Recommendations based on Heading Out to Wonderfulby Robert Goolrick

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. A Land More Kind Than Home

    by Wiley Cash
    An exploration of the rural American South, casting a spotlight on the bonds of family and the power of faith.

    In his phenomenal debut novel—a mesmerizing literary thriller about the bond between two brothers and the evil they face in a small North Carolina town—author Wiley Cash displays a remarkable talent ... (Barnes & Noble)

  2. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

    by Rachel Joyce
    An elderly man's unexpected quest of faith, discovering the power of hope and love.

    Harold Fry, 65, has cut the lawn outside his home at Kingsbridge on the south coast of Devon when he receives a letter. A colleague of twenty years ago, Queenie Hennessy, has cancer and is in a ... (Wikipedia)

  3. A Reliable Wife

    by Robert Goolrick
    A dark tale of deception, secrecy and manipulation between two strangers in rural Wisconsin.

    Rural Wisconsin, 1909. In the bitter cold, Ralph Truitt, a successful businessman, stands alone on a train platform waiting for the woman who answered his newspaper advertisement for "a reliable ... (Barnes & Noble)

  4. The Hour I First Believed

    by Wally Lamb
    A teacher's life is shattered by the Columbine shooting, leading to a journey of self-discovery and healing.

    When high school teacher Caelum Quirk and his wife, Maureen, move to Littleton, Colorado, they both get jobs at Columbine High School. In April 1999, while Caelum is away, Maureen finds herself in ... (Barnes & Noble)

  5. A Piece of the World

    by Christina Baker Kline
    A woman's journey of self-discovery as she comes to terms with a painting that made her famous.

    A New York Times bestseller. "Exquisite. A must-read.” —Kristin Hannah From the #1, New York Times, bestselling author of the smash bestseller, Orphan Train, a stunning and atmospheric novel of ... (Barnes & Noble)

  6. The Light Between Oceans

    by M.L. Stedman
    A lighthouse keeper and his wife make a heartbreaking decision that has lifelong repercussions.

    Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found, here, Australia, 1926. After four harrowing years fighting on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns home to take a job as the lighthouse ... (Goodreads)

  7. The Door

    by Magda Szabó
    A mysterious doorkeeper guards the door between two worlds, changing the lives of two women.

    The novel begins with Magda, the narrator, recounting the recurring dream that haunts her in her old age. As Magda explains, after waking up from this dream, she is forced to face the fact that "I ... (Wikipedia)

  8. Summer Nights

    by Susan Mallery
    A heartwarming story of two people finding love in a small town during summer.

    Horse whisperer Shane Stryker is done with passion. This time around, he's determined to meet someone who will be content with the quiet life of a rancher's wife. And the fiery, pint-size redhead who ... (Goodreads)

  9. Ahab's Wife, or The Star-Gazer

    by Sena Jeter Naslund
    A woman's journey of self-discovery, defying society's expectations and finding her own path.

    A magnificent, vast, and enthralling saga, Sena Jeter Naslund's Ahab's Wife is a remarkable epic spanning a rich, eventful, and dramatic life. Inspired by a brief passage in Moby Dick , it is the ... (Goodreads)

  10. The Hand of Chaos

    by Margaret Weis
    A young man with magical powers must navigate a dangerous world of politics and power struggles to save his kingdom.

    Samah has opened Death's Gate, allowing the dangerous dragon-snakes unfettered access to all four worlds. Haplo is too exhausted to capture Samah, so he returns to the Nexus and reports to Xar, his ... (Wikipedia)

  11. Home Safe

    by Elizabeth Berg
    A widow struggles to come to terms with her husband's death while navigating the complexities of family relationships and personal identity.

    In this new novel, beloved bestselling author Elizabeth Berg weaves a beautifully written and richly resonant story of a mother and daughter in emotional transit. Helen Ames–recently widowed, coping ... (Goodreads)

  12. A Tale for the Time Being

    by Ruth Ozeki
    An exploration of the connections between two lives, bridging time, space and cultures.

    In Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao has decided there’s only one escape from her aching loneliness and her classmates’ bullying, but before she ends it all, Nao plans to document the life of her ... (Goodreads)

  13. Shade

    by Jeri Smith-Ready
    Aura can see ghosts, but when she meets a Scottish musician who died in the 1950s, she discovers a secret that could change everything.

    Aura can see ghosts. Born after the Shift, a little-understood event that enabled younger generations to communicate with the dead, Aura is relentlessly pursued by these violet-hued spirits. They ... (Barnes & Noble)

  14. Before We Were Yours

    by Lisa Wingate
    Family torn apart is reunited across generations, revealing a powerful tale of resilience and hope.

    Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the ... (Goodreads)

  15. Orphan Train

    by Christina Baker Kline
    A story of two women's intertwined lives, spanning generations and crossing continents.

    The #1 New York Times Bestseller “A lovely novel about the search for family that also happens to illuminate a fascinating and forgotten chapter of America’s history. Beautiful.”—Ann Packer Moving ... (Barnes & Noble)

  16. Summerland

    by Elin Hilderbrand
    A family drama set in Nantucket, where a mother's sudden death brings her family together to confront their past and present relationships.

    A warm June evening, a local tradition: the students of Nantucket High have gathered for a bonfire on the beach. What begins as a graduation night celebration ends in tragedy after a horrible car ... (Goodreads)

  17. Chaos

    by Patricia Cornwell
    Forensic pathologist Dr. Kay Scarpetta investigates a series of murders with a mysterious connection to her past.

    “When it comes to the forensic sciences, nobody can touch Cornwell.” —,New York Times Book Review, [PLEASE BOX:] CHAOS, From the Ancient Greek (χάος or kháos), A vast chasm or void. Anarchy. The ... (Barnes & Noble)

  18. Hot Blooded

    by Lisa Jackson
    A small town is rocked by a series of murders, and the prime suspect is the town's bad boy. But is he really guilty?

    First One Dead Body. . . A prostitute lies strangled in a seedy French Quarter hotel room. Miles away, in a rambling plantation house on the sultry shores of Lake Ponchartrain, popular late-night ... (Barnes & Noble)

  19. Talon

    by Julie Kagawa
    A young dragon shapeshifter struggles to find her place in the world while navigating the dangerous politics of dragon society.

    THE DRAGONS OF TALON: Once hunted nearly to extinction, they are now poised to take over the world. THE ORDER OF ST. GEORGE: The legendary dragonslayers will stop at nothing to wipe dragons from the ... (Goodreads)

  20. Spring Fever

    by Mary Kay Andrews
    Annajane Hudgens attends her ex-husband's wedding and realizes she still has feelings for him.

    First husbands Annajane truly believes she is over her ex-husband, Mason. They've been divorced for four years, she's engaged to a terrific new guy, and she's ready to leave the small North Carolina ... (Goodreads)

  21. Bloodstream

    by Tess Gerritsen
    A medical thriller about a doctor who discovers a deadly virus outbreak in a small town and races to find a cure before it spreads.

    With her acclaimed novels, Harvest, and, Life Support, Tess Gerritsen has injected a powerful dose of adrenaline into the medical thriller. Now, Gerritsen melds page-turning suspense with chilling ... (Goodreads)

  22. Pray for Silence

    by Linda Castillo
    Chief of Police Kate Burkholder investigates a brutal murder in an Amish community, uncovering dark secrets and confronting her own past.

    The Plank family moved from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to join the small Amish community of Painters Mill less than a year ago and seemed the model of the Plain Life—until on a cold October night, the ... (Goodreads)

  23. Our House

    by Louise Candlish
    A couple's house is stolen and sold without their knowledge, leading to a web of lies and secrets.

    On a bright January morning in the London suburbs, a family moves into the house they’ve just bought in Trinity Avenue.,, Nothing strange about that. Except it is your house. And you didn’t sell it., ... (Goodreads)

  24. The Fixer Upper

    by Mary Kay Andrews
    After a messy divorce, Dempsey moves to a small town and renovates a historic house, uncovering secrets and finding love.

    The delightful, New York Times, bestselling author returns with a hilarious novel about one woman's quest to fix up her house . . . and her life , , After a political scandal, fledgling lobbyist ... (Goodreads)

  25. The Other Daughter

    by Lisa Gardner
    A woman discovers she was kidnapped as a child and must confront her past to uncover the truth.

    WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW CAN KILL YOU Twenty years ago, Melanie Stokes was abandoned in a Boston hospital, then adopted by a wealthy couple. Gifted with a loving family, Melanie has always considered ... (Goodreads)

  26. In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner

    by Elizabeth George
    Detective Lynley and Havers investigate a murder in the Lake District, uncovering secrets and lies in a tight-knit community.

    A theatrical producer shoots himself on the night of his greatest triumph. A young woman camping on the Derbyshire moors is bludgeoned to death. A motorcyclist is found stabbed to death in the center ... (Goodreads)

  27. Serpent Mage

    by Margaret Weis
    A young mage must navigate a dangerous world of magic and politics to uncover the truth about her past and save her people.

    In the fourth volume of this epic fantasy, Haplo must outwit lethal and magical serpents in the last of the Four Realms. ... (Goodreads)

  28. Watch Me Disappear

    by Janelle Brown
    A woman disappears on a solo hike, leaving her family to unravel the secrets of her past.

    It’s been a year since Billie Flanagan — a beautiful, charismatic Berkeley mom with an enviable life — went on a solo hike in Desolation Wilderness and vanished from the trail. No body—only a hiking ... (Goodreads)

  29. Patty Jane's House of Curl

    by Lorna Landvik
    Patty Jane and her sister Harriet open a beauty salon in Minnesota, navigating love, loss, and family secrets.

    After Patty Jane's husband leaves her, she and her irrepressible sister, Harriett, open a neighborhood beauty parlor–complete with live harp music and Norwegian baked goods. It's a warmhearted place ... (Goodreads)

  30. The Thread

    by Victoria Hislop
    A journey of two families through 20th century Greece, facing hardships & tragedy.

    A beautiful and epic novel that spans nearly a hundred years, The Thread is a magnificent story of a friendship and a love that endures through the catastrophes and upheavals of the twentieth ... (Goodreads)