10 new books Amazon's editors say are must-reads this January

Debut author Mesha Maren’s ability to engender compassion in deeply flawed characters shines in this Southern noir about a parolee who tries to rebuild her life, but is stymied by her past and terrible taste in romantic partners.

When a car is pulled from the Black Root River, only one occupant makes it out alive. The incident mirrors one from a decade prior, so this no accident, and the further the surviving woman delves into the mystery, the more imperiled her life becomes.

In the nail-biting conclusion to Katherine Arden’s Winternight Trilogy, our heroine Vasya comes into her powers, but she will need the help of her allies, the unseen older spirits, in order to save Russia and Morozko, the winter-king.

Jeremy N. Smith explores the darker corners of cybersecurity through the story of “Alien,” an MIT hacker who developed an arsenal of virtual weapons to test the security of our most susceptible institutions.

The all-black Paragon Hotel in Portland, Oregon seems an odd choice for a felonious white woman to hide, but she may be the only hope for residents trying to find a missing mulatto child after the KKK comes to town.

A cold case gets put on the front burner when the body of a young girl is found 30 years after she disappeared during a camping trip with friends, in a hiding place that only they knew about.

Brace yourself for this devastating, but profoundly moving, chronicle of Julie Yip-Williams’ last days before succumbing to colon cancer. What could be a depressing lament about death is actually a rousing celebration of life.

Andrew Curran has written a fascinating biography of Enlightenment philosopher Denis Diderot — one of history’s most famous contrarians — and how his personal struggles informed his views.

Bereft after the loss of her mother, Shalini journeys to Kashmir in search of Bashir Ahmed, a merchant who may be able to help her find closure. But the upheaval there threatens this quest, and the people she has grown close to along the way.