Are you looking for something new to read? Here are ten new books being released this December to consider reading or adding to your book list. Hopefully, one of these 2023 releases will pique your interest and become your next read!
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Murder, secrets, scandal, and a century-old mystery - that is what Block Island has to offer to two sisters, strangers since birth but bound together by family secrets.
The isolated Block Island is where Blake Bronson has travelled to find her birth mother and upon experiencing what the island has to offer with its torrential rain, a salt-worn mansion, and rumours of a ghost haunting its hall, she's convinced she is the heroine in a gothic novel. A novel about a protagonist's temporary escape from a traumatic childhood. Before the ending can be written, she's found dead, murdered in a claw-foot tub. The owner of White Hall is blamed.
Despite having sworn the place off for good, a letter summons Thalia Mills back to the island, just before Blake was found murdered. And it turns out Blake isn't the only one to have died under suspicious circumstances at White Hall. It is up to Thalia to find the true reason behind Blake's death before forces outside her control take action to keep the island's secrets alive, and devour her along the way.
Sunday lives with her sixteen-year-old daughter, Dolly, in the same house she grew up in. She has a unique way of doing things, and it mostly works well. When "quiet days" happen, she eats only white foods. When socialising, Sunday relies on her etiquette hand book and for comfort, she turns to her beloved collection of Sicilian folklore. The one aspect of Sunday's life very much out of her control is Dolly, her beautiful and strong-willed teenager on the verge of leaving home.
In step Vita and Rollo, a glamorous couple from London, who move in next door and disrupt Sunday's carefully ordered life. They are quick to disarm her with their charm and soon, the two families are intertwined, going between both homes with ease and Sunday suddenly feels loved and accepted like never before. But underneath her new neighbour's charm and wealth lie darkness. Sunday has something Vita has always desired - a beautiful and intelligent daughter of her own.
Lucy and her husband, Adam, have been best friends with Cora and Scott for years. The two couples are practically family - they frequently vacation together, they co-own a beach house, and their children are inseparable. It's why Lucy is devastated when she stumbles upon Scott in the background of a colleague's holiday photo in the Maldives, apparently on a luxury getaway with a woman that isn't Cora.
Lucy is determined to protect her best friend from her husband's potential infidelity, until she discovers the woman in the photo is missing. The revelation only increases her concern and she fears that Scott was somehow involved in the disappearance. In her quest for answers, she uncovers secrets about her friends and even her own husband, secrets that could shatter the idyllic life they have built together. Lucy is beginning to suspect she is the one in the dark, and that those around her know much more about the missing woman than they are willing to reveal. And if so, what happens when she uncovers the truth?
Ellen Walsh is a teacher, mother, wife, and an all-around good member of society who is continuously occupied by her whirlwind of commitments. From raising three children to applying for work to finally renovating her dream home, Ellen juggles it all. Amidst the chaos an unsettling note arrives in the mail declaring:
People must learn there are consequences to their actions.
I'm going to teach you that lesson, Ellen.
Right under your nose.
Perplexed, Ellen is left questioning why someone would send her such an ominous note. She knows she isn't without flaws - a white lie here, an occasional sharp mark there - but nothing to have warranted an anonymous enemy. Ellen would never intentionally harm someone.
But intentions don't always matter and someone blames Ellen, a "good person", for the harm that has befallen them. Could it be that the five bad deeds from her past are behind this note? Five reasons as to why everything has suddenly gone horribly wrong. As Ellen races against time to uncover the identity of whose trying to tarnish her reputation and destroy her future, messages continue to arrive... each one striking closer to the heart and everything she holds dear.
Former actress Vivian Parry now works in journalism as a junior theatre critic. She spends her nights in the dark, watching shows she loves and during the day, she cuts them with her words. Her newest interview brought up secrets she thought buried and when the interviewer disappears, Vivian discovers she was the last to see him alive.
The police refuse to investigate and Vivian makes the difficult choice to break her promise, stepping into the role of detective. Her investigative nature and acting skills lead her to a sketchy business and even sketchier people, fake blood, and a very real corpse. Her investigation will begin to test the boundaries between theatre and reality and to solve the case, Vivian must navigate those boundaries before she loses herself to them.
When tragedy forces Delphine Auber to leave her Parisian home, she seizes the chance to start on the long dreamed journey of finding her father. Her postwar quest takes her over the world - from Paris to Harlem, to Havana and Key West, the journey is complicated for the young writer as Delphine steadfastly believes Ernest Hemingway is her father. Delphine craves his approval, both as a daughter and a writer, and she is convinced he has the answer to who she is meant to be. Yet, what will unfold if her assumption is wrong, or if her true story lies beyond the legend of her lineage that she has clung firmly to her whole life?
Keep Your Family Close is the second release in the Honeywell Detective series, a release that looks to me like a potentially thrilling read that could stand on its own. Upon the discovery of a badly decomposed body in an abandoned warehouse, Detective Matthias Honeywell, is called to investigate.
Emma Anderson, freelance photographer, has been desperately searching for her drug-addicted sister, Nell, and when her license is discovered at the crime scene, her world collapses. In need of assistance, Matthias asks Emma for help hoping that an additional set of eyes close to the murder will bring the mysterious case of Nell Anderson to a close. But, will the case raise more questions than answers?
Gabby DiMarco, fact checker for a renowned magazine, firmly believes in absolute and verifiable truths. That is until the genealogy test she took for research yielded a baffling result - she has a sister whose been desperately searching for her. The revelation makes her question the truth and what her parents would confirm if they were still alive, that a long-lost sister is impossible.
Isabella Ruiz, an artist, has never forgotten her baby sister's face despite having disappeared from San Juan twenty-five years ago. She has fought to build a stable home and a loving marriage, but the deep ache inside to find her sister has never dulled. When she discovers a potential match in Gabby, Isabella convinces her to come to Puerto Rico. But when Gabby arrives, she is defensive and cautious, throwing a spanner into Isabella's hope for a joyous reunion.
Gabby insists a mistake has been made and Isabella has to come to terms with the fact that even if Gabby is her sister, she might only be one by blood. Together, they embark on a journey to uncover the truth and in doing so, they risk everything they've ever known for an uncertain future built upon a past that holds even more surprises...
Ava and her girlfriend live in what remains of Brooklyn, struggling to find happiness amidst the devastating effects of climate change. The world is becoming increasingly unsafe, leaving only those accepted into the Inside Project - weather-safe, city-size structures around the world - a guaranteed chance of survival. Enter Jacqueline Millender, a reclusive billionaire, women's rights advocate, and recently appointed director of the Inside being constructed on the remnants of Manhattan. She brings with her unorthodox, but enticing ideas that challenge the current concept of empowerment.
Shelby, a business major from a working-class background, is drawn to the influence and impact Jacqueline promises, and when she secures her dream job working as her personal assistant, she is instantly immersed into the glamorous world of corporatized feminism. Olympia, a medical school graduate, also finds herself drawn into Jacqueline's circle when she is recruited to oversee the health department Inside. But, the more Olympia delves into the project, the more she realizes there is something much larger at play.
When only Ava is selected into the Inside, she is forced to go alone. Initially heartbroken, she soon discovers a sense of belonging within the safe confines of the Inside - most of the time. There are moments when she can't ignore that something feels deeply off. Soon, the three women begin to notice the cracks in Jacqueline's system and Jacqueline's grip tightens they further they come to the truth, her behaviour being increasingly unhinged and dangerous. She is willing to do whatever it takes, sacrifice whoever necessary, to keep her dream alive.
What are you most excited to read this December? Let me know below!
