FICTION:
Almost famous women by Megan Bergman. Here are stories that explore the lives of unforgettable women in history such as Beryl Markham and Edna St. Vincent Millay’s talented sister, Norma.
The alphabet house by Jussi Adler-Olsen. A psychological thriller set in World War II Nazi Germany mental hospital and in 1970s London.
Black River by S.M. Hulse. A tense Western that tells the story of a man marked by a prison riot as he returns to the town – and the convict – who shaped him.
Crash and burn by Lisa Gardner. The investigation of an accident in New Hampshire leads to the discovery of a string of crimes.
Dreaming spies by Laurie King. Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes, are trying to take some time for themselves – only to be swept up in a baffling case that will lead them from the idyllic panoramas of Japan to the depths of Oxford’s most revered institution.
Endangered by C.J. Box. When his 18 year old ward is found beaten in a ditch, the Montana game warden Joe Pickett suspects her boyfriend, a rodeo star.
February fever by Jess Lourey. “Murder on the Orient Express” reconfigured as murder on a “Romantic Love Train” that gets stranded in the Rockies.
Funny girl by Nick Hornby. A beauty queen who idolizes Lucille Ball becomes the star of a hit BBC program in this novel about television in the 1960s.
Heartbreak Hotel by Deborah Moggach. A hilarious and romantic novel set in a crumbling bed and breakfast that attracts the aged and charming.
Hush hush by Laura Lippman. The Baltimore private eye Tess Monaghan, a new mother, is asked to provide protection for a woman who killed her own child and is back in town.
Impasse by Royce Scott Buckingham. A man is left to die in Alaska while on an “adventure vacation” and must somehow survive to get his revenge on those who betrayed him.
In some other world, maybe by Shari Goldhagen. An engaging story of four young people whose lives continue to intersect at pivotal moments in history.
A little life by Hanya Yanagihara. Four classmates from a small New England college move to New York to make their way. Over the decades that follow, their relationships deepen and darken.
Mightier than the sword by Jeffrey Archer. This opens with an IRA bomb exploding during the MV Buckingham’s maiden voyage across the Atlantic – but how many passengers lose their lives?
Motive by Jonathan Kellerman. The Los Angeles psychologist-detective Alex Delaware and Milo Sturgis, a homicide cop, realize that the murder they’re investigating was committed by a serial killer.
Obsession in death by J.D. Robb. A murderer is obsessed with Lt. Eve Dallas.
Old Venus by George R.R.Martin. These sci-fi short stories by some of the genre’s best writers are set on the planet Venus – all with a tip of the hat to Edgar Rice Burroughs and Ray Bradbury.
Plague land by S.D. Sykes. In this chilling historical mystery, young girls go missing from a medieval English village, and Lord Oswald must find the killer before tragedy strikes again.
Prodigal son by Danielle Steel. Twins, one good and one bad, reunite after 20 years when one of them returns to their hometown. But it is no longer clear who the good and who the bad one is.
Shame and the captives by Thomas Keneally. This explores a World War II prison camp where Japanese prisoners resolve to take drastic action to wipe away their shame of being captured.
Turtleface and beyond by Arthur Bradford. Darkly funny stories by the man David Sedaris calls “the most outlandish and energetic writer I can think of.”
World gone by by Dennis Lehane. In 1943, the gangster Joe Coughlin, a rising power in the Tampa underworld, discovers that there is a contract out on his life.
NONFICTION:
Alphabetical by Michael Rosen. How on Earth did we fix upon our 26 letters, what do they really mean, and how did we come to write them down in the first place?
American ghost by Hannah Nordhaus. The author attempts to uncover the truth about her great-great-grandmother whose ghost is said to haunt an elegant hotel in Santa Fe.
The best place to be today by Sarah Baxter. 365 things to do and the perfect place to do them.
Dead wake by Erik Larson. An intriguing and entirely engrossing investigation into a legendary disaster of the luxury ocean liner, The Lusitania, that sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool and carrying a record number of children and infants.
Displacement by Lucy Knisley. The author volunteers to watch over her ailing grandparents on a cruise. This book is part memoir, part travelogue, and part family history as she not only tries to connect with her grandparents but to reconcile their younger and older selves.
The furniture bible by Christophe Pourny. Everything you need to know to identify, restore, and care for furniture.
H is for hawk by Helen Macdonald. Overwhelmed by her father’s death, a British woman decides to raise a goshawk, a bird that is fierce and notoriously difficult to tame.
Homegrown berries. Successfully grow your own strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and more.
I am not a slut by Leora Tanenbaum. This gives a generation of tweeting young women some thoughtful and well-researched advice about how to conduct their digital lives. Feminists young and old – this book is for you.
It’s what I do by Lynsey Addario. This is a heart-pounding and inspirational memoir of a photographer’s life in wartime.
Leaving before the rains come by Alexandra Fuller. A memoir of a marriage’s collapse by the author of “Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight.”
The life-changing magic of tidying up by Marie Kond. The Japanese art of decluttering and organizing is shown step by step in a revolutionary method for simplifying, organizing, and storing.
Looking at mindfulness by Christopher Andre. 25 ways to live in the moment through art.
Performing under pressure by Hendrie Weisinger. Managing the pressure that infects our lives.
Sally Ride: America’s first woman in space by Lynn Sherr. Here is the definitive biography of Sally Ride with exclusive insights from her family and partner.
Sapiens by Yuval Harari. How Homo Sapiens became Earth’s dominant species.
Ten million aliens by Simon Barnes. This fascinating scientific foray into the animal kingdom examines how the world’s creatures – weird, wonderful, and everything in between – are inextricably linked.
Notes from Booklist, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Library Journal, and New York Times Book Review.