A reading stack by JD Solomon
Three historical thrillers that hook you from page one.
A crime in a city built to keep its streets dark. A lethal fight over electric light. A mule that could expose a spy.
The best historical thrillers do more than place a chase or a murder in old clothes. The period closes doors, raises the stakes, and decides who has power.
These books begin in four different worlds: Jim Crow Atlanta, the battle to electrify America, a Soviet smuggling route, and Prohibition-era Long Island. Solomon chose the first three because each starts working immediately. His recommendations are followed by the full Uncovered preview, so you can test the writing for yourself. Home News, Solomon’s own novel, appears last and is labeled separately.
About the recommender Solomon is a retired editor and former small-town reporter who grew up in Bay Shore, Long Island. That background became the setting and newspaper world of Home News.
01
Darktown
Thomas Mullen · 2016
You know you’re in for a good read when you’re hooked by an opening paragraph of just 43 words. What follows in short order is an engaging whodunnit, compelling characters, believable dialogue, and insight into an ugly period of America’s recent history.
JD Solomon
Why the opening works
Mullen opens with a car striking one of Auburn Avenue’s new streetlamps. The image establishes a crime, a witness, and the racial geography of 1948 Atlanta before the first officer arrives.
02
The Last Days of Night
Graham Moore · 2016
You could learn about the great battle to electrify America from Wikipedia or an AI summary, or you could read The Last Days of Night, where the story comes alive through wonderful historical fiction. The first paragraph packs a wallop in just 21 words, introducing the narrator, the time, the villain, and the life-or-death stakes.
JD Solomon
Why the opening works
Moore’s first sentence names the narrator, his enemy, and the threat of death in 21 words. A public electrocution follows, turning the current war between Edison and Westinghouse into immediate physical danger.
03
A Single Spy
William Christie · 2017
If World War II spy stories are your thing, then this is your next book. A Soviet spy working as a double agent in the Nazi secret service is tasked with the assassination of Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin during the Tehran Conference. Even though we know the outcome, the tension never lets up.
JD Solomon
Why the opening works
Christie starts with a mule that is seconds from betraying a smuggling party. Alexsi’s response reveals his patience and practical intelligence before the book widens into borders, rifles, and Soviet power.
04
Home News
JD Solomon · 2022
Two Prohibition gangsters botch a killing and drive home through the rain.
The book behind the stack
Why the opening works
Solomon begins after the violence, with two gangsters arguing over whether their victim was dead before they put him in a creek. The exchange uses gallows humor to introduce character, danger, and the criminal world before the newspaper plot arrives.