2017 starts off with some really great reads! These are the books I’ve either read or I’m planning on reading, based on reviews and buzz. All are published in January or February, 2017.
Here we go…
CRIME FICTION
THE GIRL BEFORE by J.P. Delaney: Seizing a unique opportunity to rent a one-of-a-kind house, a damaged young woman falls in love with the enigmatic architect who designed the residence, unaware that she is following in the footsteps of a doomed former tenant.
LITTLE DEATHS by Emma Flint: A gripping 
suspense tale set in 1960s New York and inspired by true events follows the investigation of a cocktail waitress whose two young children have been brutally murdered and a rookie tabloid reporter who would uncover the truth.
THE DRY by Jane Harper: Receiving a sinister anonymous note after his best friend’s suspicious death, federal agent Aaron Falk is forced to confront the fallout of a 20-year-old false alibi against a backdrop of the worst drought Melbourne has seen in a century. A first novel.
EVERYTHING YOU WANT ME TO BE by Mindy Mejia: When a civic-minded high-school senior is found brutally murdered on the opening night of the school play, town sheriff and family friend Del Goodman discovers unsettling truths about the victim’s mesmerizing nature and the secrets that led to her death.
THE SECOND MRS. HOCKADAY by Susan Rivers: A tale inspired by a true story follows the efforts of a Civil War veteran to discern the truth about his teen bride, who during the two years he was at war was convicted and imprisoned for allegedly having a baby in his absence and killing it. A first novel.
IDAHO by Emily Ruskovich: A tale told from multiple perspectives traces the complicated relationship between Ann and Wade on a rugged landscape and how they came together in the aftermath of his first wife’s imprisonment for a violent murder. A first novel.
LITERARY
NORSE MYTHOLOGY by Neil Gaiman: The New York Times best-selling author presents a bravura rendering of the major Norse pantheon that traces the genesis of the legendary nine worlds and the exploits of its characters, illuminating the characters and natures of iconic figures Odin, Thor and Loki.
THE REFUGEES by Viet Thanh Nguyen: The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sympathizer presents a new collection of stories, written over a 20-year period, which explores questions of home, family, immigration, the American experience and the relationships and desires for self-fulfillment that define our lives.
LILLIAN BOXFISH TAKES A WALK by Kathleen Rooney: Embarking on a walk across the unsafe landscape of Manhattan on New Year’s Eve in 1984, 85-year-old Lillian Boxfish recalls her long and eventful life, which included a brief reign as the highest-paid advertising woman in America, whose career was cut short by marriage and loss. Fall 2016 Library Journal Editors’ Pick.
LINCOLN IN THE BARDO by George Saunders: A literary ghost story. A long-awaited first novel by the National Book Award-nominated, New York Times best-selling author of Tenth of December traces a night of solitary mourning and reflection as experienced by the 16th President after the death of his 11-year-old son at the dawn of the Civil War.
ROMANCE
SOMEONE TO HOLD by Mary Balogh: Declared illegitimate and without a title, Camille Westcott leaves London to teach at the Bath orphanage where she meets artist Joel Cunningham with whom she shares a mutual contempt until her sittings with him take a passionate turn.
DEVIL IN SPRING by Lisa Kleypas: New York Times bestselling author Lisa Kleypas combines the worlds of the Wallflowers with Marrying Winterborne in this irresistible story of how Sebastian’s son Gabriel, Lord St. Vincent, meets his match in the eccentric and headstrong Lady Pandora.
JEWISH LIT
THE ORPHAN’S TALE by Pam Jenoff: The Nightingale meets Water for Elephants in this powerful novel of friendship and sacrifice, set in a traveling circus during World War II. Cast out after becoming pregnant by a Nazi soldier and being forced to give up her baby, 16-year-old Noa snatches a Jewish infant bound for a concentration camp before passing herself off as a circus performer and inciting the wrath of rival aerialist, Astrid. By the best-selling author of The Kommandant’s Girl.
ON TURPENTINE LANE by Elinor Lipman: An endearing romantic comedy. Living in her suburban hometown while her fiance is off on a crowdfunded cross-country walk, Faith discovers mysterious artifacts in her home’s attic that make her question a promising new relationship and everything she believes.
THE FORTUNATE ONES by Ellen Umansky: It is 1939 in Vienna, and as the specter of war darkens Europe, Rose Zimmer’s parents are desperate. Unable to get out of Austria, they manage to secure passage for their young daughter on a kindertransport, and send her to live with strangers in England. A unique Chaim Soutine work of art connects the lives and fates of two different women, generations apart, in a debut novel that moves from World War II Vienna to contemporary Los Angeles. Yes, another Holocaust book. What can I say, I read a lot of these. Never forget.
NONFICTION
INSANE CLOWN PRESIDENT: Dispatches From the 2016 Circus by Matt Taibbi: Just in case you weren’t sure about my politics – I want to read this just for the title alone. Plus I love Taibbi. Discusses the 2016 election, including the major shifts in perception of national institutions, the democratic process, and the future of the country.
A REALLY GOOD DAY by Ayelet Waldman: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life: A lighthearted account of the author’s experiment with microdoses of LSD in an effort to treat a debilitating mood disorder details what she has learned about the misunderstood drug and how she believes psychedelics can be appropriately used as therapeutic medicines.
Posted by Stacy Alesi 
Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™ 