April 2024 Adult Top 10 Picks

← Return to Archive Sign up for our mailing list
  1. Funny Story
    by Emily Henry
    Berkley
    Apr 23, 2024
    FICTION / Romance / Romantic Comedy
    Hardback
    Funny Story
    by Emily Henry
    Berkley
    Apr 23, 2024
    FICTION / Romance / Romantic Comedy
    Hardback
    Named a Most Anticipated book of 2024 by TIME ∙ The New York Times ∙ Goodreads Entertainment Weekly ∙ Today.com ∙ Paste ∙ SheReads ∙ BookPage Woman's World ∙ The Nerd Daily and more!

    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.


    Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it…right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.

    Which is how Daphne begins her new story: Stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.

    Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads—Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?

    But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex…right?
    View this title on BNC CataList
  2. A Calamity of Souls
    by David Baldacci
    Grand Central Publishing
    Apr 16, 2024
    FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
    Hardback
    A Calamity of Souls
    by David Baldacci
    Grand Central Publishing
    Apr 16, 2024
    FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
    Hardback
    Set in the tumultuous year of 1968 in southern Virginia, a racially-charged murder case sets a duo of white and Black lawyers against a deeply unfair system as they work to defend their wrongfully-accused Black defendants in this courtroom drama from #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci. 

    Jack Lee is a white lawyer from Freeman County, Virginia, who has never done anything to push back against racism, until he decides to represent Jerome Washington, a Black man charged with brutally killing an elderly and wealthy white couple. Doubting his decision, Lee fears that his legal skills may not be enough to prevail in a case where the odds are already stacked against both him and his client. And he quickly finds himself out of his depth when he realizes that what is at stake is far greater than the outcome of a murder trial.

    Desiree DuBose is a Black lawyer from Chicago who has devoted her life to furthering the causes of justice and equality for everyone. She comes to Freeman County and enters a fractious and unwieldy partnership with Lee in a legal battle against the best prosecutor in the Commonwealth. Yet DuBose is also aware that powerful outside forces are at work to blunt the victories achieved by the Civil Rights era.  

    Lee and DuBose could not be more dissimilar. On their own, neither one can stop the prosecution’s deliberate march towards a guilty verdict and the electric chair. But together, the pair fight for what once seemed impossible: a chance for a fair trial and true justice.

    Over a decade in the writing, A Calamity of Souls breathes richly imagined and detailed life into a bygone era, taking the reader through a world that will seem both foreign and familiar.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  3. Toxic Prey
    by John Sandford
    G.P. Putnam's Sons
    Apr 09, 2024
    FICTION / Crime
    Hardback
    Toxic Prey
    by John Sandford
    G.P. Putnam's Sons
    Apr 09, 2024
    FICTION / Crime
    Hardback
    Lucas Davenport and his daughter, Letty, team up to track down a dangerous scientist whose latest project could endanger the entire world, in this latest thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author John Sandford.

    Gaia is dying.

    That, at least, is what Dr. Lionel Scott believes. A renowned expert in tropical and infectious diseases, Scott has witnessed the devastating impact of illness and turmoil at critical scale. Society as it exists is untenable, and the direct link to Earth’s death spiral; population levels are out of control and people have allowed disarray and disorder to run rampant. While most are concerned about deadly disease, Scott knows that it is truly humanity itself that will destroy Gaia. It’s only by removing the threat that the planet can continue to prosper, and luckily, Scott is just the right man for the job…


    When Scott then disappears without a trace, Letty Davenport is tasked with tracking down any and all leads. Scott’s connections to sensitive research into virus and pathogen spread has multiple national and international organizations on high alert, and his shockingly high clearance levels at various institutions, including the Los Alamos National Laboratory, make him the last person they’d like to go missing. As the web around Scott becomes more tangled, Letty calls in her father, Lucas, help her lead a group of specialists to find Scott as soon as possible. But as Letty and Lucas begin to uncover startling and disturbing connections between Scott and Gaia conspiracists, their worst fears are confirmed, and it quickly becomes a race to find him before the virus he created becomes the perfect weapon.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  4. She's Not Sorry
    by Mary Kubica
    Park Row
    Apr 02, 2024
    FICTION / Thrillers / Domestic
    Hardback
    She's Not Sorry
    by Mary Kubica
    Park Row
    Apr 02, 2024
    FICTION / Thrillers / Domestic
    Hardback
    The instant New York Times bestseller that BookTok is calling “absolutely A-M-A-Z-I-N-G” (@hollylovesbooks1519) and “impossible to put down” (@kurryreads), from the author of Local Woman Missing and Just the Nicest Couple

    Everyone has secrets, but not everyone has remorse…

    A terrible accident.

    Meghan Michaels is trying to find balance between being a single mom and working full time as an ICU nurse, when a patient named Caitlin arrives in her ward with a traumatic brain injury. They say she jumped from a bridge and plunged over twenty feet to the train tracks below.

    A shocking revelation.

    When a witness comes forward with new details about Caitlin’s fall, it calls everything they know into question. Was a crime committed? Did someone actually push Caitlin, and if so, who... and why?

    No one is safe.

    Meghan lets herself get close to Caitlin until she’s deeply entangled in the mystery surrounding her. Only when it’s too late, does she realize that she and her daughter could be the next victims...

    “A tense, compelling thriller with completely gasp-worthy twists.” —Nita Prose, #1 bestselling author of The Maid

    Look for these other pulse-pounding thrillers by New York Times bestselling author Mary Kubica:
    • The Good Girl
    • The Other Mrs.
    • Local Woman Missing
    • Just the Nicest Couple


    View this title on BNC CataList
  5. Only the Brave
    by Danielle Steel
    Delacorte Press
    Apr 30, 2024
    FICTION / Historical / 20th Century / World War II & Holocaust
    Hardback
    Only the Brave
    by Danielle Steel
    Delacorte Press
    Apr 30, 2024
    FICTION / Historical / 20th Century / World War II & Holocaust
    Hardback
    From #1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel comes a powerful, sweeping historical novel about a courageous woman in World War II Germany.

    Sophia Alexander, the beautiful daughter of a famous surgeon in Berlin, has had to grow up faster than most young women. When her mother falls ill, Sophia must take charge of her younger sister, Theresa, and look after her father and the household, while also volunteering at his hospital after school. Meanwhile, Hitler’s rise to power and the violence in her very own town have Sophia concerned, but only her mother is willing to share her fears openly.

    After tragedy strikes and her mother dies, Sophia becomes increasingly involved in the resistance, attending meetings of dissidents and helping however she can. Circumstances become increasingly dangerous and personal when Sophia assists her sister’s daring escape from Germany, as Theresa flees with her young husband and his family. Her father also begins to resist the regime, secretly healing those hiding from persecution, only to have his hospital burned to the ground. When he is arrested and sent to a concentration camp, Sophia is truly on her own, but more determined than ever to help.

    While working as a nurse with the convent nuns, the Sisters of Mercy, Sophia continues her harrowing efforts to transport Jewish children to safety and finds herself under surveillance. As the political tensions rise and the brutal oppression continues, Sophia is undeterred, risking it all, even her own freedom, as she rises to the challenge of helping those in need—no matter the cost.

    In Only the Brave, Danielle Steel vividly captures the devastating effects of war alongside beautiful moments of compassion and courage.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  6. Daughter of Mine
    by Megan Miranda
    S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books
    Apr 09, 2024
    FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
    Hardback
    Daughter of Mine
    by Megan Miranda
    S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books
    Apr 09, 2024
    FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
    Hardback
    An Instant New York Times Bestseller
    A USA TODAY Bestseller

    Her father was the town detective. Her mother its most notorious criminal. Now the secrets of Mirror Lake are coming to the surface…and changing everything. "[A] stunning psychological thriller from one of the most insightful writers around” (CrimeReads), don’t miss the latest from Megan Miranda, the instant New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls, The Last to Vanish, and The Only Survivors.

    When Hazel Sharp, daughter of Mirror Lake’s longtime local detective, unexpectedly inherits her childhood home, she’s warily drawn back to the town—and people—she left behind almost a decade earlier. But Hazel’s not the only relic of the past to return: a drought has descended on the region, and as the water level in the lake drops, long-hidden secrets begin to emerge…including evidence that may help finally explain the mystery of her mother’s disappearance.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  7. The Murder Inn
    by James Patterson
    Grand Central Publishing
    Apr 16, 2024
    FICTION / Thrillers / Crime
    Hardback
    The Murder Inn
    by James Patterson
    Grand Central Publishing
    Apr 16, 2024
    FICTION / Thrillers / Crime
    Hardback

    It's the perfect getaway. But the past will always find you . . .

    When ex-cop Bill Robinson takes over The Inn by the Sea, all he wants is a quiet escape from the city. But when a crime boss moves into town and begins terrorizing Bill's friends, he can't just sit back and watch. It's not long before local criminals are turning up dead and The Inn comes under attack. With the help of The Inn's fearless residents, Bill must do everything he can to defend his town, his chosen family, and his home.


    View this title on BNC CataList
  8. Close to Death
    by Anthony Horowitz
    HarperCollins Publishers
    Apr 16, 2024
    Hardback
    Close to Death
    by Anthony Horowitz
    HarperCollins Publishers
    Apr 16, 2024
    Hardback

    In New York Times–bestselling author Anthony Horowitz’s ingenious fifth literary whodunit in the Hawthorne and Horowitz series, Detective Hawthorne is once again called upon to solve an unsolvable case—a gruesome murder in an idyllic gated community in which suspects abound

    Riverside Close is a picture-perfect community. The six exclusive and attractive houses are tucked far away from the noise and grime of city life, allowing the residents to enjoy beautiful gardens, pleasant birdsong and tranquility from behind the security of a locked gate.

    It is the perfect idyll until the Kentworthy family arrives, with their four giant, gas-guzzling cars, a gaggle of shrieking children and plans for a garish swimming pool in the backyard. Obvious outsiders, the Kentworthys do not belong in Riverside Close, and they quickly offend every last one of their neighbours.

    When Giles Kentworthy is found dead on his own doorstep, a crossbow bolt sticking out of his chest, Detective Hawthorne is the only investigator that can be called on to solve the case.

    Because how do you solve a murder when everyone is a suspect?

    View this title on BNC CataList
  9. It Had to Be You
    by Mary Higgins Clark
    Simon & Schuster
    Apr 16, 2024
    FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
    Hardback
    It Had to Be You
    by Mary Higgins Clark
    Simon & Schuster
    Apr 16, 2024
    FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
    Hardback
    In the latest thrilling entry of the bestselling Under Suspicion series by Queen of Suspense Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke, television producer Laurie Moran investigates the unsolved murder of a beloved couple celebrating the college graduations of their successful twin sons.

    The two identical brothers seemed perfect in every way—handsome, intelligent, popular—until a shocking summer night when one brother killed his parents in cold blood while the other brother had an iron-clad alibi. But which twin was where during the murders? And is it possible the two of them planned the perfect crime together?

    Years later, the twins are long estranged, each of them claiming to be convinced that the other is responsible for the death of their parents. Married now with children of their own, they may finally be ready to clear one name at the expense of the other and turn to Laurie Moran and her team to reinvestigate their parents’ murder. But as the Under Suspicion crew gets closer to the truth, the danger that was assumed to be left in the past finds its way into the present.

    Featuring chilling suspense, a cast of characters whom loyal readers have come to love, and a final jaw-dropping twist, It Had to Be You is not to be missed.
    View this title on BNC CataList
  10. The Secret Keeper
    by Genevieve Graham Canada
    Simon & Schuster
    Apr 02, 2024
    FICTION / Historical / 20th Century / World War II & Holocaust
    Paperback / softback
    The Secret Keeper
    by Genevieve Graham Canada
    Simon & Schuster
    Apr 02, 2024
    FICTION / Historical / 20th Century / World War II & Holocaust
    Paperback / softback
    From USA TODAY and internationally bestselling author Genevieve Graham comes a gripping World War II novel about two sisters who join the war effort—one as a codebreaker and the other as a pilot—and the secrets that threaten to tear them apart. Perfect for fans of The Rose Code and The Nightingale.

    Twin sisters Dot and Dash Wilson share many things, and while they are practically inseparable, they are nothing alike. Dot is fascinated by books, puzzles, and Morse code, a language taught to both girls by their father, a WWI veteran. Dash’s days are filled with fixing engines, dancing with friends, and dreaming of flying airplanes. Almost always at their side is their best friend Gus—until war breaks out and he enlists in the army, deploying to an unknown front.

    Determined to do their duty, both girls join the WRENS, Dash as a mechanic and Dot as a typist. Before long, Dot’s fixation on patterns and numbers takes her from HMCS Coverdale, a covert listening and codebreaking station working with Bletchley Park in England, to Camp X, a top-secret spy school. But when personal tragedy strikes the family, Dot’s oath of secrecy causes a rift between the sisters.

    Eager to leave her pain behind, Dash jumps at the opportunity to train as a pilot with the Air Transport Auxiliary, where she risks her life to ferry aircraft and troops across the battlefields of Europe. Meanwhile Dot is drawn into the Allies’ preparations for D-Day. But Dot’s loyalties are put to the test once more when someone close to her goes missing in Nazi-occupied territory. With everyone’s eyes on Operation Overlord, Dot must use every skill at her disposal to save those she loves before it’s too late.

    Inspired by the real-life stories of women in World War II, The Secret Keeper is an extraordinary novel about the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood and the light of courage during the darkest of nights.
    View this title on BNC CataList

Sign up for our mailing list!

Sign up for the latest top 10 lists and other news about Loan Stars. You can unsubscribe at any time.


Sign up!