Good Reads & Views

Most Wanted by Lisa Scottoline
Fiction

About the author:  Lisa Scottoline is the New York Times bestselling author of over thirty novels including Look Again, Think Twice and Save Me.  She also writes a weekly column, “Chick Wit,” with her daughter Francesca Serritella, for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Reviewers say: "A Connecticut teacher’s long sought and hard-fought pregnancy turns into a nightmare when Scottoline unleashes one of her irresistible hooks on her" (Kirkus Reviews).

You might also like: It’s One of Us by J. T. Ellison or The End of Her by Shari Lapena.

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Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson
Fiction

What it's about: Abigail marries rich guy Bruce, after having a drunken one-night stand at her bachelorette party. For their honeymoon they go to a remote island resort that bills itself as a “screen-free getaway” where phones and the internet don’t work. The only other guests are a young couple, and strangely enough, the men on the island by far outnumber the women. Then Abigail’s one-night stand shows up on the island and things get progressively worse…

Reviewers say: “Lots of thriller writers know how to set a hook, but Swanson isn't satisfied with just one; the further we go into his devilishly twisty tales, the more hooks he sets, and the harder we bite down on the line” (Booklist).

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The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren
Fiction

About the authors: Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of longtime writing partners and best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. They have also written The Soulmate Equation and Something Wilder. 

Reviewers say: "Another winning romance from Lauren, full of big laughs, a few tears, and some seriously steamy scenes" (Kirkus Reviews).

You might also like: The Bodyguard by Katherine Center or Family Tree by Susan Wiggs.

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The Winners by Fredrik Backman    
Fiction

Series alert: This is the third book in the Beartown series.

Reviewers say: “Backman leaves no emotion unturned, sweeping up the reader in riveting family dramas that jump the boundaries of hockey-town rivalries. Another winner” (Library Journal).

You might also like: The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg or Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane.   

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The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult
Fiction

Reviewers say: “Picoult’s fans will be more than ready for this puzzle of a novel. . . [They] will find heady themes to consider” (Booklist).

What’s it about: Dawn, a graduate student in Egyptology, is abruptly called back to Boston from a dig in Egypt due to a family emergency. For the next 15 years she lives a very different life than she had planned, taking care of her 13-year-old brother and working as a “death doula”, helping her clients tie up loose ends before their death. Her most recent client reminds Dawn of her longing for a lost love, Wyatt, an English earl she left behind in Egypt.   

You might also like: This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub or Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

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The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley
Fiction

About the Author: “Clare Pooley graduated from Cambridge University and then spent twenty years in the heady world of advertising before becoming a full-time writer. Her debut novel, The Authenticity Project, was a New York Times bestseller, and has been translated into 29 languages. Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting is her second novel; her third novel, How to Age Disgracefully, is forthcoming. Pooley lives in Fulham, London, with her husband, three children, and two border terriers” (Amazon).

Reviewers say: “An enjoyable, cozy novel that touches on tough topics” (Kirkus Reviews).

You might also like: Two from the Heart by James Patterson or My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman. 

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Us Against You by Fredrik Backman
Fiction  

Reviewers say: “Evident in all [Backman] novels is an apparent ability to state a truth about humanity with breathtaking elegance” (Kirkus).

Series alert: This is the second book in the Beartown series.    

You might also like: Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid or The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg.

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Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Fiction  

What’s it about:  When 2 brilliant scientists, Elizabeth Zott and Calvin Evans, fall in love in the 1960s, she cooks him meals in exchange for sharing his home. When their relationship is tragically cut short, she lands a job as the chef of a television show, allowing her to support their daughter, Madeline. With the help of a forthright neighbor, a loyal TV producer, and an astute dog, Elizabeth forges a new path. 

Reviewers say: “[An] energetic debut...A more adorable plea for rationalism and gender equality would be hard to find” (Kirkus Reviews).

You might also like: Her Hidden Genius by Marie Benedict or Mr. & Mrs. American Pie by Juliet McDaniel.

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Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Fiction 

What’s it about: “In the tiny forest community of Beartown, the possibility that the amateur hockey team might win a junior championship, bringing the hope of revitalization to the fading town, is shattered by the aftermath of a violent act that leaves a young girl traumatized” (Novelist).

About the Author: Fredrik Backman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Us Against You, and The Winners, book 2 and 3 in the Beartown series.  His books have been published in more than forty countries. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with his wife and two children.  

You might also like:  Faith by Jennifer Haigh or All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin

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Fairy Tale: A Novel by Stephen King
Fiction 

What it’s about: 17-yr. old Charlie befriends an elderly recluse and his dog. When the recluse dies, Charlie inherits the dog, Radar, and the house, including a shed that is the portal to another world. It is into this world Charlie needs to travel to turn back the clock on the life of the dying Radar. And what a magical - but dangerous - world it turns out to be...

Reviewers say: “Narnia on the Penobscot: a grand, and naturally strange, entertainment from the ever prolific King…A tale that's at once familiar and full of odd and unexpected twists--vintage King, in other words” (Kirkus Reviews).

Good to know: Excellent on audio. Seth Numrich won the 2023 Audie award for Best Male Narrator for Fairy Tale.

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