There’s nothing quite as enjoyable in winter.
Now that the nights are getting darker quicker and it’s gotten much, much colder, it’s hard to resist the temptation of curling up on the couch with a good book – especially when it goes perfectly with a cup of hot chocolate.
From mysteries to fantasy and everything in between, there’s been a number of incredible books hitting the shelves this season – and there’s even more to come.
Here are 9 brilliant books that we can’t wait to curl up with this January.
My Sister The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
One night, Korede’s dinner is interrupted by a distress call from her sister, Ayoola – and immediately, she knows what’s expected of her: bleach, rubber gloves, nerves of steel and a strong stomach.
It’s the third boyfriend that Ayoola has dispatched in ‘self defence’; the third mess that her little sibling has left for Korede to clean up. And while she knows she should probably go to the cops for the good of the men in Nigeria, she loves her sister and, as they say, family always comes first.
That is, until Ayoola starts dating the doctor where Korede works as a nurse. She’s been in love with him for forever, and isn’t prepared to see him end up with a knife in his back – but saving him would mean needing to sacrifice the other…
Available January 3.
Music Love Drugs War by Geraldine Quigley
The end of the school year is coming up, leaving siblings Paddy and Liz McLaughlin, Christy Meehan, Kevin Thompson and their friends having to soon decide what they will do with the rest of their lives.
But it’s hard to focus on when there’s the allure of their favourite hangout place, the dingy ‘Cave’. Through a fog of marijuana, beer and budding romance, the future is distant and unreal.
But this is Derry in 1981, and they can’t ignore the turmoil of the outside world. When one of their friends is killed, Christy and Paddy are stunned out of their stupor and decide to take matters into their own hands. However, choosing to fight will take hold of their lives in ways they never imagined.
Available January 10.
The Last by Hanna Jameson
Historian Jon Keller is on a trip to Switzerland when the world ends. And as the lights go out on the rest of civilisation, he just wishes he had a way to know if his wife, Nadia, and their two daughters are still alive – and that he hadn’t ignored Nadia’s last message.
Twenty people remain in Jon’s hotel. Far from the nearest city and walled in by towering trees, they wait, they survive.Then one day, the body of a young girl is found. It’s clear she has been murdered – which means that there’s a killer among them.
As the paranoia descends on the hotel, Jon decides to investigate – but how far will he go in the pursuit of justice? And how much justice can he really get if society as they know it no longer exists?
Available January 31.
Two Can Keep A Secret by Karen M. McManus
The residents of Echo Ridge – a picturesque town nestled up near the Canadian boarder – were left reeling when high school senior, Sarah Corcoran vanished while she was walking home in 1995, never to be seen again.
Five years later, Lacey Kilduff was found dead in the local (and since renamed) theme park, Murderland Halloween park.
Now, another girl has disappeared. The last two people to see her alive? Ellery, the new girl at school (and Sarah’s nice), and Malcom, the brother of the prime suspect. As they work to unravel what actually happened, they begin to realise they may be closer to the truth than either of them want to believe.
Available January 10.
The Binding by Bridget Collins
Emmett Farmer is working in the fields when a letter, summoning him to begin an apprenticeship, arrives. He’ll be working for a Bookbinder, a role that sparks fear, superstition and prejudice – but not one that he or his parents could refuse.
He’ll hand-craft beautiful books, capturing something extraordinary within each of them: a memory. If there’s something you want to forget or erase, he can help. Your past will be stored safely in a book and you will never remember your secret, however terrible.
In a vault under his mentor’s workshop, row upon row of books – and memories – are meticulously stored and recorded. Then one day Emmett makes an astonishing discovery: one of them has his name on it.
Available January 10.
Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss by Rajeev Balasubramanyam
Right after his bicycle accident, Professor Chandra doesn’t see his life flashing before his eyes. Instead, he sees his life’s work.
He’s just missed out the Novel Prize, once again, and while he knows that he should get right back to work, he’s got some other ideas.
The work, the stress, the success: it’s killing him. He needs to take a break and start enjoying himself. In short, says his doctor (who is, of course, from California), Professor Chandra should just follow his bliss…
Available January 10.
Golden Child by Clair Adam
A family of four – Joy, Clyde and their 13-year-old twins, Paul and Peter – are trying to lead a quiet life in Trinidad.
Paul goes missing walking in the bush one afternoon and doesn’t come home, leaving Clyde to go look for him.
As the hours begin to turn into days, Clyde’s world shatters as he begins to understand Paul’s fate – and realises he is faced with a decision that no parent should every have to make.
Available January 17.
My Coney Island Baby by Billy O’Callaghan
One day, on a bitterly cold winter’s afternoon, Michael and Caitlin escape from their unhappy marriages and meet up to keep an illicit rendezvous – which they have been doing once a month, for the past quarter of a century, at Coney Island.
The hidden, stolen moments are normally their only nourishment. But when they get caught in the middle of an angry snowstorm, the out-of-season resort begins to feel more and more like the edge of the world.
And their lives, suddenly, are about to change – with news of serious illness on one side, and a move to the Midwest on the other. And so, after half a lifetime spent in secret, certain long-avoided facts need to be faced, consequences examined, decisions made, and – perhaps – chances finally taken.
Available January 17.
Darkest Truth by Catherine Kirwan
The more she investigates, the darker and more twisted the picture becomes – and soon Finn finds herself in danger.
Available January 10.
RELATED ARTICLES
MORE FROM HerFamily
MORE FROM HerFamily
