January’s Best New Fiction

History of Wolves, by Emily Fridlund
An unflinching, gorgeously written debut novel from an award-winning short story writer, Wolves concerns the coming of age of 14-year-old Linda, an observant but isolated girl living off the grid with her parents on an abandoned hippie commune in the woods of Minnesota. Looking back on her life, adult Linda recalls the year she became embroiled in a school scandal and found work as a babysitter for the seemingly normal family that moved in across the lake. Linda may come to learn that even “regular” families have dark, haunting secrets of their own.

The Mistress: A Novel, by Danielle Steel
Trapped in a gilded cage, Natasha Leonova lives a life of luxury—but not freedom—as the mistress of deadly Russian oligarch Vladimir Stanislas. Though deeply loyal to her billionaire consort, and grateful to him for rescuing her nearly a decade earlier, Natasha knows better than to question the source of Vladimir’s wealth, or her place in his glittering, dangerous world. But everything changes when she meets Theo Lorenzo, whose refusal to sell his famous father’s artwork to Vladimir may destroy not one but three lives. With enough fabulous settings to rival a Bourne film (Paris, Moscow, London, and the Riviera, to name a few), Steel’s latest proves yet again why she’s an iconic, international bestseller few can match.

4 3 2 1, by Paul Auster
Fans of Auster’s brilliant, metafictional Man in the Dark will go crazy for this bildungsroman. 4 3 2 1′s hero, Archibald Isaac Ferguson, takes us on a journey from his birth in 1947 through a pivotal Presidential election in 1974. Did I say the book’s “hero”? I meant “heroes.” As in four of them. All named Archibald Isaac Ferguson. Because readers are treated to four possible, simultaneous, yet very different paths one character’s life could and does take. These “sliding doors” promise emotional depth, heartbreak, humor, passion, and an important relationship that may tie all four lives together.

Rebirth: A Fable of Love, Forgiveness, and Following Your Heart, by Kamal Ravikant
For his debut novel, tech entrepreneur Ravikant (whose previous inspirational self-help books Live Your Truth and Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It earned him millions of fans) based aspects of the story on a real 550-mile walk he took in northwest Spain. The famed Camino de Santiago path—popular with hikers, cyclists, and spiritual seekers—provides a memorable setting for protagonist Amit’s journey of self-discovery after losing his alcoholic father. Reading a redemptive, hopeful tale could be the perfect way to kick off the new year.

The Sleepwalker, by Chris Bohjalian
Prolific bestseller Bohjalian fluctuates effortlessly among historical fiction, ghost stories, rural murder mysteries, and legal dramas. The Sleepwalker, his 19th novel, is a flat-out thriller about a wife and mother’s unsettling disappearance. The woman in question, Annalee, suffers from parasomnia, a potentially dangerous sleep disorder that can include night terrors, sleep paralysis, and other frightening behavior. Annalee’s daughter Lianna once had to rescue her mother from jumping off a bridge, so she’s no stranger to the effects of her mother’s illness. When Annalee vanishes without a trace one night, Lianna is desperate for answers. Guaranteed to keep you up late reading!

The Fifth Petal, by Brunonia Barry
A beloved Salem historian is accused of murdering a teenage boy on Halloween night, but did she really summon dark powers using witchcraft, or is she being framed for a more pedestrian (though no less horrifying) act? This follow-up novel to The Lace Reader (Barry’s blockbuster debut) finds lace reader Towner Whitney’s husband, as chief of police, racing to discover if the boy’s death is related to a triple homicide case from 1989. Expect plenty of supernatural chills and thrills alongside complex, well-researched witchy lore from the 1690s.

The Most Dangerous Place on Earth, by Lindsey Lee Johnson
If you love Megan Abbott’s teen noir (particularly Dare Me and The Fever), you need to pick up Johnson’s debut, set in a tony San Francisco high school. Despite their apparent wealth and privilege, the teenagers of Mill Valley don’t think of themselves as lucky. For one thing, they’re still reeling from a middle school tragedy related to cyber-bullying; for another, the pressures facing them at home, in the classroom, and online have brought several of them to the breaking point. Enter idealistic new English teacher Molly Nicoll. But will she rescue the students in her charge, or end up joining them in adolescent hell?

Selection Day, by Aravind Adiga
Two brothers growing up in the slums of Mumbai are taught by their authoritarian, abusive father that the only way out of the shack in which they live is to excel at cricket. The younger boy, Manju, is accustomed to coming in second place to his brother, but when that changes, his worldview is overturned as well. An in-depth look at the modern-day caste system of India, and the ways in which destiny, sacrifice, and revenge shape our most important relationships.

The Guests on South Battery, by Karen White
A suspenseful paranormal mystery set in Charleston, South Carolina, Guests is the fifth book in White’s popular Tradd Street series. Pragmatic realtor Melanie Middleton Trenholm—now a mother of twins with her handsome journalist husband, Jack—is back, along with her ability to see ghosts (a pesky inheritance from Mom). Melanie scores the commission of a lifetime, only to learn that the grand, historic old home she’ll be fixing up and selling comes with several demanding apparitions. Juggling work, kids, a new husband, a worrisome client, and, of course, the spirits may not be easy for Melanie, but it’ll give us a highly entertaining read!

Lucky Boy, by Shanthi Sekaran
When Soli, an illegal immigrant who cleans houses in Berkeley, California, is sent to a detention center prior to deportation, her beloved, American-born toddler goes to live with Kavya, a successful Indian American chef unable to have children of her own. Both mothers adore the child—but with whom does he best belong? A character-driven, emotionally resonant and heart-rending story that may have you rooting for both protagonists, even though only one of them can “win.”