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Best Books for Dad 2024

Father’s Day is a time to celebrate the men in our lives who have raised and loved us. Why not show him your appreciation by inspiring him with a great book? In our 19th annual "Best Books for Dad" contest, we have a selection of books that are perfect gift-giving suggestions for Dad, keeping him busy through the rest of the year. Five readers will be awarded a copy of each of our seven featured titles.

This year's prize books are:

End-of-the-Year Contest 2023

Congratulations to the winners of our 2023 End-of-the-Year Contest! One reader received all 44 of Carol Fitzgerald's Bookreporter.com Bets On picks from 2023, while 11 others won four of these titles. You can see all the winners below, along with 2023's Bets On selections.

If you would like to know more about these books, be sure to check out this video and podcast where Carol talks about each of her 44 picks.

Week of May 20, 2024

Paperback releases for the week of May 20th include THE RIVER WE REMEMBER, a dazzling stand-alone novel from William Kent Krueger, in which a small Minnesota town is rocked by the murder of its most powerful citizen, pouring fresh fuel on old grievances; Alice Hoffman's THE INVISIBLE HOUR, an enchanting novel about love, heartbreak, self-discovery and the enduring magic of books; THE ONLY ONE LEFT by Riley Sager, a Gothic chiller about a young caregiver assigned to work for a woman accused of a Lizzie Borden-like massacre decades earlier; THE BEACH AT SUMMERLY, a ravishing summer read from Beatriz Williams that sweeps readers back to a mid-century New England rich with secrets and Cold War intrigue; and I AM HOMELESS IF THIS IS NOT MY HOME, Lorrie Moore’s first novel since A GATE AT THE STAIRS --- a daring, meditative exploration of love and death, passion and grief, and what it means to be haunted by the past, both by history and the human heart.

William Kent Krueger, author of The River We Remember

On Memorial Day, as the people of Jewel, Minnesota, gather to remember and honor the sacrifice of so many sons in the wars of the past, the half-clothed body of wealthy landowner Jimmy Quinn is found floating in the Alabaster River, dead from a shotgun blast. Investigation of the murder falls to Sheriff Brody Dern, a highly decorated war hero who still carries the physical and emotional scars from his military service. Even before Dern has the results of the autopsy, vicious rumors begin to circulate that the killer must be Noah Bluestone, a Native American WWII veteran who recently has returned to Jewel with a Japanese wife. As suspicions and accusations mount and the town teeters on the edge of more violence, Dern struggles not only to find the truth of Quinn’s murder but also to put to rest the demons from his own past.

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger

On Memorial Day, as the people of Jewel, Minnesota, gather to remember and honor the sacrifice of so many sons in the wars of the past, the half-clothed body of wealthy landowner Jimmy Quinn is found floating in the Alabaster River, dead from a shotgun blast.

Investigation of the murder falls to Sheriff Brody Dern, a highly decorated war hero who still carries the physical and emotional scars from his military service. Even before Dern has the results of the autopsy, vicious rumors begin to circulate that the killer must be Noah Bluestone, a Native American WWII veteran who recently has returned to Jewel with a Japanese wife. As suspicions and accusations mount and the town teeters on the edge of more violence, Dern struggles not only to find the truth of Quinn’s murder but also to put to rest the demons from his own past.

Readers Comment on THE RIVER WE REMEMBER by William Kent Krueger

 

In August, 25 readers won an advance copy of THE RIVER WE REMEMBER by William Kent Krueger, which is now available and will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick. We asked them to read the book and let us know their thoughts on it. We are happy share to their comments with you here. Many thanks to all who took the time to give us such wonderful feedback.

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger

September 2023

THE RIVER WE REMEMBER is one of my three favorite books of the year and the best of William Kent Krueger’s three stand-alone titles. The setting in Kent’s books always becomes a character, and his latest is no exception. Here we start with a river, where the lifeless body of Jimmy Quinn --- a man with a lot of money and countless enemies --- has been found. He has been dead long enough for the catfish to have discovered him.