Best Reads

2025 Best Reads

Each year, Colby Community Library Director Vicky Calmes compiles a list of favorite books.

The list for 2025 contains her top fiction reads, from 50th favorite counting down to #1 best choice.

50. Librarian of Burned Books by Brianna Labuskes
49. Nash Falls by David Baldacci
48. Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
47. Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman
46. River is Waiting by Wally Lamb
45. Jenny Cooper Has a Secret by Joy Fielding
44. Do Not Let Him In by Lisa Jewell
43. The Jackal’s Mistress by Chris Bohjalian
42. Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister
41. Westering Women by Sandra Dallas
40. The Quiet Librarian by Allen Eskens
39. Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club by Martha Hall Kelly
38. Rage by Linda Castillo
37. The Note by Alafair Burke
36. Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421 by T. J. Newman
35. She Did Not See It Coming by Shari Lapena
34. Wayward Girls by Susan Wiggs
33. Husband Missing by Lisa Regan
32. The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros
31. Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
30. You Belong Here by Megan Miranda
29. Penitence by Kristin Kovel
28. Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate
27. See How They Hide by Allison Brennan
26. The Briar Club by Kate Quinn
25. Apostle’s Cove by William Kent Krueger
24. The Medicine Woman of Galveston by Amanda Skenandore
23. The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
22. The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
21. The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave
20. Girl from Devil’s Lake by J. A. Jance
19. Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay
18. We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter
17. The Keeper by Charles Martin (Read the other 4 first)
16. Photograph by Brian Freeman
15. We All Live Here by JoJo Moyes
14. The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen
13. Lotus Shoes by Jane Yang
12. The Girls of Good Fortune by Kristina McMorris
11. Stolen Life of Colette Marceau by Kristin Harmel
10. Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
9. When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén
8. The Lies They Told by Ellen Marie Wiseman
7. Orphan House by Ann Bennett
6. All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
5. Hold Strong by Robert Dugoni
4. The Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri
3. Strangers in Time by David Baldacci
2. Presumed Guilty by Scott Turow (Third book in trilogy)

And my number one pick for 2025…

1. The Widow by John Grisham