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Must-Read Books April 2025 |
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The maid's secret
by Nita Prose
Head maid Molly Gray's discovery of a priceless artifact sparks a media frenzy, a daring heist, and revelations from her grandmother's hidden diary, intertwining a present-day mystery with a long-lost tale of forbidden love and family secrets.
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| Back After This by Linda HolmesWhen she half-heartedly agrees to host a show about her dating life, podcast producer Cecily Foster is tasked with going on 20 blind dates set up for her by relationship coach Eliza Cassidy. But she keeps running into cute waiter Will on her dates, with whom she shares an instant spark of attraction. Is she falling for the wrong guy -- or making the right choice? For fans of: How to Get a Life in Ten Dates by Jenny L. Howe. |
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| Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher MurrayIn 1919, Jessie Redmon Fauset becomes the first Black woman literary editor of The Crisis magazine, putting her at the forefront of Harlem's cultural renaissance, where she discovers talents such as Langston Hughes and Nella Larsen. But her ambitions and a secret affair with W.E.B. Du Bois threaten it all. Try these next: Piper Huguley's By Her Own Design; Tia Williams' A Love Song for Ricki Wilde. |
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Cat's people : a novel
by Tanya Guerrero
Núria, a Brooklyn barista and proud cat caretaker, discovers secret admirer notes near her favorite stray, sparking unexpected connections with four quirky neighbors as they unite to care for him and find meaning in their unlikely friendships.
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| The Quiet Librarian by Allen EskensIn Minnesota, librarian Hana Babic, once the feared Bosnian fighter Night Mora, is forced to confront her past when her best friend Amina is murdered. To protect Amina’s grandson, she must unravel a deadly mystery tied to war-torn Bosnia, facing relentless enemies while balancing justice, survival, and the weight of her past. |
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| Life Hacks for a Little Alien by Alice FranklinAn undiagnosed neurodivergent girl grows up in southeast England feeling like a misfit. At 12, she learns of the Voynich manuscript, which at least one scholar suggests was made by aliens. Obsessed, she and her only friend sneak off to London to view it, worrying her already mentally fragile mom. Told in second person, this witty, moving debut is for fans of Gail Honeyman's Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and Ruth Ozeki's The Book of Form and Emptiness. |
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| Kills Well with Others by Deanna RaybournWhen a mole in the elite assassin organization the Museum leaks names to an Eastern European gangster who's murdering agents, assassins Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie -- senior in status and age -- must root out the organization's mole and hunt down their new nemesis. |
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Time waits
by Chip Zdarsky
Meet Blue, a man trapped in the past, which is our present. Sent back in time for a mission he could not bring himself to complete, the former soldier Blue builds a life with Grace, the Sheriff of a small rural town. The pair build a foundation of happiness on a history of bloodshed, as far away from the trigger-happy corporate overlords that used Blue as a human gun. After ten years together, Blue and Grace are on the cusp of taking the next step in their relationship: adoption. Before Grace can fully convince Blue to expand their family, the future comes calling. The overlords want their first deserter and to complete the mission Blue could not. They have one simple rule: kill anyone who stands in their way.
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Red dog farm : a novel
by Nathaniel Ian Miller
After a semester at university in Reykjavik, Orri returns to help his father Pabbi run the family's cattle farm, but when Orri meets part-time student Mihan online and their connection deepens, he must decide if he wants to—?or should?—?return to university and a possible future with Mihan.
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Happy land
by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
When Nikki visits her estranged grandmother in North Carolina, she uncovers a hidden legacy tied to a forgotten kingdom of freed people, unraveling her family's secrets and her own identity while fighting to protect their endangered heritage.
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Fun for the whole family : a novel
by Jennifer E. Smith
Four formerly close but now estranged siblings reunite at their famous sister's house and are forced to confront their shared past and hidden truths, in the new novel from the best-selling author of The Unsinkable Greta James.
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Fishflies
by Jeff Lemire
A small town crime sets off a chain of events that will permanently alter the lives of several residents of bucolic Belle River, Ontario. As the manhunt heats up, a lonely girl named Franny Fox forms an unlikely friendship with a fugitive that leads them both on an odyssey of discovery and redemption... a journey that also uncovers dark secrets from the town's eerie past.
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The float test : a novel
by Lynn Steger Strong
The Kenner siblings are at odds. Jenn is a harried mom struggling under the weight of family obligations. Fred is a novelist who can't write, maybe because she's lost faith in storytelling itself. Jude is a recovering corporate lawyer with her own story to tell, and a grudge against her former favorite sister, Fred. George, the baby, is estranged from his wife and harboring both a secret about his former employer and an ill-advised crush on one of his sisters' friends. Gathered after a major loss, each sibling needs the others more than ever-if only they could trust each other. A family story is, of course, only as honest as the person telling it. This family story in particular is fraught with secrets about kids and sex and jobs and why the Kenner matriarch had a gun in her underwear drawer. The biggest secret of all though is the secret of what happened between Jude and Fred to create such a rift between the two once-close middle sisters. Over the course of a sweltering Florida summer, the Kenner siblings will revisit what it means to be a family and, if they are smart and kind and lucky, come out on the other side better for having each other. A rich exploration of family, ambition, secrets, and love, The Float Test is an elegant and gripping testament to the power that family has to both nurture and destroy us from a critically acclaimed writer working at the top of her craft.
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| Promise Me Sunshine by Cara BastoneGrief-stricken after the death of her best friend, Brooklyn nanny Helen "Lenny" Bellamy strikes up an unlikely friendship with her charge's protective uncle, Miles, who has his own experiences with loss. As the pair try to make their way through Lenny's "Live Again" list, they discover they just might be what the other needs to move on. Try this next: Say You'll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez. |
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| The Lost and the Found: A True Story of Homelessness, Found Family, and Second... by Kevin FaganAward-winning San Francisco Chronicle reporter Kevin Fagan's moving and intimate social history explores homelessness through the experiences of a pair of individuals trying to get by in San Francisco, California. Further reading: Seeking Shelter: A Working Mother, Her Children, and a Story of Homelessness in America by Jeff Hobbs. |
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No more tears : the dark story of Johnson & Johnson
by Gardiner Harris
In this blistering exposé, an award-winning investigative journalist uncovers reams of evidence showing decades of Johnson & Johnson's deceitful and dangerous corporate practices that have threatened the lives of millions.
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Dear writer : pep talks & practical advice for the creative life
by Maggie Smith
Drawing from her twenty years of teaching experience and her bestselling Substack newsletter, For Dear Life, Maggie Smith breaks down creativity into ten essential elements: attention, wonder, vision, play, surprise, vulnerability, restlessness, tenacity, connection, and hope. Each element is explored through short, inspiring, and craft-focused essays, followed by generative writing prompts.
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Blue Book 2 : 1947
by IV Tynion, James
In 1947, Kenneth Arnold flew his Call-Air A-2 over the skies of the Pacific Northwest when all of a sudden he saw a blinding flash of silver light. What followed was a bizarre and difficult to explain encounter with several flying objects that would change the course of his life forever.
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| Speak Up, Santiago! by Julio Anta; illustrated by Gabi MendezThough he's bilingual, middle schooler Santi speaks way more English than Spanish. He's trying to change that while visiting his Abuela Emma in the Latin American neighborhood of Hillside Valley, but his frustration and embarrassment keeps getting in the way. This graphic novel series-starter is packed with authentic characters and crisp, bright artwork.
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| Papilio by Ben Clanton, Corey R. Tabor, and Andy Chou MusserIn this charming, fact-filled story, three creators take turns showing readers the stages of a black swallowtail's life, from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly. Each stage has its own style, but sweetness, humor, and solid information persist throughout. "Move aside, Very Hungry Caterpillar," declares Kirkus Reviews. |
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| One Wrong Step by Jennifer A. NielsenIt's 1939, and nobody has ever reached the top of Tibet's Mt. Everest. British 14-year-old Atlas and his dad hope to be among the first. Their climb, however, is charged with danger, from Nazi spies to a life-threatening avalanche. Fascinating details will keep you turning the pages of this historical adventure. |
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| The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. TaylorBecause Maeve’s father famously unleashed horror with writing-based magic, she keeps a low profile, living under a fake name. An anonymous letter claiming her father’s innocence prompts her to learn the arcane magic for herself and uncover the truth. This fantasy mystery infuses a slow-burn romance with dark academia vibes. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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