From Frieda McFadden thrillers, to tear-jerking romance stories, these chart-topping novels will have you hooked until the very last page.
16 Best-Selling Books You Won't Be Able to Put Down
From Frieda McFadden thrillers, to tear-jerking romance stories, these chart-topping novels will have you hooked until the very last page.
When it comes to picking the next page-turning read for you or your book club, sometimes it's simply a good idea to look at what's selling. After all, millions of copies have sold because they've captured the hearts and minds of readers across the globe.
From psychological thrillers to historical fiction, here are 16 novels that have dominated the best-seller charts recently and captivated the literary landscape. Add them to your reading list ASAP!
1. All Fours by Miranda July
After announcing her plan to drive across the country, from LA to NY, the 45-year-old female artist spontaneously turns off the freeway and checks into a motel – setting off on an entirely different journey. Part absurd, part tender reinvention of being a middle aged artist, All Fours excavates our beliefs about what it means to live life as a woman.
2. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
Ann Patchett has really mastered her craft and in Tom Lake, she delivers. This beautiful book is set during the pandemic on a cherry farm in Michigan, where Lara’s three daughters have returned for the lockdown. While picking cherries, Lara tells them the story of her first love; A-list movie star Peter Duke, who Lara met before he was famous.
This one might not keep you up into the early hours, but you’ll certainly savour the nuanced characters, shimmering setting and effortless prose of this gentle novel.
3. Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Revolving around a mystical chair that sits in a small cafe in Tokyo, customers take turns sitting in it, using it to travel back in time to revisit moments from their past. But there’s a catch: they must return before their coffee gets cold. Through a series of interconnected vignettes, this novel explores emotional impact these time-travelling encounters have on the characters. Grappling with unresolved regrets, lost loves, and unspoken words, Before the Coffee Gets Cold tells a lesson on the importance of seizing the moment and cherishing the connections that define our lives.
4. Everything and Everyone by Nadine J. Cohen
If you enjoy novels that dig into the human condition, this book about family, mental health, and intergenerational trauma is for you. Centring on 34-year-old Yael Silver whose life has been filled with tragedy, it dives into a profound and humorous exploration of her journey to the depths of sorrow and back. A hopeful read that makes us question who we are.
5. The Women by Kristin Hannah
With close to a 5-star rating on both Amazon and Good Reads, The Women tells the story of 24-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath who joins the Army Nurse Corps, to follow in the path of her brother who ships out to serve in Vietnam. This intimate coming-of-age portrait shines a light on the countless number of women who put themselves in harm’s way, to honour and make sacrifices for a country that so often forgets them. Written by award-winning and bestselling author Kristin Hannah, this compelling read will move you from start to finish.
6. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
Written by the bestselling, National Book Award-winning, Oprah Book Club-picked, Barack Obama favourite James McBride, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store shows us that even in the darkest of times, love and community are what sustains us. Set in 1972, when Pennsylvanian workers digging in the foundations for a new development in Pottstown discover a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there are revealed to be long-held secrets held by a neighbouring community, where immigrants live side by side sharing ambitions and sorrows.
7. The Teacher by Freida McFadden
A year has passed since a scandal rocked Caseham High revolving around problematic student Addie. This year, high school teacher Eve discovers that Addie is in her class. Eve must navigate teaching the class all while dealing with the trouble that follows her students. This rollercoaster of a story is packed full of twisting secrets and long-awaited revenge. From the same author who brought you Never Lie and The Housemaid, Freida McFadden’s The Teacher is a mind-bending psychological thriller with an underlying lesson of: trust no one.
8. Bride by Ali Hazelwood
This new swoon-worthy paranormal romance from TikTok sensation Ali Hazelwood is a love novel you’ll really be able to sink your teeth into. Bride tells the story of a dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride Misery Larke, and an Alpha Werewolf Lowe Moreland. Misery has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between their mortal enemies – the Weres. Misery must sacrifice the comforts of her life after agreeing to this marriage, leaving her to live a life alone – with the wolves.
9. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
Written by New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Publisher's Weekly, and Amazon Charts bestselling author Freida McFadden – who also happens to be a practising physician specialising in brain injury – renowned for multiple bestselling psychological thrillers and medical humour novels, comes her latest release: The Housemaid. A suspenseful read told through the eyes of the Winchesters’ new housemaid, who soon discovers that the affluent family holds dangerous secrets – that are far more dangerous than her own.
10. Never Lie by Freida McFadden
Currently the #1 best seller on the Medical Thrillers list, is Freida McFadden’s Never Lie. During a visit to a remote manor while on their search for the home of their dreams, newlyweds Tricia and Ethan become trapped after a violent snowstorm leaves them no choice but to stay in the estate while it passes. The couple soon discover the mysterious origins of the house and its renowned psychiatrist owner, who kept countless patients' records in a secret room. Through Tricia’s curiosity, she unveils a dark truth, far more sinister than she and Ethan could have ever imagined.
11. None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell
This gripping psychological thriller narrates the story of two contrasting women – Alix and Josie – who, by a twist of fate, discover they share the same birthday and were born at the same hospital. Alix agrees to interview Josie for a new podcast series, but it’s not long before things take a sinister turn. It's an unsettling but addictive read that has nail-biting suspense.
12. Tomorrow & Tomorrow & Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
A love story as you’ve never known before, Gabrielle Zevin’s novel spans thirty years, multiple states and cities, and the relationship between two childhood friends whose shared love of video games links their lives forever. A tale of technology, the human experience, and the universality of craving connection, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow will take your breath away.
13. If Only I Had Told Her by Laura Nowlin
If you love an emotional read, this deeply moving novel should be next on your list. An authentic and raw portrait of love, regret, and the unexpected relationships that change our lives, If Only I Had Told Her is a character-driven story told through three different perspectives. You'll be sobbing from page one.
14. Long Island by Colm Tóibín
From beloved, critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Colm Tóibín comes the moving and intense novel of secrecy, misunderstanding, and love: Long Island. A sequel to Tóibín’s bestselling novel Brooklyn, Long Island follows the life of an Irish-born Eilis Lacey, who’s happily living with her husband Tony and their two children. The entire meaning of her life is questioned one day when an Irish man arrives at her door, who reveals a truth that makes her feel further from home than ever.
15. Butter by Asako Yuzuki
This cult Japanese bestseller centres around Gourmet cook Manako Kajii, who sits in Tokyo Detention Centre for the conviction of a series of murders targeted at lonely businessmen who she has said to have seduced with their delicious home cooking. Capturing the attention and imagination of a nation, Kajii refuses to speak with anyone outside the confines of the detention centre, until journalist Rika Machida writes a letter asking for a recipe, and Kajii can’t resist writing back.
16. Funny Story by Emily Henry
Rom-com lovers rejoice! Emily Henry – one of the genre’s reigning queens and the mastermind behind global bestsellers like Beach Read and Happy Place – is back with a heartwarming tale about a happily-ever-after that wasn’t. Stranded in a too-small town over one sizzling summer, Funny Story follows Daphne, who got tossed to the side when her ex-fiancé Peter left her for a “happily ever after” with his childhood best friend Petra. When Daphne unexpectedly winds up sharing an apartment with Petra’s own former fiancé, Miles, the pair plot to fake a relationship on Instagram to get their exes’ attention. A fool-proof plan where no one falls for the other? Perhaps not – but that’s all the better for us, we say.
