October 2021 Adult Top 10 Picks

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  1. The Last Guest
    by Tess Little
    Ballantine Books
    Oct 05, 2021
    FICTION / Thrillers / Psychological
    Hardback
    The Last Guest
    by Tess Little
    Ballantine Books
    Oct 05, 2021
    FICTION / Thrillers / Psychological
    Hardback
    A glamorous birthday dinner in the Hollywood Hills ends with the famous host dead and every guest under suspicion in The Last Guest, a dark, cinematic suspense debut reminiscent of an Agatha Christie page-turner crossed with David Lynch's Mulholland Drive.

    The Last Guest is a sharp, unshrinking look at the costs of submission—to power and control, to ambition and desire, even to the wish to protect those we love by forcing memory underground.”—Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife and When the Stars Go Dark

    When Elspeth Bell attends the fiftieth birthday party of her ex-husband, Richard Bryant, the Hollywood director who launched her acting career, all she wants is to pass unnoticed through the glamorous crowd in his sprawling Los Angeles mansion. Instead, there are only seven other guests—and Richard's pet octopus, Persephone, watching over them from her tank as the intimate party grows more surreal (and rowdy) by the hour. Come morning, Richard is dead—and all of the guests are suspects.

    In the weeks that follow, each guest comes under suspicion: the school friend, the studio producer, the actress, the actor, the new partner, the manager, the cinematographer, and even Elspeth herself. What starts out as a locked-room mystery soon reveals itself to be much more complicated, as dark stories from Richard's past surface, colliding with memories of their marriage that Elspeth vowed never to revisit. She begins to wonder not just who killed Richard, but why these eight guests were invited—and what sort of man would desire to possess a creature as mysterious and unsettling as Persephone.

    The Last Guest is a stylish exploration of power—the power of memory, the power of perception, the power of one person over another.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  2. The Apollo Murders
    by Chris Hadfield Canada
    Random House Canada
    Oct 12, 2021
    FICTION / Action & Adventure
    Hardback
    The Apollo Murders
    by Chris Hadfield Canada
    Random House Canada
    Oct 12, 2021
    FICTION / Action & Adventure
    Hardback
    #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER

    The #1 bestselling Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield is back with an exceptional Cold War thriller from the dark heart of the Space Race.

    “An exciting journey to an alternate past” Andy Weir, author of The Martian

    Nail-biting” James Cameron, writer and director of Avatar and Titanic

    Not to be missed” Frederick Forsyth, author of The Day of the Jackal

    Explosive” Gregg Hurwitz, author of Orphan X

    Exciting, authentic” Linwood Barclay, author of Find You First

    1973. A final, top-secret mission to the Moon. Three astronauts in a tiny module, a quarter of a million miles from home. A quarter of a million miles from help.

    As Russian and American crews sprint for a secret bounty hidden away on the lunar surface, old rivalries blossom and the political stakes are stretched to breaking point back on Earth. Houston flight controller Kazimieras "Kaz" Zemeckis must do all he can to keep the NASA crew together, while staying one step ahead of his Soviet rivals. But not everyone on board Apollo 18 is quite who they appear to be.

    Full of the fascinating technical detail that fans of The Martian loved, and reminiscent of the thrilling claustrophobia, twists and tension of The Hunt for Red October, The Apollo Murders puts you right there in the moment. Experience the fierce G-forces of launch, the frozen loneliness of Space and the fear of holding on to the outside of a spacecraft orbiting the Earth at 17,000 miles per hour, as told by a former Commander of the International Space Station who has done all of those things in real life.

    Strap in and count down for the ride of a lifetime.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  3. The Holiday Swap
    by Maggie Knox Canada
    Viking
    Oct 05, 2021
    FICTION / Women
    Paperback / softback
    The Holiday Swap
    by Maggie Knox Canada
    Viking
    Oct 05, 2021
    FICTION / Women
    Paperback / softback
    NATIONAL BESTSELLER

    "An utterly adorable, pitch-perfect romance with just the right amount of Christmas cheer. The Holiday Swap is a pure delight, I couldn’t stop from smiling."-- Taylor Jenkins Reid, NYT bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six

    A feel-good, holiday-themed romantic comedy about identical twins who switch lives in the days leading up to Christmas.


    All they want for Christmas is a different life.

    When chef Charlie Goodwin gets hit on the head on the L.A. set of her reality baking show, she loses a lot more than consciousness; she also loses her ability to taste and smell--both critical to her success as show judge. Meanwhile, Charlie's identical twin, Cass, is frantically trying to hold her own life together back in their quaint mountain hometown while running the family's bustling bakery and dealing with her ex, who won't get the memo that they're over.

    With only days until Christmas, a desperate Charlie asks Cass to do something they haven't done since they were kids: switch places. Looking for her own escape from reality, Cass agrees. But temporarily trading lives proves more complicated than they imagined, especially when rugged firefighter Jake Greenman and gorgeous physician assistant Miguel Rodriguez are thrown into the mix. Will the twins' identity swap be a recipe for disaster, or does it have all the right ingredients for getting their lives back on track?
    View this title on BNC CataList
  4. The Death of Jane Lawrence
    by Caitlin Starling
    St. Martin's Press
    Oct 05, 2021
    FICTION / Horror
    Hardback
    The Death of Jane Lawrence
    by Caitlin Starling
    St. Martin's Press
    Oct 05, 2021
    FICTION / Horror
    Hardback

    ***AN INSTANT BESTSELLER!***
    Best Books of 2021 ·
    NPR
    ALA/The Reading List Best Horror 2021 Pick
    Longlisted for the Bram Stoker Awards for Superior Achievement in a Novel, 2021


    From the Bram Stoker-nominated author of The Luminous Dead comes a gothic fantasy horror
    The Death of Jane Lawrence.

    "A jewel box of a Gothic novel." —New York Times Book Review

    “Delicious.... By the time the book reached that point of no return, I was so invested that I would have followed Jane into the very depths of hell.” —NPR.org

    “Intense and amazing! It’s like Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell meets Mexican Gothic meets Crimson Peak.” —BookRiot

    Practical, unassuming Jane Shoringfield has done the calculations, and decided that the most secure path forward is this: a husband, in a marriage of convenience, who will allow her to remain independent and occupied with meaningful work. Her first choice, the dashing but reclusive doctor Augustine Lawrence, agrees to her proposal with only one condition: that she must never visit Lindridge Hall, his crumbling family manor outside of town.

    Yet on their wedding night, an accident strands her at his door in a pitch-black rainstorm, and she finds him changed. Gone is the bold, courageous surgeon, and in his place is a terrified, paranoid man—one who cannot tell reality from nightmare, and fears Jane is an apparition, come to haunt him. By morning, Augustine is himself again, but Jane knows something is deeply wrong at Lindridge Hall, and with the man she has so hastily bound her safety to.

    Set in a dark-mirror version of post-war England, Caitlin Starling crafts a new kind of gothic horror from the bones of the beloved canon. This Crimson Peak-inspired story assembles, then upends, every expectation set in place by Shirley Jackson and Rebecca, and will leave readers shaken, desperate to begin again as soon as they are finished.

    View this title on BNC CataList
  5. Mooncakes and Milk Bread
    by Kristina Cho
    Harper Celebrate
    Oct 12, 2021
    COOKING / Regional & Cultural / Chinese
    Hardback
    Mooncakes and Milk Bread
    by Kristina Cho
    Harper Celebrate
    Oct 12, 2021
    COOKING / Regional & Cultural / Chinese
    Hardback

    2022 JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNERBaking and Desserts

    2022 JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER • Emerging Voice, Books

    ONE OF THE TEN BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker Magazine, The New York Times

    ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR: Time Out, Glamour, Taste of Home

    Food blogger Kristina Cho (eatchofood.com) introduces you to Chinese bakery cooking with fresh, simple interpretations of classic recipes for the modern baker.

    Inside, you’ll find sweet and savory baked buns, steamed buns, Chinese breads, unique cookies, whimsical cakes, juicy dumplings, Chinese breakfast dishes, and drinks. Recipes for steamed BBQ pork buns, pineapple buns with a thick slice of butter, silky smooth milk tea, and chocolate Swiss rolls all make an appearance--because a book about Chinese bakeries wouldn’t be complete without them

    In Mooncakes & Milk Bread, Kristina teaches you to whip up these delicacies like a pro, including how to:

    • Knead dough without a stand mixer
    • Avoid collapsed steamed buns
    • Infuse creams and custards with aromatic tea flavors
    • Mix the most workable dumpling dough
    • Pleat dumplings like an Asian grandma

    This is the first book to exclusively focus on Chinese bakeries and cafés, but it isn’t just for those nostalgic for Chinese bakeshop foods--it’s for all home bakers who want exciting new recipes to add to their repertoires.

    View this title on BNC CataList
  6. The Corpse Flower
    by Anne Mette Hancock
    Crooked Lane Books
    Oct 12, 2021
    FICTION / Thrillers / Psychological
    Hardback
    The Corpse Flower
    by Anne Mette Hancock
    Crooked Lane Books
    Oct 12, 2021
    FICTION / Thrillers / Psychological
    Hardback
    The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo meets Sharp Objects in this internationally bestselling psychological thriller, for fans of Jo Nesbø and Henning Mankell, now for the first time in English.


    Danish journalist Heloise Kaldan is in the middle of a nightmare. One of her sources has been caught lying, and she could lose her job over it. Then she receives the first in a series of cryptic and unsettling letters from a woman named Anna Kiel.

    Wanted in connection with the fatal stabbing of a young lawyer three years earlier, Anna hasn't been seen by anyone since she left the crime scene covered in blood. The police think she's fled the country until homicide detective Erik Scháfer comes up with a lead after the reporter who originally wrote about the case is found murdered in his apartment. Has Anna Kiel struck again, or is there more than one killer at large? And why does every clue point directly to Heloise Kaldan?

    Meanwhile, the letters keep coming, and they hint at a connection between Anna and Heloise. As Heloise starts digging deeper, she realizes that to tell Anna's story she will have to revisit the darkest parts of her own past--confronting someone she swore she'd never see again.

    The Corpse Flower is the first in the #1 bestselling Danish crime series, the Kaldan and Scháfer mysteries.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  7. Truth or Dare
    by M. J. Arlidge
    Orion
    Apr 12, 2022
    FICTION / Thrillers / Crime
    Hardback
    Truth or Dare
    by M. J. Arlidge
    Orion
    Apr 12, 2022
    FICTION / Thrillers / Crime
    Hardback

    DO YOU WANT TO PLAY THE GAME?

    THE CHILLING THRILLER FROM THE MIND OF MILLION-COPY BESTSELLER M. J. ARLIDGE

    A crimewave sweeps through the city and no-one is safe. An arson at the docks. A carjacking gone wrong. A murder in a country park. What connects all these crimes without causes, which leave no clues?

    Detective Inspector Helen Grace faces the rising tide of cases which threatens to drown the city. But each crime is just a piece of a puzzle which is falling into place.

    And when it becomes clear just how twisted and ingenious this web of crime is, D.I. Grace will realise that it may be impossible to stop it . . .

    A GRIPPING MYSTERY FROM THE MASTER OF THE KILLER THRILLER.

    * * * * *


    PRAISE FOR M. J. ARLIDGE AND THE HELEN GRACE THRILLERS

    'Chilling' THE TIMES

    'Gripping' SUNDAY MIRROR

    'Addictive' EXPRESS

    'Truly excellent' THE SUN

    'Amazing' RICHARD MADELEY

    'Mesmerizing' LISA GARDNER

    'Chills to the bone' DAILY MAIL

    'This is going to be as big as Jo Nesbo' JUDY FINNIGAN

    'Helen Grace is one of the greatest heroes to come along in years' JEFFERY DEAVER

    View this title on BNC CataList
  8. Beat Bobby Flay
    by Bobby Flay
    Clarkson Potter
    Oct 05, 2021
    COOKING / Courses & Dishes / General
    Hardback
    Beat Bobby Flay
    by Bobby Flay
    Clarkson Potter
    Oct 05, 2021
    COOKING / Courses & Dishes / General
    Hardback
    Think you can cook better than Bobby Flay? Put your kitchen skills to the test and cook alongside Bobby and his competitors with more than 100 recipes from the hit show.

    NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY FOOD NETWORK

    Beat Bobby Flay brings the excitement of the Food Network show stage into your home kitchen, with more than 100 recipes for breakfast and brunch, weeknight-worthy dinners, and stunning desserts that make every meal a winner. Bobby’s best recipes and other favorites from the show make appearances, from Seafood Fra Diavolo with Saffron Fettuccine (handmade pasta always wins the judges’ hearts) to Mushroom and Goat Cheese Chiles Rellenos (the secret: crispy Brussels sprout leaves) and Bittersweet Chocolate Soufflé. Sprinkled throughout Bobby’s recipes are behind-the-scenes stories of fan-favorite moments, tips to help you “beat the clock” when you’re pressed for time, and pro-chef suggestions for everything from meal prep to garnish (when in doubt, add anchovy breadcrumbs!).

    Alongside Bobby’s favorites are a wealth of recipes from his competitors on the show who beat Bobby Flay, including Alex Guarnaschelli’s Lobster Newberg, Marcus Samuelsson’s Doro Wat (Ethiopian chicken stew), and Shelby Sieg’s Lemon-Thyme Olive Oil Cake. The ultimate companion cookbook to one of the country’s favorite Food Network shows, Beat Bobby Flay also features beautiful, all-new color food photography as well as shots from everyone’s favorite episodes. With Bobby’s expertise and tried-and-true tips helping you stay in it to win it, you’ll be ready to crush any competition that comes your way!
    View this title on BNC CataList
  9. Island Eats
    by Dawn Postnikoff Canada
    Figure 1 Publishing
    Oct 19, 2021
    COOKING / Individual Chefs & Restaurants
    Hardback
    Island Eats
    by Dawn Postnikoff Canada
    Figure 1 Publishing
    Oct 19, 2021
    COOKING / Individual Chefs & Restaurants
    Hardback
    Plenty of people talk about farm-to-table dining these days. But on Vancouver Island and the surrounding Gulf Islands, it’s truly a way of life. And why not, when there is so much abundance to choose from? From the Comox Valley to the Cowichan to Salt Spring Island, you’ll find everything from truffles to tea, passionfruit to Pinot Noir, water buffalo to the most delicately briny oysters. Island Eats is a tribute to the vibrant food culture of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands and the celebration of a passionate culinary community built on the edge of a continent. Whether they’re shucking oysters and rolling pasta just for you, pouring you a glass of local wine, telling you about the best surf beach or hiking trail or the cool new craft brewery in town, the chefs, mixologists, and food artisans profiled in this cookbook have contributed to the heartfelt food traditions of a rare culinary destination. Featuring more than 80 signature dishes, from a classic salmon chowder to island-foraged chantarelle risotto, apple pie waffles to bannock ice-cream sandwich, this inspired collection boasts locally-minded, soul-satisfying dishes that readers will want to make again and again.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  10. The Final Chapter
    by Jerome Loubry
    Hodder
    Feb 08, 2022
    FICTION / Mystery & Detective / International Crime & Mystery
    Paperback / softback
    The Final Chapter
    by Jerome Loubry
    Hodder
    Feb 08, 2022
    FICTION / Mystery & Detective / International Crime & Mystery
    Paperback / softback

    Whatever you do, DON'T give away that ending...

    "Terribly addictive" * * * * *

    Three good friends.

    One tragic summer.
    A book that tells it all.

    "A tremendously compelling page-turner" * * * * *

    When little Julie goes missing in summer 1986, David and Samuel share the terrible secret of her disappearance. Thirty years later, David has become a famous author and Samuel his publisher. Both receive identical manuscript chapters telling the story of what really happened that tragic summer.

    Chapter after chapter, the author reveals their darkest secrets. They know the book will end with its 12th chapter. A race against time begins: will David and Samuel expose the mysterious author's identity before he exposes them? And did one of them kill Julie?

    View this title on BNC CataList

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