Sign in with Facebook
Readers' Most Anticipated Books of January
At the beginning of each calendar month, Goodreads’ crack editorial squad assembles a list of the hottest and most popular new books hitting shelves, actual and virtual. The list is generated by evaluating readers’ early reviews and tracking which titles are being added to Want to Read shelves by Goodreads regulars.
Each month’s curated preview features new books from across the genre spectrum: contemporary fiction, historical fiction, mysteries and thrillers, sci-fi and fantasy, romance, horror, young adult, nonfiction, and more. Think of it as a literary smorgasbord. Check out whatever looks delicious.
New in January: Classy thriller specialist Alex Michaelides presents a Greek island murder mystery in The Fury. Elizabeth Gonzalez James rethinks the traditional Western with The Bullet Swallower. And Tlotlo Tsamaase posits a dystopian African future in Womb City.
Also on tap this month: movie stars in trouble, queer romance in space (kind of), and a locked-room mystery aboard a moving train.
Add the books that catch your eye to your Want to Read shelf, and let us know what you're reading and recommending in the comments section.
The Best Books of January:
The prolific Ms. Maas returns with the third installment in her innovative Crescent City series of sexy urban fantasy-romance. Romantasy, some call it. The action takes place just after 2022’s House of Sky and Breath, with our half-fae heroine Bryce Quinlan trying to get back to the realm of Midgard. Fallen angel Hunt Althalar, meanwhile, is imprisoned in Asteri’s dungeons. Again.
When the richest woman in North Carolina leaves her nine-figure fortune to her adopted son, Camden McTavish does the weirdest thing: He refuses it all. Ten years later, Cam and his wife, Jules, are summoned back to the McTavish estate in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Cam hasn’t changed his mind—but Jules has. Author Rachel Hawkins (The Wife Upstairs) delivers another suspense thriller concerning shady relations, deadly family secrets, and lovely views from the terrace.
On a very secluded, very luxurious Greek island compound, aging movie star Lana Farrar has gathered all her besties for an Easter celebration. What happens next will make tabloid headlines worldwide. Murder mystery fans who enjoyed the grim fun of The Silent Patient will be happy to hear that author Alex Michaelides is back patrolling similar twisty terrain with The Fury. Early readers are praising the plot, pacing, and poshed-out Glass Onion vibe.
Shy college sophomore Margot has just moved into off-campus housing with her wild friend Lucy and two other young women. When one of the fraternity guys next door is brutally murdered—and Lucy goes missing—roommate tensions get severe. Psychological suspense specialist Stacy Willingham (A Flicker in the Dark) returns to explore themes of loyalty, betrayal, friendship, and a very specific kind of emotional violence. Also, actual violence.
Canadian author Heather Fawcett returns to her delightful Emily Wilde series, concerning a professor of faerie folklore and the deeply strange problems she encounters, pretty much daily. Book two of the series finds Prof. Wilde trying to navigate a complex romance with fellow scholar Wendell Bambleby, who also happens to be an exiled faerie king. Also in the mix: a priceless map of the faerie realms, a portal in the Austrian Alps, and Wendell’s murderous mom.
Eighteen years ago, the Alperton Angels suicide cult made headlines around the world—and a mother and her infant child mysteriously disappeared. Now true-crime writer Amanda Bailey may have found the Alperton Baby, all grown up, which would be the scoop of the century. Complicating matters: There’s another investigator on the trail. Also: The child may be the anti-Christ. Uh-oh. Journalist-turned-novelist Janice Hallett (The Appeal) brings new textures to the mystery-thriller template.
If you like your locked-room mysteries traveling at speed, you may want to check out this clever whodunit, in which the book title also doubles as the stated story premise. Efficient! Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect features, yes, a train—plus a passenger manifest of mystery novel professionals: the forensic science writer, the legal thriller writer, etc. Australian author Benjamin Stevenson, also a standup comic, has a thing with titles. You may remember his 2022 mystery, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone.
This fever-dream Western from Elizabeth Gonzalez James is also an early favorite in our Most Compelling Book Title competition. A magical-realism riff on the Old West story, The Bullet Swallower introduces the legendary bandido El Tragabalas, on the run from some kind of cosmic curse. What starts in 1895 winds up in 1964 when Mexican singer Jaime Sonoro discovers he has inherited his ancestor’s otherworldly problems. Early readers are calling it Cormac McCarthy meets Gabriel García Márquez, and it’s hard to argue with that.
Actress India Allwood has just started production on a prestige picture about a tragic adoption story. The problem: India is an adoptive mom herself, and she wants audiences to know that not all adoption stories are tragic. When she makes her case publicly, India starts a firestorm of social media outrage, because America. Early readers are praising author Laurie Frankel (This Is How It Always Is) for navigating a complicated issue with intelligence, good humor, and nuance. Outrageous!
In a ruined wing of a derelict boardinghouse mansion by the sea, a young girl unearths a long-forgotten tragedy. The clues are eerie enough: bones in the garden, a shadow that flits about at night, and an ancient bedroom frozen in time for a hundred years. South African author Shubnum Khan (Onion Tears) spins an atmospheric mystery that folds in elements of fantasy, historical fiction, ghost story, and love story. Also, a djinn.
This intriguing historical fiction debut from Malaysian author Vanessa Chan invites readers to experience a different kind of World War II story. The year is 1945, and Cecily Alcantara is desperately trying to protect her children from brutal Japanese occupiers in Malaya. But Cecily is keeping a terrible secret about espionage, a Japanese general, and a mistake from her past. Early readers are praising the book’s complex story arc, told from multiple character viewpoints.
An early favorite for 2024’s Most Unsettling Cover Art Award, Womb City is the horror/sci-fi debut from Motswana author Tlotlo Tsamaase. In a future Botswana where men control women’s bodies via microchip, one desperate woman faces off against cruel systemic inequality—and a vengeful ghost bent on bloody revenge. Tsamaase’s adventurous short fiction has been previously anthologized in top-shelf SFF collections, including Africa Risen and Terraform.
This looks like fun: Interesting Facts About Space is a kind of sideways character study/queer romance from the author of Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead, 2021’s most brutally honest title. The gist: Enid has a thing about space: She can tell you all about quasars. But her family situation is a mess, and her first serious romance has triggered a strange paranoia—including but not limited to bald men—that’s a little bit hilarious and a little dead serious.
Set in Prohibition-era Chicago, this extremely buzzy debut from Memphis-based author Avery Cunningham mashes up historical fiction, romance, and some dangerous criminal investigations. Born into the Black upper class, reporter Nelly Sawyer is dedicated to exposing injustice in the shadows of Jim Crow America. Teaming with biracial speakeasy manager Jay Shorey, Nelly finds herself up against the notorious crime boss known as the Mayor of Maxwell Street.
Another debut novel making some waves in the new year, Hard by a Great Forest follows the fortunes of two brothers in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia who were forced to flee their homeland as children. Decades after the fighting has ended, a series of sinister disappearances forces younger brother Saba to return home. Author Leo Vardiashvili investigates the trauma of war and the enduring bonds of family.
Which new releases are you looking forward to reading? Let's talk books in the comments!
Comments Showing 1-43 of 43 (43 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Skronkel
(new)
Dec 28, 2023 04:08PM
I'm looking forward to Divine Might by Natalie Haynes the most!! :)
reply
|
flag
Looking forward to House of Flame and Shadow 🔥
I'm excited for SJM's new book! Also Alperton Angels looks intriguing.
Looking forward to Everyone on this Train is a Suspect. Loved Benjamin Stevenson's first book and hope this one is as entertaining!
House of Flame and Shadow here we go 👌👌👌
Interesting facts about space is fantastic!! I'd also like to shout out Broughtupsy by Christina Cooke, gorgeous!!
I am so looking forward to continuing the story of Emily Wilde. I love me a slow-burn romance and a neurodivergent protagonist
How is the mysterious case of the Alperton angels anticipated when it’s been out ages?
Here for House of Flame and Shadow. Emphasis on that shadow bit. 👀
After reading this, I'll be adding Only If You're Lucky, The Mayor of Maxwell Street, and The Storm We Made to my TBR!
My most anticipated books of January are Here in Avalon by Tara Isabella Burton (which I read yesterday and easily rated 5⭐️), The Parliament by Aimee Potwatka, The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland, and the new SJM.
In the blurb for Family Family- missing rest of sentence after america.
Adding The Bullet Swallowed to my TBR. Thanks!
I’m DYING to read The Fury 😍😍😍
Everyone on the train is a suspect! Sounds entangled and entertaining.
So excited for Interesting Facts About Space!
I have the bullet swallower on order, sounds fantastic.
Looking forward to The fury! I loved the silent patient!
Added “Interesting facts about space” to my to-read as it does sounds interesting lol
all of them books come to my TBR!!!!!!11
I am definitely excited for all of these books! I can’t wait and i am waiting for my library to get a copy of each so i can read them.
Love the thrillers we’re getting this month !!
Can SJM write a book without using the word ‘mate’?
I think I just added almost all of these as “want to read” now lol
Loved the fury and the storm we made. Both were 5 star reads. Very excited for other books especially hard by a great forest.
Just need to read some of the books before judging them. Nowadays Goodreads rankings more and more obsolete and creating hypes for low grade books by providing them several stars. Totally misleading.
I hope the other 11 months do better. January is wasted resources.
So far I am loving the Witch of Tophet County, which is a debut novel… and freaking hilarious.
I’m looking forward to Divine Right (Natalie Haynes) too!
You forgot to add The Cure for Downing!!
Looking forward to Midnight Ruin by Katee Robert that comes out tomorrow
The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years, Mayor of Maxwell Street, The Bullet Swallower and Womb City sound incredible!!!!
The Bullet Swallower was pretty good! Surprised I enjoyed it as much as I did.
The Storm We Made and Mayor of Maxwell Street are on my “want to Read” list. Family,Family also looks very interesting.
7 days til HOSAF finally comes out
Dave wrote: "I have the bullet swallower on order, sounds fantastic."It was a really fascinating read. Beautiful writing.
I added too many of these to my want to read list. 😭
I can't wait to get 'We Rip The World Apart' by Charlene Carr. I loved 'Hold My Girl'. Oh, so many books to read.
