Discovery Bus Adults Top 20: 2025Like this list

20 items

• The Madness of Crowds

  Penny, Louise

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  Book 17 of the popular Inspector Gamache series sees Gamache reckoning with the near-assassination of a controversial speaker on a university campus. A twisty murder and resonance with current events made it an easy pick for readers.

• A Season of Harvest

  Snelling, Lauraine

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  This gentle romance, set on the prairie in the latter half of the 19th century, continues the story of the Nielsen sisters. Lauraine Snelling is a Discovery Bus favorite!

• Inheritance

  Roberts, Nora,

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  La Nora, as fans call her, is so popular on the Discovery Bus that half this list could be her books, if we let it! Instead, let's admire the top Nora Roberts book of 2025, a ghost story that offers lots of swoons and not too many scares.

• The Women

  Hannah, Kristin,

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  Book club favorite Kristin Hannah turns her attention to a young woman who joins the Army Nurse Corps during the Vietnam War. Discovery Bus readers checked it out in droves.

• She's Not Sorry

  Kubica, Mary

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  More nurse-centric storytelling pops up in this Mary Kubica thriller, where an ICU nurse starts to wonder if her patient was the victim of an attempted murder.

• Remember Me

  : a Ravenswood Novel

  Balogh, Mary,

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  Regency romance fans and Bridgerton binge-watchers checked out the story of Lady Philippa Ware, whose debut season might be marred by old family scandals.

• Long Island

  Tóibín, Colm, 1955-

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  The sequel to Colm Tóibín's marvelous novel Brooklyn, Long Island continues the story of Eilis Lacey. It was a draw for Discovery Bus fans looking for family drama and sensitive writing.

• One More Time for Joy

  Lillard, Amy,

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  The third book in Amy Lillard's Paradise Valley Amish romances is a gentle story of a widow falling for her brother-in-law. It found readers in 2025 looking for stories of new starts in the face of grief.

• Payback in Death

  Robb, J. D., 1950-

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  All right, we're letting one more Nora Roberts book in - but in our defense, the books she writes as J.D. Robb are romantic thrillers. VERY different. Payback in Death was the most popular one on the Discovery Bus, but it wasn't the only one by…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Holly

  King, Stephen, 1947-

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  Holly Gibney, a private detective who's shown up in a number of King's stories and novels, gets her own book. It was the go-to pick for Discovery Bus scares!

• Just Once

  Kingsbury, Karen

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  Fans of Christian fiction have plenty to celebrate in this list! Add to the TBR pile this story of forbidden love on the home front of World War II.

• The Family Upstairs

  a Novel

  Jewell, Lisa,

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  When a young woman finds out the identity of her birth parents, she's opening up a dangerous can of worms...and Discovery Bus readers had to know what happened next!

• Ralph Compton. Red Trail

  Shirley, John, 1953-

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  Discovery Bus readers in need of a good old-fashioned Western went for Red Trail, the story of a cowboy working against the clock to save his land from foreclosure.

• Golden Girl

  Hilderbrand, Elin

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  After dying unexpectedly, Vivi Howe is allowed to watch over her family from the afterlife until the end of the summer. It was a hit with patrons who don't mind a tearjerker.

• The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop

  a Novel

  Flagg, Fannie

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  Fannie Flagg's been writing homespun comedies for decades now, and her fans are legion! Readers revisited the world of Fried Green Tomatoes in this one.

• Imperfect Promise

  Lane, Susanna,

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  A former gunfighter gets the chance to make good, and he takes it. This Old West tale of ranches, bad choices, and forgiveness was a popular choice on the Discovery Bus.

• The Reluctant Countess: A Would-Be Wallflowers Novel

  James, Eloisa

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  Eloisa James' romance novels are full of frothy fun that Discovery Bus readers love, and the second Would-Be Wallflowers book is no exception. A scandalous young woman of the ton catches the attention of a strictly proper earl in this one.

• The Spectacular

  Davis, Fiona, 1966-

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  Dive into the world of the Radio City Rockettes and the criminal underbelly of 1950s NYC in this fast-paced novel by Fiona Davis. It comes recommended by our patrons!

• The Amish Matchmaker

  Lillard, Amy,

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  An Amish romance writer means to set up a widowed friend with a fellow, but she starts falling for him herself. Discovery Bus readers ate up this sweet, faith-filled romance.

• Death of a Spy

  Beaton, M. C.

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  Hamish Macbeth, Highland police sergeant, tracks down a spy network in this cozy mystery. Beaton is a favorite author of many of our patrons, with a slew of both mystery and romance novels.