Best Books of December 2023
The mother-daughter relationship is a notoriously treacherous patch of psychological real estate. For Brooklyn 30-something Flores, it’s especially complicated. Flores’ mom, Paula, a Peruvian immigrant, is still mourning the death of her husband, Flo...
Irish author Louise Kennedy earned great reviews and a blossoming readership with her 2022 debut novel, Trespasses, set in and around Belfast during the Troubles. Her follow-up short story collection explores similar territory with various Irish char...
The sequel to the YA fantasy romance Divine Rivals from earlier this year, Rebecca Ross’ Ruthless Vows concludes the enemies-to-lovers historical epic. Set in a kind of alternative universe circa World War I, Ross’ Letters of Enchantment series featu...
British author Katherine Faulkner taps into simmering parental anxieties with this thriller about a very posh, very strange London neighborhood. Young mother Tash is thrilled to be accepted into the local playgroup of kids and moms in a nearby wealth...
Historical fiction wrapped around a central mystery story, Ariel Lawhon’s The Frozen River is based on the extensive diaries of the real-life 18th-century midwife and healer Martha Ballard. When a frozen corpse is pulled from the Kennebec River in Ma...
A coming-of-age story set in postwar Paris (initially), Asha Lemmie’s latest slice of historical fiction follows aspiring author Delphine Auber. Determined to find the father she’s never known, Delphine embarks on a quest that will take her from Fran...
Set in the English countryside just after World War I, The Curse of Penryth Hall introduces heroine and rare bookshop operator Ruby Vaughn. When Ruby is asked to make a special delivery to said Hall, she finds a shadowed manse with gothic vibes and a...
Author Evie Dunmore is back with The Gentleman's Gambit, the fourth and reportedly final installment in her popular historical romance series, The League of Extraordinary Women. The gist: Oxford scholar and dedicated suffragist Catriona Campbell is t...
The tragic death of author Anthony Veasna So stunned the book world in late 2020, coming just months before the publication of his acclaimed debut short story collection, Afterparties. Praised for their unique blend of sharp wit and deep empathy, So’...
Celebrity historian Gareth Russell—they have those in Britain—invites readers to explore the amazing past of England’s Hampton Court Palace. In fact, Russell’s new book covers more than 500 years of history as seen through the arches and windows of t...
Dave Grohl, the twice-inducted Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member for his work with Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, has lived through and seen a lot, so these tales run the gamut from the early days of his career to his now legend status. Clearly, thi...
Happy days are here again! EGOT, icon and the funny girl herself shares her story — from Brooklyn to Broadway to Brolin, and everything in between.