It seems so early to be talking about January books, but I’m already reading February releases, so it’s time. And, the sooner we get to these, the sooner winter is over. So, let’s jump right in. It’s a wonderful collection to kick off 2018.

Marie Benedict, the author of The Other Einstein, now brings us a historical novel about an Irish maid and Andrew Carnegie, Carnegie’s Maid. Clara Kelley is actually a poor farmer’s daughter, not the experienced Irish maid hired to work in one of Pittsburgh’s grandest households. She serves as a lady’s maid, but eventually Carnegie begins to rely on her for business advice. Even though when Andrew Carnegie becomes more than an employer, Clara Kelley can’t let her guard down. (Release date is Jan. 16.)

New York Times bestselling author Melanie Benjamin returns with The Girls in the Picture. It’s a novel of the powerful creative friendship between two legends – superstar Mary Pickford and screenwriter Frances Marion – who defied the early Hollywood system…and triumphed. (Release date is Jan. 16.)

Nothing defines cozy mystery like a donut shop. Survival of the Fritters is the first in Ginger Bolton’s new series, featuring a widow and donut shop owner. When a regular at the shop is killed, Emily Westhill is drawn into the case in the town where her familiarity with everyone draws the killer’s attention. (Release date is Jan. 30.)

The men in my sister’s family are all waiting for Pierce Brown’s new book, Iron Gold. It’s the fourth book in the Red Rising Saga. A decade earlier, Darrow was the the hero of the revolution. But, the Rising only brought endless war. Now, he’ll risk everything, hoping to save everyone. (Release date is  Jan. 16.)

Jayne Ann Krentz’ books are always exciting. Her latest, Promise Not to Tell, is about a terrifying legacy. Seattle gallery owner Virgina Troy and PI Cabot Sutter share a common past. They spent time in a cult as children, until a devastating fire destroyed the compound, killing Virginia’s mother. But now an artist has taken her own life, and has left behind a painting that will make them both doubt everything about he so-called suicide – and their own pasts.  (Release date is Jan. 2.)

One of Brooklyn’s first female detectives returns in Lawrence H. Levy’s latest mystery, Last Stop in Brooklyn. A convicted man’s brother wants Mary Handley to reopen a murder case, convinced his brother didn’t kill a prostitute. Before she can solve the case, she uncovers disturbing evidence, and has to turn to a surprising ally, police commissioner Teddy Roosevelt. (Release date is Jan. 9.)

Those of us who appreciate classic crime stories and police procedurals will enjoy The Long Arm of the Law: Classic Police Stories, edited by Martin Edwards. The anthology includes background information on the British authors as well as a collection of little-known stories. (Release date is Jan. 2.)

Meet bounty hunter Alice Vega in Louisa Luna’s Two Girls Down. When two young sisters disappear from a strip mall parking lot in a small Pennsylvania town, their devastated family hire a bounty hunter to do what the authorities cannot. The local police department shuts her out, but Vega enlists a disgraced former cop to help cut through the local politics. Now, the two must untangle a web of lies, false leads, and dangerous relationships. (Release date is Jan. 9.)

Scones and Scoundrels by Molly MacRae takes us back to Scotland where Inversgail welcomes back native environmental writer Daphne Wood. But, Daphne upsets most people in the town. Then, she pushes bookshop owner Janet Marsh and her friends to investigate the death of a visitor, found outside a pub. Daphne’s pushiness will only lead to trouble. (Release date is Jan. 2.)

I’m excited about Sujata Massey’s new series. The Widows of Malabar Hill, set in 1920s Bombay, introduces Perveen Mistry, one of the first female lawyers in India. She’s investigating a suspicious will on behalf of three Muslim widows living in full purdah when the case takes a murderous turn. (Release date is Jan. 9.)

HR executive-turned-amateur sleuth Chuck Restic returns in The Perpetual Summer by Adam Walker Phillips. A missing teen leads Restic to a high-profile fight over a new art museum and a forty-year-old murder that won’t stay in the past. Anyone can be behind the teenager’s disappearance: her fitness-obsessed mom, switchblade-toting chauffeur, personal life coach, or even the girl herself. (Release date is Jan. 9.)

Dominic is the second Hollow Man novel by Mark Pryor. Dominic’s secret, that the charming Englishman, prosecutor, and musician, is also a psychopath is only known by two other people. They also know a year ago he got away with murder. Now, when a homicide detective starts digging up that case, one of those people offers to take care of the situation, permanently. (Release date is Jan. 2.)

Deanna Raybourn’s third Veronica Speedwell mystery, A Treacherous Curse, is delightful. When a photographer disappears from an Egyptian dig, taking a diadem with him, Veronica and Stoker are drawn into the case by the connection to Stoker’s past. Readers of Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody books, and Jane Eyre fans should pick up this book. (Release date is Jan. 16.)

Popular lawman Samuel Craddock returns in Terry Shames’ A Reckoning in the Back Country. When a physician disappears, and appears to have been attacked by vicious dogs, Jarrett Creek police chief Craddock suspects there may be a dog fighting ring operating in the area. Now, Craddock has to be careful because lawmen who meddle in dog fighting in Texas put their lives at risk. (Release date is Jan. 9.)

I learned more about the European refugee crisis from Jeffrey Siger’s mystery, An Aegean April, than from anything I’ve read in the news. When a refugee is arrested for the vicious murder of a wealthy Greek shipowner, an American woman affiliated with a refugee organization contacts Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis. When the Easter holiday slows down the investigation, she draws the media’s attention, along with a killer’s. (Release date is Jan. 2.)

In Randall Silvis’ Walking the Bones, Sergeant Ryan DeMarco is still reeling from the case that led to the death of his best friend. Now, he just wants to lay low with his new love. But, when they arrive in her southern hometown, he’s roped into an investigation. All DeMarco knows is that it’s an unsolved case, the bones of seven young girls, picked clean and carefully preserved, discovered years ago. (Release date is Jan. 23.)

Teresa Trent’s Murder of a Good Man is the first Piney Woods mystery. When New Orleans native Nora Alexander arrives in Piney Woods, Texas, she only meant to deliver a letter from her deceased mother. But the police chief asks her to stay in town when the letter’s recipient ends up dead, and Nora’s the only one who seems to have a reason to hate the man. (Release date is Jan. 15, no jacket cover available.)

In C.J. Tudor’s The Chalk Man, a man has to return to an event of his childhood to find the truth about his small English village. In 1986, Eddie and his friends ride their bikes, avoid bullies, and have a secret code, little stick figures of chalk men left as hidden messages. Then, a mysterious chalk man leads them to a dismembered body. Thirty years later, Eddie gets a letter with a single chalk stick figure. When one of Eddie’s old friends ends up dead, Eddie returns to find the truth. (Release date is Jan. 9.)

There are so many enticing books this month that I can’t cover all of them. Here are the other January releases. I may have missed some, even in my own place. Have I missed anything you’re waiting to read?

White Chrysanthemum by Mary Lynn Bracht (Jan. 30)
The Monk of Mocha by Dave Eggers (Jan. 30)
The Girlfriend by Michelle Frances (Jan. 30)
Killer Choice by Tom Hunt (Jan. 30)
The Largesse of the Sea Maiden by Denis Johnson (Jan. 16)
Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire (Jan. 9)
The Black Painting by Neil Olson (Jan. 9)
The Afterlives by Thomas Pierce (Jan. 9)
The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani (Jan. 9)
The Sky is Yours by Chandler Klang Smith (Jan. 23)