Books like 'The Emerald Comb'
Readers who enjoyed The Emerald Comb by Kathleen McGurl also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical romance mystery psychological historical-fiction mlm suspense family crime female-mc
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Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, Sally Beauman
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 80 ratingsLast night I dreamt I went to Manderley again...Working as a lady's companion, the heroine of Rebecca learns her place. Her future looks bleak until, on a trip to the South of France, she meets Max de Winter, a handsome widower whose sudden proposal of marriage takes her by surprise... -
The Sting by Kimberley Chambers
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsTWO CHILDHOOD FRIENDSBest friends Tommy Boyle and Scratch always had each other’s backs. Dragged up in care, and cruelly betrayed by everyone they trusted, they made a pact to fight their way out of the gutter – together. TWO SIDES OF THE LAW Old loyalties die hard on the streets of London. Tommy throws his lot in with the notorious Darling family – even if it means leaving Scratch to the wolves... -
Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsCan a woman ever really know herself if she doesn’t know her mother? From the author of the smash-hit bestseller Firefly Lane and True Colors comes a powerful, heartbreaking novel that illuminates the intricate mother-daughter bond and explores the enduring links between the present and the past Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be...Categorized as:
family female-mc historical-fiction 20th-century 21st-century action-adventure audiobook book -
Never Kiss Goodbye by Laura Haley-McNeil
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA cowboy haunted by his past. A woman stalked by a deadly secret.Pregnant and on the run, Lily Harkin will do anything to protect her unborn child, but no one can know her secret – a secret so horrific it could destroy her and anyone she meets.Bronc rider Josh Merrick can’t forget the mistake that cost a woman her life... -
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Love me, If you Dare by Alyssa Clarke
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThey are wallflowers, bluestockings, merry widows, and debutantes—members of a secret, exclusive Lady’s Club in Berkeley Square! There ladies indulge in daring wagers, learn to fight, read scandalous books, and learn the art of wooing the gentlemen they will bring to their knees…Sebastian Crawford, Duke of Hartford, cares about his duty, honor, and family...Categorized as:
historical-fiction female-mc victorian historical regency industrial-era journey enemies-to-lovers -
A Season for Scandal by Laura Wood
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAn all-female detective agency righting wrongs at the end of the nineteenth century; infiltrating a scandalous upper class world straight out of Bridgerton and using their wit and bravery to unmask a villain... -
Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe dons of Harriet Vane's alma mater, the all-female Shrewsbury College, Oxford, have invited her back to attend the annual Gaudy celebrations. However, the mood turns sour when someone begins a series of malicious acts including poison-pen messages, obscene graffiti and wanton vandalism. Harriet asks her old friend Wimsey to investigate...Categorized as:
crime female-mc historical-fiction suspense 20th-century adult amateur-sleuth audiobook -
Shy Creatures by Clare Chambers
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn all failed relationships there is a point that passes unnoticed at the time, which can later be identified as the beginning of the decline. For Helen it was the weekend that the Hidden Man came to Westbury Park.Croydon, 1964. Helen Hansford is in her thirties and an art therapist in a psychiatric hospital where she has been having a long love affair with a charismatic, married doctor...Categorized as:
historical-fiction family female-mc crime romance fiction historical literary-fiction -
Her Last Promise by Kathryn Hughes
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA mysterious letter from Spain. A surprising new beginning... Fall in love this summer with Her Last Promise, a gripping, heartwrenching story of how hope can blossom in the ruins of tragedy and of the redeeming power of love. From No. 1 bestselling author Kathryn Hughes. Tara Richards was just a girl when she lost her mother... -
Senseless & Merciless Bundle by Mary Burton
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSenseless & Merciless Bundle Senseless Every Serial Killer Knows. . . The vicious burns scarring the victims' flesh reveal the agony of their last moments. Each woman was branded with a star, then stabbed through the heart. With every death, a vengeful killer finds a brief, blissful moment of calm. But soon it's time for the bloodshed to start again. . . The Perfect Time. . -
Honeysuckle Season by Mary Ellen Taylor
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom bestselling author Mary Ellen Taylor comes a story about profound loss, hard truths, and an overgrown greenhouse full of old secrets.Adrift in the wake of her father’s death, a failed marriage, and multiple miscarriages, Libby McKenzie feels truly alone. Though her new life as a wedding photographer provides a semblance of purpose, it’s also a distraction from her profound pain... -
The Hour Before Dawn by Sara MacDonald
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA rich, multi-generational saga, set in Singapore and New Zealand. The mysterious disappearance of a young child sets in motion a series of events that will haunt future generations of the family. Singapore in the 1970s. A handsome army officer falls in love with the young daughter of his captain... -
A Swirl of Shadows by Andrea Penrose
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA traumatic personal crisis has left Lady Arianna bedeviled by guilt and questioning whether she has lost her nerve. Saybrook and her circle of friends can’t seem to help rekindle her fire. Even a challenge from Lord Grentham, Britain’s shadowy head spymaster, to undertake a vital mission to Russia in aid of her old friend, Tsar Alexander, fails to spark any interest . .Categorized as:
historical-fiction female-mc europe british-isles united-kingdom england romance mystery -
The Woman in the Wood by Lesley Pearse
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFifteen-year-old twins Maisy and Duncan Mitcham have always had each other. Until the fateful day in the wood . . . One night in 1960, the twins awake to find their father pulling their screaming mother from the house. She is to be committed to an asylum. It is, so their father insists, for her own good... -
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The Marriage of Mary Russell by Laurie R. King
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsLaurie R. King takes readers way back in her bestselling series with this exclusive ebook short story, as Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes embark upon the riskiest adventure of their their wedding. Includes a special preview of the highly anticipated new mystery from Laurie R... -
The Secret by Kathryn Hughes
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom Kathryn Hughes, the author of the No. 1 Kindle bestseller The Letter, comes The Secret - a heartbreaking novel of tragedy, hope and second chances. Readers who treasure the novels of Lesley Pearse and Susan Lewis will adore this author. Mary has been nursing a secret. Forty years ago, she made a choice that would change her world for ever, and alter the path of someone she holds dear... -
Absent in the Spring by Mary Westmacott, Agatha Christie
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsReturning from a visit to her daughter in Iraq, Joan Scudamore finds herself unexpectedly alone and stranded in an isolated rest house by flooding of the railway tracks. This sudden solitude compels Joan to assess her life for the first time ever and face up to many of the truths about herself... -
The Green Dress (True Colors) by Liz Tolsma
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFiction Based on Strange, But True, History True, riveting stories of American criminal activity are explored through a unique stories of historical romantic suspense. Collect them all and be inspired by the hope that always finds its way even in the darkest of times. In Boston, 1886, Harriet Peters commissions Sarah Jane Robinson to make her a new dress... -
Eye of the Storm: A Hart and Drake Thriller by C.J. Lyons
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Hart and Drake Finale After all that they've been through, no one would deny that Hart and Drake deserve a happily-ever-after life together. But, on the eve of their Christmas wedding, a threat long buried returns to threaten them. Not just their happiness, not only their lives, but everything they hold dear...Categorized as:
suspense female-mc crime romance audiobook law-enforcement police-procedural psychological -
Bitter House by Kiersten Modglin
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsVera Bitter is dead, but her secrets have yet to be buried.After the tragic death of Bridget’s parents, her grandmother took her in. Vera Bitter raised her from behind a closed door—cold and uncaring from the moment she arrived at Bitter House. After Bridget’s high school graduation, Vera kicked her out without so much as a goodbye, and Bridget never heard from her again... -
What Happens at the Beach... by T.A. Williams
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFor the perfect summer romance…It’s finally time for Natalie Dryden to decide what she really wants! After ditching her sparkling engagement ring, and her ghastly fiancé, she jets off for the sun-kissed shores of Southern France – the only place that has ever truly felt like home... -
The Madness of a Seduced Woman by Susan Fromberg Schaeffer
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAgnes is on her way to Montpelier, when she sees a young man rescue a girl from a burning building. Agnes falls in love with this man, a local stonecutter, but the hero is also a betrayer, the apex of a triangle that eventually leads Agnes to commit murder... -
Lady Violet Attends a Wedding by Grace Burrowes
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsLady Violet Belmaine is just finding her balance as a widow who has recently put off mourning when she’s summoned to the family seat to celebrate a sibling’s wedding. Hugh St. Sevier’s escort makes the journey somewhat bearable, while Sebastian MacHeath’s presence among the guests is a more dubious blessing...Categorized as:
historical-fiction romance mystery historical industrial-era regency fiction audiobook -
Random Harvest by James Hilton
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsCharles Rainier, a prosperous Briton, loses his memory as a result of shellshock in the First World War...Categorized as:
historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult amnesia audiobook book classics -
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The Ghost Tree by Barbara Erskine
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsBefore you follow the path into your family’s history, beware of the secrets you may find…The new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author.Ruth has returned to Edinburgh after many years of exile, left rootless by the end of her marriage, career and now the death of her father. She is now faced with the daunting task of clearing his house... -
Now, Voyager (The Vale Novels) by Olive Higgins Prouty
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratings"Don't let's ask for the moon! We have the stars!" The film that concludes with Bette Davis's famous words, reaffirmed Davis's own stardom and changed the way Americans smoked cigarettes. But few contemporary fans of this story of a woman's self-realization know its source... -
Destroyed & Restored: The Baron's Courageous Wife by Bree Wolf
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA fearful lady. A shamed lord. And a hand at cards that will change both their lives. Terrified of her father’s temper, LADY ADELAIDE has lived a life of complete obedience. However, now, when her father threatens to gamble away her hand in marriage in the next card game, she turns to a trusted friend for help... -
The Wedding Tree by Robin Wells
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsNational bestselling author Robin Wells weaves a moving epic that stretches from modern-day Louisiana to World War II-era New Orleans and back again in this multigenerational tale of love, loss and redemption. Hope Stevens thinks Wedding Tree, Louisiana, will be the perfect place to sort out her life and all the mistakes she’s made... -
My Mother's Shadow by Nikola Scott
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAddie thinks she knows everything about her mother. But when a stranger appears claiming to be her sister, she realises that her life so far has been a lie. But why? Perfect for fans of Kate Morton and Santa Montefiore. Hartland House has always been a faithful keeper of secrets...1958... -
The Moonspinners by Mary Stewart
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsYoung, beautiful, and adventurous Nicola Ferris loves her life as a secretary at the British Embassy on the lush island of Crete. Then on her day off, she links up with two hiking companions who have inadvertently stumbledupon a scene of blood vengeance. And suddenly the life Nicola adores is in danger of coming to an abrupt, brutal, and terrifying end .Categorized as:
crime female-mc historical-fiction suspense 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book -
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsIn 1986, Henry Lee joins a crowd outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle's Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has discovered the belongings of Japanese families who were sent to internment camps during World War II...Categorized as:
family historical-fiction 20th-century 21st-century audiobook book classics coming-of-age -
Embers by Sándor Márai
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsAs darkness settles on a forgotten castle at the foot of the Carpathian mountains, two men sit down to a final dinner together. They have not seen one another in forty-one years. At their last meeting, in the company of a beautiful woman, an unspoken act of betrayal left all three lives shattered - and each of them alone...Categorized as:
historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook book classics drama -
Dreams of Falling by Karen White
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Night the Lights Went Out comes an exquisite new novel about best friends, family ties and the love that can both strengthen and break those bonds.It's been nine years since Larkin fled Georgetown, South Carolina, vowing never to go back... -
The Hands of Time by Irina Shapiro
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen a young woman vanishes without a trace from a quaint fishing village on the coast of England only one person knows the truth, but he remains silent allowing the authorities to search for her in vain. Meanwhile, Valerie Crane finds herself transported to the year 1605. Terrified and confused she turns for help to the Whitfield brothers, who take her in and offer her a home... -
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On the Edge of Darkness by Barbara Erskine
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe eagerly awaited new novel by the author of LADY OF HAY and HOUSE OF ECHOES is the story of a woman trapped in the wrong time. Abandoned by her twentieth century lover, she plots a terrible revenge on him and his family. Adam Craig is fourteen when, near an isolated Celtic stone in the wild Scottish Highlands, he meets Brid, whose exotic, gypsy-like dress and strange attitudes fascinate him... -
In Milady's Chamber by Sheri Cobb South
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsEstranged from her husband through her failure to produce an heir, Lady Fieldhurst resolves to repay his neglect by taking a lover. Fate takes a hand when she and her paramour enter her bedroom and find Lord Fieldhurst lying on the floor--with her nail scissors protruding from his neck.Idealistic young Bow Street Runner John Pickett has spent most of his brief career chasing petty pickpockets... -
The Pearl Locket by Kathleen McGurl
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWe’ll Meet Again… When Ali inherits her great-aunt’s house she immediately moves her whole family in, despite the warnings that there is something strange about the place. Unfazed Ali begins redecorating, going through the rooms, making each one her own with the help of her daughter, Kelly... -
Despised & Desired: The Marquess' Passionate Wife by Bree Wolf
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsLong ago, he kept her secret. Now, she will save his soul. Elsbeth Munford is set to marry the man she loves until an accident destroys her life. Her beauty tainted by ugly scars, Ellie resigns herself to a life of spinsterhood. Frederick Lancaster, brother to the Marquess of Elmridge, returns home from war. A hero in the eyes of others, he is haunted by nightmares... -
The Wonder Worker by Susan Howatch
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe inhabitants of a small community are interlinked by the healer at its heart, Nick Darrow. There is Alice, the romantic but also an outcast; Lewis the priest, an irascible traditionalist; Francie, who has a desire to be loved; and Stacy, a young trainee looking for faith and direction... -
Cursed & Cherished: The Duke's Wilful Wife by Bree Wolf
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsOne night, she stole his kiss. Now, he is determined to steal it back. Edmond Dunsworth, Duke of Cromwell, is bankrupt. The solution to his problem: a wife with a sizable dowry. Not worried in the least, Edmond takes his pick... -
Abandoned & Protected: The Marquis' Tenacious Wife by Bree Wolf
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsHe forced her hand. Now, she will deny him her heart. After what her father did to her mother, Henrietta’s worst fears are to be realised when her uncle decides to marry her off to a Scot. Gentleman or not, Henrietta knows that at his core he is still a barbarian... -
Leave Her to Heaven by Ben Ames Williams
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThis classic bestselling novel about a man who encounters a woman whose power to destroy is as strong as her power to love evokes Hemingway in its naturalistic portrayal of elemental forces in both nature and humanity. Ellen’s beauty was radiant, and Harland had been so struck with her personality and the strength of her character that he knew he could never leave her... -
A Heart Deceived by Michelle Griep
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMIRI BRAYDEN teeters on a razor’s edge between placating and enraging her brother, whom she depends upon for support. Yet if his anger is unleashed, so is his madness. Miri must keep his descent into lunacy a secret, or he’ll be committed to an asylum—and she’ll be sent to the poor house. ETHAN GOODWIN’s been on the run all of his life—from family, from the law...from God... -
Last Seen Alive by Carlene Thompson
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsChyna Greer was sixteen when her best friend, Zoey, disappeared. Though very different in looks and temperament, the two girls shared a bond that was stronger than blood. But even Chyna's urgent warnings couldn't prevent a love-struck Zoey from sneaking out to the lake to meet her secret crush--and being swallowed up into the warm summer night forever…... -
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Mind of the Phoenix by Jamie McLachlan
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMoira is a powerful empath, a psychic graced with the ability to read emotions and memories. Her skill is as much a curse as a gift, for in the harshly stratified city of Braxton empaths are slaves. Clever and beautiful, Moira has learned to rely on no one but herself. Determined to escape life as a concubine, she kills her master, and is imprisoned for the crime... -
The House on the Edge of the Cliff by Carol Drinkwater
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratings*Available to pre-order now - Carol Drinkwater's epic story of enduring love and betrayal, from Paris in the 1960s, to the present day* No one else knows what happened that summer. Or so she believes . . . Grace first came to France a lifetime ago. Young and full of dreams of adventure, she met two very different men. She fell under the spell of one. The other fell under hers... -
The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O'Farrell
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA spellbinding novel of two women connected across fifty years by art, love, betrayals, secrets, and motherhood.Lexie Sinclair is plotting an extraordinary life for herself. Hedged in by her parents' genteel country life, she plans her escape to London... -
All Shall Mourn by Ellie Marney
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe third and final book in the None Shall Sleep Sequence.Simon Gutmunsson is on the loose... Since the disastrous events of the College Killer case, the FBI is coming to terms with the fact that while catching one sociopath, they've released another. Chillingly manipulative, frighteningly intelligent, and wholly insane, Simon Gutmunsson is the worst of the worst... -
The Moment by Douglas Kennedy
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom the New York Times bestselling author of Leaving the World comes a tragic love story set in Cold War Berlin. Thomas Nesbitt is a divorced writer in the midst of a rueful middle age... -
The House on Foster Hill by Jaime Jo Wright
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsOutstanding Debut Novel from an Author to Watch Kaine Prescott is no stranger to death. When her husband died two years ago, her pleas for further investigation into his suspicious death fell on deaf ears. In desperate need of a fresh start, Kaine purchases an old house sight unseen in her grandfather's Wisconsin hometown...
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