Best Historical Fiction

  The Reindeer Hunters is a sequel to The Bell in the Lake as well as a stand-alone novel, and once again the masterful and spellbinding storytelling illuminates. The roots of both stories go back to the conjoined twin sisters and their legendary tapestries, which were woven in accordance with the ancient Norse tradition and they used the rarest methods of plant-dyeing. There is one specific tapestry that was given to the church after the death of the sisters in 1613, but the tapestry is missing. Pastor Kai Schweigaard feels bad about dismantling the stave church and in the process losing the church’s mystical sister bells. When he came to Butangen, fictional place in Norway, he was about modernization and putting end to the myths. But now, he feels differently. The new church lacks the atmosphere of the stave church. And finding the missing tapestry might bring him redemption, even though it’s woven with pre-Christian patterns, something he tried to eradicate. In 1903, Jehans Hekn...

  Scotland, 17 th century: Isobel Gowdie is four-years-old when her mother teaches her how to make letters with a needle. The letters are supposed to be black, but Isobel sees colors associated with letters, and stitches them according to her vision. When her mother smacks her knuckles, Isobel sees fear in her eyes. Fear, because her mother doesn’t want people to call Isobel crazy. A witch. And here, witches are hanged or burned. One-hundred-forty-years later, Isobel Gamble, descendent of Isobel Gowdie, is conscripted to tambour shop by her mother, a place without colors. But Isobel dreams to be a pattern-maker, which involves colors. She is taught to fear anything that hints at witchcraft. When she meets a man that promises her a sewing room of her own, she accepts his proposal. But that is just a promise. His poor decisions lead to the poorhouse, and later see them bound for America. As they arrive in the New World, Isobel quickly recognizes some opportunities, awakening her...