Open Books Challenge 2026: About a Missing Person or ObjectUnpublished

Share

Print

To what extent does our knowledge of the past rely upon written sources? And what happens when these sources are destroyed? Focusing on the manuscripts of the Middle Ages, History in Flames explores cases in which large volumes of written material were destroyed during a single day. This destruction...

A man with a mysterious past must find a missing teenage girl in this shocking thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Run Away. Thirty years ago, Wilde was found as a boy living feral in the woods, with no memory of his past....

A Goodreads Top 60 Book of the Last 5 Years Don't miss the #1 New York Times bestselling blockbuster and Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick that's sold 5 million copies strong--now an Apple TV+ limited series starring Jennifer Garner! The "page-turning,...

If you loved THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN, don't miss this sensational suspense thriller, that will keep you guessing to the very end . . . Her truth is only half the story . . . Megan McDonald is a high school senior when she disappears from the small town of Emerson Bay. Miraculously, after...

A riveting history and maritime adventure about priceless masterpieces originally destined for Catherine the Great. On October 1771, a merchant ship out of Amsterdam,  Vrouw Maria, crashed off the stormy Finnish coast, taking her historic...

Life in Marblehead has had a pleasant predictability, until Diesel arrives. Rumor has it that a collection of priceless ancient relics representing the Seven Deadly Sins have made their way to Boston's North Shore. Partnered with pastry chef Lizzie Tucker, Diesel bullies and charms his way...

"Fierce, lyrical, and unrelentingly intimate . . . This is a story about hauntings both literal and inherited, a child gone missing, and the women who carry everything that came before. Faust doesn't just bend form--he breaks it open. --Morgan Talty, national bestselling author of Night of the...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Two women haunted by their sisters' unsolved disappearances band together in this captivating mystery from the author of All Good People Here and host of the #1 true crime podcast Crime Junkie. "A propulsive mystery with...

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The "mercilessly entertaining" (Vanity Fair) instant classic "about the nature of identity and the terrible secrets that can survive and thrive in even the most intimate relationships" (Lev Grossman, Time "One of the Best Books of the Decade")...

The bestselling debut, with over a million copies sold, that launched Tana French, author of the forthcoming novel The Hunter and "the most important crime novelist to emerge in the past 10 years" (The Washington Post).  "Required reading for anyone who...

Flora Dane is a victim.  Seven years ago, carefree college student Flora was kidnapped while on spring break. For 472 days, Flora learned just how much one person can endure. Flora Dane is a survivor. Miraculously alive after her ordeal, Flora has...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2025 * THE WASHINGTON POST'S 5 BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF 2025 * THE ATLANTIC'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF 2025 * THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY'S BEST BOOKS OF 2025 * TIME MAGAZINE'S BEST BOOKS OF 2025 * NPR'S BEST BOOKS...

"When I'm faced with a Pilkey fan looking to branch out, this graphic novel is the first book I reach for... If eight books aren't enough, the spinoff series, Agents of S.U.I.T., continues the fun." ―The New York Times With more than four million copies in...

A woman receives an unexpected visitor during a deadly snowstorm in this chilling thriller from New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf She thought she was alone... True crime writer Wylie Lark doesn't mind being snowed in...

The second book in the Greystone Secrets series from the master of plot twists, Margaret Peterson Haddix--perfect for fans of A Wrinkle in Time and The City of Ember, now available in paperback! Until their mother vanished, the Greystone kids--Chess, Emma, and Finn--knew nothing about the...

A New York Times Bestselling AuthorTwo brothers meet at the remote fence line separating their cattle ranches in the lonely outback of Queensland. The third brother lies dead at their feet. Something caused Cam, the middle child who had been in charge of the family homestead, to die alone in the...

In the war-torn London of 1939, fourteen-year-old Hazel and five-year-old Flora are evacuated to a rural village to escape the horrors of the Second World War. Living with the kind Bridie Aberdeen and her teenage son, Harry, in a charming stone cottage along the River Thames, Hazel fills their days...

Full of character, wit, and wisdom, The Keeper of Lost Things is heartwarming tale that will enchant fans of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, Garden Spells, Mrs Queen Takes the Train, and The Silver Linings Playbook. Lime green plastic flower-shaped hair...

From the author of Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets and They're Watching You, a compelling new thriller! Last summer, they searched for Audrey Covington. This summer, they'll search for the truth. Paige Redmond has always felt lucky to spend her summers in...

" Detective Chelsey Calhoun's life is turned upside down when she gets the call Ellie Black, a girl who disappeared years earlier, has resurfaced in the woods of Washington state--but Ellie's reappearance leaves Chelsey with more questions than answers. ...

A New York Times Bestselling Author A LibraryReads Pick Ten years after her teenage daughter disappears, a woman crosses paths with a charming single father whose young child feels eerily familiar. The unanswered questions she's tried so hard to put to rest begin to haunt Laurel anew...

When Devils Sing is a rural, atmospheric YA horror, perfect for fans of Stephen King. In the shadows of a small Georgia town, four unlikely allies must unravel the sinister secrets behind a local teen's disappearance during the eerie Cicada Festival. When...

A return from the past knocks a family dangerously off-balance in a novel of spiraling suspense by Washington Post and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Minka Kent. Merritt Coletto and her husband, Luca, have the life they dreamed of: a coastal home, a promising...

The Bram Stoker Prize-winner for Best Fiction Collection - four riveting, dark stories from Stephen King that will 'grab you and not let go' (Washington Post). At midnight comes the point of balance. Of danger. The instant of utter stillness when between two beats of...

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER--OVER A MILLION COPIES SOLD! "Dark and twisty, with white-knuckle tension and jaw-dropping surprises." --Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of Home Before Dark In this smart and chilling...

From an award-winning former law enforcement park ranger and investigator, this female-driven true crime adventure follows the author's quest to find missing hikers along the Pacific Crest Trail by pairing up with an eclectic group of unlikely allies.  ​  

An intense psychological thriller for readers of I Am Watching You,The Luckiest Girl Alive, and All the Missing Girls. Two missing girls. Thirteen years apart. Olivia Shaw has been missing since last Tuesday. She was last seen outside the entrance of...

Some five hundred years ago, Sandro Botticelli, a painter of humble origin, created works of unearthly beauty. A star of Florence's art world, he was commissioned by a member of the city's powerful Medici family to execute a near-impossible project: to illustrate all one hundred cantos of The...

Long heralded as a city treasure herself, expert "mudlarker" Lara Maiklem is uniquely trained in the art of seeking. Tirelessly trekking across miles of the Thames' muddy shores, where others only see the detritus of city life, Maiklem unearths evidence of England's captivating, if sometimes...

OLIVIA. 22 years old. Last seen on CCTV, entering a dead-end alley. And not coming back out again. Missing for one day and counting . . . Julia is the detective heading up the case. She knows what to expect. A desperate family, a ticking clock, and long hours away from her children.

NATIONAL BEST SELLER * A NEW YORK TIMES BEST CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR * GMA BUZZ PICK * "A bravura feat of storytelling...daring and completely satisfying." --James Patterson, #1 best-selling author A PULSE-POUNDING PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER ABOUT A SERIAL KILLER NARRATED BY THOSE...

A MISSING GIRL. AN ORPHANAGE FILLED WITH SECRETS. Hazel wants a new life. She's thirty years old, single, and her private investigation business is months away from folding. Her luck takes a turn when Madeline Hemsley, a mysterious socialite, pays Hazel...

***A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*** A New York Times Book Review "Editors' Choice" Entertainment Weekly -- Thriller Round-Up The Wall Street Journal -- 5 Killer Books Hollywood Reporter -- Hot Summer Books...16 Must Reads

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER and ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES'S NOTABLE BOOKS OF THE YEAR A NEW YORK TIMES "BEST THRILLER" and "BEST CRIME NOVEL" OF THE YEAR PEOPLE MAGAZINE'S #1 BOOK OF THE YEAR "Extraordinary . . ....

AN ELLE AND ELECTRIC LIT BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR * The Grand Paloma Resort is a lush paradise in the Dominican Republic where the guests enjoy incredible luxury, and the staff is always eager to please--that is, until they are pushed to the brink. Laura is a local...

Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2020, an enthralling Orwellian novel about the terrors of state surveillance from one of Japan's greatest writers. 'Beautiful... Haunting' Sunday Times 'A dreamlike story of dystopia' Jia Tolentino __...

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The unmissable new mystery in the Thursday Murder Club series from bestselling author Richard Osman, now streaming on Netflix Who's got time to think about murder when there's a wedding to plan? It's been a quiet year for the...

Don't miss the #1 New York Times bestselling thriller from the world's bestselling author, James Patterson: an "undeniably gripping ride through the hidden passageways of power and politics" that "moves like Air Force One" (Michael Connelly). The...

Sarah, his personal chef. Anna, his wife. Serena, his maid. All three had access to a murder victim's home. And all three women are missing.  Sarah, his personal chef Anna, his wife Serena, his maid Accountant Anthony Costello has...

A charming, tongue-in-cheek picture book about a mole who exchanges his chef's apron for a detective's trench coat and sets out to solve his first case! Oscar is a whiz in the kitchen, but he's always dreamed of being a detective. When a squirrel is reported...

"This absolute gem of a novel sparkles with creativity."--Booklist starred review It is 1903, and Lily Temple is a beautiful silent-film actress who spins fairy tales and plays frivolous roles in front of the cine-camera. But beneath the costumes and stage makeup...

Detective Josie Quinn desperately chases a killer hidden within her close-knit town before they claim another victim in this USA Today bestselling thriller that "keeps the dramatic reveals coming" (Publishers Weekly). The little girl...

Nominated for theEdgar Award for Best Fact Crime! This is the shocking and amazing true story of the first female U.S. District Attorney and traveling detective who found missing 18-year-old Ruth Cruger when the entire NYPD had given up. Mrs....

Why would a man escape from prison the day before he's due to be released? Audie Palmer has spent a decade in prison for an armed robbery in which four people died, including two of the gang. Seven million dollars has never been recovered and everybody believes that Audie knows...

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In the latest jaw-dropping thriller from New York Times bestselling author Riley Sager, a man must contend with the long-ago disappearance of his childhood best friend--and the dark secrets lurking just beyond the safe confines...

From award-winning creator Felicita Sala comes a whimsical adventure about a child who's determined to recover all his misplaced belongings, wherever they may be A baseball cap. A special sweater covered in dogs. A marble collection. The baseball cap, again. Pablo...

"My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973." So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, even as she is watching life on earth continue...

From bestselling author Chelsea Sedoti comes a comedic young adult mystery with "one of the most relatable characters in recent young adult literature" (Book Page), perfect for fans of John Green and Jandy Nelson. Hawthorn Creely's not one to get involved in other people's business. But a missing...

A misanthropic matriarch leaves her eccentric family in crisis when she mysteriously disappears in this "whip-smart and divinely funny" novel that inspired the movie starring Cate Blanchett (New York Times). Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's...

Lee Child says it's "stunning... certain to be a book of the year."   Kathy Reichs calls it "extraordinary... a major achievement." Jeffery Deaver says that "fiction doesn't get any better than this."   Gillian Flynn says of...

On the day she was abducted, Annie O'Sullivan, a thirty-two year old realtor, had three goals--sell a house, forget about a recent argument with her mother, and be on time for dinner with her ever- patient boyfriend. The open house is slow, but when her last visitor pulls up in a van...

"Transported me effortlessly...Haunting, harrowing and heartbreaking, this is a novel that will stay with you." --Ashley Audrain, New York Times bestselling author of The Push "A ghost story and fantastically gripping psychological investigation rolled into one. It...

A laugh-through-your-tears middle grade novel about what it's like to lose something precious. For fans of the Three Rancheros series by Kate DiCamillo. A necklace. A bugle. A lion statue. What do they have to do with each other? Absolutely nothing unless you're Tildy, Leon, or...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD * From the author of We Begin at the End comes a soaring thriller and an epic love story that "hits like a sledgehammer . . . an absolutely must-read novel" (Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl). Read...

AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER  An unforgettable suspense novel that combines the storytelling talents of Academy Award-winning actor Reese Witherspoon and internationally bestselling author Harlan Coben. Gone Before Goodbye...

For fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and Veronica Mars, this whip-smart YA debut crime thriller follows a sapphic detective agency seeking the truth behind a growing trail of missing girls in their hometown ... 'Promises teenage sapphic detectives and...

Pre-order Evie Woods' new book The Violin Maker's Secret now, out in February 2026! The Echo of Old Books meets The Lost Apothecary in this evocative and charming novel full of mystery and secrets. 'The thing about books,' she said 'is that they help you to imagine a...