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Which of the following titles releasing in January have you read or do you plan to read? Please check all that apply.

January 9, 2026, 817 voters

January 9, 2026 - January 23, 2026

Here are reading recommendations with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars for the contest period of January 9 - January 23.

Winter Reading 2026

Our Winter Reading contests have returned for an 11th year! On select days in January and February, we are hosting a series of 24-hour contests spotlighting a book releasing this winter and giving five lucky readers the chance to win it.

We also are sending a special newsletter to announce the day's title, which you can sign up for here.

Editorial Content for The Right to Remain: A Jack Swyteck Novel

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ray Palen

James Grippando and his series featuring Miami criminal defense attorney Jack Swyteck has long been one of the best in the legal thriller genre. His latest case, which is detailed in THE RIGHT TO REMAIN, also deals with subject matter that is timely and relevant for the current era in which we live. Read More

Teaser

Miami criminal defense lawyer Jack Swyteck’s client, Elliott Stafford, has been indicted for murder but has gone silent. He won’t talk to the judge, his girlfriend, or even the attorney fighting for his life. There seems to be no medical or psychological reason for his silence. To some, it’s an act of protest against a broken criminal justice system. Jack doesn’t buy it. Undeterred by the hoopla and calls to walk away, he keeps his client and tries his best to save Elliott from himself. As he digs for facts, Jack discovers a much more disturbing reason for Elliott’s silence. Virtually everything Elliott told Jack before the indictment is proving false, including Elliot’s criminal history, family turmoil and secret past. As Jack plunges deeper, he comes to believe that Elliott isn’t trying to hide his own guilt. He may be protecting someone else --- and the stakes could not be higher.

Promo

Miami criminal defense lawyer Jack Swyteck’s client, Elliott Stafford, has been indicted for murder but has gone silent. He won’t talk to the judge, his girlfriend, or even the attorney fighting for his life. There seems to be no medical or psychological reason for his silence. To some, it’s an act of protest against a broken criminal justice system. Jack doesn’t buy it. Undeterred by the hoopla and calls to walk away, he keeps his client and tries his best to save Elliott from himself. As he digs for facts, Jack discovers a much more disturbing reason for Elliott’s silence. Virtually everything Elliott told Jack before the indictment is proving false, including Elliot’s criminal history, family turmoil and secret past. As Jack plunges deeper, he comes to believe that Elliott isn’t trying to hide his own guilt. He may be protecting someone else --- and the stakes could not be higher.

About the Book

In this thrilling novel from bestselling author James Grippando --- the 20th in his revered series --- legendary criminal defense attorney Jack Swyteck takes on a twisty, difficult case that becomes one of the most complex in his illustrious career.

Miami criminal defense lawyer Jack Swyteck must contend with a unique problem. His client, Elliott Stafford, indicted for murder, has gone silent. Not just silent in asserting his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination --- Elliott refuses to speak. He won’t talk to the judge, his girlfriend or even the attorney fighting for his life. There seems to be no medical or psychological reason for his silence. He has, as Jack puts it, “chosen to become his own worst enemy.”

To some, it’s an act of protest against a broken criminal justice system. Jack doesn’t buy it. Undeterred by the hoopla and calls to walk away, he keeps his client and tries his best to save Elliott from himself. As he digs for facts, Jack discovers a much more disturbing reason for Elliott’s silence. Virtually everything Elliott told Jack before the indictment is proving false, including Elliot’s criminal history, family turmoil and secret past. As Jack plunges deeper, he comes to believe that Elliott isn’t trying to hide his own guilt. He may be protecting someone else --- and the stakes could not be higher.

With plenty of courtroom action, scenes in which “Grippando’s years of experience shine brightest” (New York Times), THE RIGHT TO REMAIN is one of the most thrilling entries yet in this hugely popular series that keeps going strong.

Audiobook available, read by Jonathan Davis

Editorial Content for Ain't Nobody's Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Philip Zozzaro

Dolly Parton is a natural storyteller whose family is full of yarn spinners hailing from the Smoky Mountains region of Tennessee. Read More

Teaser

From her impoverished childhood in the Smoky Mountains to international stardom as a singer, songwriter, actress, businesswoman and philanthropist, Dolly Parton has exceeded everyone's expectations except her own. AIN’T NOBODY’S FOOL is a deep dive into the social, historical and personal forces that made Dolly Parton one of the most beloved and unifying figures in public life and includes interviews with friends, family members, school mates, Nashville neighbors, members of her band, studio musicians, producers and many others. It also features never-before-seen photographs and unearthed documents shedding light on her family's hardscrabble life.

Promo

From her impoverished childhood in the Smoky Mountains to international stardom as a singer, songwriter, actress, businesswoman and philanthropist, Dolly Parton has exceeded everyone's expectations except her own. AIN’T NOBODY’S FOOL is a deep dive into the social, historical and personal forces that made Dolly Parton one of the most beloved and unifying figures in public life and includes interviews with friends, family members, school mates, Nashville neighbors, members of her band, studio musicians, producers and many others. It also features never-before-seen photographs and unearthed documents shedding light on her family's hardscrabble life.

About the Book

A larger-than-life new biography of country music legend and philanthropist Dolly Parton.

In AIN'T NOBODY'S FOOL: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton, Martha Ackmann chronicles the life of an American Original.

From her impoverished childhood in the Smoky Mountains to international stardom as a singer, songwriter, actress, businesswoman, and philanthropist, Dolly Parton has exceeded everyone's expectations except her own. During a time when the Beatles set the standard for contemporary music, Dolly appeared on a local country music television show that her high school classmates thought was pure cornpone. The day after her high school graduation, she boarded a bus for Nashville, but record executives turned her down. One said her voice sounded like a screech owl.

When Dolly finally got her foot in the door, her talent and focus catapulted her to the top of country charts, the pop world and movie stardom. Yet her success came at a price. Shunned by many in Nashville who saw her ambition as a betrayal of her country music roots, Dolly became the target of death threats, lawsuits, and a judge who threatened to throw her in jail. She nearly collapsed on-stage and later succumbed to depression that pushed her to the brink, but she refused to be counted out and came back stronger than ever developing Dollywood, the amusement park that became the economic engine of East Tennessee, and founding the Imagination Library that provides free books to children around the world. Her philanthropy to health organizations led to creation of the Moderna COVID vaccine. And, finally, she returned to her roots, recording bluegrass albums that became the most celebrated of her unparalleled 60-year career.

AIN'T NOBODY'S FOOL is a deep dive into the social, historical and personal forces that made Dolly Parton one of the most beloved and unifying figures in public life and includes interviews with friends, family members, school mates, Nashville neighbors, members of her band, studio musicians, producers and many others. It also features never before seen photographs and unearthed documents shedding light on her family's hardscrabble life. More than anything, Martha Ackmann's fresh and animated new book proves Dolly Parton knows just who she is and she ain't nobody's fool.

Audiobook available, read by Hannah Church 

Editorial Content for Sharpe’s Storm: Richard Sharpe and the Invasion of Southern France, 1813

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Curtis Edmonds

SHARPE’S STORM is at the tail end of Bernard Cornwell’s enormously successful series in terms of the publication date, and fairly late when it comes to chronological order. As a result, there are quite a few callbacks to Sharpe’s earlier adventures as chronicled in previous installments. This can be a bit tedious at times for the dedicated, veteran reader; it’s even tedious for Sharpe, who gets annoyed at one point at a reference to his past heroics at Talavera. Read More

Teaser

The year is 1813. France is a battlefield, and winter shows no mercy. Amid brutal conditions, Major Richard Sharpe finds himself saddled with an unexpected burden: Rear-Admiral Sir Joel Chase, dispatched by the Admiralty with sealed orders, unshakable confidence, and a frankly terrifying enthusiasm for combat. Sharpe’s mission from Wellington is clear, yet anything but simple: Keep Sir Joel alive. Sir Joel could hold the key to defeating Napoleon once and for all. But to pull off his audacious plan, he needs someone who knows how to fight dirty, think fast and survive the impossible. He needs Sharpe.

Promo

The year is 1813. France is a battlefield, and winter shows no mercy. Amid brutal conditions, Major Richard Sharpe finds himself saddled with an unexpected burden: Rear-Admiral Sir Joel Chase, dispatched by the Admiralty with sealed orders, unshakable confidence, and a frankly terrifying enthusiasm for combat. Sharpe’s mission from Wellington is clear, yet anything but simple: Keep Sir Joel alive. Sir Joel could hold the key to defeating Napoleon once and for all. But to pull off his audacious plan, he needs someone who knows how to fight dirty, think fast and survive the impossible. He needs Sharpe.

About the Book

A gripping novel featuring the legendary Richard Sharpe from Bernard Cornwell, the internationally bestselling master of historical fiction widely recognized as “the most prolific and successful historical novelist in the world today” (Wall Street Journal).

The year is 1813. France is a battlefield, and winter shows no mercy. Amid brutal conditions, Major Richard Sharpe finds himself saddled with an unexpected burden: Rear-Admiral Sir Joel Chase, dispatched by the Admiralty with sealed orders, unshakable confidence, and a frankly terrifying enthusiasm for combat.

Sharpe’s mission from Wellington is clear, yet anything but simple: Keep Sir Joel alive.

Sir Joel could hold the key to defeating Napoleon once and for all. But to pull off his audacious plan, he needs someone who knows how to fight dirty, think fast and survive the impossible. He needs Sharpe.

Audiobook available, read by Rupert Farley

Editorial Content for Return of the Maltese Falcon

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ray Palen

It is hard to believe that the 1941 film The Maltese Falcon was based on the only novel that legendary mystery writer Dashiell Hammett penned featuring Detective Sam Spade. That story left some big questions unanswered, and now Max Allan Collins is returning to that world in an attempt to wrap things up. Read More

Teaser

Legendary mystery writer Dashiell Hammett only wrote one novel about detective Sam Spade: THE MALTESE FALCON, the most famous private-eye story ever told. But the case was never really solved. The priceless golden, bejeweled bird that men and women had been dying to possess turned out to be a fake. Now, Max Allan Collins brings closure to this crime classic, reuniting all the surviving members of the original cast alongside femme fatales, crooked collectors and greedy gangsters for one more thrilling, deadly chase through the streets, wharves, morgues, bars and back alleys of 1920s San Francisco --- and finally answers the question: Whatever became of the Maltese falcon?

Promo

Legendary mystery writer Dashiell Hammett only wrote one novel about detective Sam Spade: THE MALTESE FALCON, the most famous private-eye story ever told. But the case was never really solved. The priceless golden, bejeweled bird that men and women had been dying to possess turned out to be a fake. Now, Max Allan Collins brings closure to this crime classic, reuniting all the surviving members of the original cast alongside femme fatales, crooked collectors and greedy gangsters for one more thrilling, deadly chase through the streets, wharves, morgues, bars and back alleys of 1920s San Francisco --- and finally answers the question: Whatever became of the Maltese falcon?

About the Book

Hardboiled noir that picks up where legendary author Dashiell Hammett left off, telling the story of iconic private eye Sam Spade and the quest for the priceless Maltese falcon.

Legendary mystery writer Dashiell Hammett only wrote one novel about detective Sam Spade: THE MALTESE FALCON, the most famous private-eye story ever told. But the case was never really solved. The priceless golden, bejeweled bird that men and women had been dying to possess turned out to be a fake.

Now, Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Max Allan Collins (author of ROAD TO PERDITION) brings closure to this crime classic, reuniting all the surviving members of the original cast alongside femme fatales, crooked collectors and greedy gangsters for one more thrilling, deadly chase through the streets, wharves, morgues, bars and back alleys of 1920s San Francisco --- and finally answers the question: Whatever became of the Maltese falcon?

Audiobook available, read by Dan John Miller

Editorial Content for Sword Beach: D-Day Baptism by Fire

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ron Kaplan (www.RonKaplansBaseballBookshelf.com)

A lot of Americans get their impressions of World War II from feature films like Saving Private Ryan and TV shows like “Band of Brothers.” As compelling and terrifying as these horrors of war are, they are almost always from the American perspective with little involvement from our allies. Read More

Teaser

Between 1941 and 1944, the British army contributed relatively little to World War II. On the unremittingly bloody Eastern Front, no Russian or German soldier had experienced the luxury of having four years to prepare and train for a resumption of the European continental campaign. But on D-Day --- June 6, 1944 --- the lives of British soldiers changed. Thiry-five thousand infantrymen, airmen and special service operatives were sent headfirst into the whitest heat of war, almost overnight. Max Hastings’ SWORD BEACH tells the story of a handful of British soldiers and their critical role in D-Day’s parachute and seaborne offensive. 

Promo

Between 1941 and 1944, the British army contributed relatively little to World War II. On the unremittingly bloody Eastern Front, no Russian or German soldier had experienced the luxury of having four years to prepare and train for a resumption of the European continental campaign. But on D-Day --- June 6, 1944 --- the lives of British soldiers changed. Thiry-five thousand infantrymen, airmen and special service operatives were sent headfirst into the whitest heat of war, almost overnight. Max Hastings’ SWORD BEACH tells the story of a handful of British soldiers and their critical role in D-Day’s parachute and seaborne offensive. 

About the Book

From the bestselling military historian, a thrilling account of the valiant British role in the D-Day invasion.

Between 1941 and 1944, the British army contributed relatively little to World War II. On the unremittingly bloody Eastern Front, no Russian or German soldier had experienced the luxury of having four years to prepare and train for a resumption of the European continental campaign. But on D-Day --- June 6, 1944 --- the lives of British soldiers changed. Thiry-five thousand infantrymen, airmen and special service operatives were sent headfirst into the whitest heat of war, almost overnight.

Max Hastings’ SWORD BEACH tells the story of a handful of British soldiers and their critical role in D-Day’s parachute and seaborne offensive. On Sword, the codename of one of the two beaches assaulted by the British, scores of soldiers were killed by the first shots that they ever heard fired in anger. One British corporal insisted on apologizing to his enemy prisoners, and the Free French troops, 120-men strong, suffered 60 percent losses in the first days of fighting. With his signature blend of drama and detail, Hastings shows how the men who landed on Sword played a critical role in Britain’s preeminent landmark victory and the most spectacular battlefield event of World War II in the West.

SWORD BEACH fills in many of the missing pieces and human stories that have long been left out of the sweeping macro-stories of the Normandy invasion. Based on published memoirs, interviews with D-Day veterans and rigorous research, Hastings lends color and shade to the climactic action of the Western Front’s most famous battle. SWORD BEACH describes the lives of a small number of men, on a single day, who faced the immediate transition from make-believe battle to the war’s most violent circumstances.

Audiobook available, read by John Hopkins

Editorial Content for The Castaways

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ray Palen

Lucy Clarke kicks off 2026 with a psychological thriller that readers will be talking about for a while. THE CASTAWAYS is full of secrets and surprises.

Two years ago, a plane disappeared over Fiji. One of the passengers was Lori. Her sister, Erin, was supposed to be on that flight but wasn’t. Erin is a journalist who is suspicious by nature. She has let both her guilt and the numerous questions she has about the incident consume her. Her research, which includes visits to Fiji where she had last seen Lori, turns up the possibility that the pilot might still be alive. Read More

Teaser

Two years ago, a small plane disappeared over Fiji. For Erin, it’s been two years of obsessing over every detail, refusing to move forward even as life does. Her sister, Lori, was on that plane, and Erin was meant to be, too. But after a bitter argument, she failed to show. Everyone thinks Lori is dead, but Erin can’t let go. Just when Erin is on the verge of losing hope, the pilot of the missing plane turns up still in Fiji, seemingly with no memory of the crash. In a final bid to find her sister, Erin travels there herself. But what she discovers is beyond anything she could have predicted.

Promo

Two years ago, a small plane disappeared over Fiji. For Erin, it’s been two years of obsessing over every detail, refusing to move forward even as life does. Her sister, Lori, was on that plane, and Erin was meant to be, too. But after a bitter argument, she failed to show. Everyone thinks Lori is dead, but Erin can’t let go. Just when Erin is on the verge of losing hope, the pilot of the missing plane turns up still in Fiji, seemingly with no memory of the crash. In a final bid to find her sister, Erin travels there herself. But what she discovers is beyond anything she could have predicted.

About the Book

LONG BRIGHT RIVER meets "Lost" in this adrenaline-fueled thriller of a missing plane, a remote island, and two sisters torn apart when a vacation turns unthinkably deadly.

Two years ago, a small plane disappeared over Fiji. For Erin, it’s been two years of obsessing over every detail, refusing to move forward even as life does. Her sister, Lori, was on that plane, and Erin was meant to be, too. But after a bitter argument, she failed to show. Everyone thinks Lori is dead, but Erin can’t let go.

Just when Erin is on the verge of losing hope, the pilot of the missing plane turns up still in Fiji, seemingly with no memory of the crash. In a final bid to find her sister, Erin travels there herself. But what she discovers is beyond anything she could have predicted.

A sharp-edged, darkly propulsive novel following two sisters whose lives are upended when their vacation of a lifetime goes disastrously awry, THE CASTAWAYS is another scorcher from “queen of the destination thriller” (Claire Douglas) and million-copy bestselling author Lucy Clarke.

Audiobook available, read by Jess Nesling and Helen Phillips

Editorial Content for The Quiet Mother: A Detective Konrad Novel

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ray Palen

THE QUIET MOTHER by Arnaldur Indridason features murder cases from the present and the past that retired detective Konrad is deeply connected to and driven to solve.

Konrad inserts himself into the death of a woman named Valborg for which he feels extremely guilty as she once asked him to find her son, which he was not able or willing to do at the time. As he attempts to help his former colleague, Marta, with the investigation, he opens up old wounds concerning the decades-old murder of his father that was never solved. Read More

Teaser

A woman is found murdered in her Reykjavík home, her apartment ransacked. On her desk lies a note with retired detective Konrad’s phone number. Days earlier, she had begged him to find the child she gave up nearly 50 years ago. But Konrad, reluctant to reopen old wounds, turned her away. Now, haunted by guilt, he vows to uncover the truth --- for her and for himself. As Konrad digs into her tragic past, he is drawn into a web of secrets, lies and betrayal. Each revelation points to a hidden life that connects her death to a decades-old murder --- and to shadows from Konrad’s own family history.

Promo

A woman is found murdered in her Reykjavík home, her apartment ransacked. On her desk lies a note with retired detective Konrad’s phone number. Days earlier, she had begged him to find the child she gave up nearly 50 years ago. But Konrad, reluctant to reopen old wounds, turned her away. Now, haunted by guilt, he vows to uncover the truth --- for her and for himself. As Konrad digs into her tragic past, he is drawn into a web of secrets, lies and betrayal. Each revelation points to a hidden life that connects her death to a decades-old murder --- and to shadows from Konrad’s own family history.

About the Book

Retired detective Konrad returns to Reykjavik in THE QUIET MOTHER by Arnaldur Indridason, "one of the most brilliant crime writers of his generation" ―The Sunday Times (UK).

A woman is found murdered in her Reykjavík home, her apartment ransacked. On her desk lies a note with retired detective Konrad’s phone number. Days earlier, she had begged him to find the child she gave up nearly 50 years ago. But Konrad, reluctant to reopen old wounds, turned her away. Now, haunted by guilt, he vows to uncover the truth --- for her and for himself.

As Konrad digs into her tragic past, he is drawn into a web of secrets, lies and betrayal. Each revelation points to a hidden life that connects her death to a decades-old murder --- and to shadows from Konrad’s own family history.

THE QUIET MOTHER is a masterful blend of human tragedy and relentless suspense, where every discovery comes at a cost. Arnaldur Indridason once again proves why he is the voice of Nordic Noir, delivering a harrowing tale of guilt and redemption.