47 Books To Read Before You Die

If you’re a bookworm like me, you’ve probably seen lots of those books to read before you die lists. I’ve seen plenty, and they always seem to focus on the classics. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good classic, but I think there are a lot of contemporary books that deserve a spot on those lists too. These books cover a wide range of themes and take us on emotional journeys. So, I’ve put together a list of contemporary books that I think everyone should read before they die. These are some of my all-time favorites, and I hope you’ll love them as much as I do.

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Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Joan Goodwin has always loved the stars. She works as a professor of physics and astronomy and spends her free time with her niece, Frances. Then she sees an advertisement from NASA asking for women scientists to apply to the new space shuttle program. She feels called to try, and her life changes forever. Atmosphere shows Joan’s journey as she is chosen from thousands of applicants in 1980 and begins training in Houston with other astronauts. She finds friendship, discovers love, and questions her place in the world. But when a mission goes wrong, Joan must face the biggest test of her life. This is a story about science, courage, and the power of love among the stars, a must-read book. It’s also one of the unforgettable historical fiction books of 2025. 

Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.

Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easygoing even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warmhearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane.

As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe.

Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, it all changes in an instant.

Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, creating complex protagonists, and telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love—this time among the stars.

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Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall

Beth lives quietly with her kind husband, Frank, in the countryside. Their lives are steady until her brother-in-law fires a gun at a dog attacking their sheep. That single moment brings Beth face-to-face with Gabriel Wolfe, the man she loved years ago, who has now returned to the village with his son. The past she buried suddenly rises to the surface. Broken Country follows Beth as she is pulled between her safe, married life and the first love that once broke her heart. Secrets, jealousy, and danger swirl in the village, forcing Beth to make an impossible choice. This is a story about passion, memory, and how love from the past can change the present in surprising and dangerous ways. This is one of the popular Reese Witherspoon book club books of 2025. 


Beth and her gentle, kind husband Frank are happily married, but their relationship relies on the past staying buried. But when Beth’s brother-in-law shoots a dog going after their sheep, Beth doesn’t realize that the gunshot will alter the course of their lives. For the dog belonged to none other than Gabriel Wolfe, the man Beth loved as a teenager—the man who broke her heart years ago. Gabriel has returned to the village with his young son Leo, a boy who reminds Beth very much of her own son, who died in a tragic accident.

As Beth is pulled back into Gabriel’s life, tensions around the village rise and dangerous secrets and jealousies from the past resurface, this time with deadly consequences. Beth is forced to make a choice between the woman she once was, and the woman she has become.

A sweeping love story with the pace and twists of a thriller, Broken Country is a novel of simmering passion, impossible choices, and explosive consequences that toggles between the past and present to explore the far-reaching legacy of first love.

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The Names by Florence Knapp

Cora lives with her husband Gordon, a doctor who is respected in the community but harsh at home. After a terrible storm, she goes to register the birth of her baby son. Gordon wants the boy named after him, but when the registrar asks Cora for the child’s name, she hesitates. That pause changes everything. The Names tells three different stories that follow Cora and her son, each shaped by the choice of a name. The novel shows how small decisions can affect an entire life, touching on abuse, family, and healing. This is a moving and powerful book about survival, the weight of choices, and the search for freedom in one’s own life. This is one of the best audiobooks I listened to in 2025. 


In the wake of a catastrophic storm, Cora sets off with her nine-year-old daughter, Maia, to register her son’s birth. Her husband, Gordon, a local doctor, respected in the community but a terrifying and controlling presence at home, intends for her to name the infant after him. But when the registrar asks what she’d like to call the child, Cora hesitates…

Spanning thirty-five years, what follows are three alternate and alternating versions of Cora’s and her young son’s lives, shaped by her choice of name. In richly layered prose, The Names explores the painful ripple effects of domestic abuse, the messy ties of family, and the possibilities of autonomy and healing.

With exceptional sensitivity and depth, Knapp draws us into the story of one family, told through a prism of what-ifs, causing us to consider the “one . . . precious life” we are given. The book’s brilliantly imaginative structure, propulsive storytelling, and emotional, gut-wrenching power are certain to make The Names a modern classic.

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My Friends by Fredrik Backman

In a small seaside town, four teenagers spend their summers together on an abandoned pier. They come from broken homes but find strength, laughter, and hope in each other. Years later, a teen named Louisa  sees a famous painting with three tiny figures on a pier and realizes it connects to a story. My Friends follows Louisa’s journey as she travels across the country, uncovering the past and learning the truth about art, memory, and love. This novel shows how friendship can save lives, how art can carry hidden stories, and how bonds made in youth can last forever. This is one of the most memorable books I’ve ever read.


#1 New York Times bestselling author Fredrik Backman returns with an unforgettably funny, deeply moving tale of four teenagers whose friendship creates a bond so powerful that it changes a complete stranger’s life twenty-five years later.

Most people don’t even notice them—three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner of one of the most famous paintings in the world. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea. But Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise, and she is determined to find out the story of these three enigmatic figures.

Twenty-five years earlier, in a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love.

Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed into eighteen-year-old Louisa’s care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. The closer she gets to the painting’s birthplace, the more nervous she becomes about what she’ll find. Louisa is proof that happy endings don’t always take the form we expect in this stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art.

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The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Sybil Van Antwerp is a woman who has always made sense of the world through letters. Every morning, she sits down to write to family, to friends, even to famous authors like Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Most letters are sent, but some are written only for herself. The Correspondent follows Sybil as letters from the past resurface, forcing her to face painful memories she has tried to bury. A mother, grandmother, wife, lawyer, and divorcée, Sybil has lived a full life, but the story shows her journey toward forgiveness and understanding. It is a moving exploration of memory, loss, and the power of words to heal. It’s one of the most immersive books I’ve read. 


Throughout her life Sybil Van Antwerp has used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings around half past ten Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter.

Sybil expects her world to go on as it always has. A mother, grandmother, wife, divorcée, distinguished lawyer, she has lived a full life. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes the letter she has been writing over the years needs to be read and that she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness.

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Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

Tress has lived her whole life on a small island surrounded by a green ocean. She loves collecting cups and listening to stories from her friend Charlie. But when Charlie is taken on a dangerous voyage and disaster strikes, she must leave her safe life behind. Tress of the Emerald Sea tells how Tress sneaks onto a ship, faces deadly oceans filled with spores, and encounters pirates and strange magic. Along the way, she discovers courage she never knew she had. This whimsical fantasy book is both inspiring and heartwarming. 

#1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson expands his Cosmere universe shared by The Stormlight Archive and Mistborn with a new standalone novel for everyone who loved The Princess Bride.

The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and make her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death?

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The Measure by Nikki Erlick

One morning, people across the world find small wooden boxes outside their doors. Each box contains a string that shows the number of years a person has left to live. The Measure follows eight characters as they face the question: do they want to know how long they have? Some are hopeful, some are afraid, and others try to ignore it. But soon the world is changed forever by this strange gift. The story shows how choices about life and death affect family, love, and even politics. It is a thoughtful and moving novel that asks what we would do if we knew our time. Also check out 31 Discussion Questions For The Measure by Nikki Erlick


A luminous, spirit-lifting blockbuster that asks: would you choose to find out the length of your life?

Eight ordinary people. One extraordinary choice.

It seems like any other day. You wake up, drink a cup of coffee, and head out.

But today, when you open your front door, waiting for you is a small wooden box. The contents of this mysterious box tells you the exact number of years you will live.

From suburban doorsteps to desert tents, every person on every continent receives the same box. In an instant, the world is thrust into a collective frenzy. Where did these boxes come from? What do they mean? Is there truth to what they promise?

As society comes together and pulls apart, everyone faces the same shocking choice: Do they wish to know how long they’ll live? And, if so, what will they do with that knowledge?

The Measure charts the dawn of this new world through an unforgettable cast of characters whose decisions and fates interweave with one another: best friends whose dreams are forever entwined, pen pals finding refuge in the unknown, a couple who thought they didn’t have to rush, a doctor who cannot save himself, and a politician whose box becomes the powder keg that ultimately changes everything.

Enchanting and deeply uplifting, The Measure is an ambitious, invigorating story about family, friendship, hope, and destiny that encourages us to live life to the fullest.

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The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

In the 1970s, builders in Pennsylvania find a skeleton while digging. The discovery leads to secrets hidden for decades in a neighborhood called Chicken Hill, where Jewish immigrants and Black families once lived together. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store tells the story of Moshe and Chona Ludlow, who run a grocery shop and theater, and their community, who come together to protect a deaf Black boy from being taken away by the state. The book shows both the struggles of prejudice and the strength of kindness. It is a powerful story about love, community, and how people survive even in the face of injustice. This is a must-read uplifting book club book for 2025. 


In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new housing development, the last thing they expected to uncover was a human skeleton. Who the skeleton was and how it got buried there were just two of the long-held secrets that had been kept for decades by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side, sharing ambitions and sorrows.

Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, which served the neighborhood’s quirky collection of blacks and European immigrants, helped by her husband, Moshe, a Romanian-born theater owner who integrated the town’s first dance hall. When the state came looking for a deaf black child, claiming that the boy needed to be institutionalized, Chicken Hill’s residents—roused by Chona’s kindess and the courage of a local black worker named Nate Timblin—banded together to keep the boy safe.

As the novel unfolds, it becomes clear how much the people of Chicken Hill have to struggle to survive at the margins of white Christian America and how damaging bigotry, hypocrisy, and deceit can be to a community. When the truth is revealed about the skeleton, the boy, and the part the town’s establishment played in both, McBride shows that it is love and community—heaven and earth—that ultimately sustain us.

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The Push by Ashley Audrain

Blythe Connor wants to be the warm, loving mother she never had. But when her daughter Violet is born, something feels wrong. Violet does not act like other children, and Blythe fears she may be dangerous. Her husband, Fox, dismisses her worries, and soon Blythe begins to doubt herself. The Push explores Blythe’s journey as a mother, her bond with her son Sam, and the devastating events that follow. It is a tense and emotional psychological drama about family, motherhood, and how women are often not believed. This is a must-read psychological thriller with a shocking twist. 

A tense, page-turning psychological drama about the making and breaking of a family–and a woman whose experience of motherhood is nothing at all what she hoped for–and everything she feared.

Blythe Connor is determined that she will be the warm, comforting mother to her new baby Violet that she herself never had.

But in the thick of motherhood’s exhausting early days, Blythe becomes convinced that something is wrong with her daughter–she doesn’t behave like most children do.

Or is it all in Blythe’s head? Her husband, Fox, says she’s imagining things. The more Fox dismisses her fears, the more Blythe begins to question her own sanity, and the more we begin to question what Blythe is telling us about her life as well.

Then their son Sam is born–and with him, Blythe has the blissful connection she’d always imagined with her child. Even Violet seems to love her little brother. But when life as they know it is changed in an instant, the devastating fall-out forces Blythe to face the truth.

The Push is a tour de force you will read in a sitting, an utterly immersive novel that will challenge everything you think you know about motherhood, about what we owe our children, and what it feels like when women are not believed.

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That’s Not My Name by Megan Lally

A teenage girl wakes up by the side of a road with no memory of who she is or what happened to her. A man arrives at the police station claiming to be her father, with photos and papers proving her name is Mary. But she is not sure. At the same time, another girl named Lola has gone missing, and her boyfriend Drew is accused of killing her. That’s Not My Name follows both mysteries as danger grows and secrets are revealed. It is a gripping thriller about identity, trust, and survival when nothing is what it seems. This is one of the disturbing books I’ve read. 


She thought she had her life back. She was wrong. It was a mistake to trust him.

Shivering and bruised, a teen wakes up on the side of a dirt road with no memory of how she got there―or who she is. A passing officer takes her to the police station, and not long after, a frantic man arrives. He’s been searching for her for hours. He has her school ID, her birth certificate, and even family photos. He is her father. Her name is Mary. Or so he says.

When Lola slammed the car door and stormed off into the night, Drew thought they just needed some time to cool off. Except Lola disappeared, and the sheriff, his friends, and the whole town are convinced Drew murdered his girlfriend. Forget proving his innocence, he needs to find her before it’s too late. The longer Lola is missing, the fewer leads there are to follow…and the more danger they both are in.

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The Butcher by Jennifer Hillier

In 1985, police chief Edward Shank became a hero for killing the Beacon Hill Butcher, a serial killer in Seattle. Thirty years later, Shank gives his old house to his grandson, Matt, a young chef. While renovating, Matt finds a locked crate with horrifying secrets inside. The Butcher reveals the dark truth about the Shank family and the murders that may not be over. At the same time, Matt’s girlfriend Sam investigates her mother’s death, convinced the Butcher was responsible. It is a chilling thriller about what people will do to hide the truth. Another great thriller that will give you best hangover.


A rash of grisly serial murders plagued Seattle until the infamous “Beacon Hill Butcher” was finally hunted down and killed by police chief Edward Shank in 1985. Now, some thirty years later, Shank, retired and widowed, is giving up his large rambling Victorian house to his grandson Matt, whom he helped raise.

Settling back into his childhood home and doing some renovations in the backyard to make the house feel like his own, Matt, a young up-and-coming chef and restaurateur, stumbles upon a locked crate he’s never seen before. Curious, he picks the padlock and makes a discovery so gruesome it will forever haunt him… Faced with this deep dark family secret, Matt must decide whether to keep what he knows buried in the past, go to the police, or take matters into his own hands.

Meanwhile Matt’s girlfriend, Sam, has always suspected that her mother was murdered by the Beacon Hill Butcher—two years after the supposed Butcher was gunned down. As she pursues leads that will prove her right, Sam heads right into the path of Matt’s terrible secret.

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Gray After Dark by Noelle W. Ihli

Miley once dreamed of being an Olympic athlete, but an accident ended her plans. She takes a summer job at a guest lodge in the remote Frank Church Wilderness, hoping to recover and start fresh. At first, the wilderness seems peaceful, but then she is kidnapped during a morning run. Gray After Dark follows Miley as she is trapped in an isolated cabin, forced to use her strength and cleverness to survive. She faces fear, danger, and betrayal while planning a risky escape. Inspired by true events, this is a tense thriller about courage, survival, and the will to fight back even in the darkest moments. If you are looking for eerie spine-tingling books for 2025, check this one. 


A merciless wilderness. A harrowing attack. A desperate escape.

When a tragic accident sidelines Miley’s dreams of Olympic gold, she takes a summer job at a mountain guest lodge.

The Frank Church Wilderness is remote, but it’s the perfect place to train and recover. Local lore about a staffer who died years ago doesn’t scare her. But it should.

Miley’s plans take a terrifying detour when she’s abducted during a morning run. Held captive in a desolate off-grid cabin, she’ll have to use her athletic prowess, cunning mind, and courage to survive. But as the nightmare at the cabin escalates, Miley is forced to form an unlikely alliance and attempt a risky escape.

Can she outwit her captors and survive the wilderness before it’s too late?

Inspired by true events, Gray After Dark is a pulse-pounding psychological thriller with a finale that will leave you breathless.

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A Cottage Full of Secrets by Jane Lovering

Fifty years ago, Stella moved into Cottage Two on Bracken Ridge Farm, ready to build a happy life with her husband. But behind the handmade curtains and family meals, her marriage was full of disappointment and pain. Years later, Tamzin comes to the same cottage, hoping for a new beginning far from her past. A Cottage Full of Secrets shows how Tamzin finds an old photograph of Stella and starts uncovering the truth about the woman who lived there before. It is about finding strength, starting over, and learning if love can bring a second chance. This is a perfect feel-good book to read.


Cottage Two, Bracken Ridge Farm sits at the end of a pitted track, with the glorious Yorkshire moors stretching behind it. Just a simple two up, two down, the cottage holds the promise of a new start for two very different women, but it is also full of secrets. Fifty years ago, newly-wed Stella is relishing making the little cottage a happy home. But for all the lovingly handmade curtains, and the hot dinners ready on the table for her husband, Stella’s dreams of married life jar painfully with the truth. Fifty years later, the cottage is a new beginning for Tamzin. Determined to get away from her previous life, she makes the move to the wild and vast Yorkshire countryside. When Tamzin finds a sepia photo of a woman, Stella, standing in the cottage’s garden, there’s a sadness in her eyes that Tamzin recognises. As the cottage reveals more of its secrets, Tamzin is desperate to find out whether Stella got her happy ending. And as she gradually makes new friends, and starts to win over her mysterious neighbour Euan, Tamzin dares to dream about her own happy ending too.

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We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter

In North Falls, a small town where everyone thinks they know each other, two teenage girls disappear on the night of the fireworks. Panic spreads, and Officer Emmy Clifton is determined to solve the case. She feels guilty because she failed to help earlier, and now she must bring her friend’s daughter home. We Are All Guilty Here uncovers the secrets the town has been hiding, showing that every teenager and every adult carries a hidden truth. As Emmy gets closer to the answers, danger rises. This is a dark, thrilling mystery about guilt, small-town lies, and how far people will go to protect themselves. One of the intense mystery books I’ve read in 2025.


The first thrilling mystery in the new North Falls series from Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Girls and the Will Trent series.

Welcome to North Falls—a small town where everyone knows everyone. Or so they think.

Until the night of the fireworks. When two teenage girls vanish, and the town ignites.

For Officer Emmy Clifton, it’s personal. She turned away when her best friend’s daughter needed help—and now she must bring her home.

But as Emmy combs through the puzzle the girls left behind, she realizes she never really knew them. Nobody did.

Every teenage girl has secrets. But who would kill for them? And what else is the town hiding?

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The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

For Belly, life is measured in summers. Each year she spends the season at the beach house with Susannah and her two sons, Conrad and Jeremiah. They have been part of her life forever, sometimes like brothers, sometimes like something more. But one summer, everything begins to change. The Summer I Turned Pretty tells the story of first love, heartbreak, and growing up. Belly faces feelings she does not fully understand, and by the end of that summer, her life is no longer the same. This is a sweet romance novel perfect for fans of novels set in Summer. Also read 25 The Summer I Turned Pretty Book Club Questions and Snack Ideas.


Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer—they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

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Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Damon, nicknamed Demon Copperhead for his bright hair, is born in the mountains of Appalachia to a teenage single mother. Life is hard from the beginning, with poverty, foster care, and addiction shaping his world. Told in Demon’s own sharp and honest voice, Demon Copperhead follows him as he struggles to survive, finds moments of success, and faces many losses. Inspired by Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield, this story brings those same themes to modern America. It is a powerful novel about poverty, resilience, and how a good story can give hope, even in the hardest times.


“Anyone will tell you the born of this world are marked from the get-out, win or lose.”

Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, this is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. In a plot that never pauses for breath, relayed in his own unsparing voice, he braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities.

Many generations ago, Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield from his experience as a survivor of institutional poverty and its damages to children in his society. Those problems have yet to be solved in ours. Dickens is not a prerequisite for readers of this novel, but he provided its inspiration. In transposing a Victorian epic novel to the contemporary American South, Barbara Kingsolver enlists Dickens’ anger and compassion, and above all, his faith in the transformative powers of a good story. Demon Copperhead speaks for a new generation of lost boys, and all those born into beautiful, cursed places they can’t imagine leaving behind.

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Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

Shelby Tebow vanishes, followed soon after by Meredith Dickey and her daughter, Delilah. The town is left unsettled, and the case goes cold when no answers appear. Eleven years later, Delilah returns, shocking everyone and raising painful questions. Local Woman Missing is a tense and chilling thriller about secrets buried in a small community and the terrifying things people will do to protect them. It has a gripping pace and haunting twists. The book explores fear, lies, and survival, showing how the truth never stays hidden forever. It’s a must-read for fans of dark, domestic suspense.


People don’t just disappear without a trace….

Shelby Tebow is the first to go missing. Not long after, Meredith Dickey and her six-year-old daughter, Delilah, vanish just blocks away from where Shelby was last seen, striking fear into their once-peaceful community. Are these incidents connected? After an elusive search that yields more questions than answers, the case eventually goes cold.

Now, 11 years later, Delilah shockingly returns. Everyone wants to know what happened to her, but no one is prepared for what they’ll find….

In this smart and chilling thriller, master of suspense and New York Times best-selling author Mary Kubica takes domestic secrets to a whole new level, showing that some people will stop at nothing to keep the truth buried.

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Where He Can’t Find You by Darcy Coates

Abby Ward has always lived by rules meant to protect her and her sister: don’t walk alone, don’t stay out late, don’t trust the shadows. But when her sister Hope is taken, the rules aren’t enough. Desperate, Abby fights to save her before it’s too late. Where He Can’t Find You blends horror and suspense into a nightmarish tale of courage and family bonds. The Stitcher’s terrifying legend feels all too real, forcing Abby into a dangerous chase. This is a dark and gripping story is perfect horror book for Halloween.


DON’T WALK ALONE, OR THE STITCHER WILL FIND YOU.

Abby Ward lives in a town haunted by disappearances. People vanish, and when they’re found, their bodies have been dismembered and sewn back together in unnatural ways. But is it the work of a human killer…or something far darker?

DON’T STAY OUT LATE, OR THE STITCHER WILL TAKE YOU.

She and her younger sister live by a strict set of rules designed to keep them safe―which is why it’s such a shock when Hope is taken. Desperate to get her back, Abby tells the police everything she knows, but they claim their hands are tied.

DON’T CLOSE YOUR EYES, OR THE STITCHER WILL REMAKE YOU.

With every hour precious, Abby and her friends are caught in a desperate game of cat and mouse. They have to get Hope back. Quickly. Before too much of her is cut away. And before everything they care about is swallowed up by the darkness waiting in the tunnels beneath the home they thought they knew.

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The Country Escape by Jane Lovering

Katie leaves London behind with her daughter Poppy, hoping for a fresh start in a rundown cottage on the Dorset coast. The cottage is crumbling, money is scarce, and winter looms, but new friendships bring unexpected hope. The Country Escape is a warm and heartfelt story about starting over, facing challenges, and finding love where you least expect it. As Katie learns to rebuild both her home and her life, she discovers strength, community, and the possibility of romance. This uplifting novel celebrates resilience, friendship, and the comfort of the countryside.


Leaving London and her ex-husband Luc behind, Katie and her 14-year-old daughter Poppy move into their very own, very ramshackle cottage near the village of Christmas Steepleton on the Dorset coast.

Harvest Cottage has been unloved for many years, so the job of bringing it back to life is a slow and expensive one. So, with funds running low, Katie jumps at the chance when a film company asks to use the cottage as a location. But even as things are looking up, as harvest time passes and autumn chill starts to bite, the prospect of a cold winter in the country is daunting.

Some light relief comes from new friend Gabriel, so different from Katie’s exuberant but arrogant ex Luc. Will their friendship blossom into something more romantic, or will the reality of a tough country winter send her and Poppy scurrying back to the comforts of town?

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Story of My Life by Lucy Score

Hazel’s life is falling apart, her apartment is gone, and her publisher threatens to drop her unless she delivers her next book. On impulse, she buys a house in rural Pennsylvania, hoping to rediscover her spark. Story of My Life is a funny, charming romance about second chances, small-town life, and unexpected inspiration. Between quirky locals and a grumpy contractor who might be more than just a distraction, Hazel begins to find joy again. This is a heartwarming and entertaining small-town romance for your tbr.

Hazel is given a one-two punch when she’s forced to move out of her Upper East Side apartment and is given a final warning from her publisher.

If she doesn’t turn in a book by her next deadline, they’re cutting her loose.

Hazel rashly decides to leave what’s left of her city life behind and impulse buys a house in rural Pennsylvania sight unseen. How better to entertain the loyal readers she still has and rediscover her writing mojo than immersing herself in small-town life?

Too bad this town looks to be on its last legs. At least she’s finding swoon-worthy inspiration from her hot, grumpy contractor Cam and his animal-rescuing, community-involved family. It’s all just research. What could go wrong?

A note from the author: This series is my love letter to every reader who said they wanted to move to a fictional town

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First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison

Aiden Valentine has lost his faith in love, which makes his job as a radio host for a romance hotline complicated. Then a call from a little girl looking for dating advice for her mom goes viral. First-Time Caller is a cozy, witty romance that brings together a hopeless romantic and a jaded host in an unexpected way. The novel is a delightful love story about family, vulnerability, and finding connection when you least expect it.


A hopeless romantic meets a jaded radio host in this cozy, Sleepless in Seattle-inspired love story from beloved author B.K. Borison.

Aiden Valentine has a secret: he’s fallen out of love with love. And as the host of Baltimore’s romance hotline, that’s a bit of a problem. But when a young girl calls in to the station asking for dating advice for her mom, the interview goes viral, thrusting Aiden and Heartstrings into the limelight.

Lucie Stone thought she was doing just fine. She has a good job; an incredible family; and a smart, slightly devious kid. But when all of Baltimore is suddenly scrutinizing her love life-or lack thereof—she begins to question if she’s as happy as she thought. Maybe a little more romance wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

Everyone wants Lucie to find her happy ending… even the handsome, temperamental man calling the shots. But when sparks start to fly behind the scenes, Lucie must make the final call between the radio-sponsored happily ever after or the man in the headphones next to her.

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How to Read a Book by Monica Wood

Violet Powell leaves prison after a tragic mistake, Harriet Larson faces the loneliness of an empty nest, and Frank Daigle grieves the woman Violet killed. Their lives collide one morning in a bookstore, and everything changes. How to Read a Book is a moving and hopeful novel about guilt, forgiveness, and second chances. This story is about unlikely friendships, the weight of loss, and the quiet kindnesses that make life worth living.


A charming, deeply moving novel about second chances, unlikely friendships, and the life-changing power of sharing stories.

Our Reasons meet us in the morning and whisper to us at night. Mine is an innocent, unsuspecting, eternally sixty-one-year-old woman named Lorraine Daigle…

Violet Powell, a twenty-two-year-old from rural Abbott Falls, Maine, is being released from prison after serving twenty-two months for a drunk-driving crash that killed a local kindergarten teacher. Harriet Larson, a retired English teacher who runs the prison book club, is facing the unsettling prospect of an empty nest. Frank Daigle, a retired machinist, hasn’t yet come to grips with the complications of his marriage to the woman Violet killed.

When the three encounter each other one morning in a bookstore in Portland—Violet to buy the novel she was reading in the prison book club before her release, Harriet to choose the next title for the women who remain, and Frank to dispatch his duties as the store handyman—their lives begin to intersect in transformative ways.

How to Read a Book  is an unsparingly honest and profoundly hopeful story about letting go of guilt, seizing second chances, and the power of books to change our lives. With the heart, wit, grace, and depth of understanding that has characterized her work, Monica Wood illuminates the decisions that define a life and the kindnesses that make life worth living.

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Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

Lucy was once found covered in her best friend Savvy’s blood, but she remembers nothing of that night. Years later, a hit true crime podcast reopens the case, forcing her to return home. Listen for the Lie is a sharp, suspenseful thriller about memory, secrets, and the search for truth. The town convinced she is guilty so now Lucy must piece together what really happened, even if it means confronting her own guilt. This one of the best engaging thriller audiobooks I loved.


What if you thought you murdered your best friend? And if everyone else thought so too? And what if the truth doesn’t matter?

Lucy and Savvy were the golden girls of their small Texas town: pretty, smart, and enviable. Lucy married a dream guy with a big ring and an even bigger new home. Savvy was the social butterfly loved by all and, if you believe the rumors, especially popular with the men in town. But after Lucy is found wandering the streets, covered in her best friend Savvy’s blood, everyone thinks she is a murderer.

It’s been years since that horrible night, a night Lucy can’t remember anything about, and she has since moved to LA and started a new life. But now the phenomenally huge hit true crime podcast Listen for the Lie and its too-good looking host, Ben Owens, have decided to investigate Savvy’s murder for the show’s second season. Lucy is forced to return to the place she vowed never to set foot in again to solve her friend’s murder, even if she is the one who did it.

The truth is out there, if we just listen.

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The Chain by Adrian McKinty

Rachel Klein’s day unravels when she receives a phone call: her daughter has been kidnapped. To get her back, she must pay a ransom and abduct another child, joining an endless cycle called The Chain. The Chain is a gripping thriller about fear, morality, and the lengths parents will go to for their children. Victims become criminals, and survival comes at an impossible cost. The story explores how ordinary people face extraordinary choices. This fast-paced thriller is impossible to put down.


It’s something parents do every morning: Rachel Klein drops her daughter at the bus stop and heads into her day. But a cell phone call from an unknown number changes everything: it’s a woman on the line, informing her that she has Kylie bound and gagged in her back seat, and the only way Rachel will see her again is to follow her instructions exactly: pay a ransom, and find another child to abduct. This is no ordinary kidnapping: the caller is a mother herself, whose son has been taken, and if Rachel doesn’t do as she’s told, the boy will die.

“You are not the first. And you will certainly not be the last.” Rachel is now part of The Chain, an unending and ingenious scheme that turns victims into criminals—and is making someone else very rich in the process. The rules are simple, the moral challenges impossible; find the money fast, find your victim, and then commit a horrible act you’d have thought yourself incapable of just twenty-four hours ago.

But what the masterminds behind The Chain know is that parents will do anything for their children. It turns out that kidnapping is only the beginning.

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The Girl Who Was Taken by Charlie Donle

Two girls vanish after a beach party in Emerson Bay, North Carolina—one makes it home, the other never does. Megan McDonald escapes a bunker and becomes a national symbol of survival, while Nicole Cutty remains missing, her family desperate for answers. A year later, her sister Livia, a forensic pathology fellow, begins to uncover chilling connections when another body surfaces. The Girl Who Was Taken is a dark, twisting thriller . As Megan and Livia dig deeper, they discover that the real terror may not be in what’s hidden, but in what’s finally revealed.

Two abducted girls—one who returns, one who doesn’t.
 
The night they go missing, high school seniors Nicole Cutty and Megan McDonald are at a beach party in their small town of Emerson Bay, North Carolina. Police launch a massive search, but hope is almost lost—until Megan escapes from a bunker deep in the woods. . . . A year later, the bestselling account of her ordeal has made Megan a celebrity. It’s a triumphant story, except for one inconvenient Nicole is still missing.
 
Nicole’s older sister, Livia, a fellow in forensic pathology, expects that one day soon Nicole’s body will be found and her sister’s fate determined. Instead, the first clue comes from another body—that of a young man connected to Nicole’s past. Livia reaches out to Megan to learn more about that fateful night. Other girls have disappeared, and she’s increasingly sure the cases are connected.
 
Megan knows more than she revealed in her book. Flashes of memory are pointing to something more monstrous than she described. And the deeper she and Livia dig, the more they realize that sometimes true terror lies in finding exactly what you’ve been looking for.

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The Women by Kristin Hannah

The Women  is the perfect book if you want to read powerful, character-driven books. It’s about a young nursing student  named Frankie. She joined the Army Nurse Corps during the Vietnam War. Once in combat, every day is a test of courage. But the real battle starts when she returns home to a country that wants to forget the war. I loved the mix of historical detail and individual hardships. This is one of the best historical fiction novels about the aftermath of war and how it affects the lives of people involved in its atrocities.

 From the celebrated author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds comes Kristin Hannah’s The Women—at once an intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided.

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.

But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.

The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.

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The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan

The Three Lives of Cate Kay is a lot like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. The story, pacing, and main character were amazing. The main story follows Cate Kay, a bestselling author living under a fake name. The book takes us  into her messy, secretive past, and why she had to hide who she really is. There is drama, and a bit of mystery, plus a fast-paced plot. This was a great audiobook.  It’s also one of my favorite Reese Witherspoon Book Club picks. If you are a fan of books that feature female friendships, ambition and mystery this is a must-read books to read before you die. 

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo meets First Lie Wins in this electric, voice-driven debut novel about an elusive bestselling author who decides to finally confess her true identity after years of hiding from her past.

Cate Kay knows how to craft a story. As the creator of a bestselling book trilogy that struck box office gold as a film series, she’s one of the most successful authors of her generation. The thing is, Cate Kay doesn’t really exist. She’s never attended author events or granted any interviews. Her real identity had been a closely guarded secret, until now.

As a young adult, she and her best friend Amanda dreamed of escaping their difficult homes and moving to California to become movie stars. But the day before their grand adventure, a tragedy shattered their dreams and Cate has been on the run ever since, taking on different names and charting a new future. But after a shocking revelation, Cate understands that returning home is the only way she’ll be a whole person again.

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Isola by Allegra Goodman

Isola is an inspiring historical fiction inspired by real events. It’s the story  of Marguerite, a young woman who is left behind on an abandoned island. You will love the richly detailed writing. It’s the perfect book that describes the hardships of survival and resilience, and finding faith in the harshest conditions. This book should be in your list of the most compelling historical fiction books ever written.

A young woman and her lover are marooned on an island in this epic saga of love, faith, and defiance from the bestselling author of Sam.

Heir to a fortune, Marguerite is destined for a life of prosperity and gentility. Then she is orphaned, and her guardian—an enigmatic and volatile man—spends her inheritance and insists she accompany him on an expedition to New France. Isolated and afraid, Marguerite befriends her guardian’s servant and the two develop an intense attraction. But when their relationship is discovered, they are brutally punished and abandoned on a small island with no hope for rescue.

Once a child of privilege who dressed in gowns and laced pearls in her hair, Marguerite finds herself at the mercy of nature. As the weather turns, blanketing the island in ice, she discovers a faith she’d never before needed.

Inspired by the real life of a sixteenth-century heroine, Isola is the timeless story of a woman fighting for survival.

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We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

This debut horror book was really creepy. The story follows a couple who flip houses. They just secured a killer deal on an old house in a picturesque neighborhood. But things turn dark when a family stops by claiming to have lived there years before and asking if it would be alright if he showed his kids around. Soon strange things start to occur, ghostly presence, weird disappearances, and a constant sense of dread. If you are looking for new horror books with a psychological twist, you need to read this one. 

From an author “destined to become a titan of the macabre and unsettling” (Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author), a haunting debut—soon to be a Netflix original movie—about two homeowners whose lives are turned upside down when the house’s previous residents unexpectedly visit.

As a young, queer couple who flip houses, Charlie and Eve can’t believe the killer deal they’ve just gotten on an old house in a picturesque neighborhood. As they’re working in the house one day, there’s a knock on the door. A man stands there with his family, claiming to have lived there years before and asking if it would be alright if he showed his kids around. People pleaser to a fault, Eve lets them in.

As soon as the strangers enter their home, inexplicable things start happening, including the family’s youngest child going missing and a ghostly presence materializing in the basement. Even more weird, the family can’t seem to take the hint that their visit should be over. And when Charlie suddenly vanishes, Eve slowly loses her grip on reality. Something is terribly wrong with the house and with the visiting family—or is Eve just imagining things?

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James by Percival Everett

I don’t usually read classic retellings because I’m not that interested in hearing another take on a story I already know. But James really surprised me. When I first read Huckleberry Finn, I always wondered what the story would be like from James’s perspective, and this book delivered exactly what I hoped for. I absolutely loved that the author gave James a rich, complex voice and a powerful story of his own. It’s thoughtful , deep character-driven storytelling that Everett is known for. Also check out book club questions for James.

When Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he runs away until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck has faked his own death to escape his violent father. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond.

Brimming with nuanced humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a literary icon, this brilliant and tender novel radically illuminates Jim’s agency, intelligence, and compassion as never before. James is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first-century American literature.

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Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

Sally Rooney’s books can be deep and a little slow-paced, but I really like how she captures the raw, messy parts of real life. Intermezzo was such a book. It tells the story of t two brothers, Peter and Ivan, who are dealing with their father’s death in very different ways. Peter is a successful lawyer, struggling to manage his life. While Ivan is a socially awkward chess player trying to find his place. Their worlds collide when Ivan meets Margaret, an older woman with her own turbulent past. It’s a beautifully written, introspective read that captures grief, love, and the messy ways we connect.


An exquisitely moving story about grief, love, and family—but especially love—from the global phenomenon Sally Rooney.

Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common.

Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties—successful, competent, and apparently unassailable. But in the wake of their father’s death, he’s medicating himself to sleep and struggling to manage his relationships with two very different women—his enduring first love, Sylvia, and Naomi, a college student for whom life is one long joke.

Ivan is a twenty-two-year-old competitive chess player. He has always seen himself as socially awkward, a loner, the antithesis of his glib elder brother. Now, in the early weeks of his bereavement, Ivan meets Margaret, an older woman emerging from her own turbulent past, and their lives become rapidly and intensely intertwined.

For two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude—a period of desire, despair, and possibility; a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking.

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The Wedding People by Alison Espach

The Wedding People is a perfect book for you if you’re into quirky, character-driven novels. The main character, Phoebe, is at rock bottom, so she decides to have one last splurge at a glamorous hotel. But unbeknownst to her, she is mistaken for a wedding guest. When she accidentally meets the bride, they end up having a bittersweet encounter that soon turns into a special connection. It’s funny, sweet, and full of unexpected moments.


A propulsive and uncommonly wise novel about one unexpected wedding guest and the surprising people who help her start anew.

It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. She’s immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’s dreamed of coming for years—she hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe and Phoebe’s plan—which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can’t stop confiding in each other.

In turns absurdly funny and devastatingly tender, Alison Espach’s The Wedding People is ultimately an incredibly nuanced and resonant look at the winding paths we can take to places we never imagined—and the chance encounters it sometimes takes to reroute us.

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Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

Margo’s Got Money Troubles is a darkly funny novel about a young mother trying hard to juggle her new life as a single mom. Margo is struggling to make ends meet, and when her estranged dad shows up, things get even crazier. She ends up starting an OnlyFans to support her kid. I love this kind of writing that doesn’t shy away from the realities of motherhood and the messy, complicated choices women often have to make.


A bold, laugh-out-loud funny, and heartwarming story about one young woman’s attempt to navigate adulthood, new motherhood, and her meager bank account in our increasingly online world—from the PEN/Faulkner finalist and critically acclaimed author of The Knockout Queen.

As the child of a Hooters waitress and an ex-pro wrestler, Margo Millet’s always known she’d have to make it on her own. So she enrolls at her local junior college, even though she can’t imagine how she’ll ever make a living. She’s still figuring things out and never planned to have an affair with her English professor—and while the affair is brief, it isn’t brief enough to keep her from getting pregnant. Despite everyone’s advice, she decides to keep the baby, mostly out of naiveté and a yearning for something bigger.

Now, at twenty, Margo is alone with an infant, unemployed, and on the verge of eviction. She needs a cash infusion—fast. When her estranged father, Jinx, shows up on her doorstep and asks to move in with her, she agrees in exchange for help with childcare. Then Margo begins to form a plan: she’ll start an OnlyFans as an experiment, and soon finds herself adapting some of Jinx’s advice from the world of wrestling. Like how to craft a compelling character and make your audience fall in love with you. Before she knows it, she’s turned it into a runaway success. Could this be the answer to all of Margo’s problems, or does internet fame come with too high a price?

Blisteringly funny and filled with sharp insight, Margo’s Got Money Troubles is a tender tale starring an endearing young heroine who’s struggling to wrest money and power from a world that has little interest in giving it to her. It’s a playful and honest examination of the art of storytelling and controlling your own narrative, and an empowering portrait of coming into your own, both online and off.

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By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult

Jodi Picoult is my favorite author who writes inspiring pieces of literature. There is so much research involved in her books, which makes me fall in love with her descriptive writing. By Any Other Name is another great book that I absolutely devoured in one sitting. This story takes us into the lives of two women who live remarkably similar lives, but centuries apart, both fighting to have their voices heard. One is a modern playwright, the other an Elizabethan writer who might have actually penned Shakespeare’s plays. This was a clever book, full of powerful moments, and a must-read for fans of historical fiction with a feminist twist.



From the New York Times bestselling co-author of Mad Honey comes an “inspiring” (Elle) novel about two women, centuries apart—one of whom is the real author of Shakespeare’s plays—who are both forced to hide behind another name.

Young playwright Melina Green has just written a new work inspired by the life of her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano. But seeing it performed is unlikely, in a theater world where the playing field isn’t level for women. As Melina wonders if she dares risk failure again, her best friend takes the decision out of her hands and submits the play to a festival under a male pseudonym.

In 1581, young Emilia Bassano is a ward of English aristocrats. Her lessons on languages, history, and writing have endowed her with a sharp wit and a gift for storytelling, but like most women of her day, she is allowed no voice of her own. Forced to become a mistress to the Lord Chamberlain, who oversees all theatre productions in England, Emilia sees firsthand how the words of playwrights can move an audience. She begins to form a plan to secretly bring a play of her own to the stage—by paying an actor named William Shakespeare to front her work.

Told in intertwining timelines, By Any Other Name, a sweeping tale of ambition, courage, and desire centers two women who are determined to create something beautiful despite the prejudices they face. Should a writer do whatever it takes to see her story live on . . . no matter the cost? This remarkable novel, rooted in primary historical sources, ensures the name Emilia Bassano will no longer be forgotten.

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Appetite for Innocence by Lucinda Berry

Appetite for Innocence is a deeply disturbing thriller. It’s dark, intense, and full of jaw-dropping twists. It follows the story of Ella, a girl who escapes a kidnapper. I couldn’t put this book down. There are so many disturbing details in this book. If you like thrillers with a psychological twist, this one is a must-read.


Be careful what you post online. Your next check-in might lead him right to you…

A serial rapist is kidnapping teenage girls. But he’s not interested in just any teenage girls—only virgins. He hunts them by following their status updates and check-ins on social media. Once he’s captured them, they’re locked away in his sound-proof basement until they’re groomed and ready. He throws them away like pieces of trash after he’s stolen their innocence. Nobody escapes alive.

Until Ella.

Ella risks it all to escape, setting herself and the other girls free. But only Sarah—the girl whose been captive the longest—gets out with her. The girls are hospitalized and surrounded by FBI agents who will stop at nothing to find the man responsible. Ella and Sarah are the key to their investigation, but Sarah’s hiding something and it isn’t long before Ella discovers her nightmare is far from over.

Fans of The Butterfly Garden and The Girl Before will devour Appetite for Innocence.

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Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy

If you are a fan of feel-good books with a simple story that is both heartwarming and inspiring, this book is for you. Sipsworth is about finding joy in our daily lives, discovering connection. We follow Helen, who has lost her sense of purpose in life. After the loss of her husband and son, she returns to her childhood village. An unexpected encounter with a small, lost creature sets her on a path of unexpected friendship. It’s beautifully written and full of quiet moments that really make you think. This was such an uplifting book that everyone should read at least once in their lifetime.


Over the course of a single week, a woman who is ready to die discovers an unexpected reason to live.

Following the deaths of her husband and son, Helen Cartwright returns to the English village of her childhood after living abroad for six decades. Her only wish is to die quickly and without fuss.

Helen retreats into her home on Westminster Crescent, becoming a creature of routine and habit. Then, one cold autumn night, a chance encounter with an abandoned pet mouse on the street outside her house sets Helen on a surprising journey of friendship.

Sipsworth is a reminder that there can be second chances. No matter what we have planned for ourselves, sometimes the world has plans of its own. Simon Van Booy’s lyrical storytelling is a delight even as it will fill your heart.

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The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter

The Good Daughter  was my first ever Karin Slaughter book, and it’s definitely not the last. I’ve always loved fast-paced mysteries, but this book made me fall in love with slow-paced thrillers with drama and gore. It’s about two sisters who survive a brutal attack as kids. That horrible incident tore their lives apart, and now, decades later, they come together to solve a case. It’s twisty, intense, and full of the kind of edge-of-your-seat drama that keeps you hooked. This was such an immersive thriller that stuck with me for a long time.

The stunning new novel from the international #1 bestselling author — a searing, spellbinding blend of cold-case thriller and psychological suspense.

Two girls are forced into the woods at gunpoint. One runs for her life. One is left behind…

Twenty-eight years ago, Charlotte and Samantha Quinn’s happy small-town family life was torn apart by a terrifying attack on their family home. It left their mother dead. It left their father — Pikeville’s notorious defense attorney — devastated. And it left the family fractured beyond repair, consumed by secrets from that terrible night.

Twenty-eight years later, and Charlie has followed in her father’s footsteps to become a lawyer herself — the ideal good daughter. But when violence comes to Pikeville again — and a shocking tragedy leaves the whole town traumatized — Charlie is plunged into a nightmare. Not only is she the first witness on the scene, but it’s a case that unleashes the terrible memories she’s spent so long trying to suppress. Because the shocking truth about the crime that destroyed her family nearly thirty years ago won’t stay buried forever…

Packed with twists and turns, brimming with emotion and heart, The Good Daughter is fiction at its most thrilling.

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A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Follow the lives of four friends, Willem, JB, Malcolm, and Jude as they navigate their post-college years in New York. Their bonds are tested by success, addiction, and dark secrets, especially Jude’s traumatic past. A Little Life is one of the saddest books I have ever read. The themes of friendship, pain, and resilience were incredibly heartbreaking.

When four classmates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way, they’re broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, a quick-witted, sometimes cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their center of gravity.

Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride. Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he’ll not only be unable to overcome—but that will define his life forever.

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Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Set in a quiet village, Where the Crawdads Sing revolves around Kya, the mysterious “Marsh Girl.” When a local man is found dead, Kya is suspected. This book beautifully blends a murder mystery with Kya’s coming-of-age story and her connection to nature. Also check out 26 Unputdownable Books Like Where The Crawdads Sing

For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet fishing village. Kya Clark is barefoot and wild; unfit for polite society. So in late 1969, when the popular Chase Andrews is found dead, locals immediately suspect her.

But Kya is not what they say. A born naturalist with just one day of school, she takes life’s lessons from the land, learning the real ways of the world from the dishonest signals of fireflies. But while she has the skills to live in solitude forever, the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. Drawn to two young men from town, who are each intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new and startling world—until the unthinkable happens.

In Where the Crawdads Sing, Owens juxtaposes an exquisite ode to the natural world against a profound coming of age story and haunting mystery. Thought-provoking, wise, and deeply moving, Owens’s debut novel reminds us that we are forever shaped by the child within us, while also subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

The story asks how isolation influences the behavior of a young woman, who like all of us, has the genetic propensity to belong to a group. The clues to the mystery are brushed into the lush habitat and natural histories of its wild creatures.

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The Midnight Library by Matt Haig 

Nora Seed finds herself in a magical library where she can explore different versions of her life. With each book, she sees how her choices could have led her down various paths. The Midnight Library feels almost like non-fiction, filled with nuggets of wisdom and life lessons. Also check out 42 The Midnight Library Book Club Questions and Snack Ideas.

Between life and death there is a library.

When Nora Seed finds herself in the Midnight Library, she has a chance to make things right. Up until now, her life has been full of misery and regret. She feels she has let everyone down, including herself. But things are about to change.

The books in the Midnight Library enable Nora to live as if she had done things differently. With the help of an old friend, she can now undo every one of her regrets as she tries to work out her perfect life. But things aren’t always what she imagined they’d be, and soon her choices place the library and herself in extreme danger.

Before time runs out, she must answer the ultimate question: what is the best way to live?

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Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

In the 1960s, chemist Elizabeth Zott battles sexism at her research institute. After a series of events, she becomes the star of a cooking show, where she teaches women more than just recipes. Lessons in Chemistry is one of the saddest and most humorous books I have ever read. I really loved the setting and characters too. Also check out Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus: Review & Summary.

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.

But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.

Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.

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Yellowface by R.F. Kuang 

June Hayward, a struggling author, steals a manuscript from her deceased friend, Athena Liu, and publishes it under a new identity. As June’s success grows, she must deal with the moral and legal consequences of her actions. It’s a sharp, satirical look at identity and ambition. This book was such a surprise! I didn’t expect it to be so good. The satire, ambition, and the life of a writer were all really well done. Yellowface is a fantastic read with a great mix of mystery and thriller.

White lies. Dark humor. Deadly consequences… Bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who she says she is, she didn’t write the book she claims she wrote, and she is most certainly not Asian American—in this chilling and hilariously cutting novel from R.F. Kuang, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel.

Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena’s a literary darling. June Hayward is literally nobody. Who wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks.

So when June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I.

So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn’t this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That’s what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree.

But June can’t get away from Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June’s (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.

With its totally immersive first-person voice.

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Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin 

This novel follows the lives of Sam and Sadie, who start as friends and become successful video game designers. Their partnership faces highs and lows, personal challenges, and creative disputes over decades. What I loved most is the friendship and the life of gamers. There’s a sense of melancholy throughout the book that I really enjoyed. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is not a happy and feel good novel. You will not forget about this for a long time.

In this exhilarating novel, two friends—often in love, but never lovers—come together as creative partners in the world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality.

On a bitter-cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn’t heard him, but then, she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom. These friends, intimates since childhood, borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo. Overnight, the world is theirs. Not even twenty-five years old, Sam and Sadie are brilliant, successful, and rich, but these qualities won’t protect them from their own creative ambitions or the betrayals of their hearts.

Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a dazzling and intricately imagined novel that examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love. Yes, it is a love story, but it is not one you have read before.

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The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Hollywood legend Evelyn Hugo opens up about her glamorous and scandalous life to an unknown reporter, Monique. As Evelyn recounts her journey through seven marriages, Monique discovers unexpected connections between their lives. It’s a captivating tale of love, fame, and secrets. If you ever want to find out what it takes to be a Hollywood icon, this book is what you need. I absolutely loved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo . Reid is an amazing storyteller, and I really enjoyed her fast-paced yet descriptive style. Not many authors can write so quickly without missing details, but she nails it. There are so many characters, but you never feel like you’re missing out on any of them. You get to know each one so well, and it feels like you’ve known Evelyn Hugo from her teenage years to adulthood. Check out my review of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

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The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Set in 1970s Alaska, this story follows the Allbright family as they move to a remote area to escape their troubles. Leni, the teenage daughter, deals with her father’s volatility and the harsh Alaskan wilderness. The Great Alone is a powerful tale of survival, love, and the wild beauty of Alaska.Kristin Hannah is fantastic at drawing you into her characters’ lives, making you feel everything they experience. You’ll find yourself constantly feeling sad, happy, and joyful for them. She really makes you fall in love with the setting, plot, and her writing. Even though the book is long, it never felt slow to me. I loved the pace. Check out Best Books by Kristin Hannah.

Alaska, 1974.

Unpredictable. Unforgiving. Untamed.

For a family in crisis, the ultimate test of survival.

Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.

Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if it means following him into the unknown.

At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the Allbrights’ lack of preparation and dwindling resources.

But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves.

In this unforgettable portrait of human frailty and resilience, Kristin Hannah reveals the indomitable character of the modern American pioneer and the spirit of a vanishing Alaska―a place of incomparable beauty and danger. The Great Alone is a daring, beautiful, stay-up-all-night story about love and loss, the fight for survival, and the wildness that lives in both man and nature.

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Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Nora Stephens, a successful literary agent, goes on a trip to a small town with her sister. There, she keeps running into Charlie Lastra, a brooding editor she knows from the city. Their repeated encounters lead to unexpected sparks and self-discovery. Book Lovers is a charming romance about finding love and oneself. I wasn’t sure why everyone was so obsessive over Emily Henry, but this book is the answer. I really loved her writing; the smart, funny, and emotional elements are combined so seamlessly and make it super fun to read. Also check out Emily Henry Books In Order: The Complete List

One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn’t see coming….

Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.

Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small-town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.

If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.

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The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Alicia Berenson, a famous painter, shoots her husband and then stops speaking. Her silence and the mystery of her actions captivate the public. Theo Faber, a determined psychotherapist, tries to unravel her secrets, leading to a gripping psychological thriller full of twists. The Silent Patient will forever be one of the best books that helped me fall in love with psychological thriller genre. Also check out The Silent Patient Book Review & Summary.

Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him….

The Silent Patient is a shocking psychological thriller of a woman’s act of violence against her husband—and of the therapist obsessed with uncovering her motive.

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