It’s April. We know that means that spring is technically around the corner, but sometimes in Newfoundland and Labrador it can feel as far away as it ever has. If you’re feeling a bit of the winter blues, why not pick up a new book to help shake you out of it?
With your free Newfoundland and Labrador Public Library card, you’ve got a world of books (both online and off) at your fingertips. So why not go to the library and find one that suits your mood?
We thought it would be fun to present to you the top 10 most circulating books in our libraries for 2017-2018. Perhaps something on the list will strike your fancy, or maybe you’ll be inspired to go find something new on a library shelf.
1. “Camino Island” by John Grisham: This suspense looks at a rare book dealer who runs a popular bookstore in a sleepy resort town in Florida and a young out of work novelist who is hired to go undercover and get close enough to him to learn about his black market dealings. Of course, she learns too much and things get complicated.
2. “Come Sundown” by Nora Roberts: The murder mystery’s main character is Bodine Longbow, who is running her family’s Montana resort when her long lost aunt reappears in the midst of a rash of violence in the area. As more woman are murdered, Bo has to decide if she can trust a man from her past and what any of this has to do with her aunt. Dark, twisty and complex, this story is a page-turner.
3. “Into the Water” by Paula Hawkins: This psychological thriller finds a single mother dead at the bottom of a river, her daughter now left in the care of her aunt- a woman dragged back to the town she deliberately ran from, and secrets left long submerged.
4. “The Fix” by David Baldacci: This is the third in Baldacci’s Amos Decker series. Amos Decker is the man who can forget nothing, but he’ll need to use all of his powers of observation and deduction when he witnesses a murder/ suicide outside of FBI headquarters. The murder appears to have no motive, and as he delves deeper, it becomes clear that it could be a matter of national security.
5. “Seeing Red” by Sandra Brown: A fast paced thriller with heaps of tension, Seeing Red is a romantic suspense novel with lots of action. Kerra Bailey is a television journalist looking to score an interview with the legendary Major Tapper- a man who was photographed leading a group of survivors out of a collapsing building after a bombing 25 years ago. Her way in- Tapper’s estranged son. As usual, there’s more to the story, but you’ll have to read it to find out.
6. “Never Never” by James Patterson: Detective Harriet Blue’s world is rocked when her brother is charged with a string of brutal murders. In denial and shocked, she’s transferred to a case in the outback to avoid the media. The case, investigating the disappearance of a worker in an isolated mine deep inside the desolate Australian outback, is more complicated than she could have guessed, and also more dangerous.
7. “The Woman in Cabin 10” by Ruth Ware: If you’re a fan of Agatha Christie, you might like this tightly wound psychological suspense about a travel journalist assigned to a week on a luxury cruise ship –a dream job. But that dream quickly becomes a nightmare when she witnesses a woman being thrown overboard. The mystery deepens as all passengers are accounted for and no one seems concerned about what may have happened.
8. “16th Seduction” by James Patterson: This is the 16th (yes, 16th!) book in James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club Series, and their popularity hasn’t dimmed at all. Reeling from her husband’s betrayal, Detective Lindsay Boxer has to deal with a wave of mysterious, and possibly unnatural, heart attacks claims seemingly unrelated victims across San Francisco.
9. “If Not For You” by Debbie Macomber: An emotionally stirring romance, this novel is about new beginnings, and where your life choices can lead you. Beth is finally taking charge of her life, and then a car accident challenges everything she thinks she knows about how love works and what she wants.
10. “Dangerous Games” by Danielle Steel: This political thriller by bestselling author Danielle Steel revolves around Television Correspondent and single mother Alix Phillips, who takes risks to bring important world news to the masses. Working alongside her cameraman, deeply private ex- Navy Seal Ben Chapman, Alix uncovers a dangerous story that is far more sinister than she could have imagined.
Have you read any of the top 10 circulating items at our library from last year? If these, or any other titles, inspires you to pick up a book, head to your local library to pick one up! And if you don’t have a library card — we’ve got you covered — they’re free! Visit us in branch or online at www.nlpl.ca and we will get you started.
Want to know what’s going on at the library? Follow us on twitter at NLPubLibraries, or look up your local library Facebook page.
Emily Blackmore is the Collections and Social Media Librarian for the Newfoundland & Labrador Public Libraries
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ON THE SHELVES: NL Reads 2019: four books; four opinions; one winner.