“The Wife and the Widow” by Christian White – A Song of Betrayal

Christian White has turned many heads with his debut novel which instantly became an international bestseller, and he returns to the fore with his second novel, The Wife and the Widow.

Taking place on a small island town in the dead winter, the story follows two women on a collision course of discovery, both trying to unravel the secret lives of their husbands and the darkness they concealed.

“In the Market for Murder” by T E Kinsey – A Complicated Family

T E Kinsey has certainly brought back the charm of older murder mysteries with the Lady Hardcastle series, taking us back to a time with a simpler appeal.

In the Market for Murder is the second book in the ongoing series, and it follows Lady Hardcastle who, as is tradition, is trying to enjoy a little vacation only to stumble headfirst into a murder.

A local farmer turns up dead in the pub, and as Lady Hardcastle delves deeper into it with her trusty maid Florence, a world of utter strangeness opens up to them.

“Killing Commendatore” by Haruki Murakami – The Circle of Mysterious Circumstances

Haruki Murakami is a name needing little introduction, widely regarded as one of the more prominent authors in the realms of magical realism.

His recent novel, Killing Commendatore, follows in the same tradition, following a young portrait painter from Tokyo who ends up in the mountain home of a famous artist.

The discovery of an unseen painting in his attic unleashes forth a set of mysterious and inexplicable events, one which can only be closed through perhaps the strangest journey the young painter will ever have in his life.

“A Quiet Life in the Country” by T E Kinsey – The Enlightened Widow

Few authors have had the success T E Kinsey did with his first novel, A Quiet Life in the Country, the first entry in the Lady Hardcastle Mystery series.

Presenting us with the Lady herself, an eccentric widow accompanied by her maid and confidante in 1908 England, the story follows a murder investigation in the countryside, one the police are very close to bungling up. Thankfully, Lady Hardcastle is on the case, and few things, if any, escape her vigilant eye.

“The Far Field” by Madhuri Vijay – The Kashmir Volcano

Vijay Madhuri may have only begun her literary career by publishing The Far Field in 2019, but she is quickly becoming a recognizable name for it.

The story follows a young and restless woman by the name of Shalini who sets out for a Himalayan village in the region of Kashmir, certain she can find some answers about her mother's death.

However, she quickly gets caught up in the volatile and explosive politics of the region, as well as the history and traditions of the people in the village.

“The Girls in the Picture” by Melanie Benjamin – An Alliance of Legends

Melanie Benjamin has shown a remarkable penchant for writing detailed and profound historical fiction novels, and with The Girls in the Picture she further reinforces this notion.

Starting by following Frances Marion as she tries to find her calling in the fledgling silent movie industry, we see her become friends with Mary Pickford (who had the title of “America's Sweetheart”), and the two trudge onward to realize their grand ambitions in uncharted territory.

“Daisy Jones & The Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid – The Birth and Death of a Shining Star

Taylor Jenkins Reid has certainly made a bit of a splash recently being featured in numerous reputable publications, and with Daisy Jones & The Six it seems she has raised the bar for herself even higher.

Told through a novel, this is the chronicle of one of the most iconic rock groups from the 1970s, their extremely fortunate rise to their regrettable fall at the absolute height of their popularity.

“The Liar” by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen – Freedom and Loss in the Truth

Ayelet Gundar-Goshen may have written only three novels so far, but she has already demonstrated an uncanny insight into the human mind not only through her master's degree in psychology, but also her book The Liar.

It tells the story of two women: a teenage girl and an eighty-eight year-old granny, both of them living mystifying lies which spin out of control. No matter how much they might gain, however, lies are seldom permanently sustainable, and they will both pay the price for their indulgences.

“The Ten Thousand Doors of January” by Alix Harrow – The Wild Life Realized

Alix Harrow had only published a few short stories in collaborative works and magazines until 2019, when she finally graced her readers with her debut novel, The Ten Thousand Doors of January.

In it, we follow the eponymous January Scaller as she tends to an old recluse in his mansion, and in the process finds a mysterious book which tells tales of danger, adventure, love, and perhaps most intriguingly, secret doors.

“The Dressmaker's Gift” by Fiona Valpy – The Impossible Wartime Choices

Fiona Valpy has certainly entered the realm of literature in great style last year, and with The Dressmaker's Gift she continues her conquest of our bookshelves by telling a grand story of love, loss, terror and happiness.

One part of the story takes us to 1940 Paris, where three seamstresses are trying their best to live under the occupation. The other part of the story takes us two generations later, as a granddaughter to one of those seamstresses unravels her own family history.

“All This Could Be Yours” by Jami Attenberg – Webs of a Toxic Household

Jami Attenberg didn't need to write many novels to gain a considerable amount of attention from the literary community for her insightful perception of family and human relations.

In All This Could Be Yours, she tells the story of Alex Tuchman, a mother and a lawyer, who tries to unearth the truth about her father who is now on his deathbed. By all accounts he was a bad man, but Alex wants to know it beyond all doubt, and this will require her to pry loose her tight-lipped mother in New Orleans.

“The Water Dancer” by Ta-Nehisi Coates – Son of the Free Underground

Ta-Nehisi Coates is quickly gaining a reputation in the literary world as an author who dares to explore the tragic chapters in American history, never wanting them to be left forgotten.

In The Water Dancer, he takes us to the immensely bloody calamity which was the American Civil War as we follow a young man named Hiram in search of his long lost mother, as well as his own place in a world torn asunder by conflict.