still alive. To his wife’s shock, Nathan wants to adopt the boy…but the child’s grandmother steps in...Categorized as:
drama family historical-fiction literary-fiction audiobook book coming-of-age contemporary -
![The Dork of Cork by Chet Raymo]()
The Dork of Cork by Chet Raymo
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen Frank, an Irish dwarf, writes a personal memoir, he moves from dark isolation into the public eye. This luminous journey is marked by memories of his lonely childhood, secrets of his doomed young mother, and his passion for a woman who is as unreachable as the stars... -
![The Widows of Wichita County by Jodi Thomas]()
The Widows of Wichita County by Jodi Thomas
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsApart from sharing the same zip code, Randi Howard, Anna Montano, Meredith Allen, Helena Whitworth and Crystal Howard have absolutely nothing in common—until a fiery explosion on a west Texas oil rig changes everything.Their husbands are men who live to search for "black gold," men who are willing to exchange backbreaking work and long days for danger and excitement—and money...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction literary-fiction adult book contemporary female-mc fiction -
![Sins of the Mother by Tara Hyland]()
Sins of the Mother by Tara Hyland
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom the author of Daughters of Fortune comes a sweeping family drama that follows a mother and daughter through the poverty of post-WWII Ireland and London and into the glamour of 1950s Hollywood and beyond, revealing the ways in which family ties can never be broken... -
![Sophie Last Seen by Marlene Adelstein]()
Sophie Last Seen by Marlene Adelstein
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSix years ago, ten-year-old Sophie Albright disappeared from a shopping mall. Her mother, Jesse, is left in a self-destructive limbo, haunted by memories of her intense and difficult child, who was obsessed with birds...
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