Recommendations based on The Obituary Writerby Ann Hood

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. The Light Between Oceans

    by M.L. Stedman
    A lighthouse keeper and his wife make a heartbreaking decision that has lifelong repercussions.

    Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found, here, Australia, 1926. After four harrowing years fighting on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns home to take a job as the lighthouse ... (Goodreads)

  2. The Book That Matters Most

    by Ann Hood
    A woman joins a book club and chooses a book that matters most to her, leading her on a journey of self-discovery and healing.

    Ava’s twenty-five-year marriage has fallen apart, and her two grown children are pursuing their own lives outside of the country. Ava joins a book group, not only for her love of reading but also out ... (Goodreads)

  3. Orphan Train

    by Christina Baker Kline
    A story of two women's intertwined lives, spanning generations and crossing continents.

    The #1 New York Times Bestseller “A lovely novel about the search for family that also happens to illuminate a fascinating and forgotten chapter of America’s history. Beautiful.”—Ann Packer Moving ... (Barnes & Noble)

  4. Calling Me Home

    by Julie Kibler
    An interracial friendship between two women, challenged by the realities of racial prejudice.

    Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler is a soaring debut interweaving the story of a heartbreaking, forbidden love in 1930s Kentucky with an unlikely modern-day friendship. Eighty-nine-year-old Isabelle ... (Goodreads)

  5. Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald

    by Therese Anne Fowler
    A reimagining of the life of the iconic Jazz Age socialite and her tempestuous marriage with F. Scott Fitzgerald.

    A dazzling novel that captures all of the romance, glamour, and tragedy of the first flapper, Zelda Fitzgerald. When beautiful, reckless Southern belle Zelda Sayre meets F. Scott Fitzgerald at a ... (Goodreads)

  6. Nobody's Fool

    by Richard Russo
    Sully, a 60-year-old handyman, navigates life in a small town, dealing with family drama and personal struggles.

    Richard Russo's slyly funny and moving novel follows the unexpected operation of grace in a deadbeat town in upstate New York—and in the life of one of its unluckiest citizens, Sully, who has been ... (Goodreads)

  7. Betrayed

    by Lisa Scottoline
    A legal thriller about a lawyer who discovers her firm's involvement in a Ponzi scheme and must decide whether to betray her colleagues or stay silent.

    The women of Rosato & Associates return, after the relaunch of the series that started with Accused. This second entry, Betrayed , stars Judy Carrier, who has had the starring role in only one ... (Goodreads)

  8. The Invention of Wings

    by Sue Monk Kidd
    A powerful story about a girl's journey to freedom, despite the limitations of slavery.

    Writing at the height of her narrative and imaginative gifts, Sue Monk Kidd presents a masterpiece of hope, daring, the quest for freedom, and the desire to have a voice in the world—and it is now ... (Goodreads)

  9. Bel Canto

    by Ann Patchett
    A story of redemption and transformation amidst a hostage crisis.

    Set in an unspecified South American country, , the story begins at a birthday party thrown at the country's vice presidential home in honor of Katsumi Hosokawa, the visiting chairman of a large ... (Wikipedia)

  10. The Knitting Circle

    by Ann Hood
    A group of women come together to knit and share their stories of loss, grief, and healing.

    After the sudden loss of her only child, Mary Baxter joins a knitting circle in Providence, Rhode Island, as a way to fill the empty hours and lonely days. The women welcome her, each teaching Mary a ... (Goodreads)

  11. The Light in the Ruins

    by Chris Bohjalian
    A haunting tale of a family's struggle to survive during WWII and the aftermath of a murder investigation in post-war Italy.

    From the New York Times bestselling author of Midwives and The Sandcastle Girls comes a spellbinding novel of love, despair, and revenge—set in war-ravaged Tuscany. 1943: Tucked away in the idyllic ... (Goodreads)

  12. Beautiful Ruins

    by Jess Walter
    A romantic story of fate, secrets, and destiny, spanning from Italy in the 1960s to present day.

    "The best novel of the year." — Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Air A #1 New York Times bestseller, this “absolute masterpiece” (Richard Russo) is the story of an almost-love affair that begins on the ... (Goodreads)

  13. The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend

    by Katarina Bivald
    A young woman's journey of self-discovery and finding her place in the world.

    Once you let a book into your life, the most unexpected things can happen... Broken Wheel, Iowa, has never seen anyone like Sara, who traveled all the way from Sweden just to meet her pen pal, Amy. ... (Goodreads)

  14. The Language of Flowers

    by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
    A young woman's journey of healing and redemption through the power of flowers.

    The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in ... (Goodreads)

  15. The Storyteller

    by Jodi Picoult
    A storyteller's quest to restore faith in the power of storytelling and to mend the wounds of her past.

    25-year-old Sage Singer lives in the small town of Westerbrook, New Hampshire . , A couple of years before the story began, Sage and her mother were in a car accident while Sage was driving. Sage's ... (Wikipedia)

  16. Ordinary Grace

    by William Kent Krueger
    A Midwestern family's journey of grief and healing, grappling with tragedy and the power of grace.

    “That was it. That was all of it. A grace so ordinary there was no reason at all to remember it. Yet I have never across the forty years since it was spoken forgotten a single word.” New Bremen, ... (Goodreads)

  17. The House Girl

    by Tara Conklin
    A story of two women, a present-day lawyer and a 19th Century slave, and the search for justice in a complex world.

    A stunning debut novel of love, family, and justice that intertwines the stories of an escaped house slave in 1852 Virginia and ambitious young lawyer in contemporary New York Virginia, 1852. ... (Goodreads)

  18. The Ship of Brides

    by Jojo Moyes
    A group of war brides sail from Australia to England on an aircraft carrier, facing challenges and forming unexpected bonds.

    From the, New York Times, bestselling author of, The Giver of Stars, in an earlier work available in the U.S. for the first time, a post-WWII story of the war brides who crossed the seas by the ... (Goodreads)

  19. Rules of Civility

    by Amor Towles
    An ambitious young woman looks to make her mark in 1930s New York, learning the complex rules of high society.

    This sophisticated and entertaining first novel presents the story of a young woman whose life is on the brink of transformation. On the last night of 1937, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent is in a ... (Goodreads)

  20. Delicious!

    by Ruth Reichl
    A food critic's exploration of the culinary world, showcasing the beauty of gourmet food.

    In her bestselling memoirs Ruth Reichl has long illuminated the theme of how food defines us, and never more so than in her dazzling fiction debut about sisters, family ties, and a young woman who ... (Goodreads)

  21. Mr. Mercedes

    by Stephen King
    Detective investigates a series of murders by a maniacal driver in a stolen Mercedes.

    Many jobless people are standing in line for a job fair , but then a Mercedes plows into the crowd, killing sixteen and severely injuring many. Bill Hodges, a recently retired detective from the ... (Wikipedia)

  22. Cutting for Stone

    by Abraham Verghese
    A sweeping journey of two twin brothers and their search for identity, belonging and family.

    The story is told by the protagonist, Marion Stone. He and his conjoined twin Shiva are born at Mission Hospital (called "Missing" in accordance with the local pronunciation), Addis Ababa , in ... (Wikipedia)

  23. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

    by Beth Hoffman
    A young girl's journey of self-discovery, gaining strength and resilience in the face of adversity.

    Twelve-year-old CeeCee is in trouble. For years she’s been the caretaker of her psychotic mother, Camille— the crown-wearing, lipstick-smeared laughingstock of an entire town. Though it’s 1967 and ... (Goodreads)

  24. Girl in Hyacinth Blue

    by Susan Vreeland
    A painting's journey across time, connecting with its owners and revealing its secrets.

    A professor invites a colleague from the art department to his home to view a painting he has kept secret for decades in Susan Vreeland's powerful historical novel, Girl in Hyacinth Blue . The ... (Goodreads)

  25. The Aviator's Wife

    by Melanie Benjamin
    A woman's emotional journey of growth and self-discovery, learning to stand on her own.

    In the spirit of, Loving Frank, and, The Paris Wife, acclaimed novelist Melanie Benjamin pulls back the curtain on the marriage of one of America’s most extraordinary couples: Charles Lindbergh and ... (Goodreads)

  26. Pope Joan

    by Donna Woolfolk Cross
    A story of a female Pope's rise to power in a male-dominated world.

    Joan, the daughter of a priest and his Saxon wife, is born in 814 as the last of three children. When he discovers that Joan has learned to read, her father calls her “child of the devil” and blames ... (Wikipedia)

  27. The Winds of War

    by Herman Wouk
    The story of a family caught in the middle of World War II and their struggles to survive.

    Like no other masterpiece of historical fiction, Herman Wouk's sweeping epic of World War II is the great novel of America's Greatest Generation. , Wouk's spellbinding narrative captures the tide of ... (Barnes & Noble)

  28. The Little Paris Bookshop

    by Nina George
    A heartbroken bookseller sails through France on a literary journey to heal his own broken heart.

    “There are books that are suitable for a million people, others for only a hundred. There are even remedies—I mean books—that were written for one person only…A book is both medic and medicine at ... (Goodreads)

  29. Duma Key

    by Stephen King
    A man moves to a remote island to recover from a traumatic accident and discovers his artistic talent has a dark power.

    Wealthy Minnesotan building-contractor Edgar Freemantle barely survives a severe work-site accident wherein his truck is crushed by a crane. Freemantle loses his right arm, and suffers severe head ... (Wikipedia)

  30. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

    by David Wroblewski
    An epic tale of family and loyalty set in a rural Wisconsin landscape.

    Forte's Children Edgar comes from a line of dog breeders. After buying a farm, his grandfather, John Sawtelle, rents out the farmland and starts dog breeding . He and his wife have two sons, Edgar's ... (Wikipedia)