Recs if you like Beautiful Ugly...

Books We Love from NPR began in 2013, always boasting over 200 books (almost 400 in recent years) featuring genres from memoirs, to cookbooks, to graphic novels, to children’s literature, to nonfiction, to novels. Check out NPR’s website to filter this massive list.

The list is in reverse alphabetical order directly from NPR.

Here's every book so far from BOTM's monthly shortlist since February 2015 for anyone who wants to read them all like I do!

This includes book that have either mystery or thrillers as a primary or secondary genre. If you have recommendations to add please comment and I'll happily add them 💕

Thrillers that will leave you shook.

If we are going to do Qwordy's the Hardest Reading Challenge You'll Ever Do 3.0 - we should probably get some Pagebound badges along the way! I'm specifically going to be adding books from Quests and readalongs that I think matches at least one of these cover prompts: craft, food, motion, biomes/landscapes, animals, weather.

Fiction about writers allegedly stealing manuscripts, ideas, and author identities or perpetrating some kind of con on the public

Thrillers I read or want to read. Variety of authors.

Nominees and winners of every category of the Good Reads Choice Awards for the year of 2025. Some books overlap so they were only entered once.

sometimes the secrets buried under family relationships and everyday routines are unearthed and it goes poorly for everyone involved

Some are a mix of different genres, but all have a definite case of unreliable narrator, which makes everything very interesting.

Highly anticipated new releases to add to your TBR

red herring: 1. a dried smoked herring, which is turned red by the smoke. 2. a clue or piece of information that is, or is intended to be, misleading or distracting. these will make you go on a fishing expedition, if you will. this list will feature books highlighting the second definition.

End of 2025 and 2026 new movie releases based on books

Different genres of books that tackle womanhood, women’s wrongs & rights, women’s rage. All beautifully written & so satisfying. From fantasy to thriller to horror

Mystery and thriller reads planned for 2026

Books I could not put down until I finished

Read the book before the movie comes out