Acevedo, Elizabeth
With the Fire on High (Young Adult)
Navigating the challenges of finishing high school while caring for a daughter, talented cook Emoni Santiago struggles with a lack of time and money that complicate her dream of working in a professional kitchen.
Recommended by Brooke
Adeyemi, Tomi
Children of Virtue and Vengeance (Fantasy, Legacy of Orisha #2)
After battling the impossible, Zélie and Amari have finally succeeded in bringing magic back to the land of Orïsha. But the ritual was more powerful than they could’ve imagined, reigniting the powers of not only the maji, but of nobles with magic ancestry, too.
Recommended by Jo Adams, Lyssa
The Bromance Book Club (Romance)
To win back his wife, who wants a divorce, desperate Nashville Legends second baseman Gavin Scott finds help from an unlikely source—a secret romance reading club of Nashville’s top alpha men.
Recommended by Erica
Akers, W.M.
Westside: A Novel (Historical Mystery)
In 1921 New York City, young detective Gilda Carr specializes in solving “tiny mysteries”—the impossible puzzles that keep us up at night, against a hellish landscape, in this thrilling historical fantasy steeped in the supernatural.
Recommended by Erica
2
Arden, Katherine
The Winter of the Witch (Fantasy, Winternight Trilogy #3)
After Moscow is struck by disaster and a wicked demon determined to spread chaos returns, Vasya joins with the winter king Morozko to battle mortal and magical enemies in an effort to save both the seen and unseen Russias.
—Recommended by Emily, Jean, Nessa and Jo
Attenberg, Jami
All This Could Be Yours (Contemporary)
Victor Tuchman is a power hungry real estate developer and, by all accounts, a bad man and father. Now that he is on his deathbed, his daughter hopes to finally unearth the secrets of who he is and what he did over the course of his life and career.
Recommended by Jo
Atwood, Margaret and Nault, Renee
The Handmaid’s Tale (Graphic Novel)
Illustrated with high contrast artwork, a graphic novel adaptation of Margaret Atwood's modern classic depicts the terrifying realities of women consigned to childbirth roles in the occupied Republic of Gilead.
Recommended by Heather and Jo
Atwood, Margaret
The Testaments (Dystopian Fiction)
Fifteen years after the events of The Handmaid's Tale, the theocratic regime of the Republic of Gilead maintains its grip on power, but there are signs it is beginning to rot from within.
Recommended by Heather and Joe
3
Bardugo, Leigh King of Scars (Young Adult Fantasy)
Nikolai Lantsov has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country’s bloody civil war. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, the young king must find a way to refill Ravka’s coffers and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.
Recommended by Erica
Bardugo, Leigh Ninth House (Paranormal Thriller)
Galaxy “Alex” Stern is offered a full ride to Yale University with one catch: she must monitor the activities of the school’s secret societies, known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful.
—Recommended by Andrea
Barton, Fiona The Suspect (Thriller)
Pursuing the story of two British teens who disappeared during a Bangkok hostel fire, journalist Kate Waters struggles to remain objective when her estranged son is declared a main suspect.
Recommended by Jane
Berry, Connie A Dream of Death (Mystery, Kate Hamilton #1)
On a remote Scottish island, American antique dealer Kate Hamilton sleuths a killing that eerily replicates a murder still unsolved after 200 years.
Recommended by Jane
4
Blake, Sarah
The Guest Book (Historical Fiction)
The bereaved matriarch of a powerful early 20th century American family makes a fateful decision that reverberates throughout two subsequent generations further impacted by racism, reversed circumstances and disturbing revelations.
Recommended by Becky
Bowen, Rhys
The Victory Garden (Historical Mystery)
Marrying an Australian pilot during World War I, Emily volunteers to tend the neglected grounds of a Devonshire estate where she finds inspiration and support in an herbalist's long-forgotten journals.
Recommended by Jane
Box, C.J.
The Bitterroots (Mystery, Cassie Dewell #4)
Former police officer turned private investigator Cassie Dewell reluctantly accepts a sexual assault defense case before her search for answers among twisted family loyalties reignites the ghosts of her own past.
—Recommended by Andrea
Brodesser-Akner, Taffy
Fleishman Is in Trouble (Contemporary)
If you could do it all over again, would you? Should you? One man finds out in this finely observed, compulsively readable, and occasionally raunchy novel of marriage, sex, and dating.
Recommended by Jenn
5
Brown, Pierce Dark Age (Science Fiction, Red Rising #5)
Outlawed by the Republic he founded, Darrow wages a destructive war on Mars; while heir-in-exile
Lysander struggles to overcome or unite the treacherous Gold families.
—Recommended by Heather
Cander, Chris
The Weight of a Piano (Literary)
An immigrant from the Soviet Union and an orphaned mechanic find their lives fatefully linked across half a century of history by a German Blüthner piano.
Recommended by Jo
Cavanagh, Steve Th1rt3en (Mystery, Eddie Flynn #4)
Defense lawyer and former conman Eddie Flynn defends his movie star client in a high profile murder trial and discovers that the actual killer is sitting on the jury.
Recommended by Becky
Center, Katherine Things You Save in a Fire (Romance)
When a family emergency compels her to move from Austin to Boston, a skilled firefighter becomes the only woman in her new firehouse and navigates discrimination, low funding and her private edicts about falling in love with another firefighter.
—Recommended by Jenn and Andrea
6
Cha, Steph Your House Will Pay (Thriller)
Two teenagers in Los Angeles, one KoreanAmerican and the other African American, deal with the ripple effects of a shooting from decades ago after a new incident brings their families’ painful memories hurtling back.
Recommended by Jean and Andrea
Chakraborty, S.A.
The Kingdom of Copper (Fantasy, Daevabad Trilogy #2)
Chakraborty continues the sweeping adventure begun in The City of Brass, conjuring a world where djinn summon flames with the snap of a finger and a clever con artist from Cairo will alter the fate of a kingdom.
Recommended by Lindsay, Andrea, Erica and Jo
Chen, Mike
Here and Now and Then (Science Fiction)
Stranded for 18 years since the 1990s, time-traveling agent Kin Stewart, suffering from memory loss, has started a new life, but when rescuers from the year 2142 finally arrive, he must choose between his current family and the one he left behind in the future.
—Recommended by Ellen J.
Chevalier, Tracy
A Single Thread (Historical Fiction)
Facing limited prospects after the loss of her loved ones in World War I, Violet Speedwell joins a circle of embroiderers, continuing a centuries-long tradition at Winchester Cathedral.
Recommended by Andrea
7
Chiang, Ted
Exhalation (Science Fiction Stories)
A collection of stories explores revelatory ideas and second chances in such tales as "In the Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate," "Exhalation," and "The Lifecycle of Software Objects."
Recommended by Jean
Choo, Yangsze
The Night Tiger (Historical Fiction)
A vivacious dance-hall girl in 1930s colonial Malaysia is drawn into unexpected danger by the discovery of a severed finger that is being sought by a young houseboy in order to protect his late master's soul.
Recommended by Jo Clark, Tracy Broken Places (Mystery, Chicago Mystery #1)
When the only father figure Cass Raines has ever known, Father Ray Heaton, asks her to look into a recent spate of vandalism at his church, she agrees to handle it. Only hours later Cass is horrified to discover his murdered body in the church confessional.
Recommended by Erica
Cleeves, Ann
The Long Call (Mystery, Two Rivers, #1)
When a man with an albatross tattoo on his neck is murdered in North Devon, Detective Matthew Venn is forced to return to the strict evangelical community of his childhood, where his investigation uncovers deadly secrets.
—Recommended by Andrea
8
Coates, Ta-Nehisi
The Water Dancer (Paranormal Historical Fiction)
When slave Hiram Walker almost drowns, he is saved from the depths by a force he doesn't understand, a blue light that lifts him up and lands him a mile away. This strange brush with death leads Hiram to the Underground Railroad.
Recommended by Nate, Jo and Ellen J.
Cobbs, Elizabeth
The Tubman Command (Historical Fiction)
Harriet Tubman was a scout for the Union Army and led a successful raid up the Combahee River in South Carolina that freed 750 men, women, and children. This is the historical novel of her heroic raid.
—Recommended by Sonia
Coben, Harlan Run Away (Mystery)
Discovering their drug-addicted daughter playing guitar in Central Park, a desperate narrator follows the young woman into a dark and dangerous world of unspeakable evil.
Recommended by Jane
Connelly, Michael
The Night Fire (Mystery, Renee Ballard/Harry Bosch #3)
Retired detective Harry Bosch and LAPD Detective Renee Ballard come together again on the murder case that obsessed Bosch's mentor, the man who trained him.
Recommended by Jane
9
Crombie, Deborah
A Bitter Feast (Mystery, Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James #18)
Invited to spend a weekend at a tranquil Cotswolds village, husband-and-wife Scotland Yard detectives Kincaid and James are drawn into a dangerous web of secrets involving an up and coming star chef and a series of mysterious deaths.
—Recommended by Jane
Crouch, Blake Recursion (Thriller)
Investigating a suicide, New York City police officer Barry Sutton finds a connection to the outbreak of a memory-altering disease and a controversial neuroscientist working to preserve precious memories.
—Recommended by Ellen J. and Jean
Daugherty, Christi
A Beautiful Corpse (Mystery)
When a 24-year-old bartender is found murdered, crime reporter Harper McClain investigates three men, including the victim's former-criminal boyfriend, her stalker boss and her acrimonious ex, the son of the district attorney.
Recommended by Jane
Donnelly, Jennifer Stepsister (Young Adult Fantasy)
When the Marquis de la Chance offers Isabelle, one of Cinderella's stepsisters, a choice and an opportunity to change her fate, she has the possibility of redemption and a chance to find her true self.
Recommended by Heather
10
Dunmore, Evie
Bringing Down the Duke (Historical Romance)
Annabelle Archer, the brilliant but destitute daughter of a country vicar, has earned herself a place among the first cohort of female students at the University of Oxford. In return for her scholarship, she must recruit men of influence to champion the women’s suffrage movement.
Recommended by Erica
Eason, K.
How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse (Science Fiction, Thorne Chronicles #1)
A feminist reimagining of familiar fairytale tropes and a story of resistance and self-determination examines how small acts of rebellion can lead a princess to not just save herself, but change the course of history.
Recommended by Erica
El-Mohtar, Amal and Gladstone, Max
This Is How You Lose the Time War (Science Fiction)
Two time-traveling agents from warring futures, working their way through the past, begin to exchange letters and soon fall in love, even though the discovery of their bond could mean death for each of them.
Recommended by Erica
Faye, Lyndsay
The Paragon Hotel (Historical Fiction)
Fleeing to Oregon from New York City in 1921, white woman Alice James takes refuge in the city's only black hotel and helps new friends search for a missing child, hide from KKK violence, and navigate painful secrets.
—Recommended by Jo and Jenn
11
Freeman, Dianne
A Lady’s Guide to Gossip and Murder (Mystery, Countess of Harleigh #2)
When a friend is found murdered, Frances Wynn, the now-widowed Countess of Haleigh, begins assisting the police in this highly sensitive case, learning more about her peers than she ever wished to know.
—Recommended by Susie
Gailey, Sarah Magic for Liars (Fantasy)
When a gruesome murder is discovered at the Osthorne Academy of Young Mages, where her estranged twin sister teaches Theoretical Magic, reluctant detective Ivy Gamble is pulled into the world of untold power and dangerous secrets.
Recommended by Ellen J., Erica and Jenny B.
Gordon, Alexia
Fatality in F (Mystery, Gethsemane Brown, #4)
Gethsemane is looking forward to a relaxing summer, until bodies start dropping like rose petals at the annual rose and garden show and her best friend is the prime suspect.
—Recommended by Haley
Griffiths, Elly The Stranger Diaries (Mystery)
A stand alone mystery by the author of the Ruth Galloway series finds a high school English teacher chronicling her suspicions about the murder of a colleague before discovering a sinister message in her own diary.
—Recommended by Ellen J., Jenn and Jean
12
Gutcheon, Beth Richardson
The Affliction (Mystery, Maggie Detweiler/Hope Babbin #2)
When a talkative teacher is murdered during the tensions of an evaluation to see if Rye Manor School will remain open, retired school head Maggie Detweiler is joined by madcap socialite friend Hope to identify a killer among multiple suspects.
Recommended by Jane Harper, Jane
The Lost Man (Mystery)
Two brothers meet at the remote fence line separating their cattle ranches in the lonely outback. The third brother lies dead at their feet. Something caused Cam, the middle child who had been in charge of the family homestead, to die alone in the middle of nowhere.
Recommended by Jean, Ellen J. and Jo
Harrow, Alix E.
The Ten Thousand Doors of January (Fantasy)
As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, January feels like the artifacts that decorate the halls— carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place. Then she finds a strange book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure, and danger.
Recommended by Ellen J.
Hartsuyker, Linnea
The Golden Wolf (Fantasy, Golden Wolf #3) Ragnvald has long held to his vision of King Harald as a golden wolf who will bring peace to Norway as its conqueror even though he knows that Harald's success will eventually mean his own doom.
Recommended by Nessa
13
Hawkins, Karen The Book Charmer (Magical Realism)
When Sarah Dove grows up to become the librarian in her quaint Southern town of Dove Pond, her gift helps place every book in the hands of the perfect reader. Recently, however, the books have been whispering about something out of the ordinary: the arrival of a displaced city girl named Grace Wheeler.
Recommended by Haley
Heller, Peter The River (Literary Fiction)
When Wynn and Jack decide to canoe the Maskwa River in northern Canada, they anticipate long days of leisurely paddles and picking blueberries and nights of stargazing and reading paperback Westerns. But a wildfire making its way across the forest adds unexpected urgency to the journey.
—Recommended by Andrea and Ellen J.
Heron, Farah The Chai Factor (Romance)
Thirty year old engineer Amira Khan's no dating rule is in jeopardy when she meets the strangely charming barbershop-quartet baritone that is living in her grandmother's basement.
Recommended by Erica
Higgins, Kristan Life and Other Inconveniences (Contemporary)
Emma London never thought she had anything in common with her grandmother, the famous fashion designer Genevieve London. But when Genevieve reaches out to her estranged granddaughter, they discover they are truly two sides of the same coin.
Recommended by Jo and Andrea
14
Hill, Joe Full Throttle: Stories (Horror)
Joe Hill dissects timeless human struggles in 13 relentless tales of supernatural suspense, including “In The Tall Grass,” one of two stories co-written with his father, Stephen King, and the basis for the feature film from Netflix.
Recommended by Mark
Hoang, Helen
The Bride Test (Romance)
Khai Diep’s autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.
Recommended by Susie
Hoffman, Alice
The World That We Knew (Historical Fiction)
Hanni Kohn knows she must send her 12-year-old daughter Lea away to save her from the Nazis. A rabbi’s daughter, Ettie, offers hope of salvation when she creates a golem, a mystical Jewish creature who is sworn to protect Lea.
Recommended by Emily and Jean
Holmes, Linda
Evvie Drake Starts Over (Romance)
Young widow Evvie Drake and major league pitcher Dean Tenney, who has lost his game and needs a chance to reset his life, form an unlikely relationship when Dean moves into an apartment at the back of Evvie's house.
—Recommended by Jo, Ellen J., Jean, Jane, Jenn, Andrea and Haley
15
Holsinger, Bruce
The Gifted School (Contemporary)
Seen through the lens of four families who've been a part of one another's lives since their kids were born over a decade ago, the story reveals not only the lengths that some adults are willing to go to get ahead, but the effect on the group's children, sibling relationships, marriages, and careers.
—Recommended by Jean
Hoover, Colleen Verity (Thriller)
Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired writer Ashleigh Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen uncovers an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended anyone to read, with pages of bone chilling admissions.
—Recommended by Jenn
Horowitz, Anthony The Sentence Is Death (Mystery, Daniel Hawthorne #2)
When a celebrity divorce lawyer is found bludgeoned to death with a bottle of wine, baffled police are forced to bring in P.I. Daniel Hawthorne and his sidekick, the author Anthony, who's really getting rather good at this murder investigation business. Recommended by Haley, Jean, Jo, Becky and Andrea
Jackson, Joshilyn Never Have I Ever (Suspense)
Amy Whey is proud of her ordinary life and the simple pleasures that come with it. But her sweet, uncomplicated life begins to unravel when the mysterious and alluring Angelica Roux arrives on her doorstep one book club night.
Recommended by Jane and Jo
16
Jalauddin, Uzma
Ayesha at Last (Romance)
Reluctantly working as a teacher to pay off her debts to her wealthy uncle, Ayesha Shamsi finds herself falling for her cousin's conservative and judgmental fiancée.
Recommended by Erica
James, Marlon
Black Leopard, Red Wolf (Fantasy, Dark Star Trilogy #1)
Engaged to track down a mysterious boy who disappeared three years earlier, Tracker and his band are set upon by creatures intent on destroying them. As he struggles to survive, Tracker starts to wonder: Who, really, is this boy? Why do so many people want to keep Tracker from finding him?
—Recommended by Joe Johnston, Tim The Current (Suspense)
When two women leave their college campus in the dead of winter for a 700-mile drive north to Minnesota, they suddenly find themselves fighting for their lives in the icy waters of the Black Root River, just miles from home. One woman’s survival, and the other's death—murder, actually—stun the citizens of a small Minnesota town.
Recommended by Jean and Becky
Kamal, Soniah
Unmarriageable (Romance)
In this retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in modernday Pakistan, Alys Binat has sworn never to marry until an encounter with one Mr. Darsee at a wedding makes her reconsider.
Recommended by Susie
17
Keane, Mary Beth
Ask Again, Yes (Literary Fiction)
A family saga looks at two Irish American families in a New York suburb, the love between two of their children, and the tragedies that threaten to tear them apart and destroy their futures.
Recommended by Andrea and Ellen J.
Kent, Serena
Death in Provence (Mystery, Penelope Kite #1)
The first entry in a clever, lighthearted mystery series set in modern Provence a delightful blend of Agatha Christie and Peter Mayle featuring the irrepressible Penelope Kite, a young-at-heart divorcee with a knack for stumbling across dead bodies.
—Recommended by Susie
Kim, Angie Miracle Creek (Legal Fiction)
In a small town in Virginia, a group of people know each other because they’re part of a special treatment center, a hyperbaric chamber that may cure a range of conditions from infertility to autism. But then the chamber explodes, two people die, and it’s clear the explosion wasn’t an accident.
—Recommended by Haley, Becky, Jenn, Andrea and Jean King, Stephen
The Institute (Horror)
Abducted youth Luke Ellis is imprisoned in an inescapable institute, where children with the abilities of telekinesis and telepathy are subjected to torturous manipulation.
Recommended by Ellen J.
18
Kinsella, Sophie
I Owe You One (Romance)
Struggling to hold her late father's business together in spite of her less-motivated siblings, Fixie Farr cashes in an IOU from a handsome stranger to find employment for her childhood crush.
—Recommended by Jane
Kraus, Daniel Blood Sugar (Horror)
In a ruined house at the end of Yellow Street, an angry outcast hatches a scheme to take revenge for all the wrongs he has suffered.
—Recommended by Mark
Krueger, William Kent
This Tender Land (Historical Fiction)
An orphan goes on a life changing adventure traveling down America's great rivers during the Great Depression, seeking both a place to call home and a sense of purpose in a world sinking into despair.
—Recommended by Ellen J.
Kwok, Jean
Searching for Sylvie Lee (Suspense)
Sylvie, the beautiful, brilliant, successful older daughter of the Lee family, flies to the Netherlands for one final visit with her dying grandmother and then vanishes.
Recommended by Jean
19
Laukkanen, Owen
Deception Cove (Thriller)
A widowed ex-Marine and a misanthropic ex-convict grudgingly team up in remote Washington State to save the only thing they have in common the rescue dog who changed both their lives.
Recommended by Becky
Letts, Elizabeth
Finding Dorothy (Historical Fiction)
As soon as she learns that MGM is adapting her late husband’s masterpiece for the screen, Maud Gage Baum sets about trying to finagle her way onto the set. Nineteen years after Frank’s passing, Maud is the only person who can help the producers stay true to the spirit of the book because she’s the only one left who knows its secrets.
Recommended by Jenny B.
Liardet, Frances We Must Be Brave (Historical Fiction)
When Ellen Parr made the decision to marry an older man, she accepted that children would not be in her future and believed she was at peace with that fact. However, the discovery of a lost child left on a bus, who arrived in her quiet English village as a refugee fleeing German bombs, changes everything.
Recommended by Sonia
Liggett, Kim
The Grace Year (Young Adult Dystopian)
Tierney James, sixteen, struggles to endure the year in which she and other young women are banished to the wild until, purified, the survivors are allowed to return home and marry.
Recommended by Heather
20
Lippman, Laura Lady in the Lake (Suspense)
A divorced reporter in racially-torn 1966 Baltimore triggers unanticipated consequences for vulnerable community members while investigating the murder of an African American party girl.
Recommended by Jo and Ellen J.
Locke, Attica
Heaven, My Home (Mystery, Highway 59 #2)
In the follow up to the award winning Bluebird Bluebird, Texas Ranger Darren Matthews is on the hunt for a boy who's gone missing—but it's the boy's family of white supremacists who are his real target.
Recommended by Andrea and Becky
Lombardo, Claire
The Most Fun We Ever Had (Contemporary)
The four adult daughters of two Chicago parents who have been madly in love for decades recklessly ignite old rivalries, until a long buried secret threatens to shatter the lives they built.
Recommended by Jo and Becky
Lovesey, Peter
Killing with Confetti (Mystery, Peter Diamond #18)
When a crime baron’s daughter gets married, Peter Diamond, Bath’s head of CID, is appalled to be put in charge of security on the day. Ordered to be discreet, he packs a gun and a guest list in his best suit and must somehow cope with potential killers, gang rivals, warring parents, bossy photographers and straying bridesmaids.
—Recommended by Andrea
21
Luiselli, Valeria
The Lost Children Archive (Contemporary)
A profoundly human family summer road trip across America is shaped by historical and modern displacement tragedies as well as a growing rift between the two parents. Recommended by Brooke
Lutz, Lisa
The Swallows (Thriller)
A teacher at a New England prep school ignites a gender war—with deadly consequences—after giving her class a simple creative writing prompt. Recommended by Emily
Massey, Sujata
The Satapur Moonstone (Mystery, Perveen Mistry #2)
Perveen Mistry, India's only female lawyer in 1922, helps the royal ladies of Satapur settle their dispute over the education of the young crown prince, but becomes entangled in the power plays and ancient vendettas of the palace. —Recommended by Joe, Jenny B., Jane, Andrea and Jo
McCracken, Elizabeth Bowlaway (Historical Fiction)
An unconventional New England family faces scandal, inheritance battles, and questions of paternities as viewed through their three generations of owning and operating a candlepin bowling alley in the town of Salford, Massachusetts. Recommended by Erica and Jo
22
McMahon, Jennifer The Invited (Horror)
When an inspired effort to build her dream home is overshadowed by discoveries about her rural property's violent past, a former history teacher becomes obsessed with the stories of three generations of local women who died under suspicious circumstances.
Recommended by Mark McQuiston, Casey
Red, White & Royal Blue (Young Adult Romance)
After an international incident affects U.S. and British relations, the president's son Alex and Prince Henry must pretend to be best friends, but as they spend time together, the two begin a secret romance that could derail a presidential campaign.
Recommended by Heather and Erica
McTiernan, Dervla
The Scholar (Mystery, Cormac Reilly #2)
Summoned by his medical researcher girlfriend when she discovers the body of the heir to a successful pharmaceutical company, Detective Cormac Reilly is embroiled in an investigation that raises questions about both his girlfriend and the victim.
—Recommended by Jean
Michaelides, Alex
The Silent Patient (Thriller)
Criminal psychotherapist Theo Faber becomes dangerously obsessed with uncovering the truth about what prompted his client, an artist who refuses to speak, to violently murder her husband in a way that triggers mass public speculation.
Recommended by Ellen J. and Becky
23
Molin, Meghan Scott
The Frame Up (Mystery, Golden Arrow #1)
MG Martin lives and breathes geek culture. She even works as a writer for the comic book company she idolized as a kid. But when someone in LA starts recreating crime scenes from her favorite comic book, MG is the LAPD’s best—and only— lead.
Recommended by Erica
Monninger, Joseph Seven Letters (Romance)
A Dartmouth Ph.D. student falls for a troubled Irish American fisherman while researching the history of the Blasket Islands on the rocky Irish coast, once the home to famous Irish writers, but now abandoned.
—Recommended by Andrea
Montclair, Allison
The Right Sort of Man (Mystery, Sparks & Bainbridge #1)
Organizing a matchmaking business together in spite of their differences, two women in 1946 London find their promising company endangered when one of their clients is arrested for the murder of another.
—Recommended by Andrea and Erica
Moreno-Garcia, Silvia
Gods of Jade and Shadow (Historical Fantasy)
A dark fairy tale inspired by folklore is set against the Jazz age in Mexico’s underworld, where a young dreamer is sent by the Mayan God of Death on a life -changing journey.
Recommended by Erica
24
Morgenstern, Erin
The Starless Sea (Fantasy)
Discovering a mysterious book of prisoner tales, a Vermont graduate student recognizes a story from his own life before following clues to a magical underground library that is being targeted for destruction.
—Recommended by Ellen J. and Jenn
Moyes, Jojo
The Giver of Stars (Historical Fiction)
Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father in law. Her life changes when she joins Eleanor Roosevelt's new traveling library.
—Recommended by Jane and Trish
Obreht, Tea
Inland (Historical Literary Fiction)
An unexpected relationship between a frontierswoman riding out the Arizona Territory drought of 1893 and a former outlaw who has the ability to see ghosts inspires an epic journey across the West.
—Recommended by Jo and Ellen J.
O’Donohue, Clare
Beyond the Pale (Mystery)
Interpol asks married college professors Hollis and Finn Larsson to procure a priceless rare book manuscript abroad. They are soon left with fifty thousand euros and a possible death threat. Recommended by Jane
25
Oyeyemi, Helen Gingerbread (Magical Realism)
The author draws on the classic fairytale element of gingerbread in the story of a British family whose surprising legacy and secret past are tied to a favorite recipe.
—Recommended by Emily and Lindsay
Parker, Morgan
Who Put This Song On? (Young Adult)
Seventeen-year-old Morgan is a black teen triumphantly figuring out her identity when her conservative town deems depression as a lack of faith, and blackness as something to be politely ignored.
Recommended by Joe
Parry, H.G.
The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep (Fantasy)
For his entire life, Charley Sutherland has concealed a magical ability he can't quite control: he can bring characters from books into the real world. But when literary characters start causing trouble, making threats about destroying the world, he drags his brother Rob in to help.
Recommended by Jo and Ellen J.
Patchett, Ann
The Dutch House (Historical Fiction)
A richly moving story set over the course of five decades explores the indelible bond between two siblings, the house of their childhood, and a past that will not let them go. The Dutch House is the story of a paradise lost that digs deeply into questions of inheritance, love and forgiveness.
Recommended by Jo, Jane, Jenn, Ellen J. and Jean
26
Patrick, Phaedra
The Library of Lost and Found (Contemporary)
A shy librarian whose kind heart is often exploited receives a mysterious book of fairytales from the beloved grandmother she believed dead and embarks on a perspective-changing journey of astonishing family secrets.
Recommended by Ellen J.
Pavone, Chris
The Paris Diversion (Espionage)
After a leisurely start to a normal day, American expat Kate Moore finds herself partnered with a French agent to investigate a bombing threat in Paris.
Recommended by Andrea
Penny, Louise
A Better Man (Mystery, Armand Gamache #15)
Catastrophic spring flooding, blistering attacks in the media, and a mysterious disappearance greet Chief Inspector Armand Gamache as he returns to the Surete du Quebec.
—Recommended by Ellen J., Jane and Jo
Phillips, Helen
The Need (Thriller)
A woman grapples with the complex dualities of motherhood—joy and dread, tenderness and anxiety after confronting a masked intruder in her home.
Recommended by Jean and Becky
27
Prescott, Lara
The Secrets We Kept (Historical Fiction)
At the height of the Cold War, two secretaries are pulled out of the CIA typing pool and given the assignment of a lifetime. Their mission: to smuggle Doctor Zhivago out of the USSR, where no one dares publish it, and help Pasternak's novel make its way into print around the world.
Recommended by Jo, Ellen J. and Jenn
Preston, Douglas and Child, Lincoln
Old Bones (Thriller, Nora Kelly #1)
Nora Kelly, a young but successful curator with a series of important excavations already under her belt, is approached by the handsome historian, Guy Porter, to lead an expedition unlike any other involving the ill fated Donner Party.
Recommended by Ellen J.
Quinn, Kate
The Huntress (Historical Fiction)
Stranded behind enemy lines, Russian bomber pilot Nina Markova becomes the prey of a lethal Nazi murderess known as the Huntress and joins forces with a Nazi hunter and British war correspondent to find her before she finds them.
Recommended by Erica, Jenny B. and Ellen J.
Racculia, Kate
Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts: An Adventure (Magical Realism)
One woman and a supporting cast of misfits, dreamers and foes race to win a treasure hunt inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, left behind by a dying billionaire.
Recommended by Andrea, Ellen J., Erica, Haley and Jenn
28
Raheem, Zara
The Marriage Clock (Romance)
Given three months by her traditional parents to find a husband or agree to an arranged marriage, a Muslim-American woman with dreams of Bollywood romance starts dating in hopes of finding love on her own terms.
Recommended by Susie
Rankin, Ian
In a House of Lies (Mystery, Inspector Rebus #22)
When the remains of a private investigator who went missing a decade earlier are discovered, Siobhan Clarke uncovers disturbing evidence implicating her mentor, Inspector Rebus.
—Recommended by Jane
Reay, Katherine
The Printed Letter Bookshop (Inspirational)
Love, friendship, and family find a home at the Printed Letter Bookshop. Amid literature and lattes, three women come together and find that sharing one’s journey with best friends makes life richer.
Recommended by Sonia
Reid, Taylor Jenkins
Daisy Jones and the Six (Historical Fiction)
When singer Daisy Jones meets Billy Dunne of the band The Six, the two rising 70s rock and roll artists are catapulted into stardom when a producer puts them together, a decision that is complicated by a pregnancy and the seductions of fame.
—Recommended by Jo and Jenn
29
Richardson, Kim Michele
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek (Historical Fiction)
An outcast and member of the Pack Horse Library Project braves the hardships of Kentucky's Great Depression and hostile community discrimination to bring the near-magical perspectives of books to her neighbors.
Recommended by Trish
Robinson, Peter
Careless Love (Mystery, Inspector Banks #25)
A young local student’s body is found in an abandoned car on a lonely country road. The death looks like suicide, but there are too many open questions for Inspector Banks and his team to rule out foul play. The victim didn’t own a car. She didn’t even drive. How did she get there?
—Recommended by Jane
Robinson, Maggie
Nobody’s Sweetheart Now (Mystery, Lady Adelaide, #1)
While being haunted by her late philandering husband who has come back as a ghost, Lady Adelaide Compton is drawn into a real life murder mystery when one of her houseguests is murdered, disrupting her careful seating arrangement.
Recommended by Susie
Robson, Jennifer
The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding (Historical Fiction)
Two embroiderers at the famed fashion house of Norman Hartnell forge an unlikely friendship, but their nascent hopes for a brighter future are tested when they are chosen for a once in a lifetime honor taking part in the creation of Princess Elizabeth’s wedding gown.
Recommended by Jo, Susie, Andrea and Ellen J.
30
Rogerson, Margaret
Sorcery of Thorns (Young Adult Fantasy)
When apprentice librarian Elisabeth is implicated in sabotage that released the library's most dangerous grimoire, she becomes entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy that could mean the end of everything.
—Recommended by Heather
Rooney, Sally
Normal People (Literary Fiction)
The unconventional secret childhood bond between a popular boy and a lonely, intensely private girl is tested by character reversals in their first year at a Dublin college that render one introspective and the other social, but self-destructive.
Recommended by Joe
Rowell, Rainbow
Wayward Son (Young Adult Fantasy, Simon Snow #2)
What Simon Snow needs, according to his best friend, is a change of scenery. That's how Simon and Penny and Baz end up in a vintage convertible, tearing across the American West. They find trouble, of course dragons, vampires, skunk headed things with shotguns.
—Recommended by Heather
Sager, Riley Lock Every Door (Thriller)
Taking an apartment-sitting job in a Manhattan apartment building housing the rich and famous, a young woman is drawn to a fellow apartment sitter who reveals that the building hides a dark history.
Recommended by Mark
31
Schine, Cathleen
The Grammarians (Contemporary)
Laurel and Daphne Wolfe, identical, inseparable redheaded twins, share an obsession with words. Their fraying twinship shreds completely when the sisters go to war over custody of their most prized family heirloom: Merriam Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition
Recommended by Erica, Ellen J. and Jo
Schott, Ben Jeeves and the King of Clubs (Historical Fiction)
As a member of the Junior Ganymede Club an association of butlers and valets that is in reality an arm of the British intelligence service — Jeeves must ferret out a Fascist spy, with the help of his hapless employer, Bertie Wooster.
Recommended by Erica
Schumacher, Julie
The Shakespeare Requirement (Contemporary)
A sequel to the prize-winning Dear Committee Members finds newly appointed English department chair Jason Fitger navigating his ex wife's affair with his boss, budget cuts, a formidable department secretary and a Shakespeare scholar who refuses to retire.
—Recommended by Erica
See, Lisa
The Island of Sea Women (Historical Fiction)
Two girls living on the Korean island of Jeju begin working in the sea with their village’s all female diving collective. As the girls take up their positions as baby divers, they know they are beginning a life of excitement and responsibility but also danger.
Recommended by Andrea and Jo
32
Sepetys, Ruta
The Fountains of Silence (Young Adult Historical Fiction)
Drawn back to his mother’s homeland by the utopian promises of the Franco regime in 1957 Madrid, the photographer son of an oil tycoon bonds with a girl who raises his awareness about the lingering shadows of the Spanish Civil War.
Recommended by Andrea
Shaw, Vivian
Grave Importance (Fantasy, Dr. Greta Helsing #3) Dr. Greta Helsing, doctor to the undead, must solve a dangerous medical mystery at a secret French spa for mummies.
—Recommended by Susie
Sheldon, Paige
Lost Books and Old Bones (Mystery, Scottish Bookshop #3)
When a medical student is found murdered in her store's alley, Edinburgh bookseller Delaney Nichols follows leads to the story of a long dead doctor before discovering that she has been targeted by the killer herself.
Recommended by Susie
Sigurdardottir, Yrsa
The Reckoning (Mystery, Detective Huldar #4)
Detective Huldar and child psychologist Freyja investigate the disappearance of a schoolgirl who was last seen in the company of a disabled classmate.
Recommended by Becky
33
Slaughter, Karin
The Last Widow (Suspense, Will Trent #9)
After the kidnapping of a CDC scientist and a bombing in one of Atlanta's neighborhoods, Georgia detective Will Trent and medical examiner Sara Linton find themselves pitted against a mysterious group intent on unleashing a deadly epidemic.
Recommended by Jane
Starling, Caitlin
The Luminous Dead (Science Fiction)
With no experience, Gyre lies her way into a high paying caving exploration, only to find herself on a harrowing journey, where she must confront demons from within as well as whatever lurks in the dark if she is to make it out alive.
—Recommended by Emily
Stephenson, Neal
Fall; or, Dodge in Hell (Science Fiction, Dodge #2)
When a routine procedure gone wrong renders a gaming billionaire brain dead, his stunned family and friends cryopreserve and digitally transfers his consciousness into an immortal tech-driven existence.
Recommended by Ellen J.
Stradal, J. Ryan
The Lager Queen of Minnesota (Literary Fiction)
This novel of family, Midwestern values, hard work, fate and the secrets of making a world class beer features a cast of lovable, funny, quintessentially American characters eager to make their mark in a world that's often stacked against them.
Recommended by Jo
34
Strawser, Jessica Not That I Could Tell (Thriller)
An innocent weekend get together of women friends turns sinister when the group discovers on Monday morning that one of their number has gone missing, a disappearance that places the woman's husband under suspicion and forces two of the women to reckon with personal secrets.
Recommended by Jane
Strout, Elizabeth
Olive, Again (Literary, Olive #2)
Here is Olive, strangely content in her second marriage, in an evolving relationship with her son and his family, crossing paths with a cast of memorable characters in the seaside town of Crosby, Maine.
Recommended by Ellen J. and Jo
Summers, Courtney Sadie (Young Adult Mystery)
Resolving to bring her sister's killer to justice, an orphaned teen goes missing while investigating meager clues, before a radio personality learns her story and becomes obsessed with finding her before it is too late.
—Recommended by Erica
Tamaki, Mariko
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me (Young Adult Graphic Novel)
Laura Dean, the most popular girl in high school, was Frederica Riley's dream girl: charming, confident, and SO cute. There's just one problem: Laura Dean is maybe not the greatest girlfriend.
Recommended by Joe
35
Thomas, Angie
On the Come Up (Young Adult)
The best selling author of The Hate U Give returns to the world of Garden Heights in the story of an aspiring teen rapper who confronts the unexpected realities of achieving one's dreams.
—Recommended by Ellen J., Brooke and Jo
Thomas, Sherry
The Art of Theft (Historical Mystery, Lady Sherlock #4)
When Mrs. Watson resolves to uncover long kept secrets on behalf of a friend, Charlotte Holmes infiltrates a glamorous Yuletide ball to prevent the sale of a priceless work of art.
Recommended by Jenn and Erica
Truss, Lynn
A Shot in the Dark (Historical Mystery, Constable Twitten #1)
On the verge of revealing the criminal mastermind behind a 1945 unsolved mystery, a famed theater critic is shot dead, leaving Sergeant Jim Brunswick and Constable Twitten to solve both the decades-old crime and the more recent murder.
—Recommended by Erica
Tudor, C.J.
The Hiding Place (Thriller)
A teacher with a hidden agenda returns to settle scores at a school he once attended, only to uncover a darker secret than he could have imagined.
Recommended by Ellen J.
36
Wall, Cara
The Dearly Beloved (Literary Fiction)
In a novel that spans decades, two young couples’ lives become intertwined when the husbands are appointed co-ministers of a venerable New York City church in the 1960s.
—Recommended by Haley, Andrea and Ellen J.
Tursten, Helene
A Little Old Lady Is Up to No Good (Mystery Stories) Maud is an irascible 88-year-old Swedish woman with no family, no friends, and... no qualms about a little murder. This funny, irreverent collection features stories that will keep you laughing all the way to the retirement home.
Recommended by Erica
Vuong, Ocean
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous (Literary Fiction)
A letter from a son to a mother who cannot read reveals the impact of the Vietnam War on their family history and provides a view into parts of the son's life that his mother has never known.
—Recommended by Andrea
Waite, Olivia
The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics (Historical Romance)
In 1816 London, widow Catherine St. Day hires Lucy Muchelney to translate a French astronomy text and thus finish her husband's scientific legacy, and they unexpectedly find themselves falling in love.
—Recommended by Erica
37
Ware, Ruth
The Turn of the Key (Suspense)
When a high paying nanny job at a luxurious Scottish Highlands home ends with her imprisonment for a child's murder, a young woman struggles to explain to her lawyer the unravelling events that led to her incarceration.
Recommended by Ellen J.
Waxman, Abbi
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill (Contemporary)
Nina Hill enjoys living quietly with a job at a bookstore and her small circle of friends, until a brand-new family, as well as a persistent suitor, enter her life and change everything.
Recommended by Jo, Andrea and Ellen J.
Webber, Heather S.
Midnight at the Blackbird Café (Contemporary)
After the death of her beloved grandmother, Anna Kate travels to Wicklow, Alabama to settle her estate and sell the café she ran, but finds herself drawn to the quirky town and the mysterious blackbird pie everyone is talking about.
—Recommended by Jo
Wendig, Chuck
The Wanderers (Science Fiction)
Shana wakes up one morning to discover her little sister sleepwalking. She cannot talk and cannot be woken up. But Shana and her sister are not alone. Soon they are joined by a flock of sleepwalkers from across America, on the same mysterious journey.
—Recommended by Ellen J.
38
Whitehead, Colson
The Nickel Boys (Historical Fiction)
Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida.
—Recommended by Jo, Ellen J. and Jenn
Wilkinson, Lauren
American Spy (Espionage)
Marie Mitchell, a Cold War FBI intelligence officer, joins an undercover task force to undermine Thomas Sankara, the revolutionary Communist president of Burkina Faso, who she secretly admires and comes to love, in a novel inspired by true events.
Recommended by Jenn, Andrea and Erica
Wilson, G. Willow
The Bird King (Historical Fantasy)
Fatima, a concubine in the royal court of Granada at the height of the Spanish Inquisition, and her friend Hassan, the palace mapmaker, risk their lives to escape when the latter is accused of sorcery.
—Recommended by Erica
Wilson, Kevin
Nothing to See Here (Magical Realism)
Agreeing to help her former college roommate care for two stepchildren who possess the ability to spontaneously combust when agitated, Lillian endeavors to keep her young charges cool in the face of an astonishing revelation.
—Recommended by Sonia and Jean
39
Winspear, Jacqueline
The American Agent (Historical Mystery, Maisie Dobbs #15)
Coordinating an effort between Scotland Yard and the Secret Service, Maisie Dobbs investigates the murder of an American war correspondent in London during the World War II Blitz.
Recommended by Sonia
Woodson, Jacqueline
Red at the Bone (Historical Fiction)
As Melody celebrates a coming of age ceremony at her grandparents’ house in 2001 Brooklyn, her family remembers 1985, when Melody’s own mother prepared for a similar party that never took place in this novel about different social classes.
—Recommended by Jo and Heather
Yoon, David
Frankly in Love (Young Adult)
High school senior Frank Li takes a risk to go after a girl his parents would never approve of, but his plans will leave him wondering if he ever really understood love, or himself, at all.
Recommended by Jean
Yu, Ovidia
The Frangipani Tree Mystery (Mystery, Crown Colonies #1)
SuLin, an aspiring journalist trying to escape an arranged marriage in 1936 Singapore, steps in as governess for the Acting Governor of Singapore after his nanny dies mysteriously. When another murder occurs at the residence, SuLin puts her sleuthing skills to the test.
Recommended by Erica
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