10 New Books for December

Pulitzer Prize winner Smiley is back with a gripping mystery set in gold rush California. Eliza Ripple has worked at a brothel since her husband died, but when the bodies of young women start appearing on the outskirts of town, she is pulled into a whirlwind investigation along with her friend Jean. The women soon start piecing together clues and identifying suspects in this engrossing thriller. Knopf, December 6

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This 2021 memoir, reissued this month in paperback, offers an intimate portrayal of alcoholism from someone who suffered its wrath. Silva traces his own resentment and hatred as he details his father’s struggles with the disease and its effects on his family. In the end, the book comes down on the side of understanding, if not exactly acceptance, by drawing on memories of what the author and his father did and didn’t share. Picador, December 6

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In the first authorized biography of Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor, Brower uses unpublished letters, interview transcripts, diary entries, and the recollections of close friends and family to piece together the story of the star’s fascinating life. From her magnetic screen presence to her key role in the fight against HIV/AIDS, Taylor is portrayed intimately in a book that showcases her personality and intelligence. Harper, December 6

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Each essay in this collection by Bay Area conservation journalist Imbler considers an organism or creature that could be considered a loner in its environment. This becomes an extended metaphor for the author’s own position in the world of science as a queer person of mixed race. In studying the ocean’s depths, Imbler finds new models for sexuality, community, and survival among sea creatures, drawing connections about how humanity could adapt some of these radical designs. Little, Brown and Company, December 6

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Wanda was named after a storm that devastated her parents’ small town in southeastern Florida, and she grows up in a place overtaken by nature and abandoned by society. As the years pass, more people flee the area. In Brooks-Dalton’s novel, however, Wanda chooses to stay—with the hope of establishing a community and new home in the dangerous yet hauntingly beautiful wilderness. Grand Central Publishing, December 6

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Inspired by the life of Barbara Lauwers, an operative in the United States’ Office of Strategic Services during World War II, Gable imagines the path of a character named Niki Novotná from American newlywed to Allied spy in war-torn Italy. With her family in Czechoslovakia, Niki yearns for a simpler existence but must remain true to her mission, even in the face of imminent danger. Graydon House, December 27

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Alana, the protagonist of Friedman’s novel, isn’t phased when her septuagenarian father begins dating his much younger nurse, but when the couple announces their engagement, her meddling brothers convince her to head west to break things up. With the family fortune at stake, though, the brothers are willing to take their plot much further than expected, and Alana is in too deep to back out. Mira Books, December 6

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Twenty-year-old Alicia Western is a genius. She is also institutionalized with paranoid schizophrenia, and the transcripts of her psychiatric appointments make up McCarthy’s novel, a companion volume to the recently released The Passenger. The conversations here are wide-ranging, encompassing not only the character’s psychology but also her thoughts on the nature of existence, as well as her troubling relationship with her brother. Knopf, December 6

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Using photographs found under her grandmother’s bed after her death, National Book Award–winning poet Lewis has created an intimate narrative of a Black family in America in the 20th century. A former California Book Club author, Lewis spent 25 years with these photographs to develop this collection overflowing with life, its milestones, and its simpler moments. Knopf, December 6

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Deibert often creates viral moments on Twitter by asking followers thought-provoking questions about relationships, work, and other experiences. This project, a daily journal, aims to get people writing. Featuring 365 prompts alongside anecdotes from Deibert’s life, You Already Have the Answers is meant to help readers find something for which to be grateful every day, including the miserable and absurd. Chronicle Books, December 6

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