The January 2023 Indie Next List Preview

Here are the 25 Indie Next List and 6 Now in Paperback picks on the January 2023 Indie Next List flier.

The January title list is also viewable as a collection on Edelweiss and on the Indie Next List page as an Excel file alongside PDFs for the month’s flier and shelf-talker templates. Learn more about ABA’s recent refresh for the Indie Next List program and visit Matchbook Marketing’s program page to sign up to send the free Indie Next List e-newsletter to customers.

Additionally, to mark the start of the new month, the December Indie Next List picks are available as a flier, along with past lists, on the Indie Next List page on BookWeb.org.      

The 25 January Indie Next List Picks

#1 Pick: Age of Vice: A Novel
By Deepti Kapoor
(Riverhead Books, 9780593328798, $30, Jan. 3, Fiction)
“A potent and moving crime drama set in India, Age of Vice takes a magnifying glass to the corruption and violence caused by wealth. Sweeping in scope yet attuned to the minute details of everyday life, this is a novel that’s not to be missed.”
—Bennard Fajardo, Politics and Prose Bookstore, Washington, DC

The New Life: A Novel (Indies Introduce)
By Tom Crewe
(Scribner, 9781668000830, $28, Jan. 3, Fiction)
“Crewe pays great tribute to those throughout history who have braved the battles to rightfully normalize homosexuality. Addington and Ellis boldly believed in a New Life for everyone. Their legacy is nothing less than inspiring.”
—Barbara Hall, Readers’ Books, Sonoma, CA

All the Dangerous Things: A Novel
By Stacy Willingham
(Minotaur Books, 9781250803856, $27.99, Jan. 10, Thriller)
“All the Dangerous Things is such a twisty story and I couldn’t get enough! The characters in this novel overlapped well and the way it all came together was impossible to see coming. The setting is so vivid and captivating.”
—Addy Bowman, Wild Geese Bookshop, Franklin, IN

Hell Bent: A Novel
By Leigh Bardugo
(Flatiron Books, 9781250313102, $29.99, Jan. 10, Fantasy)
“Ninth House was a dark, explosive introduction and Hell Bent expands on the world with even more mystery and magic. This book is every bit as addicting as the first. If you need me, I’ll be waiting for another installment in the series.”
—Becky Martone, RJ Julia Booksellers, Madison, CT

Sam: A Novel
By Allegra Goodman
(The Dial Press, 9780593447819, $28, Jan. 3, Fiction)
“You’ve never read a novel like Sam. Sam’s seminal years leave her insecure at best, entering adulthood with a number of missteps. Rock climbing gives her purpose; it doesn’t take her where she wants to go, but leads to unseen paths. Powerful.”
—Daniel Goldin, Boswell Book Company, Milwaukee, WI

Ms. Demeanor: A Novel
By Elinor Lipman
(Harper Perennial, 9780358677888, $17.99, paperback, Dec. 27, Fiction)
“A whole book about a woman on house arrest! Jane hooks up with a colleague on the roof of her apartment and ends up on house arrest for six months. Fellow neighbor Perry is in the same predicament; friendship and romance ensue. Delightful!”
—Melissa DeMotte, The Well-Read Moose, Coeur d'Alene, ID

Just the Nicest Couple: A Novel
By Mary Kubica
(Park Row, 9780778333111, $28.99, Jan. 10, Thriller)
“Is Lily just an innocent high school teacher who is in the wrong place at the wrong time? Can she keep her secret hidden from her best friend? Just the Nicest Couple gains steam throughout and keeps you guessing until the final pages.”
—Kelli McDonald, The Novel Neighbor, Webster Groves, MO

Better the Blood
By Michael Bennett
(Atlantic Monthly Press, 9780802160607, $27, Jan. 10, Mystery)
“Fast-paced and fascinating. Hana Westerman is a senior police detective, Māori, and a mother. It all comes into play in the chase for a serial killer intent on righting the wrongs of the colonial past. I hope this is the first of many!”
—Anne Holman, The King’s English Bookshop, Salt Lake City, UT

The Survivalists: A Novel (Indies Introduce)
By Kashana Cauley
(Soft Skull, 9781593767273, $27, Jan. 10, Fiction)
“The Survivalists tackles our divisive sociopolitical climate with dark humor, irony, absurdity, and understanding. A fun, thought-provoking, and revelatory novel about Doomsday prepping and our capacity for love and acceptance.”
—Alyssa Raymond, Copper Dog Books, Beverly, MA

The Villa: A Novel
By Rachel Hawkins
(St. Martin’s Press, 9781250280015, $28.99, Jan. 3, Thriller)
“Six weeks in an Italian Villa is an ideal summer for best friends Chess and Emily — except for the secrets they’ve kept. The Villa has secrets of its own. ‘Houses remember’ is the first line of a book written at the Villa; this one has seen it all!”
—Beth Mynhier, Lake Forest Book Store, Lake Forest, IL

The Bandit Queens: A Novel
By Parini Shroff
(Ballantine Books, 9780593498958, $28, Jan. 3, Fiction)
“A rebuke of misogynistic violence and a rollicking romp through an erstwhile crime spree, The Bandit Queens is incisive, yet funny and sweet in its sharpness. This tongue-in-cheek celebration of women’s solidarity is not to be missed.”
—Milo Michels, University Book Store, Seattle, WA

The Night Travelers: A Novel
By Armando Lucas Correa
(Atria Books, 9781501187988, $27.99, Jan. 10, Historical Fiction)
“The Night Travelers is a stunning and original work of historical fiction, following several generations of women from Nazi Germany, to Cuba, and beyond. Brilliant writing and a novel that is screaming for book club discussion.”
—Mary O'Malley, Skylark Bookshop, Columbia, MO

In the Time of Our History: A Novel
By Susanne Pari
(A John Scognamiglio Book, 9781496739261, $16.99, paperback, Jan. 3, Fiction)
“A poignant exploration of family, migration, cultural revolution, and community ties. Pari crafts nuanced characters woven together and torn apart by the same events; the journeys they each travel are momentous. This is a must-read.”
—Ashleigh Howland, Wellesley Books, Wellesley, MA

The Deluge: A Novel
By Stephen Markley
(Simon & Schuster, 9781982123093, $32.50, Jan. 10, Fiction)
“Be prepared to get hooked on page one! Markley brings climate change, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and our democracy’s future to the fore. Anyone that loved Stephen King’s The Stand, get ready to be blown away by this epic.”
—Jan Danielson Kaiser, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines, IA

Moonrise Over New Jessup: A Novel
By Jamila Minnicks
(Algonquin Books, 9781643752464, $28, Jan. 10, Fiction)
“An absolutely breathtaking debut that celebrates Blackness in all of its triumphs. Both an in-depth exploration of all-Black towns and a love story all the same, Jamila Minnicks has written a stunning and poignant modern classic.”
—Mary Louise Callaghan, Bookmarks, Winston-Salem, NC

Lost in the Moment and Found (Wayward Children #8)
By Seanan McGuire
(Tordotcom, 9781250213631, $22.99, Jan. 10, Fantasy)
“Emotionally resonant, thoughtfully complex, and endlessly creative, Lost in the Moment and Found is an excellent addition to the Wayward Children books. If you cracked my heart open, you’d find this series there.”
—Jodi Laidlaw, Blue Cypress Books, New Orleans, LA

The Blackhouse: A Novel
By Carole Johnstone
(Scribner, 9781982199678, $28, Jan. 3, Thriller)
“A highly immersive thriller on an insular and remote Scottish island in the Outer Hebrides. Johnstone uses this wild ‘thin place’ (where the division between this world and the next is porous) to great effect — she clearly knows her stuff.”
—Debra Ginsberg, DIESEL, A Bookstore, Santa Monica, CA

Bad Cree: A Novel
By Jessica Johns
(Doubleday, 9780385548694, $27, Jan. 10, Horror)
“Bad Cree uses the importance of dreams in Cree culture to cover corporate greed, trauma, and familial grief. Johns’ symbolism makes for an ethereal experience, and highlights the strength that can come from sisterhood and motherhood.”
—Stuart McCommon, Novel., Memphis, TN

Blaze Me a Sun: A Novel About a Crime
By Christoffer Carlsson, Rachel Willson-Broyles (Transl.)
(Hogarth, 9780593449356, $28, Jan. 3, Thriller)
“If you love a good Swedish crime novel or are a fan of Stieg Larsson then this book is for you! A runaway bestseller in Sweden, this is the American debut for the author and a can’t put down thriller that had me guessing until the end.”
—Kathy Clemmons, Sundog Books, Santa Rosa Beach, FL

I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself: A Novel
By Marisa Crane
(Catapult, 9781646221295, $27, Jan. 17, Fiction)
“This debut is wholly imaginative and magnificent, both a meditation on queer love and the government’s relationship with our bodies and children. Crane expertly creates a dystopian world grounded in real, fully-formed characters.”
—Adam Vitcavage, Tattered Cover Book Store, Denver, CO

Reef Road: A Novel
By Deborah Goodrich Royce
(Post Hill Press, 9781637584965, $27, Jan. 10, Thriller)
“A brilliant thriller that taps into an unsolved true crime story. It is masterfully written through two points of view, which expose the impact of violence and family trauma. I can already say this is one of my favorite books for 2023.”
—Lisa Valentino, Ink Fish Books, Warren, RI

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries: Book One of the Emily Wilde Series
By Heather Fawcett
(Del Rey, 9780593500132, $28, Jan. 10, Fantasy)
“Featuring a savvy and brutally practical heroine on a mission to create a thorough compendium of all known faerie species, this historical fantasy is rife with magical mischief and bewitching bargains that might cost Emily everything.”
—Heather Herbaugh, Mitzi’s Books, Rapid City, SD

Everybody Knows: A Novel
By Jordan Harper
(Mulholland Books, 9780316457910, $28, Jan. 10, Mystery)
“What Don Winslow’s The Force did with the NYPD and New York, Everybody Knows does with Hollywood and Los Angeles. A wonderful yet wretched exploration of human nature, you will struggle to put this book down or ever forget it.”
—Hilary Kotecki, The Doylestown & Lahaska Bookshops, Doylestown, PA

City Under One Roof: A Novel
By Iris Yamashita
(Berkley, 9780593336670, $27, Jan. 10, Mystery)
“I couldn’t help feeling claustrophobic with the closed in atmosphere of the setting and being cut off from the outside world. It’s sinister as almost everyone is hiding from something, but you don’t know what, or who, to trust. Loved it!”
—Eileen McGervey, One More Page Books, Arlington, VA

The Dream Builders: A Novel
By Oindrila Mukherjee
(Tin House Books, 9781953534637, $17.95, paperback, Jan. 10, Fiction)
“A fascinating look at modern Indian culture through an imaginary city, a homage to consumerism, capitalism, and globalization. The creative structure pulls back the curtain and shows what it means to live in this glittery, modern place.”
—Cori Cusker, Bright Side Bookshop, Flagstaff, AZ
 

The 6 Now in Paperback Titles

The Boy with a Bird in His Chest: A Novel
By Emme Lund
(Atria Books, 9781982171940, $17, Jan. 3, Fiction)
“My heart grew two sizes bigger reading this story of queer resilience and strength. Emme Lund’s debut is a beautiful coming-of-age story full of magical realism and love. If you’re a hugger, then you need this book.”
—Kassie King, The Novel Neighbor, Webster Groves, MO

Fiona and Jane: Stories
By Jean Chen Ho
(Penguin Books, 9780593296066, $17, Jan. 3, Short Stories)
“A beautiful, intimate look at the evolving relationship of two complex women navigating their lives from youth into adulthood. Fierce and unsentimental, this one will stay with you!”
—Tova Beiser, Brown University Bookstore, Providence, RI

How High We Go in the Dark: A Novel
By Sequoia Nagamatsu
(William Morrow Paperbacks, 9780063072657, $18.99, Jan. 10, Fiction)
“This collection of connected stories describes the world after a devastating plague. The book is beautiful — striking, unsettling, and darkly gorgeous. It defies categorization and creates its own genre. A shimmering gem of a book.”
—Debra Ginsberg, DIESEL, A Bookstore, Santa Monica, CA

Small World: A Novel
By Jonathan Evison
(Dutton, 9780593184134, $18, Jan. 10, Fiction)
“From the Gold Rush with Chinese, Irish, and Native Americans among the protagonists, Evison alternates time — work on the rails to Amtrak, gold panning to modern West Coast life — tying generations together in a splendid sleight of hand.”
—Pat Rutledge, A Book for All Seasons, Leavenworth, WA

The Starless Crown
By James Rollins
(Tor Books, 9781250766717, $19.99, Jan. 10, Fantasy)
“A captivating page-turner of impressive world-building and layered characters pits religious extremism against science; morally gray heroes against youthful innocence; and a mismatched squad trying to stop the end of their world.”
—Ashleigh Howland, Wellesley Books, Wellesley, MA

Wahala: A Novel
By Nikki May
(Mariner Books, 9780063084254, $17.99, Dec. 27, Fiction)
“Wahala offers a fresh, suspenseful, and insightful exploration of the darker complexities of friendship, romance, and ambition from the perspectives of three Anglo-Nigerian women.”
—Alyssa Raymond, Copper Dog Books, Beverly, MA