What's New in Books for 2021

One exciting thing about a new year is discovering which of our favourite authors have something new in the pipeline to enthrall us with. Here are just a few of the titles on my radar as we launch into another fantastic year of reading.

New Books from Popular Authors

The Last Guests by J P Pomare: This Melbourne based Kiwi and Ngaio Marsh Award winner has a new thriller which may have you rethinking your eagerness to own a holiday rental. When the decision to rent out her family vacation home takes a deadly turn, Lina finds herself racing for answers. Set on gorgeous Lake Tarawera.

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah: Elsa Martinelli is a farmer in Texas during the Great Depression. When crops fail due to a terrible drought and dust threatens to destroy their livelihoods for good, many are selling up and moving west to California. A stunning portrait of the American Dream, courage and sacrifice as told through the eyes of one determined woman.

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro: Klara is an Artificial Friend watching and waiting for the customer who will choose her. A look at a changing, technology driven world through the eyes of an unforgettable heroine. A new book by the author of The Remains of the Day is always something to cheer about.

Series Favourites

Fallen by Linda Castillo: Painters Mill Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is back with the case of a young woman found murdered in a local motel - someone Kate once knew as a girl back when she was part of the Amish community. Long-buried secrets turn up as the killer strikes again. This book isn't released until June, but in the meantime Linda Castillo's publishers are releasing a collection of shorter Burkholder stories called A Simple Murder.

The Night Hawk by Elly Griffiths: Back at her old Norfolk university, forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway is caught up in a new murder inquiry when Bronze Age artefacts are discovered with a dead body by amateur archaeologists. More bodies, a ghostly dog that's the Harbinger of Death and we have a trademark Elly Griffiths page turner. 

The Night Gate by Peter May: Forensic scientist Enzo Macleod is back with another cold case - the murder of a famous art critic as well as a disinterred body killed 70 years before. At the heart of both deaths is da Vinci's Mona Lisa, while in the background we have Paris suddenly going into Covid lockdown. Plenty to keep Enzo busy and the reader guessing.

Causing Ripples

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins: This story takes place in Thornfield Estates - a plush, gated community in modern-day Alabama. Jane is an impoverished dog-walker who catches the eye of widower Eddie Rochester - the only problem is his late wife just won't stay buried. Sound familiar? A modern retelling of the classic Jane Eyre.

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman: Four friends at a retirement village meet once a week to discuss unsolved murders. When an actual murder takes place on their doorstep, The Thursday Murder Club swing into action with a real crime to investigate. Maybe their combined talents are just what it takes to solve it. 

End of Summer by Anders de la Motte: This mystery concerns the 1983 disappearance of a small boy. Decades later we catch up with the boy's sister now a grief counsellor. When a young man joins her group and talks about the sadness he experienced after the boy's vanishing, questions arise about what happened and whether he might still be alive. A terrific new author for fans of Scandi Noir.

Posted by JAM