Here are 91 books that Time's Undoing fans have personally recommended if you like
Time's Undoing.
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Many of us were taught as children that life isn’t fair. I never accepted this; shouldn’t we do all we can to make life fair? I grew up to be a lifelong activist and a writer for social justice organizations. As a reader and writer, I love books about women’s lives, especially women who realize that the world around them shapes their own experiences. Sometimes history is happening right here, right now—and you know it. Those transformative moments spark the best stories, illuminating each book I’ve recommended.
What I loved most about this book is true of all Louise Erdrich novels: she creates such warm, complicated, fully human characters that I delight in their presence and grieve when I have to leave them at the book’s end.
In this novel, history hit home in a devastating way when the U.S. government in the 1950s decided to solve its “Indian problem” by simply reclassifying Native people as no longer Indian—a kind of paper genocide that wiped out Indigenous people’s cultural identity and tribal rights, such as land rights.
Sadly, this is all historical fact; the fiction comes in when Erdrich re-imagined in riveting detail the (also true) story of how one small tribe in North Dakota fought back.
It is 1953. Thomas Wazhushk is the night watchman at the first factory to open near the Turtle Mountain Reservation in rural North Dakota. He is also a prominent Chippewa Council member, trying to understand a new bill that is soon to be put before Congress. The US Government calls it an 'emancipation' bill; but it isn't about freedom - it threatens the rights of Native Americans to their land, their very identity. How can he fight this betrayal?
Unlike most of the girls on the reservation, Pixie…
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
My grandfather dictated a number of oral histories shortly before he died and left a series of sketchy diaries of his education at Sul Ross University (then Sul Ross State Teachers' College) in Alpine, Texas. Many years later, I got interested in his life and went to Sul Ross University to the archives, where the librarians gave me countless oral interviews from the 1930s and documents about the Civilian Conservations Projects in the area, namely the establishment of Big Bend National Park and the Balmorhea State Park Swimming Pool. This ignited my interest in the 1930s Depression and the New Deal—how, in a very short time, the U.S. federal government established work relief programs to help thousands out of work.
What I loved about this nonfiction book is that it tells the history of the frontier West, farming practices, and the Dust Bowl in the style of a narrative, with details of towns and people that make the history come alive.
The book gave me a sense of the dire situation of small-time farmers, trying to eke out a living on barren land. Early frontier settlements were not regulated. Farmers were not aware of the importance of trees or the dangers of soil erosion. They were just trying to survive.
Egan’s description of “Black Sunday” in 1935, a huge dust storm that swept across the United States, which buried whole towns and caused hundreds of deaths from dust pneumonia, is chilling.
In a tour de force of historical reportage, Timothy Egan’s National Book Award–winning story rescues an iconic chapter of American history from the shadows.
The dust storms that terrorized the High Plains in the darkest years of the Depression were like nothing ever seen before or since. Following a dozen families and their communities through the rise and fall of the region, Timothy Egan tells of their desperate attempts to carry on through blinding black dust blizzards, crop failure, and the death of loved ones. Brilliantly capturing the terrifying drama of catastrophe, he does equal justice to the human characters…
Many of us were taught as children that life isn’t fair. I never accepted this; shouldn’t we do all we can to make life fair? I grew up to be a lifelong activist and a writer for social justice organizations. As a reader and writer, I love books about women’s lives, especially women who realize that the world around them shapes their own experiences. Sometimes history is happening right here, right now—and you know it. Those transformative moments spark the best stories, illuminating each book I’ve recommended.
I love quiet novels that pack a punch, particularly when the writing is gorgeous and wise, as in this case. The book takes place in the real Las Vegas, where people live and work, and it pulls us deep into a community and its fault lines.
Four very different characters are drawn together as they are propelled into situations where the stakes are high yet intimately human. They must face the crucial issues of their time—war, poverty, sanctuary—and the most terrifying question: what kind of person am I?
“Your heart will break…then soar” (Redbook) when, far from the neon lights of the Vegas strip, three lives collide in a split-second mistake and a child’s fate hangs in the balance.
Avis thought her marriage had hit a temporary rut. But with a single confession in the middle of the night, her carefully constructed life comes undone. After escaping a tumultuous childhood and raising a son, she now faces a future without the security of the home and family she has spent decades building.
Luis only wants to make the grandmother who raised him proud. As a soldier, he…
Katie's Gamble is an unexpected, unique story about a young woman who's trying to support her younger siblings by keeping her family's confectionery shop open.
In order to do that, she has to take on her older brother, who's a notorious gambler in Louisiana. Additionally, she has to outsmart Rowdy…
Many of us were taught as children that life isn’t fair. I never accepted this; shouldn’t we do all we can to make life fair? I grew up to be a lifelong activist and a writer for social justice organizations. As a reader and writer, I love books about women’s lives, especially women who realize that the world around them shapes their own experiences. Sometimes history is happening right here, right now—and you know it. Those transformative moments spark the best stories, illuminating each book I’ve recommended.
With its taut, beautiful writing and ever-rising tension, this novel kept me reading late into the night. In 2008 Belfast, “the Troubles” are very much alive, and sisters Tessa and Marian have grown into adulthood in a combustible atmosphere of menace.
When Tessa discovers that her sister has been involved in the IRA and has now become an informer against it, she plunges into the world of spies to help Marian end the ceaseless cycle of violence and retribution. The novel is more than a hold-your-breath thriller. I loved its exploration of what “terrorism” means when the terrorists are your neighbors and family and how much two women are willing to risk for peace—and each other.
A little history in the mix of some high-stakes suspense is my jam. I’ve always been a fan of suspense novels, and when a storyline brings in a touch of reality, I find it only enhances the mystery and adrenaline rush. The world has lots of unsolved mysteries and conspiracy theories, so why not weave a few into fiction? It gives readers a deeper read, and I am always looking for those big plot twists and edgy suspense moments. I review suspense novels on my blog, Best In Suspense, and am always looking for something new and different.
This story is a delightful and intriguing mystery involving family secrets and finding priceless artwork.
Of course, whenever money is involved, the criminals come out of the woodwork. While it’s not a fast-paced, run-for-your-life kind of novel, I love the way the story unfolds. The characters have depth, and the author dives into the art world surrounding provenance, which I found interesting.
"Putman's legal expertise shines in this compelling and intricately plotted romantic suspense. Highly recommended!" —Colleen Coble, USA Today best-selling author
Janae Simmons left the small town of Kedgewick, Virginia, ten years ago to pursue her legal career and never looked back--until a professional mistake leads her to her grandmother's historic carriage house and to the town where her past threatens to find her. The quiet streets echo with her grandfather's sterling reputation, one that conflicts with fresh questions that claw at Janae, launching her on a reluctant journey to unearth his secrets. When her new job at a local…
“Where do you get your story ideas?” I’m often asked. The answer is, “I’m cursed.” As in the Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times. I was a serial wife and a single mom. I’ve been both poor and rich. I’ve travelled to far-flung places around the world. I’ve done extraordinary things, like the time I rode with the New York City Mounted Police in researching my novel, Trail of Secrets. I write what I know, about life with all its ups and downs, beauty and ugliness, magic and mystery.
It has all my favorite elements of fiction: an intriguing location (Catalina Island), a propulsive narrative, and characters you’d want to have coffee with, or throw from a bridge, as the case may be.
The Catalina Island of Nightshade is the Island of Misfit Toys for the disgraced cops who secure it. Its protagonist, Sheriff’s Detective Stilwell, battles bad guys, both criminal and law enforcement, while battling his own demons. And he makes patrolling his beat in a golf cart, the sole motorized transport permitted on Catalina, seem badass.
If they make a movie of this novel, I’d love to see what a “car chase” using golf carts looks like. Nail-biting? Probably not, although the book has no shortage of chills. It begins with two crimes which may or may not be related: a murder and the beheading of a buffalo.
PRE-ORDER THE NEW THRILLER FROM MILLION COPY SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER MICHAEL CONNELLY
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Detective Stilwell has been "exiled" to a low-key post policing rustic Catalina Island, after department politics drove him off a homicide desk on the mainland.
But while following up the usual drunk-and-disorderlies and petty thefts that come with his new territory, Detective Stilwell gets a report of a body found wrapped in plastic and weighed down at the bottom of the harbor. Crossing all lines of protocol and jurisdiction, he starts doggedly working the case.
Soon, his investigation uncovers closely guarded secrets and a…
Papyrologist Lisa Emmer's world flips when the Sûreté detains her at her Metro station with news of the savage murder of the esteemed Paris historian Dr. Raimond Foix, her friend and mentor in the study of ancient documents.
Horrified, Lisa finds clues at the crime scene left behind for her…
A few years ago (okay, decades, really), I left the seminary to become a young evangelist, then a denominational youth director, a college public relations director, a guest lecturer, an adjunct professor, and a pastor in three churches. And now I write.
I was in Israel when terrorists landed on the beach, intending to attack a hotel filled with travelers. Maybe my hotel. Their mission was thwarted, but I started thinking about terrorists attacking my homeland. And then it happened. Over the years, I’ve studied issues involving terrorism and even graduated from the Seattle FBI Citizens Academy. This is why I write inspirational thrillers today.
I love how the story drew me into the racially charged Civil Rights 60’s era with totally believable characters: a white male lawyer who is in over his head, defending a black handyman charged with murdering a white elderly couple, and an experienced female black attorney who partners with him to defend the accused.
A well-written storyline and an unlikely cast of characters kept me up late. I’ve read many Baldacci books, giving this story a definite Five Stars. It might be his best!
Set in the tumultuous year of 1968 in southern Virginia, a racially-charged murder case sets a duo of white and Black lawyers against a deeply unfair system as they work to defend their wrongfully-accused Black defendants in this courtroom drama from #1New York Timesbestselling author David Baldacci.
Jack Lee is a white lawyer from Freeman County, Virginia, who has never done anything to push back against racism, until he decides to represent Jerome Washington, a Black man charged with brutally killing an elderly and wealthy white couple. Doubting his decision, Lee fears that his legal skills may not be…
I’ve loved murder mysteries since childhood, and during the pandemic–when reading became a challenge–I returned to my first literary love, binging on one mystery series after another. Eventually, I decided to write one with my friend Elizabeth Renzetti. It’s been the most enjoyable writing experience either of us has had. I’ve written three other published novels, and I have a day job as a therapist (I like to think this helps with realistic characterization, but it also pays the bills). I write humor because I like to have fun at work, and I appreciate a good laugh when I’m reading.
Freya Lockwood is one relatable sleuth–middle-aged, divorced, empty-nesting, and wondering how her dreams for herself have vanished after passing through the meat grinder of adulthood.
I love the themes of estrangement from oneself and others in this debut cozy mystery, as well as the deep dive into the shadowy world of antiques trading from an author with significant personal experience in the field.
'A bold, bright and delightful jaunt back to the golden age of detective fiction' Janice Hallett
'A delicious read - who could resist a treasure hunt with murder at its core?' SJ Bennett
'It's a delight!' Katie Fforde
What antique would you kill for? Freya, it's down to you to finish what I started . . .
Freya Lockwood has avoided the quaint English village in which she grew up for the last 20 years. That is until news arrives that Arthur Crockleford, antiques dealer and Freya's estranged mentor, has died . . . and the circumstances seem suspicious.
I am a long-time lover of mysteries. Whether it be books, TV, or movies, I love when there is an unknown element to puzzle out. I remember staying up long past my bedtime as a child, reading because I just had to know what happened. I write across a number of genres for different age groups, but at the heart of every story I take on is a mystery that I want to figure out for myself. I love it when readers and audiences come along for the ride, joining me for the plot twists and turns.
I love that this book focuses on the “who,” not the “what.” Most often, with mysteries, the focus is on learning about the perpetrator of the crime. In this one, I loved that the real mystery is in discovering who the victim, Alice, was. I especially love that we get to hear her story in her own words, as a second narrator telling her history after her death.
The other part of the story–events after Alice’s death and the discovery of her body–is told by another compelling character, Ruby. I’m normally wary when I see the words “strong female character,” but these are two strong, beautiful women whose heartbreaking stories held me captive in these pages.
'The most wonderful book. Unusual, beautiful, feminist, gripping, deserves to win prizes. I loved it so much.' Marian Keyes
'A brave and timely novel which will fuel the debate on women's rights to walk safely through our streets. I raced through the pages, anxious for resolution, yet at the same time not wanting this beautiful writing to finish.' Clare Mackintosh
This is not just another novel about a dead girl.
When she arrived in New York on her 18th birthday carrying nothing but $600 cash and a stolen camera, Alice was looking for…
A poisonous maiden, a Daoist sex cult, and a violent insurgency.
The polyandrous Yan family in China's rural Shaanxi Province takes in two carpenter brothers. When one brother is convicted of murder after killing their neighbor in a dispute, a constable threatens to expose the family's rumored polyandry and extorts…
When I first visited Scotland, I drove north from Edinburgh, driving through much of the country to catch a ferry to Orkney. This northern archipelago is certainly one of the most magical places I’ve ever been to; the steep sea cliffs and standing stones, windblown grasses, and violent waves put me in a gothic state of mind. I moved to Scotland a few years later to live by the sea. Since that first visit to Orkney, I’ve written my own Scottish gothic novels, as well as presented research on the gothic at various academic conferences. It’s a topic that I’m certain will compel me for a long time to come.
This book is so atmospheric; when I read it, I could taste the Scottish sea air and smell the black peat of the island.
It has the pace of a thriller but does not compromise on rich language and complex characters. Like Johnstone’s first book, Mirrorland, the twists are absolutely brilliant and unexpected; I couldn’t put this one down!
A remote village. A deadly secret. An outsider who knows the truth...
'ATMOSPHERIC AND COMPELLING' CATHERINE COOPER
'ENGROSSING, EVOCATIVE AND CHILLING' C. J. TUDOR
'DELICIOUSLY UNSETTLING' OBSERVER
'SPLENDIDLY CREEPY' DAILY MAIL
Maggie Mackay has been haunted her entire life. No matter what she does, she can't shake the sense that something is wrong with her. And maybe something is...
When she was five years old, without proof, Maggie announced that someone in the remote village of Blairmore in the Outer Hebrides had murdered a local man, sparking a media storm.
