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Home for the Holidays: 11 Must-Read New Releases
December’s best fiction brings gripping murder mysteries and thrillers about ballet school, 9/11, the Titanic and even a cruise to Cuba / BY Nathalie Atkinson / November 25th, 2021
You’ll want to sneak some time away from festive celebrations to enjoy the latest suspense and family drama on the page. Our pick of December’s best fiction brings gripping thrillers, including a thought-provoking one that plumbs the dark side of ballet, rounded out by affecting historical novels, such as an offering about the Titanic from the star of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
Obsessive Book Buyers: Zoomer editors have carefully curated our book coverage to ensure you find the perfect read. We may earn a commission on books you buy by clicking on the cover image.
1Tell Me How to Be This sure-footed debut novel by a first-generation Indian-American who grew up in Illinois revolves around a son’s fraught relationship with his mother in the aftermath of his father’s death. When he comes out to his mother, she shares secrets and regrets of her own, and explains that her life as a doting wife wasn’t as perfect as it seemed. It’s a moving story that reckons with reconciliation, identity and empathy, and Neel’s characters linger in the mind. (Dec. 7)
This sure-footed debut novel by a first-generation Indian-American who grew up in Illinois revolves around a son’s fraught relationship with his mother in the aftermath of his father’s death. When he comes out to his mother, she shares secrets and regrets of her own, and explains that her life as a doting wife wasn’t as perfect as it seemed. It’s a moving story that reckons with reconciliation, identity and empathy, and Neel’s characters linger in the mind. (Dec. 7)
2The Hawthorne School Kirkus Reviews magazine dubbed this novel of psychological suspense, about a young, single parent who enrolls her troubled four-year-old at an exclusive academy, “a fable of Stepford children.” To add another creepy dimension, it’s written by an insider of sorts: Perry is the pseudonym of a Chicago-based psychotherapist who counsels survivors of narcissistic manipulation. (Dec. 7)
Kirkus Reviews magazine dubbed this novel of psychological suspense, about a young, single parent who enrolls her troubled four-year-old at an exclusive academy, “a fable of Stepford children.” To add another creepy dimension, it’s written by an insider of sorts: Perry is the pseudonym of a Chicago-based psychotherapist who counsels survivors of narcissistic manipulation. (Dec. 7)
3The Ballerinas Delphine, a prima ballerina now in her mid-thirties, has a big secret she shares with her onetime best friends. The captivating thriller (think: Black Swan) alternates between the present and their tangled emotional and psychological lives as teenagers at a Paris ballet academy. It’s the dark side of the graceful fairytale we see onstage, as much a pacey thriller as a cultural critique that goes behind the scenes to explore ideas of female agency and womanhood, and lay bare the gruelling, often paradoxical demands (and violence) behind the exquisite art form. (Dec. 7)
Delphine, a prima ballerina now in her mid-thirties, has a big secret she shares with her onetime best friends. The captivating thriller (think: Black Swan) alternates between the present and their tangled emotional and psychological lives as teenagers at a Paris ballet academy. It’s the dark side of the graceful fairytale we see onstage, as much a pacey thriller as a cultural critique that goes behind the scenes to explore ideas of female agency and womanhood, and lay bare the gruelling, often paradoxical demands (and violence) behind the exquisite art form. (Dec. 7)
4White on White This slippery novel is about the progression of the unusual friendship that forms between a painter, Agnes, and a vague and unnamed student of indeterminate background and gender who moves into her upstairs studio apartment. It’s conceptual and slightly disquieting, and an ideal read for enthusiasts of Rachel Cusk’s similarly elusive narrators. (Dec. 7)
This slippery novel is about the progression of the unusual friendship that forms between a painter, Agnes, and a vague and unnamed student of indeterminate background and gender who moves into her upstairs studio apartment. It’s conceptual and slightly disquieting, and an ideal read for enthusiasts of Rachel Cusk’s similarly elusive narrators. (Dec. 7)
5Observations by Gaslight: Stories from the World of Sherlock Holmes Sherlockians, rejoice! This new Holmes for the holidays offers new accounts of Victorian-era exploits. The bestselling author burst onto the scene in 2009 with Dust and Shadow, where the Baker Street detective came up against Jack the Ripper. These adventures are recounted in a variety of epistolary forms: they purport to be personal diaries, reminiscences and correspondence collected from friends of Holmes and Watson, and their views on the pair. The inventive guise hits its stride when his longtime antagonist opera singer Irene Adler, Inspector Lestrade and Baker Street landlady Mrs. Hudson have their say. (Dec. 7)
Sherlockians, rejoice! This new Holmes for the holidays offers new accounts of Victorian-era exploits. The bestselling author burst onto the scene in 2009 with Dust and Shadow, where the Baker Street detective came up against Jack the Ripper. These adventures are recounted in a variety of epistolary forms: they purport to be personal diaries, reminiscences and correspondence collected from friends of Holmes and Watson, and their views on the pair. The inventive guise hits its stride when his longtime antagonist opera singer Irene Adler, Inspector Lestrade and Baker Street landlady Mrs. Hudson have their say. (Dec. 7)
6Beasts of a Little Land The sweeping historical novel begins in 1917, when Korea has yet to be divided into north and south, and introduces several characters affected by the conflict: an impoverished hunter in occupied Korea, the Japanese officer he saves from an attacking tiger, a young, would-be courtesan and an orphan. This saga is set against the backdrop of the Korean independence movement and spans half a century of cultural and political tumult, but it’s about love, the bonds of friendship and survival. (Dec. 7)
The sweeping historical novel begins in 1917, when Korea has yet to be divided into north and south, and introduces several characters affected by the conflict: an impoverished hunter in occupied Korea, the Japanese officer he saves from an attacking tiger, a young, would-be courtesan and an orphan. This saga is set against the backdrop of the Korean independence movement and spans half a century of cultural and political tumult, but it’s about love, the bonds of friendship and survival. (Dec. 7)
7Absynthe Bellecourt is the nom de plume of epic fantasy writer Bradley P. Beaulieu (The Winds of Khalakovo) and this is his first speculative foray into an alternate-history of America. It’s a fast-paced, Art Deco-tinged thriller about a shell-shocked First World War veteran trying to piece himself together in Chicago during the Roaring Twenties. It’s like a Prohibition-era version of Philip K. Dick’sThe Man in the High Castle, complete with a shadowy government conducting disorienting experiments on memory and artificially intelligent beings called “mechanika.” (Dec. 7)
Bellecourt is the nom de plume of epic fantasy writer Bradley P. Beaulieu (The Winds of Khalakovo) and this is his first speculative foray into an alternate-history of America. It’s a fast-paced, Art Deco-tinged thriller about a shell-shocked First World War veteran trying to piece himself together in Chicago during the Roaring Twenties. It’s like a Prohibition-era version of Philip K. Dick’sThe Man in the High Castle, complete with a shadowy government conducting disorienting experiments on memory and artificially intelligent beings called “mechanika.” (Dec. 7)
8The Fortune Men Bestselling writer Walter Mosley calls this novel about the unjust death of a Black man “a blues song cut straight from the heart.” A finalist for the Booker Prize, it’s based on the true story of Mahmood Mattan, the Somali merchant seaman wrongfully convicted and executed for murder in 1950s Wales, and a powerfully reimagined examination of miscarried justice that resonates today. (Dec. 14)
Bestselling writer Walter Mosley calls this novel about the unjust death of a Black man “a blues song cut straight from the heart.” A finalist for the Booker Prize, it’s based on the true story of Mahmood Mattan, the Somali merchant seaman wrongfully convicted and executed for murder in 1950s Wales, and a powerfully reimagined examination of miscarried justice that resonates today. (Dec. 14)
9Orphans of the Storm This book from the esteemed character actress – star of Calendar Girls, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Miss Babs in beloved British comedy Acorn Antiques – is a historical novel about the sinking of the RMS Titanic. ( You can read Zoomer’s previous interview with the bestselling author about her writing life here.) It’s based on the remarkable true tale, which captured headlines in its day, of two young brothers who were put on the last lifeboat by their father, but there’s a lot more to the story. He had in fact kidnapped them during a bitter divorce battle with their mother, and perished in the disaster. The novel examines how the disintegration of a marriage led to these dramatic events. (Dec. 14)
This book from the esteemed character actress – star of Calendar Girls, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Miss Babs in beloved British comedy Acorn Antiques – is a historical novel about the sinking of the RMS Titanic. ( You can read Zoomer’s previous interview with the bestselling author about her writing life here.) It’s based on the remarkable true tale, which captured headlines in its day, of two young brothers who were put on the last lifeboat by their father, but there’s a lot more to the story. He had in fact kidnapped them during a bitter divorce battle with their mother, and perished in the disaster. The novel examines how the disintegration of a marriage led to these dramatic events. (Dec. 14)
10Death Under the Perseids: A Havana Mystery As the saying goes, it’s not the destination but the journey. In this cozy, engagingly escapist mystery, it’s a free cruise to Cuba that Mercedes, a Florida pet groomer, won in a raffle she doesn’t remember entering. The other old saw is that nothing is free and everything has to be paid for. True to that, the voyage turns treacherous when Mercedes discovers several people from her past not so coincidentally won the same trip and one of them dies under mysterious circumstances. We love a good cruise here at Zoomer, and this one’s no exception. (Dec. 7)
As the saying goes, it’s not the destination but the journey. In this cozy, engagingly escapist mystery, it’s a free cruise to Cuba that Mercedes, a Florida pet groomer, won in a raffle she doesn’t remember entering. The other old saw is that nothing is free and everything has to be paid for. True to that, the voyage turns treacherous when Mercedes discovers several people from her past not so coincidentally won the same trip and one of them dies under mysterious circumstances. We love a good cruise here at Zoomer, and this one’s no exception. (Dec. 7)
11Twenty Years Later A bestselling author’s grisly murder in 2001 opens this entertaining literary thriller before it makes its way to the present. The case was shelved and has been gathering dust since the accused, the deceased’s lover, perished in one of the World Trade Center towers on 9/11 during a visit to her lawyer. When her remains are identified 20 years later, it inspires a ratings-seeking TV host to team up with a disgraced FBI agent to reopen the investigation. It turns out several people related to the case (including the host herself) are hiding relevant truths and trying to outrun what’s in the rearview mirror. (Dec. 28)
A bestselling author’s grisly murder in 2001 opens this entertaining literary thriller before it makes its way to the present. The case was shelved and has been gathering dust since the accused, the deceased’s lover, perished in one of the World Trade Center towers on 9/11 during a visit to her lawyer. When her remains are identified 20 years later, it inspires a ratings-seeking TV host to team up with a disgraced FBI agent to reopen the investigation. It turns out several people related to the case (including the host herself) are hiding relevant truths and trying to outrun what’s in the rearview mirror. (Dec. 28)