20th Century Historical Fiction

History and Dark Psychology Intertwine in Tale of Two Ex-Prisoners

In Parno Beng’s debut novel, Hell’s Sweet Nectar (Beginnings), two ex-convicts navigate a dark, multi-generational saga. This historical fiction blends gritty personal drama with rich American history, delivering a compelling story of friendship, fate, and the psychological scars of the past.

BookTribFebruary 20, 2026

Fiction Miscellany

AuthorBuzz Giveaway: Lovers Caught at the Crossroads of History

Sorry, this promotion has ended. Read on for another great recommendation from AuthorBuzz! The Porcelain Maker by Sarah Freethy (St. Martin’s Press) Dear Reader, I’ve always been fascinated by the lives of artists, so when I came across the kitsch, white porcelain of Allach I was determined to find out…

AuthorBuzzNovember 6, 2023

Fiction Recommended

Abandoned in Axis Territory, Married Secret Agents Must Survive the War — And Reveal Its Secrets

Trust No One (TMR Press) pulls readers into historic events and clandestine locations across Europe in a search for the conspirators behind a high-profile assassination that could change the course of World War II. Accomplished author Glenn Dyer crafts a thrilling tale that moves through ancient crypts of Algiers and…

Michael FerryFebruary 12, 2024

Fiction Podcasts

Books & Looks Podcast: Lost and Found: The Battle for Art in WWII’s Darkest Hours

Books & Looks: Real Books for Real Readers was started as a podcast to supplement Blaine Desantis’ website, ViewsOnBooks.com, and expand into audio and video interviews with authors. With Books & Looks, Blaine’s goal is to focus on real books that real people will read. At least half of the books he reviews…

Blaine DesantisFebruary 7, 2024

Thrillers

Search for Stolen Art Leads to Battle of the Bulge in This WWII-Era Mystery

James R. Benn returns with an action-packed addition to his best-selling WWII-based Billy Boyle mystery series with The Phantom Patrol. The Boston native ex-cop detective returns as investigator and crime solver assigned to “Uncle Ike’s” staff. His distant cousin is General Dwight David Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the Allied…

Linda HitchcockOctober 10, 2024

Fiction Recommended

Historian Weaves Gripping Tale of Fight for Freedom in Post-WWII Novel

Berlin, 1948. A war-ravaged city lies in ruins as the victorious Allied powers guard their separate occupation zones and work toward reinstituting Berlin’s infrastructure and economy. But when the Soviet Union brazenly imposes a blockade upon the Western sectors, it will precipitate the heroic and herculean effort known as the…

Peggy KurkowskiMarch 27, 2024

Podcasts

Books & Looks Podcast: Cracking the Code: K.D. Alden’s Thrilling Tale of America’s First Female Cryptologist

Books & Looks: Real Books for Real Readers was started as a podcast to supplement Blaine Desantis’ website, ViewsOnBooks.com, and expand into audio and video interviews with authors. With Books & Looks, Blaine’s goal is to focus on real books that real people will read. At least half of the books he reviews…

Blaine DesantisJune 12, 2024

Fiction Podcasts

Books & Looks Podcast: Madeline Martin on Wartime Resilience, Motherhood and the Power of Books

Books & Looks: Real Books for Real Readers was started as a literary podcast to supplement Blaine Desantis’ website, ViewsOnBooks.com, and expand into audio and video interviews with authors. With Books & Looks, Blaine’s goal is to focus on real books that real people will read. At least half of the books he…

Blaine DesantisOctober 16, 2024

Fiction Podcasts

Books & Looks Podcast: Untold Horrors of WWII: Heather B. Moore on Java’s Overlooked History

Books & Looks: Real Books for Real Readers was started as a podcast to supplement Blaine Desantis’ website, ViewsOnBooks.com, and expand into audio interviews with authors. With Books & Looks, Blaine’s goal is to focus on real books that real people will read. At least half of the books he reviews are either…

Blaine DesantisSeptember 20, 2023

Fiction Podcasts

Books & Looks Podcast: Warsaw’s Secret Pages: Madeline Martin on “The Keeper of Hidden Books”

Books & Looks: Real Books for Real Readers was started as a podcast to supplement Blaine Desantis’ website, ViewsOnBooks.com, and expand into audio and video interviews with authors. With Books & Looks, Blaine’s goal is to focus on real books that real people will read. At least half of the books he reviews…

Blaine DesantisJanuary 24, 2024

Fiction Miscellany Podcasts

Books & Looks Podcast: Ambiguous Loss and Perseverance: The Making of “Foreign Seed”

Books & Looks: Real Books for Real Readers was started as a literary podcast to supplement Blaine Desantis’ website, ViewsOnBooks.com, and expand into audio and video interviews with authors. With Books & Looks, Blaine’s goal is to focus on real books that real people will read. At least half of the books he…

Blaine DesantisSeptember 11, 2024

Fiction

Wronged Women Pulled Into World of Wealthy Antique Collector in Historical Mystery

After six years of waiting, will justice be served? Kate Quinn and Janie Chang are the masters of historical fiction, and they take us on another whirlwind journey in The Phoenix Crown. This time, it's set in San Francisco in 1906. We follow Gemma and Suling, two women of very…

Lydia LefevreFebruary 13, 2024

Thrillers

Tananarive Due Tackles History’s Horrors, Heroes and “Haints” in “The Reformatory”

Tananarive Due’s new novel, The Reformatory, had an auspicious publication date: October 31st. It’s long been said that the line between the living and the dead is at its thinnest on Halloween night—a belief fitting of her story, given the ghosts (or “haints”) she resurrects within its pages. A seven-plus…

John B. ValeriNovember 21, 2023

Fiction Miscellany

Biographical Historical Fiction Tells the Story Behind the Headlines

In the summer of 2019, I met with my then-editor at Kensington Books, and she mentioned Alice Beatrice Jones and Leonard 'Kip' Rhinelander and their headline news story from the 1920s. It was a passing comment that I took to heart because I’d never heard of Alice or Kip and…

Denny S. BryceJuly 23, 2024

Fiction Listicles Listicles - Featured

Visit the Big Apple Through the Pages of These 5 Great Reads

One of my favorite parts of writing any book is the research. I love to wade into pages and pages about a particular event or person and trek to the location to immerse myself in the sounds, sights and smells of it. When the research is paired with one of…

Heather WebbFebruary 3, 2022

Fiction Thrillers Thrillers - Featured

“The Fervor” Depicts the Horrors of Japanese Internment During WWII

Set in 1944 as World War II rages on, The Fervor (Putnam) by Alma Katsu, follows Meiko and her young daughter Aiko as they endure life in an internment camp where a mysterious disease is spreading like wildfire. What starts as a cold quickly turns into fits of violence, aggression…

Lydia LefevreApril 27, 2022

20th Century Historical Fiction

History and Dark Psychology Intertwine in Tale of Two Ex-Prisoners

AuthorBuzz Giveaway: Lovers Caught at the Crossroads of History

Abandoned in Axis Territory, Married Secret Agents Must Survive the War — And Reveal Its Secrets

Books & Looks Podcast: Lost and Found: The Battle for Art in WWII’s Darkest Hours

Historian Weaves Gripping Tale of Fight for Freedom in Post-WWII Novel

Books & Looks Podcast: Cracking the Code: K.D. Alden’s Thrilling Tale of America’s First Female Cryptologist

Books & Looks Podcast: Madeline Martin on Wartime Resilience, Motherhood and the Power of Books

Books & Looks Podcast: Untold Horrors of WWII: Heather B. Moore on Java’s Overlooked History

Books & Looks Podcast: Warsaw’s Secret Pages: Madeline Martin on “The Keeper of Hidden Books”

Books & Looks Podcast: Ambiguous Loss and Perseverance: The Making of “Foreign Seed”

Tananarive Due Tackles History’s Horrors, Heroes and “Haints” in “The Reformatory”

Biographical Historical Fiction Tells the Story Behind the Headlines

“The Fervor” Depicts the Horrors of Japanese Internment During WWII

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