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RUSA Reading List
"Established in 2007 by the CODES section of RUSA, The Reading List seeks to highlight outstanding genre fiction that merit special attention by general adult readers and the librarians who work with them." Click here to visit the official website.
RUSA Reading List
Adrenaline
Safe Houses by In this gripping new work of suspense from the author of The Double Game, a young woman discovers a nefarious truth at the heart of the CIA's operations in postwar Berlin and goes on the run for her life; years later she's gruesomely murdered along with her husband, and her daughter begins to chase down these startling secrets from her past.
Finalists
- Barbed Wire Heart by Tess Sharpe
- Bearskin by James A. McLaughlin
- Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier
- Star of the North by D.B. John
Fantasy
Foundryside by Call Number: FANTASY BENNETTSancia is a thief-for-hire whose latest job has the potential for a life-changing payout. When she realizes the power of the item she has stolen–a magical key with the ability to open any lock–she keeps it for herself, setting in motion a chain of events with far-reaching consequences.
Finalists
Historical Fiction
Between Earth and Sky by When Alma discovers a former classmate from her missionary parents’ Indian Territory boarding school has been arrested for murder, she returns home to defend him. Upon arrival she reflects on the heartbreaking legacy of forced assimilation and the damage done by stripping Native American children of their language and culture.
Finalists
- The Butcher's Daughter by Victoria Glendinning
- Circe by Madeline Miller
- Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pearce
- A Well-Behaved Woman by Therese Anne Fowler
Horror
The Silent Companions by In 1860s England, pregnant Elsie travels to her deceased husband’s crumbling country estate. Kept company by only a few servants, Elsie discovers a realistic life-sized wooden figure in the attic. As the figure and others like it begin popping up around the house, Elsie begins to question her sanity.
Finalists
Mystery
The Widows of Malabar Hill by Call Number: MYSTERY MASSEYInspired in part by the woman who made history as India's first female attorney, The Widows of Malabar Hill is a richly wrought story of multicultural 1920s Bombay as well as the debut of a sharp and promising new sleuth. Perveen Mistry, Bombay's first female lawyer, is investigating a suspicious will on behalf of three Muslim widows living in full purdah when the case takes a turn toward the murderous.
Finalists
- The Broken Girls by Simone St. James
- Broken Places: A Chicago Mystery by Tracy Clark
- Crimson Lake by Candice Fox
- The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan
Romance
Intercepted by Call Number: ROMANCE MARTINMarlee Harper is the perfect girlfriend. She's definitely had enough practice by dating her NFL-star boyfriend for the last ten years. But when she discovers he has been tackling other women on the sly, she vows to never date an athlete again. There's just one problem: Gavin Pope, the new hotshot quarterback and a fling from the past, has Marlee in his sights. Gavin fights to show Marlee he's nothing like her ex. Unfortunately, not everyone is ready to let her escape her past.
Finalists
Science Fiction
The Calculating Stars by In a world emerging from World War II, Earth is struck by a massive meteorite. Faced with the likelihood of total extinction, the scientific community dedicates themselves to developing space technology. The efforts of aspiring astronaut Dr. Elma York and her fellow women scientists are hampered by racism and sexism.
Finalists
- Noumenon Infinity by Marina J. Lostetter
- An Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lim
- Stars Uncharted by S.K. Dunstall
- The Wrong Stars by Tim Pratt
Women's Fiction
Stray City by Twenty-four-year-old artist Andrea Morales escaped her Midwestern Catholic childhood—and the closet—to create a home and life for herself within the thriving but insular lesbian underground of Portland, Oregon. But one drunken night, reeling from a bad breakup and a friend’s betrayal, she recklessly crosses enemy lines and hooks up with a man. To her utter shock, Andrea soon discovers she’s pregnant—and despite the concerns of her astonished circle of gay friends, she decides to have the baby. A decade later, when her precocious daughter Lucia starts asking questions about the father she’s never known, Andrea is forced to reconcile the past she hoped to leave behind with the life she’s worked so hard to build.
Adrenaline
Fierce Kingdom by Call Number: MYSTERY PHILLIPSThe zoo is nearly empty as Joan and her four-year-old son soak up the last few moments of playtime. They are happy, and the day has been close to perfect. But what Joan sees as she hustles her son toward the exit gate minutes before closing time sends her sprinting back into the zoo, her child in her arms. And for the next three hours--the entire scope of the novel--she keeps on running.
Finalists
Fantasy
Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Call Number: FANTASY MCGUIREacqueline was her mother’s perfect daughter―polite and quiet, always dressed as a princess. If her mother was sometimes a little strict, it’s because crafting the perfect daughter takes discipline. Jillian was her father’s perfect daughter―adventurous, thrill-seeking, and a bit of a tom-boy. He really would have preferred a son, but you work with what you’ve got. They were five when they learned that grown-ups can’t be trusted. They were twelve when they walked down the impossible staircase and discovered that the pretense of love can never be enough to prepare you for a life filled with magic in a land filled with mad scientists and death and choices.
Finalists
- Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys
- Passing Strange by Ellen Klages
- The Witches of New York by Ami McKay
- A Gathering of Ravens by Scott Oden
Historical Fiction
The Half-Drowned King by Since the death of Ragnvald Eysteinsson's father in battle, he has worked hard to protect his sister Svanhild and planned to inherit his family's land when he comes of age. But when the captain of his ship tries to kill him on the way home from a raiding excursion, he must confront his stepfather's betrayal, and find a way to protect his birthright.
Finalists
Horror
Kill Creek by At the end of a dark prairie road, nearly forgotten in the Kansas countryside, lies the Finch House. For years it has perched empty, abandoned, and overgrown--but soon the door will be opened for the first time in many decades. But something waits, lurking in the shadows, anxious to meet its new guests.
When best-selling horror author Sam McGarver is invited to spend Halloween night in one of the country's most infamous haunted houses, he reluctantly agrees. At least he won't be alone; joining him are three other masters of the macabre, writers who have helped shape modern horror. But what begins as a simple publicity stunt soon becomes a fight for survival--the entity they have awakened will follow them, torment them, threatening to make them part of the bloody legacy of Kill Creek.
Finalists
- Little Heaven by Nick Cutter
- In the Valley of the Sun by Andy Davidson
- A God in the Shed by JF Dubeau
- Ararat by Christopher Golden
Mystery
The Dime by Dallas, Texas is not for the faint of heart. Good thing for Betty Rhyzyk she's from a family of take-no-prisoners Brooklyn police detectives. But her Big Apple wisdom will only get her so far when she relocates to The Big D, where Mexican drug cartels and cult leaders, deadbeat skells and society wives all battle for sunbaked turf. Betty is as tough as the best of them, but she's deeply shaken when her first investigation goes sideways. Battling a group of unruly subordinates, a persistent stalker, a formidable criminal organization, and an unsupportive girlfriend, the unbreakable Detective Betty Rhyzyk may be reaching her limit.
Finalists
Romance
An Extraordinary Union by Call Number: FICTION COLEDuring the Civil War two undercover agents, Elle Burns, a former slave, and Malcolm McCall a detective in Pinkerton’s Secret Service uncover a plot that could lead to a Confederate victory and vow to preserve the Union at any cost.
Finalists
- The Sumage Solution by G.L. Carriger
- Wild at Whiskey Creek by Julie Anne Long
- Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai
- The Lawrence Browne Affair by Cat Sebastian
Science Fiction
The Collapsing Empire by Our universe is ruled by physics and faster than light travel is not possible -- until the discovery of The Flow, an extra-dimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transport us to other worlds, around other stars. The Flow is eternal -- but it is not static. Just as a river changes course, The Flow changes as well, cutting off worlds from the rest of humanity. When it’s discovered that The Flow is moving, possibly cutting off all human worlds from faster than light travel forever, three individuals -- a scientist, a starship captain and the Empress of the Interdependency -- are in a race against time to discover what, if anything, can be salvaged from an interstellar empire on the brink of collapse.
Finalists
- The Power by Naomi Alderman
- A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
- Paradox Bound by Peter Clines
- An Oath of Dogs by Wendy N. Wagner
Women's Fiction
The Almost Sisters by Call Number: FICTION JACKSONLeia Birch Briggs heads home to Alabama to help her family manage her grandmother Birchie's descent into dementia, her stepsister Rachel's crumbling marriage, and her own upcoming single motherhood, when a long-kept family secret finally comes to light.
Finalists
- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
- The Woman Next Door by Yewande Omotoso
- Lilian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney
- The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman
Adrenaline
Orphan X by Call Number: MYSTERY HURWITZThe Nowhere Man is a legendary figure spoken about only in whispers. It's said that when he's reached by the truly desperate and deserving, the Nowhere Man can and will do anything to protect and save them. But he's no legend. Evan Smoak is a man with skills, resources, and a personal mission to help those with nowhere else to turn. He's also a man with a dangerous past. Chosen as a child, he was raised and trained as part of the off-the-books black box Orphan program, designed to create the perfect deniable intelligence assets--i.e. assassins. He was Orphan X. Evan broke with the program, using everything he learned to disappear. Now, however, someone is on his tail. Someone with similar skills and training. Someone who knows Orphan X. Someone who is getting closer and closer. And will exploit Evan's weakness--his work as The Nowhere Man--to find him and eliminate him.
Finalists
Fantasy
Stiletto by Call Number: FANTASY O'MALLEYMagical agents prop up the English government, while their bio-engineered foes prosper in Europe’s Low Countries. A fragile truce may revert to war unless two unlikely young women can put aside their initial enmity and find the source of a series of bizarre attacks. Secret organizations, messy splatter, and British humor hallmark this imaginative novel.
Finalists
- Borderline by Mishell Baker
- Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay
- Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal
- A Green and Ancient Light by Frederic S. Durbin
Historical Fiction
The Last Days of Night by Call Number: MYSTERY MOOREWhen electric light innovator Thomas Edison sues his only remaining rival for patent infringement, George Westinghouse hires untested Columbia Law School graduate Paul Cravath for a case fraught with lies, betrayals, and deception.
Finalists
- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
- News of the World by Paulette Jiles
- The Risen: A Novel of Spartacus by David Anthony Durham
- To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey
Horror
Hex by Call Number: HORROR HEUVELTWelcome to Black Spring, the seemingly picturesque Hudson Valley town haunted by the Black Rock Witch, a seventeenth century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. Muzzled, she walks the streets and enters homes at will. She stands next to children's bed for nights on end. Everybody knows that her eyes may never be opened or the consequences will be too terrible to bear. The elders of Black Spring have virtually quarantined the town by using high-tech surveillance to prevent their curse from spreading. Frustrated with being kept in lockdown, the town's teenagers decide to break their strict regulations and go viral with the haunting. But, in so doing, they send the town spiraling into dark, medieval practices of the distant past.
Finalists
Mystery
Darktown by Call Number: MYSTERY MULLENHired by the Atlanta Police Department in 1948, Lucious Boggs and Tommy Smith confront deep hostility from their white peers before confronting a corrupt officer who complicates their investigation into the murder of a black woman.
Finalists
- Angels Burning by Tawni O'Dell
- IQ by Joe Ide
- Revolver by Duane Swierczynski
- Splinter the Silence by Val McDermid
Romance
Forbidden by Call Number: ROMANCE JENKINSRhine Fontaine is building the successful life he's always dreamed of—one that depends upon him passing for White. But for the first time in years, he wishes he could step out from behind the facade. The reason: Eddy Carmichael, the young woman he rescued in the desert. Outspoken, defiant, and beautiful, Eddy tempts Rhine in ways that could cost him everything . . . and the price seems worth paying. Eddy owes her life to Rhine, but she won't risk her heart for him. As soon as she's saved enough money from her cooking, she'll leave this Nevada town and move to California. No matter how handsome he is, no matter how fiery the heat between them, Rhine will never be hers. Giving in for just one night might quench this longing. Or it might ignite an affair as reckless and irresistible as it is forbidden . . .
Finalists
- Hold Me by Courtney Milan
- Out of Nowhere by Roan Parrish
- A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet
- The Soldier's Scoundrel by Cat Sebastian
Science Fiction
Arkwright by Nathan Arkwright is a seminal author of the twentieth century. At the end of his life he becomes reclusive and cantankerous, refusing to appear before or interact with his legion of fans. Little did anyone know, Nathan was putting into motion his true, timeless legacy. Convinced that humanity cannot survive on Earth, his Arkwright Foundation dedicates itself to creating a colony on an Earth-like planet several light years distant. Fueled by Nathan's legacy, generations of Arkwrights are drawn together, and pulled apart, by the enormity of the task and weight of their name
Finalists
Women's Fiction
I Almost Forgot About You by Call Number: FICTION MCMILLANDr. Georgia Young's wonderful life--great friends, family, and successful career--aren't enough to keep her from feeling stuck and restless. When she decides to make some major changes in her life, quitting her job as an optometrist, and moving house, she finds herself on a wild journey that may or may not include a second chance at love.
Finalists
- The Assistants by Camille Perri
- The City Baker's Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller
- The Mothers by Brit Bennett
- The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson
Adrenaline
Pretty Girls by Call Number: MYSTERY SLAUGHTEMore than twenty years ago, Claire and Lydia's teenaged sister Julia vanished without a trace. The two women have not spoken since, and now their lives could not be more different. Claire is the glamorous trophy wife of an Atlanta millionaire. Lydia, a single mother, dates an ex-con and struggles to make ends meet. But neither has recovered from the horror and heartbreak of their shared loss--a devastating wound that's cruelly ripped open when Claire's husband is killed. The disappearance of a teenage girl and the murder of a middle-aged man, almost a quarter-century apart: what could connect them? Forming a wary truce, the surviving sisters look to the past to find the truth, unearthing the secrets that destroyed their family all those years ago . . . and uncovering the possibility of redemption, and revenge, where they least expect it.
Finalists
- The Cartel by Don Winslow
- Descent by Tim Johnson
- The Killing Lessons by Saul Black
- Palace of Treason by Jason Matthews
Fantasy
Uprooted by Call Number: FANTASY NOVIKThe Dragon protects the valley, but when Agnieszka becomes his servant she learns that the danger—and her power—is greater than she'd ever imagined.
Finalists
Historical Fiction
Crooked Heart by Call Number: FICTION EVANSA precocious orphan evacuee and a debt-ridden widow con artist forge an unlikely alliance and take advantage ofunscrupulous money-making opportunities in the bombed suburbs of World War II England.
Finalists
Horror
The Fifth House of the Heart by Call Number: HORROR TRIPPAsmodeus “Sax” Saxon-Tang, a vainglorious and well-established antiques dealer, has made a fortune over many years by globetrotting for the finest lost objects in the world. Only Sax knows the true secret to his success: at certain points of his life, he’s killed vampires for their priceless hoards of treasure. But now Sax’s past actions are quite literally coming back to haunt him, and the lives of those he holds most dear are in mortal danger. To counter this unnatural threat, and with the blessing of the Holy Roman Church, a cowardly but cunning Sax must travel across Europe in pursuit of incalculable evil—and immeasurable wealth—with a ragtag team of mercenaries and vampire killers to hunt a terrifying, ageless monster…one who is hunting Sax in turn.
Finalists
Mystery
The Long and Faraway Gone by With the compelling narrative tension and psychological complexity of the works of Laura Lippman, Dennis Lehane, Kate Atkinson, and Michael Connelly, Edgar Award-nominee Lou Berney’s The Long and Faraway Gone is a smart, fiercely compassionate crime story that explores the mysteries of memory and the impact of violence on survivors—and the lengths they will go to find the painful truth of the events that scarred their lives.
Finalists
- Gun Street Girl by Adrian McKinty
- Land of Careful Shadows by Suzanne Chazin
- Last Ragged Breath by Julia Keller
- Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton
Romance
Taking the Heat by Call Number: ROMANCE DAHLAll revved up for bright lights and steamy nights, writer Veronica Chandler chased her dreams to New York City. When she hit a dead end, reality sent her back home to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Saving her pride and her new gig--writing a relationship advice column!--requires some faking. No one can know the truth about her big-city flop or her nonexistent sex life. But the town's irresistibly rugged librarian is determined to figure her out...and give her hands-on lessons in every wicked thing she wants to know. Gabe MacKenzie's heart might be in Wyoming, but secretly his future's tied up in his family's Manhattan legacy. Getting down and dirty with Veronica is supposed to give him a few memorable nights--not complicate his plans. But the thing about heat this scorching is there's just no going back...and it might be too hot for either of them to take.
Finalists
Science Fiction
Golden Son by Call Number: SCIENCE FICTION BROWNGolden Son continues the stunning saga of Darrow, a rebel forged by tragedy, battling to lead his oppressed people to freedom from the overlords of a brutal elitist future built on lies. Now fully embedded among the Gold ruling class, Darrow continues his work to bring down Society from within.
Finalists
- Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by David Wong
- Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
- Slow Bullets by Alastair Reynolds
- The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi
Women's Fiction
Re Jane by Call Number: FICTION PARKJane Re--a half-Korean, half-American orphan--takes a position as an au pair for two Brooklyn academics and their daughter, but a brief sojourn in Seoul, where she reconnects with family, causes her to wonder if the man she loves is really the man for her as she tries to find balance between two cultures.
Adrenaline
Broken Monsters by Call Number: HORROR BEUKESDetective Gabriella Versado investigates after disturbing displays that fuse the bodies of murder victims with those of animals are uncovered in abandoned Detroit buildings.
Finalists
Fantasy
The Goblin Emperor by The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an "accident," he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend... and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne – or his life.
Finalists
Historical Fiction
Bitter Greens by Banished from the court of Versailles, spirited Charlotte-Rose de la Force meets a nun who weaves together the strands that form the Rapunzel fairy tale, revealing its surprising origins. A captivating marriage of history and folklore featuring characters true to their time periods, yet timeless in their dreams and desires.
Finalists
- Flight of the Sparrow by Amy Belding Brown
- Hild by Nicola Griffith
- Wayfaring Stranger by James Lee Burke
- The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress by Ariel Lawhon
Horror
The Lesser Dead by Adolescent vampire Joey Peacock recounts events when a group of mysterious child vampires arrives on the scene, which upends the stability of his undead world.
Finalists
- Butcher's Road by Lee Thomas
- Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix
- The Supernatural Enhancements by Edgar Cantero
- The Troop by Nick Cutter
Mystery
Murder at the Brightwell by Call Number: MYSTERY WEAVERAmory Ames is a wealthy young woman who questions her marriage to her notoriously charming playboy husband, Milo. Looking for a change, she accepts a request for help from her former fiance, Gil Trent, not knowing that she'll soon become embroiled in a murder investigation that will test not only her friendship with Gil, but will upset the status quo with her husband.
Finalists
- Wolf by Mo Hayder
- A Burnable Book by Bruce Holsinger
- Talus and the Frozen King by Graham Edwards
- The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man by W. Bruce Cameron
Romance
A Bollywood Affair by Call Number: FICTION DEVMili Rathod hasn’t seen her husband in twenty years—not since she was promised to him at the age of four. Yet marriage has allowed Mili a freedom rarely given to girls in her village. Her grandmother has even allowed her to leave India and study in America for eight months, all to make her the perfect modern wife. Which is exactly what Mili longs to be—if her husband would just come and claim her. Bollywood’s favorite director, Samir Rathod, has come to Michigan to secure a divorce for his older brother. Persuading a naïve village girl to sign the papers should be easy for someone with Samir’s tabloid-famous charm. But Mili is neither a fool nor a gold-digger. But before he can stop himself, Samir is immersed in Mili’s life and wondering where his loyalties and happiness lie.
Finalists
- My Beautiful Enemy by Sherry Thomas
- It Happened One Wedding by Julie James
- The Raider by Monica McCarty
- Three Weeks With Lady X by Eloisa James
Science Fiction
The Martian by Call Number: SCIENCE FICTION WEIRMarooned on Mars after a tragic accident, astronaut Mark Watney’s supplies are running low and he has no way to signal Earth. Fortunately Mark can grow space potatoes and has a bold plan to escape the Red Planet.
Finalists
- Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
- Fortune's Pawn by Rachel Bach
- Lock In by John Scalzi
- Shovel Ready by Adam Sternbergh
Women's Fiction
My Real Children by Call Number: SCIENCE FICTION WALTONIt's 2015, and Patricia Cowan is very old. She forgets things she should know, but she remembers things that don't seem possible. She remembers marrying Mark and having four children. And she remembers not marrying Mark and raising three children with Bee instead. She remembers the bomb that killed President Kennedy in 1963, and she remembers Kennedy in 1964, declining torun again after the nuclear exchange that took out Miami and Kiev. Two lives, two worlds, two versions of modern history; each with their loves and losses, their sorrows and triumphs. Jo Walton'sMy Real Children is the tale of both of Patricia Cowan's lives...and of how every life means the entire world.
Finalists
- After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- The House We Grew Up In by Lisa Jewell
- How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran
- The Story Hour by Thrity Umrigar
Adrenaline
Red Sparrow by Call Number: MYSTERY MATTHEWSDrafted against her will to serve the regime of Vladimir Putin as an intelligence seductress, Dominika Egorova engages in a charged effort of deception and tradecraft with first-tour CIA officer Nathaniel Nash before a forbidden attraction threatens their careers.
Finalists
- The Caretaker by A.X. Ahmad
- Ghostman by Roger Hobbs
- Lexicon by Max Barry
- Lost by S.J. Bolton
Fantasy
Vicious by Call Number: FANTASY SCHWABVictor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will.
Finalists
- The Necromancer's House by Christopher Buehlman
- A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
- American Elsewhere by Robert Bennett Jackson
- The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
Historical Fiction
The Outcasts by Call Number: FICTION KENTIt's the 19th century on the Gulf Coast, a time of opportunity and lawlessness. After escaping the Texas brothel where she'd been a virtual prisoner, Lucinda Carter heads for Middle Bayou to meet her lover, who has a plan to make them both rich, chasing rumors of a pirate's buried treasure. Meanwhile Nate Cannon, a young Texas policeman with a pure heart and a strong sense of justice, is on the hunt for a ruthless killer named McGill who has claimed the lives of men, women, and even children across the frontier. Who--if anyone--will survive when their paths finally cross? As Lucinda and Nate's stories converge, guns are drawn, debts are paid, and Kathleen Kent delivers an unforgettable portrait of a woman who will stop at nothing to make a new life for herself.
Finalists
Horror
Last Days by Call Number: HORROR NEVILLA documentary filmmaker visits London and France while doing research on a notorious cult steeped in paranormal myths and responsible for a 1970s massacre, only to have his film shoot plagued by a series of uncanny events.
Finalists
- Apocalypse Cow by Michael Logan
- The Daylight Gate by Jeanette Winterson
- Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
- Red Moon by Benjamin Percy
Mystery
Murder As a Fine Art by Call Number: MYSTERY MORRELLThomas De Quincey, infamous for his memoir, 'Confessions of an English Opium-Eater', is the major suspect in a series of ferocious mass murders identical to ones that terrorized London forty-three years earlier...Desperate to clear his name but crippled by opium addiction, De Quincey is aided by his devoted daughter Emily and a pair of determined Scotland Yard detectives.
Finalists
- Alex by Pierre Lemaitre
- The Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blair
- How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny
- Seven For a Secret by Lindsay Faye
Romance
Any Duchess Will Do by Call Number: ROMANCE DAREWhen Griffin York, the Duke of Halford, tries thwart his mother's attempts to get him to marry by paying Spindle Cove barmaid Pauline Simms to fail duchess training, the unexpected result is a burning desire in the duke's heart to truly make her his wife.
Finalists
- Autumn Bride by Anne Gracie
- The Heiress Effect by Courtney Milan
- One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean
- The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Science Fiction
Love Minus Eighty by Years in the future, dead women in cryogenic dating farms await rich, lonely suitors to resurrect them and take them home. Love Minus Eighty follows interconnected lives touched by these dating farms. There's Rob, who accidentally kills a jogger, then sells everything to visit her, seeking her forgiveness but instead falling in love. Veronika, a socially-awkward dating coach, finds herself responsible for the happiness of a man whose life she saved against his will. And Mira, a gay woman accidentally placed in the heterosexual dating center near its inception, desperately seeks a way to reunite with her frozen partner as the centuries pass.
Finalists
- Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey
- Great North Road by Peter F. Hamilton
- Tales of Majipoor by Robert Silverberg
- Wool by Hugh Howey
Women's Fiction
Me Before You by Call Number: ROMANCE MOYESLouisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has barely been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is. Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.
