The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (2024)

Table of Contents
Discover the books people can’t stop talking about in 2024! From inventive novels and swoon-worthy romance, to insightful nonfiction and reexaminations of historical events, this list is guaranteed to have something you are going to love. James by Percival Everett Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: All Fours by Miranda July Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: The Husbands: A Read with Jenna Pick by Holly Gramazio Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: Good Material by Dolly Alderton Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: Come and Get It by Kiley Reid Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: There’s Always This Year by Hanif Abdurraqib Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: Victim by Andrew Boryga Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: All the Colors of the Dark: A Read with Jenna Pick by Chris Whitaker Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: The Hunter by Tana French Paperback Preorder from: Why We Remember by Charan Ranganath Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: Real Americans: A Read with Jenna Pick by Rachel Khong Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: H Is for Hope by Elizabeth Kolbert Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: The Singularity Is Nearer by Ray Kurzweil Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: Coming Home by Brittney Griner and Michelle Burford Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: The Night Ends with Fire by K. X. Song Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: Good Energy by Casey Means, MD and Calley Means Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: The Game Changer by Lana Ferguson Paperback Buy from Other Retailers: The Book of Love by Kelly Link Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: Knife by Salman Rushdie Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: The Art of Catching Feelings by Alicia Thompson Paperback Buy from Other Retailers: Nuclear War by Annie Jacobsen Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: Funny Story by Emily Henry Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here by Jonathan Blitzer Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: Memory Piece by Lisa Ko Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: Table for Two by Amor Towles Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: Two Sides to Every Murder by Danielle Valentine Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: The Wide Wide Sea by Hampton Sides Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: Wander in the Dark by Jumata Emill Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: Malas by Marcela Fuentes Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: Ellipses by Vanessa Lawrence Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: My Friends by Hisham Matar Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: Held by Anne Michaels Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: The God of the Woods by Liz Moore Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: Beautiful Days by Zach Williams Hardcover Buy from Other Retailers: Framed by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey Hardcover Preorder from: More to Explore References

The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (1)

The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (2)

The ReadDown

by PRH Editors

Discover the books people can’t stop talking about in 2024! From inventive novels and swoon-worthy romance, to insightful nonfiction and reexaminations of historical events, this list is guaranteed to have something you are going to love.

  1. 1

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    James

    by Percival Everett

    Named a Best Book of the Year (So Far) for 2024 by The New York Times, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon Editors, and longlisted for the Booker Prize. A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and darkly humorous, told from the enslaved Jim’s point of view.

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    All Fours

    by Miranda July

    Named one of Barnes & Noble’s Best Books of the Year (So Far). A semi-famous artist announces her plan to drive cross-country, from LA to NY. Thirty minutes after leaving her husband and child at home, she spontaneously exits the freeway, checks into a nondescript motel, and immerses herself in an entirely different journey. The New York Times bestselling author returns with an irreverently sexy, tender, hilarious, and surprising novel about a woman upending her life.

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    Martyr!

    by Kaveh Akbar

    A newly sober, orphaned son of Iranian immigrants, guided by the voice of artists, poets, and kings, embarks on a remarkable search for a family secret that leads him to a terminally ill painter living out her final days in the Brooklyn Museum. Electrifying, funny, and wholly original, Martyr! heralds the arrival of an essential new voice in contemporary fiction. Named an Amazon Editors’ and The New York Times’ Best Book of 2024 (So Far).

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    The Husbands: A Read with Jenna Pick

    by Holly Gramazio

    The Husbands delights in asking: How do we navigate life, love, and choice in a world of never-ending options? This “bottomless champagne flute of a novel” (The Washington Post) has also been named a Best Book of the Year (So Far) by Barnes & Noble.

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    Good Material

    by Dolly Alderton

    Named a Best Book of the Year (So Far) by The New York Times and Barnes & Noble. From the bestselling author of Ghosts and Everything I Know About Love: A story of heartbreak and friendship and how to survive both. In this sharply funny and exquisitely relatable story of romantic disaster and friendship, Dolly Alderton offers up a love story with two endings, demonstrating once again why she is one of the most exciting writers today, and the true voice of a generation.

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    Come and Get It

    by Kiley Reid

    From the celebrated New York Times bestselling author of Such a Fun Age comes a fresh and provocative story about a residential assistant and her messy entanglement with a professor and three unruly students.

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    There’s Always This Year

    by Hanif Abdurraqib

    A “powerful” (The Guardian) reflection on basketball, life, and home — from the author of the National Book Award finalist A Little Devil in America. Named a Barnes & Noble Best Book of the Year (So Far).

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    Victim

    by Andrew Boryga

    There’s a fine line between bending the truth and telling bold-faced lies, and Javier Perez is willing to cross it. Named a BBC Best Book of 2024, Victim is a fearless satire about a hustler from the Bronx who sees through the veneer of diversity initiatives and decides to cash in on the odd currency of identity.

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    All the Colors of the Dark: A Read with Jenna Pick

    by Chris Whitaker

    From the New York Times bestselling author of We Begin at the End comes a soaring thriller and an epic love story that “hits like a sledgehammer … an absolutely must-read novel” (Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl). Named an Amazon Editors’ Best Books of the Year So Far.

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    The Backyard Bird Chronicles

    by Amy Tan

    A Barnes & Noble Best Book of the Year (So Far). A gorgeous, witty account of birding, nature, and the beauty around us that hides in plain sight, written and illustrated by the bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club. With a foreword by David Allen Sibley.

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    The Hunter

    by Tana French

    It’s a blazing summer when two men arrive in a small village in the West of Ireland. One of them is coming home. Both of them are coming to get rich. One of them is coming to die. From the writer who is “in a class by herself” (The New York Times), a nuanced, atmospheric tale that explores what we’ll do for our loved ones, what we’ll do for revenge, and what we sacrifice when the two collide. Named a New York Times’ Best Book of 2024 (So Far).

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    Why We Remember

    by Charan Ranganath

    Memory is far more than a record of the past. In this groundbreaking tour of the mind and brain — named one of Barnes & Noble’s Best Books of the Year (So Far) — one of the world’s top memory researchers reveals the powerful role memory plays in nearly every aspect of our lives, from recalling faces and names, to learning, decision-making, trauma, and healing.

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    Real Americans: A Read with Jenna Pick

    by Rachel Khong

    From the award-winning author of Goodbye, Vitamin: How far would you go to shape your own destiny? An exhilarating novel of American identity that spans three generations in one family and asks: What makes us who we are? And how inevitable are our futures?

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    Lies and Weddings

    by Kevin Kwan

    One of the Amazon Editors’ Best Books of the Year So Far. From the iconic internationally bestselling author of the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy: A forbidden affair erupts volcanically amid a decadent tropical wedding in this outrageous comedy of manners.

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    H Is for Hope

    by Elizabeth Kolbert

    In twenty-six essays — one for each letter of the alphabet — the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction takes us on a hauntingly illustrated journey through the history of climate change and the uncertainties of our future. Listed as one of the Barnes & Noble Best Books of the Year (So Far).

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    Wandering Stars

    by Tommy Orange

    Named a Best Book of the Year So Far for 2024 by The New York Times and Barnes & Noble as well as longlisted for the Booker Prize. The Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of the breakout bestseller There There delivers a masterful follow-up to his already classic first novel. Extending his constellation of narratives into the past and future, Tommy Orange traces the legacies of the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School through three generations of a family in a story that is by turns shattering and wondrous.

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    The Singularity Is Nearer

    by Ray Kurzweil

    The noted inventor and futurist’s successor to his landmark book The Singularity Is Near explores how technology will transform the human race in the decades to come. The culmination of six decades of research on artificial intelligence, The Singularity Is Nearer is Ray Kurzweil’s crowning contribution to the story of this science and the revolution that is to come. A Barnes & Noble Best Book of the Year (So Far).

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    The Demon of Unrest

    by Erik Larson

    Discover this Amazon Editors’ and Barnes & Noble Best Book of the Year (So Far) selection. The author of The Splendid and the Vile brings to life the pivotal five months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and the start of the Civil War in this “riveting reexamination of a nation in tumult” (Los Angeles Times).

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    Coming Home

    by Brittney Griner and Michelle Burford

    From the nine-time women’s basketball icon and two-time Olympic gold medalist — a raw, revelatory account of her unfathomable detainment in Russia and her journey home.

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    The Night Ends with Fire

    by K. X. Song

    Named a Barnes & Noble Best Book of the Year (So Far). Infused with magic and romance, this sweeping fantasy adventure inspired by the legend of Mulan follows a young woman determined to choose her own destiny — even if that means going against everyone she loves.

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    Headshot

    by Rita Bullwinkel

    Each of the eight teenage girl boxers in this blistering debut novel has her own reasons for the sacrifices she has made to come to Reno, Nevada, to compete to be named the best in the country. Through a series of face-offs that are raw, ecstatic, and punctuated by flashes of humor and tenderness, prizewinning writer Rita Bullwinkel animates the competitors’ pasts and futures as they summon the emotion, imagination, and force of will required to win. Named a Best Book of 2024 (So Far) by The New York Times and longlisted for the Booker Prize.

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    A Fate Inked in Blood

    by Danielle L. Jensen

    A shield maiden blessed by the gods battles to unite a nation under a power-hungry king — while fighting her growing desire for his fiery son — in the first book of a Norse-inspired fantasy romance duology from the author of The Bridge Kingdom series. A Barnes & Noble Best Book of the Year (So Far).

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    First Lie Wins

    by Ashley Elston

    In this Amazon Editors’ Best Books of the Year So Far pick, Evie Porter has everything a nice Southern girl could want: a doting boyfriend, a house with a white picket fence, a tight group of friends. The only catch: Evie Porter doesn’t exist.

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    Good Energy

    by Casey Means, MD and Calley Means

    Weaving together cutting-edge research and personal stories, as well as groundbreaking data from the health technology company Dr. Means founded, Good Energy offers a new, cutting-edge understanding of the true cause of illness that until now has remained hidden. It will help you optimize your ability to live well andstay wellat every age.

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    The Game Changer

    by Lana Ferguson

    Selected as a Best Book of the Year by Barnes & Noble, a hockey player and a baker shoot their shot in this steamy new romance by Lana Ferguson, USA Today bestselling author of The Nanny.

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    The Book of Love

    by Kelly Link

    In the long-awaited first novel from short story virtuoso and Pulitzer Prize finalist Kelly Link, three teenagers become pawns in a supernatural power struggle.

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    Knife

    by Salman Rushdie

    From Booker Prize winner Salman Rushdie, a searing, deeply personal account of enduring — and surviving — an attempt on his life thirty years after the fatwa that was ordered against him. Named a Best Book of 2024 (So Far) by The New York Times and Barnes & Noble.

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    The Art of Catching Feelings

    by Alicia Thompson

    A professional baseball player and his heckler prove that true love is worth going to bat for in the next swoony romance by USA Today bestselling author Alicia Thompson. A Barnes & Noble Best Book of the Year (So Far) pick.

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    Nuclear War

    by Annie Jacobsen

    Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen’s Nuclear War: A Scenario explores the ticking-clock scenario, based on dozens of exclusive new interviews with military and civilian experts who have built the weapons, have been privy to the response plans, and have been responsible for those decisions should they have needed to be made. Nuclear War examines the handful of minutes after a nuclear missile launch. It is essential reading, and unlike any other book in its depth and urgency. Named an Amazon Editors’ Best Book of Year So Far.

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    Funny Story

    by Emily Henry

    This Barnes & Noble Best Book of the Year (So Far) is a shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common – from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.

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    Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here

    by Jonathan Blitzer

    An epic, heartbreaking, and deeply reported history of the disastrous humanitarian crisis at the southern border told through the lives of the migrants forced to risk everything and the policymakers who determine their fate, by New Yorker staff writer Jonathan Blitzer. A New York Times Best Book of 2024 (So Far) selection.

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    Memory Piece

    by Lisa Ko

    The award-winning author of The Leavers offers a visionary novel of friendship, art, and ambition that asks: What is the value of a meaningful life? Moving from the predigital 1980s to the art and tech subcultures of the 1990s to a strikingly imagined portrait of the 2040s, Memory Piece is an innovative and audacious story of three lifelong friends as they strive to build satisfying lives in a world that turns out to be radically different from the one they were promised.

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    The Reappearance of Rachel Price

    by Holly Jackson

    From the author of the multimillion-copy bestselling A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series and Five Survive — a Barnes & Noble Best Book of the Year (So Far) pick — comes a gripping mystery thriller following one teen’s search for the truth about her mother’s shocking disappearance — and even more shocking reappearance — during the filming of a true crime documentary.

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    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (135)

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (136)

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    Table for Two

    by Amor Towles

    Named an Amazon Editors’ Best Book of the Year So Far. From the bestselling author of Rules of Civility, A Gentleman in Moscow, and The Lincoln Highway, a richly detailed and sharply drawn collection of stories, including a novella featuring one of his most beloved characters.

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    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (138)

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    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (139)

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (140)

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    Two Sides to Every Murder

    by Danielle Valentine

    From the author of How to Survive Your Murder comes a propulsive thriller about two teens who return to Camp Lost Lake, site of the cold case that sealed their fates. Named a Barnes & Noble Best Book of the Year (So Far).

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (141)

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (142)

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    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (143)

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (144)

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    The Wide Wide Sea

    by Hampton Sides

    Named a Best Book of the Year (So Far) by The New York Times. A “thrilling and superbly crafted” (The Wall Street Journal) account of the most momentous voyage of the Age of Exploration, which culminated in Captain James Cook’s death in Hawaii, and left a complex and controversial legacy still debated to this day.

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (145)

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (146)

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    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (147)

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (148)

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    Wander in the Dark

    by Jumata Emill

    In this new pulse-pounding thriller — named a Barnes & Noble Best Book of the Year (So Far) — from the author of The Black Queen, two brothers must come together to solve the murder of the most popular girl in school after one of them is caught fleeing the scene of her death.

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (149)

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (150)

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    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (151)

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (152)

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    Malas

    by Marcela Fuentes

    A story full of passion and revenge, following one family living on the Texas Mexico border and a curse that reverberates across generations — “Fuentes has achieved something rare and indelible with this story of complex women” (Erika L. Sánchez). An Amazon Editors’ Best Book of the Year So Far pick.

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (153)

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (154)

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    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (155)

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (156)

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    Ellipses

    by Vanessa Lawrence

    Set in the glossy world of New York City media, this sharp and witty debut novel follows a young woman caught in a toxic mentorship with an older, powerful executive as she grapples with career, belonging, and the complexities of modern relationships in the digital age.

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (157)

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (158)

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    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (159)

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (160)

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    My Friends

    by Hisham Matar

    Longlisted for the Booker Prize and winner of the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction, My Friends is a “masterly” (The New York Times, Editors’ Choice), “riveting” (The Atlantic) novel of friendship, family, and the unthinkable realities of exile. A devastating meditation on friendship and family, and the ways in which time tests — and frays — those bonds, My Friends is an achingly beautiful work of literature by an author working at the peak of his powers.

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (161)

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (162)

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    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (163)

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (164)

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    Held

    by Anne Michaels

    A breathtaking and ineffable novel of love and loyalty across four generations, at once sweeping and intimate. Longlisted for the Booker Prize, Held is affecting and intensely beautiful, full of mystery, wisdom, and compassion.

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (165)

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (166)

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  42. 42

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (167)

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (168)

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    The God of the Woods

    by Liz Moore

    Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances.

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (169)

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (170)

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    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (171)

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (172)

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    Beautiful Days

    by Zach Williams

    From New Yorker and Paris Review contributor Zach Williams comes a striking and savage debut story collection that confronts parenthood, mortality, and life’s broken promises. With exquisite prose and a lacerating wit, Beautiful Days holds a mirror to the many absurdities of being human and refuses to let us look away.

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (173)

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (174)

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    $28.00

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    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (175)

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (176)

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    Framed

    by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey

    John Grisham is known worldwide for his bestselling novels, but it’s his real-life passion for justice that led to his work with Jim McCloskey of Centurion Ministries, the first organization dedicated to exonerating innocent people who have been wrongly convicted. Together they offer an inside look at the many injustices in our criminal justice system. Impeccably researched and told with page-turning suspense as only John Grisham can deliver, Framed is the story of winning freedom when the battle already seems lost and the deck is stacked against you.

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (177)

    The Must-Read Books of 2024 (So Far) | Penguin Random House (178)

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