Berlin Library Unveils Its Favorite Books Of 2024

Press release from the Berlin-Peck Memorial Library:

BERLIN, CT — The year is nearly over and the Berlin-Peck Memorial Library has unveiled its long list of favorite books for 2024.

Many of the books are available to be borrowed at the library, which is located at 234 Kensington Road, Berlin.

The books are from a wide range of fiction/non-fiction categories.

They include:

Contemporary Fiction

Summers At The Saint

Mary Kay Andrews

At a historic Georgia hotel, a widowed owner fights to save her business, uncovering buried secrets and finding hope amidst scandal and tragedy.

The Collected Regrets Of Clover

Mikki Brammer

A big-hearted debut about a death doula who, in caring for others at the end of their life, has forgotten how to live her own.

The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao

Junot Diaz

A man wrestles with a generations-old curse that sabotages his relationships, while his journey to find love forces him to confront his family’s tragic history and his own insecurities.

Girl, Woman, Other

Bernardine Evaristo

A love song to modern Britain and black womanhood that follows the lives and struggles of twelve very different characters.

Wellness

Nathan Hill

Jack and Elizabeth navigate married life, facing challenges like mindfulness cults, Facebook wars, and unfulfilled dreams while trying to preserve their relationship.

The Borrowed Life Of Frederick Fife

Anna Johnston

A lonely, elderly man assumes a new identity in a nursing home, finding belonging and purpose while reflecting on forgiveness and second chances.

Leaving Atlanta

Tayari Jones

In 1982, three children in Atlanta navigate their everyday lives amid the fear of a serial killer targeting Black children. Through their eyes, the story depicts the tragedy and impact of this real-life nightmare during a dark chapter of American history.

You With A View

Jessica Joyce

Noelle embarks on her late grandmother’s unfulfilled honeymoon road trip with her high school rival Theo and his grandfather. Sparks fly and secrets unfold as they navigate the journey and their growing tension.

Same As It Ever Was

Claire Lombardo

Julia, in her fifties and content with life, faces unexpected challenges as her son announces a surprise, her daughter grows distant, and a past love resurfaces.

The Great Believers

Rebecca Makkai

In 1980s Chicago, a man navigates the heartbreaking realities of the AIDS crisis, while in modern Paris, a woman uncovers hidden truths about her family, linking their stories across time through grief, love, and resilience.

The Rachel Incident

Caroline O’Donoghue

Rachel and James, friends with complicated romantic entanglements, navigate their bohemian lives in Cork city. Their plans for seduction and rebellion, however, spiral into a web of secrets and compromises involving Rachel’s married professor.

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice For Murderers

Jesse Q. Sutanto

A nosy tea shop owner investigates a murder in her store, uncovering secrets and forging surprising friendships along the way.

Cozy Mystery

The Christie Curse

Victoria Abbott

Jordan Bingham searches for a rumored Agatha Christie play while uncovering the mystery behind her predecessor’s murder.

Iced Chiffon

Duffy Brown

Reagan is busy enough running her consignment shop with her vivacious Auntie KiKi, but now the gossip—and the sales—are about to pick up after a gruesome discovery.

No Paw To Stand On

Laurie Cass

Minnie and her cat, Eddie, investigate when sabotaged ice cream sickens patrons at her friend restaurant. As Minnie finds clues, a murder complicates the case, linking food tampering to a deadly motive.

The Stranger In The Library

Eva Gates

When a reproduction of a famous painting is stolen from a traveling show of Impressionist art, librarian Lucy is painted into a corner when a murder occurs. Meanwhile, Louise Jane is captivated by a handsome art dealer who might be the killer—and the person threatening to break her heart.

Mystery & Thriller

Flashpoint

Catherine Coulter

FBI agents Savich and Sherlock protect Elizabeth Palmer while investigating her ties to a past attack. Simultaneously, they assist a 12-year-old psychic with an embezzlement case.

First Lie Wins

Ashley Elston

Evie Porter has everything a nice, Southern girl could want: a perfect, doting boyfriend, a house with a white picket fence and a garden, a fancy group of friends. The only catch: Evie Porter doesn’t exist.

The Life We Bury

Allen Eskens

Joe Talbert’s college project unearths the complex story of a Vietnam veteran and convicted murderer, sparking a life-changing quest for the truth.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

Tom Franklin

Larry is blamed for a girl’s disappearance, severing his friendship with Silas. Years later, another girl vanishes, and Silas, now a constable, must confront the secrets of their shared past and unravel a mystery that still haunts them.

Jar Of Hearts

Jennifer Hillier

The story of three best friends: one who was murdered, one who went to prison, and one who’s been searching for the truth all these years.

The Return Of Ellie Black

Emiko Jean

Detective Chelsey Calhoun confronts her own past while unraveling the disturbing truth about a girl who vanished and reappeared years later.

She’s Not Sorry

Mary Kubica

Nurse Meghan Michaels becomes entangled in a dangerous case when a patient’s injury is revealed as attempted murder.

The Stranger In Her House

John Marrs

When her elderly mother falls under the spell of a handyman who’s a little too kind, Connie finds her desperate attempts to unmask him leaving her wondering if she’s lost her grip on reality.

What Happened To Nina

Dervla McTiernan

Nina and Simon are the perfect couple. Young, fun and deeply in love. Until they leave for a weekend at his family’s cabin in Vermont, and only Simon comes home.

Long Bright River

Liz Moore

Two sisters, one a police officer and the other battling addiction, are caught in the midst of an opioid crisis. When the addicted sister goes missing amidst a string of murders, the officer must confront painful truths and uncover the truth behind her disappearance.

The Golden Couple

Sarah Pekkanen

Maverick therapist Avery Chambers counsels a seemingly perfect couple, Marissa and Mathew, after Marissa’s infidelity. But as buried secrets surface, Avery finds herself entangled in their unraveling lives with much more at stake than their marriage.

The Only One Left

Riley Sager

Nurse Kit McDeere cares for mute Lenora Hope, accused of a 1929 family massacre. Through Lenora’s typewriter, Kit unravels the night’s secrets, but eerie clues suggest Lenora may not be as harmless as she seems.

The Truth About The Devlins

Lisa Scottoline

A recovering addict must uncover the truth when his successful brother confesses to murder, unearthing secrets that threaten their family’s stability.

Nightwatching

Tracy Sierra

A razor-sharp thriller about a mother forced to the breaking point when her life and the lives of her children are threatened by a stranger.

Listen For The Lie

Amy Tintera

What would you do if you thought you murdered your best friend? Lucy returns to the place she vowed never to set foot in again to solve her friend’s murder, even if she is the one that did it.

Between Two Strangers

Kate White

A struggling artist inherits a fortune from a one-night stand years ago, leading to dark family secrets and a dangerous mystery.

Historical Fiction

The Little Liar

Mitch Albom

An innocent Jewish boy in Nazi-occupied Greece unknowingly aids the deportation of his community, including his family, and struggles with guilt for the rest of his life.

James

Percival Everett

A bold retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from Jim’s perspective, highlighting his intelligence, compassion, and fight for freedom.

The Frozen River

Ariel Lawhon

A gripping historical mystery based on the real-life diary entries of Martha Ballard, an 18th-century midwife who found herself at the center of a murder trial.

The Berry Pickers

Amanda Peters

After a Mi’kmaq girl disappears in 1962 Maine, her brother is haunted for years, while a nearby girl grows up suspecting her privileged life hides a buried family secret.

The Briar Club

Kate Quinn

A mysterious widow forges friendships with her eccentric neighbors while concealing a dark secret. When violence erupts, they must confront hidden dangers and decide who their true enemy is.

Go As A River

Shelley Read

In 1960s Colorado, a young woman faces love, loss, and exile, finding resilience and hope amid the wilderness as a river threatens to erase her family farm.

Fair Rosaline

Natasha Solomons

Rosaline, caught between her father’s plans for her and Romeo’s affections, rejects him only to see him pursue her cousin, Juliet. As she learns the dark truths about Romeo, she must decide whether to protect Juliet from the tragic love triangle.

Good Night, Irene

Luis Alberto Urrea

Two women forge a deep bond while enduring the harrowing realities of WWII, from D-Day to concentration camp liberation.

Shelterwood

Lisa Wingate

Two narratives—an orphan fleeing danger in 1909 and a modern ranger uncovering dark secrets—intertwine in a tale of resilience and justice.

Romance

The Rom-Commers

Katherine Center

Emma, a screenwriter, is hired to work with her idol Charlie Yates on a rom-com script. As they butt heads over the project, Emma finds herself falling for him, and their own story begins to mirror their script.

Close Knit

Jenny Colgan

In Scotland’s remote isles, Gertie MacIntyre explores freedom through a new job as an air stewardess while balancing her close-knit community ties.

The Good Part

Sophie Cousens

A young woman wishes to skip to the “good part” of her life, only to wake up in the future and grapple with the reality of what she’s missed.

Summer Romance

Annabel Monaghan

Ali Morris is a professional organizer whose own life is a mess. Her mom died, then her husband left, and she hasn’t worn pants with a zipper in longer than she cares to remember. But there’s no harm in a summer romance. Is there?

Slow Dance

Rainbow Rowell

Shiloh and Cary, childhood friends who once promised to never change, reunite after years apart. With their lives turned out differently than planned, they must confront their unresolved feelings for each other, revisiting the love they once shared.

The December Market

RaeAnne Thayne

Two strangers, each scarred by heartbreak, are thrown together over the holiday season. As they face family challenges and their own emotional wounds, a surprising romance blooms, offering a chance for healing.

Speculative Fiction

The Warm Hands Of Ghosts

Katherine Arden

During the Great War, a combat nurse searches for her brother, believed dead in the trenches despite eerie signs that suggest otherwise, in this historical novel with a speculative twist.

Kindred

Octavia E. Butler

A modern woman is repeatedly pulled back in time to a plantation, balancing her survival with protecting her ancestral legacy.

Hollow Kingdom

Kira Jane Buxton

A domesticated crow discovers that humanity is vanishing after a strange illness and embarks on a journey to make sense of the end of civilization while seeking a way to save humanity.

And Then I Woke Up

Malcolm Devlin

In a world reeling from an unusual plague, monsters lurk in the streets—or perhaps something very different is happening. When a disease affects how reality is perceived, it’s hard to be certain of anything.

The Reformatory

Tananarive Due

In 1950s Florida, twelve-year-old Robbie is sent to a brutal reformatory for defending his sister. He sees ghosts and uncovers dark secrets about the school, while his sister fights to get him out before he succumbs to its horrors.

We Used To Live Here

Marcus Kliewer

Charlie and Eve answer the door to a man claiming to have lived there years before, which sets in motion a chain of uncanny and inexplicable events.

Mount Chicago

Adam Levin

A comedian, his fan, and Chicago’s mayor confront loss and resilience as a one-in-ten-billion natural disaster devastates Chicago.

A Monster Calls

Patrick Ness

Conor awakens one night to find a monster outside his bedroom window, but not the one from the recurring nightmare that began when his mother became ill–an ancient, wild creature that wants him to face truth and loss.

All This And More

Peng Shepherd

Marsh, a struggling 45-year-old, joins All This and More, a show letting her rewrite her past using quantum technology. As she reshapes her life, Marsh begins to question the program’s promises and whether her “perfect” new life is worth the cost.

Meet Me In Another Life

Catriona Silvey

Thora and Santi encounter one another in various lives, forming different relationships—friends, lovers, enemies. As the cycles continue, they unravel the mystery behind their connection.

Horror Movie

Paul Tremblay

The only surviving cast member of a notorious, disturbing 1993 art house horror movie joins the remake, but begins having trouble distinguishing between reality and film.

Fantasy & Magic

The Sentence

Louise Erdrich

A small independent bookstore is haunted by their most annoying customer. Tookie, who has landed a job selling books after years of incarceration, must solve the mystery.

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia Of Faeries

Heather Fawcett

Professor Emily Wilde, expert in faerie lore, uncovers dark fae magic and a hidden world alongside a charming and frustrating man named Wendell.

Nettle & Bone

T. Kingfisher

Marra, the youngest daughter of a royal family, embarks on a quest to kill an abusive prince, aided by a gravewitch, a fairy godmother, a former knight, and a demon-possessed chicken.

The Fairy Bargains Of Prospect Hill

Rowenna Miller

In the early 1900s, two sisters must navigate the magic and the dangers of the Fae in this enchanting and cozy historical fantasy about sisterhood and self-discovery.

The Color Of Magic

Terry Pratchett

In a world supported on the back of a giant turtle, a gleeful, explosive, an inept wizard and a naive tourist (whose luggage moves on hundreds of little legs) set out on an expedition.

When Among Crows

Veronica Roth

Step into a city where monsters feast on human emotions, knights split their souls to make their weapons, and witches always take more than they give.

The Lost Story

Meg Shaffer

Jeremy and Rafe vanished as boys, only to return with no memory of their time in a magical realm. Years later, they confront their past when a woman hires Jeremy to find her missing sister, revealing secrets tied to the fantastical world they once lived in.

Daughter Of The Moon Goddess

Sue Lynn Tan

Xingyin, hidden on the moon from the Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother, must flee when her powers are discovered. Disguised as a student, she trains in magic to save her mother, facing betrayal and a forbidden romance with the emperor’s son.

Non-Fiction

A Fever In The Heartland
The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot To Take Over America, And The Woman Who Stopped Them

Timothy Egan

The story of the Klan’s 1920s rise to power, the con man driving it, and the woman who stopped them.

I Never Thought Of It That Way
How To Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations In Dangerously Divided Times

Monica Guzman

When you think you have the answers, you need to be asking a lot more questions–and embracing fearless curiosity.

Sapiens
A Brief History Of Humankind

Yuval Harari

A sweeping account of human evolution, history, and future challenges, exploring how biology and culture have shaped humanity.

Nuclear War
A Scenario

Annie Jacobsen

A deep dive into the nuclear military establishment, focusing on the technologies, plans, and risks behind nuclear war.

Stories Are Weapons
Psychological Warfare And The American Mind

Annalee Newitz

Disinformation, propaganda, and psychological warfare, once tools for foreign adversaries, have transformed into weapons used in domestic culture wars.

The Secret Lives Of Booksellers And Librarians
True Stories Of The Magic Of Reading

James Patterson

A heartfelt glimpse into the world of booksellers and librarians who create “book joy” while navigating the challenges of the book business.

Token Supremacy
The Art Of Finance, The Finance Of Art, And The Great Crypto Crash Of 2022

Zachary Small

A New York Times investigative reporter wades into the murky, pixelated waters of the multibillion-dollar NFT market.

This Is Water
Some Thoughts, Delivered On A Significant Occasion, About Living A Compassionate Life

David Foster Wallace

An exploration of consciousness, compassion, and finding meaning in daily life.

Biography & Memoir

Pets And The City: True Tales Of A Manhattan House Call Veterinarian

Amy Attas

A house-call veterinarian shares heartfelt and humorous stories of her career treating beloved pets and the people who adore them.

Faith, Hope, And Carnage

Nick Cave

A candid dialogue with musician and actor Nick Cave on faith, art, love, and grief, reflecting on his transformation and creative vision.

Oath And Honor: A Memoir And A Warning

Liz Cheney

Liz Cheney recounts witnessing the Capitol attack on January 6th, her role in the investigation, and her efforts to defend democratic institutions and constitutional principles.

On Call: A Doctor’s Journey In Public Service

Anthony Fauci

Dr. Fauci’s six-decade career in high-level public service put him in the room with seven presidents, including his time in the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

Acid For The Children

Flea

The co-founder of the Red Hot Chili Peppers chronicles his life from his birth in Australia and upbringing on the streets of Los Angeles through his rise to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.

Be Ready When The Luck Happens

Ina Garten

A personal glimpse into Ina Garten’s journey, filled with anecdotes and insights from the beloved cook and TV personality.

My Effin’ Life

Geddy Lee

Geddy Lee, the vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist of the Canadian progressive rock trio Rush, explores his life inside and outside the band, as well as his parents’ horrific experiences as teenagers during World War II.

True Gretch: What I’ve Learned About Life, Leadership, And Everything In Between

Gretchen Whitmer

Gretchen Whitmer shares life lessons and political resilience, balancing humor with stories of leadership during crises.

This press release was produced by the Berlin-Peck Memorial Library. The views expressed here are the author’s own.