secrets

Small Town Stories with Big Secrets and Plenty of Charm

What is it about small-town settings that instantly make a story jump off the page? Is it the secrets? The quirky characters? The fact that everyone knows everything about everyone? For me, in my new novel Summer State of Mind, it’s a little bit of all those things. Plus, when…

Kristy Woodson HarveyMay 1, 2026

Listicles

5 Books About the Lives We Hide

Secrets have a way of shaping the lives we lead — and the ones we leave behind. Stories that explore hidden truths and fractured identities tap into something deeply human: the longing to understand where we come from and how the past continues to echo into the present. For readers…

BookTribApril 29, 2026

Fiction Thrillers

Adriane Leigh’s “Society Women” Unleashes a Chilling Tale of Deception and Revenge

In this powerful memoir, Lyn Barrett recounts her journey through Dissociative Identity Disorder, revealing how a family crisis unearthed her long-buried childhood trauma. Crazy: Reclaiming Life from the Shadow of Traumatic Memory is a story of resilience and transformation — the reclaiming of a life once fragmented by trauma.

Linda HitchcockApril 23, 2026

Fiction Listicles Listicles - Featured

An Unconventional Ride: 8 Daring Novels of Train Travel

You love to travel. No, wait, I’m not overgeneralizing! Hear me out, because I have an argument all prepared. You might have instantly thought, “yes, she read my mind!” Maybe you’re a bold backpacker who is willing to risk the discomfort of hostels in order to get that authentic experience.…

Judy MorenoJanuary 31, 2022

Fiction Listicles

Nine Novels That Will Take You on a Trip Around the World

Road trips are full of fun, adventure and lasting memories. After over a year of being stranded by the pandemic, many of us are anxious to dust off our traveling boots and head … anywhere. While you’re waiting out the restrictions and making your wish lists, what better way to…

Heather WebbJuly 8, 2021

Author Spotlight Fiction

Bestselling Author Kristin Harmel Shines Anew With “The Forest of Vanishing Stars”

An incredibly engaging and addictive read, I highly recommend The Forest of Vanishing Stars (Gallery Books)! Author of recent bestseller The Book of Lost Names and many others, Kristin Harmel brings us the story of Yona, a girl taken from her home in Germany at two years old and raised…

Jennifer BlankfeinSeptember 22, 2021

Fiction Thrillers Thrillers - Featured

Holly Black’s Adult Debut, “Book of Night,” Introduces a World of Irresistible Shadow Magic

Holly Black, author of the highly acclaimed Folk of the Air trilogy, has always been edgy — in a whimsical way — but with her latest release, Book of Night (Tor Books), she embraces a grim, nightmare-fueled setting. And this new darkness suits her. Book of Night centers around Charlie…

Emma LongMay 2, 2022

Book Club Network Fiction Thrillers

“The Devil Wears Prada” Meets “Get Out” in “The Other Black Girl”

In The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris (Atria), 26-year-old editorial assistant Nella Rogers loves her New York City publishing job. She has longed to become an editor at Wagner Books ever since reading their groundbreaking bestseller Burning Heart when she was a teenager. Nella’s dream has come true,…

Jodé MillmanJune 2, 2021

Book Club Network Fiction

Reckoning With Family History Sparks Fire in Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Latest Novel

“Family histories repeat,” and try as we might, “maybe the only fate there is is the temptation of reliving their mistakes.” Perhaps, though, as tempting as it feels to trace over the crooked lines our parents have drawn, we’re free to sketch on fresh paper. Easier said than done, right?…

Chelsea CicconeJune 1, 2021

Book Club Network Fiction

“Dava Shastri’s Last Day” Prompts Her, and Us, To Perform a Personal Perspective Overhaul

Fate is not an option. Instead, she takes charge of the when, where and how — though, as she soon learns, not everything can be so tightly scripted. In Dava Shastri’s Last Day (Grand Central), author Kirthana Ramisetti weaves a world in which the secrets of Dava’s past are free…

Karina Holosko, M.A. English LitNovember 30, 2021

Listicles Young Adult

7 YA Fantasy Novels That Invent Captivating New Creatures

Sometimes you really just need to get out of your own life by getting into a book. A 600-page Russian drama? Not it. A thought-provoking nonfiction book that scares you into believing society truly is doomed? Not it. A cheery positivity book about gratitude? Overcompensating. What’s a reader to do?…

Judy MorenoJanuary 25, 2022

Listicles Thrillers

Beware the Darkness You May Uncover in These 7 Secret Societies

Humanity has been fascinated with the idea of a secret society for centuries. From the Knights Templar of old to the mysterious Illuminati — we simply can’t look away. These organizations are inextricably linked to fantasies of power and prestige, enough so that we can’t help but crave a wax-sealed…

BookTribSeptember 27, 2022

Young Adult

“Walking Among Birds” Offers an Epic Vantage Point of Boarding School Secrets

So, there’s something about birds in the aptly named Walking Among Birds (Magdalen College Press), one of the neatest, niftiest and most intriguing dramas I’ve read this year, from a new young voice and literary talent Matthew Hickson. Right before the book’s pivotal sequence, Hickson writes, “The lights went out…

Jim AlkonMarch 18, 2020

Fiction Fiction - Featured

A Poignant Tale of Pursuing Romance in the Face of Loss and Long-Kept Secrets

When We Let Go (Lake Union Publishing) is a love story for grown-ups, with all the life-stuff grown-ups must deal with — from first loves, shattered hopes and losses to family dynamics and teenaged angst. Rochelle Weinstein is good at telling stories like this. This is her sixth such novel,…

Sherri DaleyAugust 3, 2022

Thrillers

Drugs, Secrets, and Disappearances in “The Woman Inside”

The Woman Inside (Dutton) by E.G. Scott is a story of marriage, prescription drugs, money and secrets. Lots of secrets. At first, you think you’ve got all you need to know about the main characters—their motivations, thoughts, emotions—to deduce the final outcome based on these scatterings sprinkled throughout this well-crafted…

Janice LombardoFebruary 6, 2019

Nonfiction

Author Janet Lombardi Turns Catastrophe into Inspiration in ‘Bankruptcy: A Love Story’

Janet Lombardi experienced plenty of loss and heartbreak over the past seven years. As she wrote Bankruptcy: A Love Story, Janet Lombardi went on a journey of self-discovery, morphing her writing and becoming stronger every day. Here, she talks about her story and writing a memoir. I had a burning desire to write…

BookTrib Guest AuthorApril 10, 2017