For Your Consideration: January 2021 LibraryReads Titles

Download, read, and vote for your favorite January titles for the January 2021 LibraryReads list!

Votes due December 1!

THE NARROWBOAT SUMMER by Anne Youngson

“Youngson follows up the charming debut MEET ME AT THE MUSEUM, a LibraryReads pick short-listed for the Costa First Novel Award, with the tale of three women brought together by a narrowboat—a boat specifically built to negotiate the UK’s network of canals. Eve has ditched a longtime career to follow her whims, Sally has walked out on her barely-there husband and two grown children, and independent spirit Anastasia, who lives on the narrowboat, needs help as she awaits a major operation.”–Library Journal, Pre-Pub Alert

THE WIFE UPSTAIRS by Rachel Hawkins

“YA author Hawkins makes her adult debut with this spirited reboot of Jane Eyre… Hawkins shows real wit in outsider Jane’s sharp-eyed take on the entitled ladies of Thornfield Estates… [T]his suspenseful domestic thriller will keep readers turning the pages.”–Publishers Weekly

OUTLAWED by Anna North

“The characters’ struggles for gender nonconformity and LGBTQ rights are tenderly and beautifully conveyed. This feminist western parable is impossible to put down.”–Publishers Weekly, starred review

THE LOST MANUSCRIPT by Cathy Bonidan

“French novelist Bonidan makes her English-language debut with this poignant and powerful epistolary romance about the effect a book can have on the lives of its readers… The epistolary form allows Bonidan to incorporate myriad emotional love stories, resulting in a sweeping, heart-tugging romance. Readers will be thrilled.”–Publishers Weekly, starred review

DEEP INTO THE DARK by P. J. Tracy

“In this latest from New York Times best-selling Tracy (who wrote the celebrated Monkeewrench series with mother P.J.), emotionally shattered Afghanistan war vet Sam Easton survives by bartending and going to therapy. After he intervenes to help a friend beaten up by her boyfriend, who later turns up dead, Sam looks to be the perfect suspect. But LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan doesn’t buy it. The start of a new series.”–Library Journal, Pre-Pub Alert

REMOTE CONTROL by Nnedi Okorafor

“Following a common trend in Okorafor’s work, this imaginative, thought-provoking story uses elements of the fantastic to investigate the complexities of gender and community outside of a European, colonial imagination. Readers will be blown away.”–Publishers Weekly, starred review

MEET ME IN BOMBAY by Jenny Ashcroft

“The author employs evocative prose and taut plotting, and the final twist will come as a surprise to those who think they have the story figured out. Ashcroft keeps readers turning the pages.”–Publishers Weekly

POSSESSION by Katie Lowe

“Lowe all too believably depicts how in today’s social media–driven milieu, anonymous commenters can quickly morph crusades for justice into an electronic lynch mob. Readers will keep flipping the pages right up to the gasp-worthy final bombshell. This author continues to impress.”–Publishers Weekly

PRODIGAL SON: An Orphan X Novel by Gregg Hurwitz

“From the first Smoak novel, 2016’s ORPHAN X, this has been one hell of a series, each volume (this is number six) revealing more about Evan’s deeply troubled past. The writing is pitch-perfect, too, which should come as no surprise to followers of Hurwitz’s career. Nuanced and energetic, this is a great thriller.”–Booklist, starred review

WAITING FOR THE NIGHT SONG by Julie Carrick Dalton

“Returning home at the request of childhood friend Daniela, forestry researcher Cadie Kessler must face down the dark secret that split them apart one summer long ago. Meanwhile, drought, foreclosure, and wildfires rule the countryside, with tension between locals and displaced migrant farm workers resulting. Prolific award-winning journalist Dalton has won awards for early versions of this work, and the 150,000-copy first printing bespeaks publisher confidence.”–Library Journal, Pre-Pub Alert

BEFORE THE RUINS by Victoria Gosling

“British author Gosling’s stellar debut focuses on four childhood friends…. The gorgeous, poetic prose perfectly complements the suspenseful plot. Gosling is off to a terrific start.”–Publishers Weekly, starred review

PICKARD COUNTY ATLAS by Chris Harding Thornton

“In Thornton’s impressive debut, a hard-edged noir set in 1978 Nebraska, Pickard County deputy sheriff Harley Jensen has to deal with an unresolved case involving the missing body of a murdered child… Thornton’s superior gift for evocative prose augurs well for her next work. Fans of Lou Berney will be pleased.”–Publishers Weekly, starred review