Five star reads of 2025

By blog guest, our reviewer Vicki Rock

Since 2025 is over, it’s time to look back on the books I’ve enjoyed most this past year, listed in order of publication. All the books I review are available at the library and if you click on a title in this list you can go to the catalog to place a hold on the book. I hope you find books you really enjoy on this list.

Five Star Reads of 2025:

• Presumed Guilty, by Scott Turow, Grand Central Publishing. A retired judge’s fiancée’s son is arrested for murdering his girlfriend.

• The Quiet Librarian, by Allen Eskens, Mulholland Books. The war in Bosnia and its aftermath.

• Famous Last Words, by Gillian McAllister, William Morrow. A complicated crime and a complicated marriage.

• The Jackal's Mistress, by Chris Bohjalian, Doubleday. During the Civil War, a woman in Virginia saves a Union soldier.

• The Paris Express, by Emma Donoghue,‎ Summit Books. People on board a train to Paris in 1895.

• Marble Hall Murders, by Anthony Horowitz, Harper. A man writes a novel suggesting that his grandmother was murdered.

• My Friends, by Fredrik Backman, translated by Neil Smith, Atria Books. A novel about friendship and grief.

• Never Flinch, by Stephen King, Scribner. Someone threatens to murder 14 people in retribution.

• King of Ashes, by S.A. Cosby, Flatiron Books: Pine & Cedar. Roman Carruthers is summoned home to Jefferson Run, Virginia after his father’s car accident.

• Knave of Diamonds, by Laurie R. King, Bantam. Mary Russell’s long-lost ne’er-do-well uncle shows up.

• The Frozen People, by Elly Griffiths, Pamela Dorman Books. Time-traveling detectives investigate cold cases.

• The View From Lake Como, by Adriana Trigiani, Dutton. A woman travels to Italy to find herself.

• Coded Justice, by Stacey Abrams, Doubleday. A company’s plan to use artificial intelligence in medical care.

• We Are All Guilty Here, by Karin Slaughter, William Morrow. Two teenage girls are missing.

• Son, by Johana Gustawsson and Thomas Enger, Orenda Books. A psychologist disagrees with police who arrested someone for murder.

• Vianne, by Joanne Harris, Pegasus Books. A prequel to the “Chocolat” series.

• The Girl with Ice in Her Veins,” by Karin Smirnoff, translated by Sarah Death, Knopf. The continuation of The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo.

• A Slowly Dying Cause, by Elizabeth George, Viking. Who killed the owner of a tin and pewter mining company?

• Circle of Days, by Ken Follett, Grand Central Publishing. The building of Stonehenge.

• The Killing Stones, by Ann Cleeves, Minotaur Books. Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez investigates the murder of his long-time friend.

• The Girl from Devil's Lake, by J.A. Jance, William Morrow. A sheriff’s department investigates a murder.

• Sharp Force, by Patricia Cornwell, Grand Central Publishing. A serial killer is terrorizing Northern Virginia.

• The Widow, by John Grisham, Doubleday. A lawyer is arrested for murdering a client.

• The Proving Ground, by Michael Connelly, Little, Brown and Company. A technology company is sued when a teenager commits murder.

• Nash Falls, by David Baldacci, Grand Central Publishing. A man is out for revenge.

• At Midnight Comes the Cry, by Julia Spencer-Fleming, Minotaur Books. The Rev. Clare Fergusson and her husband, Russ van Alstyne, look for a missing friend.

• Silent Bones, by Val McDermid, Atlantic Crime. A severe storm reveals the remains of a man suspected of having murdered his fiancé.

In addition to what I consider as the five-stars books of the year, many other good books were published. Thanks to the publishers who approve my requests for review books;

Terri Foster, director of the Meyersdale Public Library, for posting my reviews; and to everyone who reads my reviews. I hope you find some books on this list that you enjoy.