Staff Picks Adult Fiction

The Hearts Invisible Furies

by John Boyne

We follow Cyril’s life told in 7 year spans from 1945 through 2015. Cyril is a wonderful character who makes some shocking mistakes along the way but does good things too. I loved his sense of humor, especially in the face of the ignorance and stupidity he had to put up with. We journey with him as he deals with his peculiar adoptive parents, sexuality, unrequited love, indecision, shame, tragedy, identity, and redemption.

This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an e audiobook

Recommended by: Chris Schultz, Graphic Information Clerk

Posted in: Adult Fiction

Bandit Queens

by Parini Shroff

One may not think it, but there are perks to being a societal outcast. If you’re not so sure, come along for the ride that is Bandit Queens. Taking place in a remote village, engulfed in traditional values, the story focuses on Geeta, a woman who unintentionally moves through life against the grain. While the story is written with delicious bursts of humor, Shroff delivers a reflective look at female expectations and duty in a world where choice is not much of an option. Suspenseful, entertaining, thought-provoking, and contemporary, there is little to find at fault with this ride of story.

This book is available in the library and OverDrive/Libby as an ebook.

Recommended by: Helen Kametas, Adult Services Reference Librarian

Posted in: Adult Fiction

Before We Were Yours

by Lisa Wingate

There are two storylines going on in this novel, one in 1939 and one is present day. They slowly unravel and come together. This novel follows the lives of the five Foss siblings who grow up living on a Mississippi River shanty boat with their parents in 1939. They have a unique and wild childhood with parents who shower them with love and affection in unconventional ways.

This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as a ebook and e audiobook.

Recommended by: Chris Schultz, Graphics Information Clerk

Posted in: Adult Fiction

A Gentleman in Moscow

by Amor Towles

This was an enchanting narrative with a charming character. A gentleman, Rostov, has been put under hotel arrest. For the next several years, as he serves his time, relationships are cultivated from employees to guests to the visitors he receives and to a young girl whom he becomes a guardian for.
Very descriptive – I tasted almost every meal he ate – from the crisp and tartness of an apple; to the bitterness of his coffee. This is a man who truly separated himself from others in appreciating the simple things in life. A man who was present, authentic and honorable.

This book is available in the library, on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and e audiobook, and on Hoopla as an e audiobook.

Recommended by: Chris Schultz, Graphics Information Clerk

Posted in: Adult Fiction

Strange Sally Diamond

by Liz Nugent

Posted in: Adult Fiction

The Enigma of Room 622

by Joel Dicker

After Sloane gets tired of Joel abandoning her for his novel and leaves him, Joel decides he needs to get away. What he does not expect is to meet Scarlett, and end up investigating a murder that took place at the hotel years earlier and led to them changing room 622 to 621A. The writing, the story, the twists, all made this story fantastic.

This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an e audiobook.

Recommended by: Chris Schultz, Graphics Information Clerk

Posted in: Adult Fiction

The Only One Left

by Riley Sager

Kit McDeere is a home health aid and after having a problem with her last assignment she is now left with no choice but to work at Hope’s End, the infamous house where three people were murdered and the lone survivor, Lenora Hope, is Kit’s patient.  Most people believe Lenora is responsible for the murders and she has been ostracized and feared the majority of her life. Now, Lenora is in her 70’s, confined to a wheelchair and paralyzed. Her only method of communication is through her typewriter.

A lot of these types of thrillers I am able to anticipate and predict most endings but the  amount of twists and turns in the last 100 pages, most of which I did not see coming, caught me off guard.

This book is available in the library and on OverDrive/Libby as an ebook and e audiobook

Recommended by: Chris Schultz, Graphics Information Clerk

Posted in: Adult Fiction

Verity

by Coleen Hoover

Lowen is an author who has carefully spent most of her time under the radar, and she is just coming off of the death of a family member that has taxed her financially and emotionally. One big meeting in Manhattan changes all that, but she’ll have to figure out how to put herself in another woman’s shoes.

She travels to Vermont in hopes of finding information for 3 new books, but she ends up finding a manuscript that makes her question everything.

This book is a quick read. Do not trust anything! The bad guy isn’t always obvious.

Recommended by: Jackie Boyd, Communications Manager

Posted in: Adult Fiction

Florida

by Lauren Groff

Groff tells 11 separate short stories of people in or from Florida finding themselves in less-than-ideal situations. A story of two young sisters struggling to survive after a big storm knocks out power and leaves them stranded and alone stands out. Several of the stories include or follow the theme of alcoholic, inept, absent, or threatening fathers and father-figures.

Recommended by: Jackie Boyd, Communications Manager

Posted in: Adult Fiction

The Boyfriend Candidate

by Ashley Winstead

Posted in: Adult Fiction