Haunting, atmospheric reads are the thing for deep January. This novel, by a French art historian, puts eccentrics and English country life under the microscope – specifically, the siblings of a dysfunctional family, their increasingly dilapidated mansion and their dwindling fortune. It begins in the early 2000s when they sell to a hotelier and rewinds over the course of generations throughout the 20th century. Touted as “The Remains of the Day meets The Royal Tenenbaums,” it also draws on the gothic stylings of both Shirley Jackson and Daphne du Maurier. (Jan. 6)

This dual-timeline historical novel of domestic espionage and post-war politics is shaped by the contours of Audrey Hepburn’s life, set against the glittering, complicated backdrop of McCarthyism in Hollywood. Sisters Ada and Ingrid live in war-torn Holland with their mother, a Nazi sympathizer – Ingrid escapes to the United States but Ada stays behind and works for the Dutch Resistance. After the war, Ada finally pursues her acting dream in America, where Ingrid is now a government investigator working for the House Un-American Activities Committee and tasked with uncovering the communist influence in Hollywood. Flashbacks to Ada’s wartime experiences enrich the story of fame, loyalty, trauma, survival and sisterhood. (Jan. 6)

Making several of 2025’s historical fiction lists when it was published in the U.K.,

the author (a nom de plume for mystery and romance author Kelly Barrett) explores new facets of Victorian London’s Jack the Ripper mystery. The perspective shifts to three women at the edge of the Whitechapel crime case as it unfolds in 1888: an office cleaner, a private investigator and the chief Scotland Yard detective’s observant wife. They, in turn, give the five canonical victims back their voices. (Jan. 6)

Hailed as a tour-de-force debut when it was first published in the U.K., this “captivating satire of materialism and ambition” has been likened to the work of Zadie Smith, Martin Amis and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It tracks the individual journeys of three siblings from an illustrious family who flee Kurdistan (then part of Iran) just before the 1979 Iranian Revolution – and each sibling’s section is rendered in a distinct tone and style. The sprawling story spans their fortunes and existential crises in Dubai, London and Occupy-era Wall Street to expose the corrupting influence of money. As Kirkus put it: “This is a searing, nearly flawless novel that evokes Paddy Chayefsky [Network] at his angriest.” (Jan. 13)

The epigraph of this debut short-story collection invokes Canadian author Sheila Heti: “How should a person be? I sometimes wonder about it, and I can’t help answering like this: a celebrity.” Eleven related stories muse on the nature of love and fame by deconstructing the nature of the attention economy, social media feeds, longing, and parasocial relationships between young women fans and celebrities. There’s dark humour, fresh insight, poignancy, and characters like a former child actor and a reality star who joins a dating app. (Jan. 13)

Christine, a former painter, has written a revenge fantasy – a thinly-disguised telling of her ill-fated relationship with the magnetic older professor who was her mentor a decade earlier. While on the book tour, catching up with past lovers and friends and reflecting on the course her life has taken, the professor reaches out and invites her to his cabin. Will she accept an opportunity to confront the painful relationship that scarred her and seemingly destroyed her relationship to art? Musings on art and the nature of creativity pepper this tense literary novel, in which each chapter is connected to a painting, from Edward Hopper to Vija Celmins. (Jan. 20)

Veronika’s nine-year-old son disappears in this novel set in 2023 in eastern Ukraine, and is inspired by true events. The number of Ukrainian children kidnapped since Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s invasion is estimated to be around 20,000. Author Levy says the impetus for this affecting thriller was the story of his paternal grandparents, whom he never knew because they died at Auschwitz. “Growing up, when I asked my teachers why nothing had been done to stop the camps, invariably the answer was we didn’t know,” he says. “When I learned about the large-scale, systematic deportation of Ukrainian children, I decided to write a novel about it. That way, those who will read it will not be able to say we didn’t know.” (Jan. 20)

Philanthropy, morality and power are in the crosshairs of this bracing and darkly comic novel by the award-winning Canadian author of The Boat People (2020). After a career working in corporate reputation management, Claire wants more satisfaction, so she signs on to handle communications for an international aid organization Children of the World. But she’s faced with more ethical compromises than ever in the disparity between the institution appearing to be helpful and actually doing good – a thought-provoking look at the so-called altruism of capitalism. (Jan. 20)

In Vigil – which is narrated by Doll, a dead woman whose gig in the afterlife is comforting the dying – we meet arrogant oil executive Boone on his deathbed. A climate-change denier to the bitter end, his final hours become a reckoning as he’s confronted by a series of people who have grievances with the far-reaching effects of his self-serving decisions. (Given the recent festive season, Ebenezer Scrooge will come to mind.) It’s a slow build from Saunders’s 2017 Booker winner, Lincoln in the Bardo, but the slim volume packs a provocative and resonant political punch. (Jan. 27)

A Korean woman returns to Seoul to unravel the mystery of her origins, 35 years after she was found abandoned as a child at a train station. Growing up Nana (the name given by her adoptive French parents), and now expecting her own child, she returns to the orphanage. The novel presents both a personal exploration of belonging and something much wider in scope, considering Korea’s history of international adoption. For readers who prefer to listen: the audiobook is narrated by Canadian actress Jean Yoon of Kim’s Convenience. (Jan. 27)

In a program sponsored by King Louis XIV to populate New France, Quebec welcomed about 800 women, a.k.a. filles du roi, in the 17th century. Sisters Elisabeth and Marthe Jossard are on board one of those bride ships (as they were known), leaving scandal behind. They also hope to lift a curse that afflicts Elisabeth. Descriptions of the four seasons of their journey and arrival are evocative, as they are married off by nuns and make a fresh start. They also have ongoing encounters with Jeanne, purported to be a powerful witch. Ottawa writer Chevalier (showrunner of CBC’s political affairs show The House) explores how superstition, misogyny and folklore gave rise to witch hunts and infuses this period of Canadian history with illuminating feminist themes. (Jan. 27)