Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always loved history, but there’s something extra-special about a novel that shows history and how that history is still relevant today. Dual timeline novels tell an historical event through the eyes of a character living it and through the story of a present-day character connected to that history. I'm the author of two published dual timeline novels. One of my greatest passions is to learn about the history of a place I'm visiting so that I can practically see the history all around me. I currently live near Seattle with my husband and two sons and, when I’m not writing, can be found outside walking or boating the Salish Sea.


I wrote

The Girl Who Wrote in Silk

By Kelli Estes,

Book cover of The Girl Who Wrote in Silk

What is my book about?

Inara Erickson is exploring her deceased aunt’s island estate when she finds an elaborately stitched piece of fabric hidden in…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Sarah's Key

Kelli Estes Why did I love this book?

This is the book that made me fall in love with dual timeline novels. It is about Julia, a present-day journalist investigating the roundup of Jewish families in Paris in 1942, and Sarah, a little girl in that roundup who is sent with her family to a concentration camp – except for her little brother whom she locks in a secret cupboard. The more Julia learns about Sarah, the more the reader comes to see how their stories are intertwined. As a result, Julia’s life will never be the same. 

If you want a good cry, this book is for you. You will care so deeply about Sarah and won’t be able to put the book down until the final page. And then, it will continue to linger in your mind and heart for a long time afterwards.

By Tatiana De Rosnay,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Sarah's Key as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel' d'Hiv' roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours. Paris, May 2002: On Vel' d'Hiv's 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that…


Book cover of Winter Garden

Kelli Estes Why did I love this book?

I love a good mystery and a good story within a story. This book has both. Estranged sisters, Meredith and Nina, have never been close with their mother, Anya, until they finally have a chance to understand what made her so icy. As a deathbed promise to her husband, Anya agrees to tell their daughters her story, but it is so difficult for her that she must tell it little by little and as a fairy tale. From frozen, war-torn Leningrad to modern-day Alaska, the story changes this family forever. 

For anyone who has secrets, or has someone in their life they just can’t understand, this powerful book helps you see that there is a way through. It also reminds us that everyone has a story that can thaw the hardest of hearts.

By Kristin Hannah,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

From the New York Times number one bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds, comes Kristin Hannah's haunting, heartbreakingly beautiful novel that illuminates the intricate mother-daughter bond and explores the enduring links between past and present.

Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard; the other followed a dream and travelled the world to become a famous photo journalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, these two estranged women will find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother,…


Book cover of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Kelli Estes Why did I love this book?

This book really brings home the lasting horror and heartbreak that was the Japanese internment. In the present-day storyline, Henry Lee, a Chinese American, is in the basement of the Panama Hotel in Seattle exploring recently-discovered possessions left behind by Japanese families when they were sent to internment camps. The items ignite his memories of Keiko, a Japanese American girl whom he deeply loved before she was sent away forty years earlier. Their story and separation are told in the historical storyline. The items, and the memories, help Henry forge a new relationship with his own son, and also open the door to dreaming of that long-lost love.  

I loved this book for the way it brought a Seattle of old back to life, but also for its sweet and heartbreaking love story. It will make you think about the choices you’ve made in your own life and the people who were left behind. 

By Jamie Ford,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

1986, The Panama Hotel The old Seattle landmark has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made a startling discovery in the basement: personal belongings stored away by Japanese families sent to interment camps during the Second World War. Among the fascinated crowd gathering outside the hotel, stands Henry Lee, and, as the owner unfurls a distinctive parasol, he is flooded by memories of his childhood. He wonders if by some miracle, in amongst the boxes of dusty treasures, lies a link to the Okabe family, and the girl he lost his young heart to, so…


Book cover of The Alice Network

Kelli Estes Why did I love this book?

I admit, I can’t read too many books set during wartime because they are so heavy and sad. But this book, while heavy and sad, somehow feels like an exception. The two storylines of this dual timeline novel are set in 1915 and 1947 and are connected by the Alice Network of women spies who served in the Great War. In the latter story, unmarried and pregnant Charlie sneaks away to look for her missing cousin and enlists Eve, a sad drunk who once was a member of the Alice Network, to help her. Together they unravel the truth of what happened all those years ago when the network was torn apart and, in doing so, Charlie learns she has more control over her life than she previously believed.

I adored this book for the meticulous research and details from true history woven throughout. Unlike most war books, this one shows that women have held very important roles during wartime and their inspiring stories should not be forgotten. It also illustrates how some women in the past have had more agency in their lives than we often believe they did.

By Kate Quinn,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked The Alice Network as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In an enthralling new historical novel from national bestselling author Kate Quinn, two women-a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947-are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption. 1947. In the chaotic aftermath of World War II, American college girl Charlie St. Clair is pregnant, unmarried, and on the verge of being thrown out of her very proper family. She's also nursing a desperate hope that her beloved cousin Rose, who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France during the war, might…


Book cover of The Winter Sea

Kelli Estes Why did I love this book?

This is a book that completely grabbed hold of me and held me tight to the last word. In 1708, the Jacobites came closest to succeeding in their goal of restoring the Stewart king to the Scottish throne, but they failed. Present-day writer Carrie is researching the events for her novel and finds an ancestral connection of her own to those involved. That connection, more an ancestral memory, leads her to uncovering truths long-forgotten and that nearly destroys her.

This book brings Scottish history to such vivid life, I felt after reading that I had lived the events. Many of the characters in the story really lived, too, which makes it all that much juicier. And, if you end up loving this book as much as I do, Kearsley has written two others that connect to this one (The Firebird – somewhat of a sequel, and The Vanished Days – sort of a prequel, more of a connected story). Be prepared to fall in love with these characters and Scottish history!

By Susanna Kearsley,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Winter Sea as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER!

"I've loved every one of Susanna's books! She has bedrock research and a butterfly's delicate touch with characters―sure recipe for historical fiction that sucks you in and won't let go!"―DIANA GABALDON, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Outlander

A hauntingly beautiful tale of love that transcends time: an American writer travels to Scotland to craft a novel about the Jacobite Rebellion, only to discover her own ancestral memories of that torrid moment in Scottish history...

In the spring of 1708, an invading Jacobite fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded…


Explore my book 😀

The Girl Who Wrote in Silk

By Kelli Estes,

Book cover of The Girl Who Wrote in Silk

What is my book about?

Inara Erickson is exploring her deceased aunt’s island estate when she finds an elaborately stitched piece of fabric hidden in the house. As she peels back layer upon layer of the secrets it holds, Inara’s life becomes interwoven with that of Mei Lien, a young Chinese girl mysteriously driven from her home a century before. Through the stories Mei Lien tells in silk, Inara uncovers a tragic truth that will shake her family to its core – and force her to make an impossible choice.

Inspired by true events, this dual timeline novel serves as a poignant tale of two women determined to do the right thing, and the power of our own stories.

Book cover of Sarah's Key
Book cover of Winter Garden
Book cover of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

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Book cover of The Off Season

Kelly Simmons

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What is my book about?

Kelly Simmons has been published in 12 countries by Simon & Schuster and Sourcebooks, and her widely praised novels are frequently compared to Big Little Lies.

Her new book, The Off Season, is set on the tranquil shores of the Chesapeake Bay, where headstrong thirteen-year-old Savannah bursts into the local police department, insisting her mother’s drowning was anything but an accident. She’s forced to tangle with the languid Bay police department as well as the year-rounder adults and teens who might be complicit not just in her mother’s death but a decades-old cold case.

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The Off Season

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What is this book about?

For fans of Lisa Jewell and Liane Moriarty. Published in 12 countries by Simon & Schuster and Sourcebooks, Kelly's widely praised novels are frequently compared to BIG LITTLE LIES.

THE OFF SEASON explodes on the tranquil shores of the Chesapeake Bay. A headstrong thirteen-year-old girl insists her mother’s drowning was anything but an accident. She’s forced to tangle with the languid bay police department as well as the year-rounder adults and teens who might be complicit not just in her mother’s death, but a decades-old cold case. With echoes of GONE GIRL and STAND BY ME, it’s part crime, part…


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Interested in family secrets, Japanese Americans, and Jacobitism?

Family Secrets 208 books
Jacobitism 19 books