Ones to Watch: January 2019

It’s a New Year, and after the blur of trips back home, extravagant roast dinners and a frenzy of

midnight fireworks, we are now fully into the season of new years resolutions and goals. The Internet is ablaze with promises to exercise, organise and, for many of us, read more. For those in the latter camp (where I firmly am) what better way to make plans than turn our attention to the new bookish releases heading our way in January:

An Orchestra of Minorities by Chigozie Obioma 3rd January 2019, Little, Brown Continuing the revival of classical literature, Chigozie Obioma’s second novel is a collision between his own folkloric style of storytelling with Homer’s The Odyssey. An Orchestra of Minorities follows the relationship between Chinonso and Ndali. After being deemed by her family as unworthy, Chinonso leaves Nigeria in favour of Crete, where he hopes to educate himself in order to please his prospective in-laws. Yet once there, he is pulled further away from home than he ever anticipated.

1. My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite 3rd January 2019 by Atlantic Books Tales of serial killers are rarely a laugh a minute, yet Braithwaite’s debut promises to be just that. Korede spends much of her time helping her sister clean up after the boyfriend’s she murders. But when Ayola catches the eye of the man Korede secretly pines for, she is not only worried she must face her fear that he too could face her sister’s wrath. More than just a typical crime thriller, this book is both a love song to Nigeria (the book is set in Lagos), and an exploration of sisterly bonds.

2. Blackberry and Wild Rose by Sonia Velton 10th January 2019, Quercus The last few years have been fantastic for historical fiction, and 2019 promises to deliver even more trips back in time, starting with this debut from Sonia Velton. Set against a backdrop of Spitalfields’ silk weavers, this follows the relationship between the wealthy wife of a silk weaver and the woman she ‘rescues’ from a brothel. This explores what it was to be a woman with ambition and what can happen when we are blind to the world around us.

3. Once Upon a River by Dianne Setterfield 17th January 2019, Transworld Dianne Setterfield’s much anticipated follow-up to The Thirteenth Tale will be released midway through the month and is sure to zoom straight to the top of many people’s wish lists. In the 19th century a young girl has drowned and a community are in morning. Yet hours after her passing, she returns to life. Like its predecessor, this delves into the supernatural, exploring what it means to be alive and examining the Victorian dual fascinations with suspicion and science.

4. The Last by Hanna Jameson 31st January 2019, Penguin General It’s the end of the world in Hanna Jameson’s upcoming novel , and a serial killer is bumping off residents of a Swiss hotel. This promises to be a claustrophobic, compelling read that shows off Jameson’s talent for building suspense while nodding to the classics of the genre.