10 New Books Coming in January
Age of Vice, by Deepti Kapoor
The fates of three people in New Delhi converge in this high-octane new novel. Sunny, the heir to a powerful family, strives to eclipses his father and brings about all manner of ruin. Ajay, who was born to a poor family, begins working for Sunny, with tragic results. And then there is Neda, a journalist sniffing around the Wadia family even as she tries to resist its pull.
Riverhead, Jan. 3
Brotherless Night, by V. V. Ganeshananthan
In this novel, it’s 1980s Sri Lanka, and Sashi — the “inconvenient sister” in a large family — dreams of becoming a doctor. As civil war breaks out, her loved ones are brought into the fray, particularly as Tamil militant groups form. K, a close friend, joins the Tamil Tigers and urges her to work for them as a medic; as Sashi is drawn closer into the conflict, she sees her own values take shape.
Random House, Jan. 3
The Chinese Groove, by Kathryn Ma
Shelley, the hero of this novel, leaves behind an unhappy life in Yunnan Province, lured by the promise of a comfortable life with a wealthy relative and the chance to pursue love in San Francisco. He’s dismayed by what he finds — his family is grieving a tragedy, and no, they’re not rich — but he finds his way, thanks to what he calls the “Chinese groove,” or a bond shared by immigrants.
Counterpoint, Jan. 24
Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives, by Siddharth Kara
Cobalt is a critical component of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, which are used in dozens of devices we depend on, including smartphones and electric vehicles. More than two-thirds of the world’s reserves are found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has set off a frantic, and exploitative, effort to mine it. Kara, who studies modern slavery, offers a damning portrait of the human rights abuses intrinsic to many cobalt mining operations.
St. Martin’s, Jan. 31
Hell Bent, by Leigh Bardugo
Bardugo’s first novel for adults, “Ninth House,” imagined that the secret societies of Yale were hubs of black magic, and followed a ghost-seeing student named Alexas she navigates those worlds. Now, in “Hell Bent,” Alex tries to bring back a beloved mentor from purgatory and to solve a string of deaths among Yale’s faculty.
Flatiron, Jan. 10
How to Sell a Haunted House, by Grady Hendrix
Hendrix, a best-selling horror author, wanted to write something “comforting and old fashioned and Gothic” during the pandemic, he said, which to him meant a story about a haunted house. After the sudden deaths of both parents, Louise returns to her childhood home in Charleston, S.C. She’s reluctant to engage with her brother, from whom she’s estranged, and daunted by the idea of clearing out the home before it can go on the market. And then there’s the little issue of her mother’s extensive — and creepy — doll collection.
Berkley, Jan. 17
Master, Slave, Husband, Wife: An Epic Journey From Slavery to Freedom, by Ilyon Woo
This history tells the remarkable story of Ellen and William Craft: In 1848, the married couple, who were enslaved, escaped Georgia for the north. Ellen disguised herself as a white man, and William posed as “his” slave. Together, they evaded capture, dodging military officers and friends of their former enslavers, and were celebrated in New England for their remarkable escape. But two years later, after the Fugitive Slave Act was enacted, they were forced to go on the run once more.
Simon & Schuster, Jan. 24
Pirate Enlightenment, or the Real Libertalia, by David Graeber
Graeber, an anthropologist who rose to fame as a leader of the Occupy Wall Street movement, was no stranger to challenging big, overarching ideas about the evolution of human societies — look no further than his 2021 book “The Dawn of Everything,” which tells you everything about the book’s scope. In this posthumous history, he examines pirate communities in 18th-century Madagascar.
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Jan. 24
Rikers: An Oral History, by Graham Rayman and Reuven Blau
Drawing on more than 100 interviews, this book pulls together the perspectives of inmates and their families, lawyers, law enforcement officials and more to tell the story of one of the country’s most notorious jails.
Random House, Jan. 17
Spare, by Prince Harry
This highly anticipated memoir promises to give “the definitive account of the experiences, adventures, losses and life lessons that have helped shape” Prince Harry. In the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s death and the Netflix documentary series about him and his wife, Meghan Markle, royal watchers are debating how much Harry might reveal here. The ghostwriter J.R. Moehringer, known for his work on Andre Agassi’s blockbuster memoir, worked on this book.
Random House, January 10
