| 100% | OPEN | 4 | "___ Season" (first novel by C.J. Box to feature game warden Joe Pickett) |
| 93% | OPENSEASON | 10 | First novel by C.J. Box to feature Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett (2 wds.) |
| 46% | THEDISAPPEARED | 14 | C.J. Box novel featuring Joe Pickett investigating a missing persons case (2 wds.) |
| 45% | BLUEHEAVEN | 10 | C.J. Box novel featuring Joe Pickett that won an Edgar Award for Best Novel (2 wds.) |
| 40% | BALTIMOREBLUES | 14 | First novel by 44-Across to feature 19-Across (2 wds.) |
| 39% | THEJURYMASTER | 13 | First novel by Robert Dugoni to feature fictional lawyer David Sloane (3 wds.) |
| 36% | ROSEANNA | 8 | 1965 novel by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo; first to feature detective Martin Beck |
| 33% | GODS | 4 | "Men Like ___," 1923 novel by H.G. Wells that was one of the first to feature the idea of parallel universes |
| 32% | THEPURSUED | 10 | 1935 novel by C S Forester first published in 2011 |
| 30% | TORTILLAFLAT | 12 | 1935 novel by John Steinbeck featuring the character Big Joe Portagee |
| 29% | ODDSAGAINST | 11 | First novel by 36-Across featuring private investigator and former jockey Sid Halley (2 wds.) |
| 28% | DONKEY | 6 | First video game to feature Mario: __ Kong |
| 28% | SPLITSECOND | 11 | First novel by 31-Across featuring former Secret Service agents Sean King and Michelle Maxwell (2 wds.) |
| 28% | MIGHTYDUCKS | 11 | NHL team who played their first game in 1993 (and the team featured in the Disney films with cameos by the answers to the starred clues) (2 wds.) |
| 28% | WAR | 3 | "The Forever ___," 1974 novel by Joe Haldeman that inspired graphic novel and board game adaptations |
| 28% | MADAM | 5 | ___ C. J. Walker, first American woman to become a self-made millionaire, per Guinness |
| 27% | THESILKWORM | 11 | 2014 novel by J.K. Rowling (as Robert Galbraith) featuring private investigator Cormoran Strike (2 wds.) |
| 27% | BEARD | 5 | Feature first recommended to this puzzle's subject by an 11-year-old girl |
| 27% | MIGHTYDUCKS | 11 | NHL team whose first game was played October 8, 1993 (and the team featured in the Disney films that had cameos by the answers to the starred clues) (2 wds.) |
| 27% | KILLINGFLOOR | 12 | Debut novel by 25-Across that was the basis for the first season of "Reacher" (2 wds.) |
| 27% | THEHOBBIT | 9 | Fantasy novel by J.R.R. Tolkien which follows Bilbo Baggins' quest to find a treasure: 2 wds. |
| 26% | AFRICAN | 7 | Novel by C.S. Forester: "The __ Queen" |
| 26% | WEDIDIT | 7 | First three words famously said by Kamala Harris to Joe Biden upon winning the 2020 election |
| 26% | STELLAMARIS | 11 | 2022 prequel to "The Passenger" that is the first novel by 34-Across to feature a female protagonist (2 wds.) |
| 26% | ASHIP | 5 | 1938 novel by C S Forester |