Famine Ships, Silk Road Tales and a Missing Girl in Balmain: A Quieter Kind of Adventure

by Graham Wilson

This is the most mystery-flavored pick of the bunch. A family buys an old weatherboard house in Balmain and finds a photo of eight-year-old Sophie, plus a little perfume bottle, hidden in a fireplace for a century. Readers say the author builds an interesting story around the house, and at 3.99 with nearly 900 ratings it's a solid middle-of-the-road crowd pleaser for anyone who loves local history and a cold case.

“Sophie was eight years old when she vanished with her best friend Matty. They were seen walking in the opposite direction from home as they left school in the afternoon, but no one saw them after that. It would be one hundred years before the mystery of Sophie and Matty’s disappearance was solved....”

by Betta Ferrendelli

A young prosecutor walks away from a promising career to fight forced sterilization on behalf of a mentally challenged woman, while wrestling with her own demons. It's heavy and not for everyone, but legal drama fans who want some heart will likely appreciate it. It's sitting at 4.16 with over 400 readers, which tells me it lands.

by Wes Snowden

This is the closest thing here to a classic adventure saga. It starts in the Irish famine and follows its characters across to the New World, with love, ambition and revenge all in the mix. At 4.55 with 205 ratings, and a blurb bragging about 15,000 downloads, it's an easy grab if you like your historical fiction big and sweeping.

by Xuemo

Honestly, this one is more spiritual and reflective than action-driven. It deals with women's awakening, healing from trauma and learning to keep loving after loss, and one reader said it helped them let go of a lot of inner turmoil. It has a 4.74 from 58 ratings, so a small but clearly moved audience.

“This book helped me let go of much of my inner turmoil. We often dwell on trivial things, worry about gains and losses, and feel confused about the unknown, filling our ordinary days with restlessness. Yet in the face of life and death, all trivial troubles and regrets seem insignificant. The...”

by Tejas Desai

Ambitious is the word reviewers keep reaching for. This is Part I of a two-part pandemic novel, book two in The Human Tragedy series, mixing satire with short stories, and the blurb claims 35 literary honors. It holds a 4.67 across 60 ratings. Skip it if you want a straightforward plot, but if you like big swings and weird structure, this is the one to try.

“This book was entered in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought: Title: Bad Americans: Part 1 Author: Tejas Desai Star Rating: 5 Stars Number of Readers: 15 Stats Editing: 10/10 Writing Style: 9/10 Content: 9/10 Cover: 5/5 Of the 15 readers: 15 would read another book by thi”

by Xuemo

A short story collection set along the ancient Silk Road, with themes of love, faith and hope. The blurb points to "Old Man Xinjiang," which it says The Guardian named among the finest short stories, and mentions Howard Goldblatt. Rated 4.63 by 49 readers, it's a good pick for anyone who wants to travel somewhere new in small doses.