The best books inspired by true events or based on actual facts that are more bizarre than fiction

Why am I passionate about this?

Jane Finch lives in Norfolk, England and is married with one son. Jane has travelled extensively and has also lived in Canada, Spain, and the Caribbean. Having spent over twenty-five years working in English Law, Jane decided to try her hand at writing crime thrillers. Her first novel, Due Process, is based in her hometown in Norfolk. Her book, The Black Widows, published by Solstice Publishing, reached the top ten of Amazon’s crime thriller list. Jane is a member of International Thriller Writers Inc. Now retired, Jane is free to write full-time, when inspired to do so, although she says, None of my friends tell me anything anymore because they know I’ll write about it!”


I wrote...

The Black Widows

By Jane Finch,

Book cover of The Black Widows

What is my book about?

Three women who may have questionable motives but ultimately want to make their husbands pay. Whilst the three protagonists are fictional characters, they were inspired by true-life crimes, and the book features a selection of notorious women who disposed of their husbands for financial gain. 

The Black Widows by Jane Finch is a fictitious thriller about three women who plan and plot the deaths of their ruthless, wealthy husbands. How could these women be so unscrupulous? Was it greed or revenge? Like the spider weaving her web, the author spins three well-developed stories of love, loss, death, betrayal, and triumph. These women are true examples of narcissists, and this book is not your normal run-of-the-mill thriller. 
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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Batavia's Graveyard: The True Story of the Mad Heretic Who Led History's Bloodiest Mutiny

Jane Finch Why did I love this book?

Australia’s most famous and murderous event in history involving a shipwreck, a mutinous and bloodthirsty crew, an incompetent captain, and a story that defies belief. I stumbled across this book and almost didn’t read it because it was way out of my comfort zone, but it was a truly compelling (and disturbing) read. So much so that I wrote a sequel and published it as an e-book! This story will haunt your dreams.

By Mike Dash,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Batavia's Graveyard as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the bestselling author of Tulipomania comes Batavia’s Graveyard, the spellbinding true story of mutiny, shipwreck, murder, and survival.

It was the autumn of 1628, and the Batavia, the Dutch East India Company’s flagship, was loaded with a king’s ransom in gold, silver, and gems for her maiden voyage to Java. The Batavia was the pride of the Company’s fleet, a tangible symbol of the world’s richest and most powerful commercial monopoly. She set sail with great fanfare, but the Batavia and her gold would never reach Java, for the Company had also sent along a new employee, Jeronimus Corneliszoon,…


Book cover of Out of My Depth

Jane Finch Why did I love this book?

When John Darwin got into debt and ran out of money-making ideas, he decided to fake his own death so that his wife could claim the life insurance. The plan was to move to another country and live off the proceeds of his crime. But things didn’t go to plan. The arrogance and ineptitude of John Darwin, and his complete disregard for his family, defies belief. I couldn’t wait to read this book and was not disappointed. It has now been made into a drama by the BBC in the UK.

By Anne Darwin, David Leigh,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Out of My Depth as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When Anne Darwin told the world and her family that her husband, John, had disappeared while canoeing in the North Sea, her life changed forever.

She had just lied to the police, the press, her friends and neighbours, insurance companies and her own sons.

While her husband hid in a bedsit in their rental house next door, Anne had to face the music. She claimed the life insurance payouts, endured the police questioning, accepted the consolations and left the country she loved to start her life again.

But why, when she had been perfectly happy with her lifestyle, knowing her…


Book cover of Into the Wild

Jane Finch Why did I love this book?

For anyone yearning to get completely away from it all this tragic story will make you think twice. In 1992 a young man left his affluent life behind and walked into the Alaskan wilderness. Four months later his emaciated body was found. I enjoy an adventure and found this absolutely compelling, although heartbreaking, and found myself wondering if this young man found fulfillment.

By Jon Krakauer,

Why should I read it?

18 authors picked Into the Wild as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Krakauer’s page-turning bestseller explores a famed missing person mystery while unraveling the larger riddles it holds: the profound pull of the American wilderness on our imagination; the allure of high-risk activities to young men of a certain cast of mind; the complex, charged bond between fathers and sons.

"Terrifying... Eloquent... A heart-rending drama of human yearning." —New York Times

In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all…


Book cover of Flight MH370: The Mystery

Jane Finch Why did I love this book?

A mystery that confounds the world. How can a flight completely disappear? There are several conspiracy theories and ideas but the truth is – no one really knows what happened and probably never will. This book sets out the facts and leaves the reader to decide and it will have you mulling over the endless possibilities. The facts are troubling and the theories continue. Every time I board a plane I think of Flight MH370 and what those passengers must have endured. Bad enough as fiction but to realise it’s true is devastating.

By Nigel Cawthorne,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Flight MH370 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

On 8 March, 00:41, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport. At 01:19, the pilot bid air traffic control 'good night'. Two minutes later, the plane and its 227 passengers vanished from the skies. No trace has been found. The disappearance of flight MH370 has horrified people across the globe. In an age where a stolen smartphone can be pinpointed to any location on earth, the vanishing of a cruise liner and 227 passengers is the greatest mystery since the Mary Celeste. Experienced author and journalist Nigel Cawthorne has researched the case with incredible thoroughness, revealing…


Book cover of The Homecoming

Jane Finch Why did I love this book?

This is probably an unusual choice given my four other choices. However, sometimes a book that has no violence, no sex, no blasphemy, and no drugs or alcohol,(although there are two elderly bootlegger sisters) is just what is needed to cleanse the soul. A book about family love, a touch of humour, and creative characters will leave the reader with a warm glow. Of course, this book was the inspiration for The Waltons TV series. The Homecoming is based on true events when Earl Hamner was 15 years old.

By Earl Hamner,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Homecoming as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A young man searches for his missing father on Christmas Eve in this sequel to Spencer’s Mountain, the novel that inspired The Waltons.
 
It’s the night before Christmas, but Clay Spencer has failed to return home. Leaving his worried family to keep watch at the homestead, his son, Clay-Boy, takes to the snowy Virginia hills in search of his father. Along the way, he will meet an irate deer, a threatening county sheriff, a congregation of African American churchgoers, and two elderly women who happen to be bootleggers—in this tale filled with warmth, humor, and emotion.
 
Along with Spencer’s Mountain,…


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Shahrazad's Gift

By Gretchen McCullough,

Book cover of Shahrazad's Gift

Gretchen McCullough Author Of Shahrazad's Gift

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a fiction writer and currently live in Cairo, where I have lived for over twenty years. I noticed that the way I started telling stories was influenced by learning Arabic and by listening to the stories of the people in the city. My interest in Arabic also led me to read Arabic literature, like A Thousand and One Nights.   

Gretchen's book list on books influenced by Thousand and One Nights

What is my book about?

Shahrazad’s Gift is a collection of linked short stories set in contemporary Cairo — magical, absurd, and humorous.

The author focuses on the off-beat, little-known stories, far from CNN news: a Swedish belly dancer who taps into the Oriental fantasies of her clientele; a Japanese woman studying Arabic, driven mad by the noise and chaos of the city; a frustrated Egyptian housewife who becomes obsessed by the activities of her Western gay neighbor; an American journalist who covered the civil war in Beirut who finds friendship with her Egyptian dentist. We also meet the two protagonists of McCullough's Confessions of a Knight Errant, before their escapades in that story.

These stories are told in the tradition of A Thousand and One Nights.

Shahrazad's Gift

By Gretchen McCullough,

What is this book about?

Shahrazad's Gift is a collection of linked short stories set in contemporary Cairo-magical, absurd and humorous. The author focuses on the off-beat, little-known stories, far from CNN news: a Swedish belly dancer who taps into the Oriental fantasies of her clientele; a Japanese woman studying Arabic, driven mad by the noise and chaos of the city; a frustrated Egyptian housewife who becomes obsessed by the activities of her Western gay neighbor; an American journalist who covered the civil war in Beirut who finds friendship with her Egyptian dentist. We also meet the two protagonists of McCullough's Confessions of a Knight…


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