The Most Anticipated Books of 2027
It may still be 2026, but it's never too early to start looking ahead to what's coming out next year. As I hear about books I'm already excited about in 2027, I'll drop them here.
As a bonus, I'll include links to those where I'm fortunate to receive an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) and read prior to release, so that hopefully I can help you as you ponder which to pick up next.
Love Interest
Why not kick off the year with a heartwarming romance? This time Chloe Liese tackles enemies-to-lovers when a kindhearted librarian must work with a cantankerous writer. As the librarian, Helen, starts to chip away at the writer, Sam's, gruff exterior, she finds she may go from supporting role to love interest for the first time in her life.
The Stars Look Like Home
Oh boy. TJ Klune can tug at one's heartstrings with the best of them, and this time he tells a tale from the perspective of a dog, Burke, who finds out his time is short and is determined to make the most of all life has to offer. After many starts and stops, he finally finds his human, only to be tragically separated, requiring Burke to journey through the wilderness for what I'm sure will be a reunion that leaves me in a puddle. Klune promises us up front that the dog doesn't die, but I'm still bringing extra tissues.
The Things You'll Never Know
With as good as Audrain's debut novel The Push was—one of my Top 25 Mysteries of the Last 5 Years— she hit a bit of a sophomore slump with her follow-up novel The Whispers. So which will this be?
Mickey Prime
The latest in Ashton's "Mickey7" series this time sees our lovable expendable pushed back into his old duties when a virulent plague hits the colony. Mickey is expected to die and be replaced as many times as necessary to find a cure, but there's a problem: he's the only one that can't seem to contract the virus.
Serious Music
It's going to be hard—maybe impossible—for Everett to top James, his incredible 2024 retelling of Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but it's not a competition. This time, Everett crafts a wholly original story, focused on Arthur Champion, who in 1918 is one of only a few Black students attending the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. When he gets on the wrong side of a vindictive professor, he finds himself enrolled in the United States Army, and we, as readers, embark on a decade-long journey with Arthur. This is sure to be on everyone's must-read list.
The Last Days of Vic and CoCo
Another that is certain to be on every 2027 preview list, Taylor Jenkins Reid is back after her triumphant last novel, Atmosphere. This newest offering follows two female pool hustlers in 1974, Victoria Lucchese and Colette Wilson. Word starts to spread about two women to watch out for, and they’re running out of places to hide and marks to hustle. That’s when they set in motion a plan that will bring them their biggest payday yet…or cost them everything.
The Worst Wife
Percival Everett and Taylor Jenkins Reid will get all the buzz, but if I'm picking up one new book on March 2, it will be the latest from Amy Tintera, whose excellent previous book Listen for the Lie made my Best of 2026 list.
Tell Me What You See
Samantha Jayne Allen had one of my favorite mystery debuts of 2022 with her first book Pay Dirt Road, which spawned a 3-book series featuring main character Annie McIntyre. This upcoming offering is a fresh start, focused on Cheyenne Mitchell, who gets dragged into an investigation when a local teenager goes missing and answers might lie with her mother's past.
Paris Match
The story centers on a tense cat-and-mouse dynamic between two men after a brutal murder on Île Saint-Louis: one who finds the body and is worried about being the prime suspect, and another who tries to silence him before the truth emerges.
White Smoke
Marketed as "Ocean's 11 meets Conclave," the book sounds like a banger. Aging conman Nikola Camilleri is recruited by a mysterious criminal mastermind known as "Dante" for one final, monumental score. The objective is to break into both the Vatican Secret Archives and the Treasury of St. Peter's Basilica to pull off the biggest artifact heist in history. However, as Nikola assembles his crew and prepares the operation, the Pope dies suddenly and unexpectedly. As hundreds of Cardinals, international security forces, and millions of tourists flood the city-state for the upcoming papal election (conclave), the crew decides to press forward, using the chaos, ancient tunnels, and stolen clergy disguises as cover.
We Shall Be Monsters
This debut novel one is being pitched as as "Gone Girl meets The Secret History"—okay, I'm in! Dark academia, toxic friendships, obsession, murder...this one promises to have all the things. The story centers on Eve, a clever and ruthless young woman who escapes a bleak childhood to attend Newcastle University. There, Eve is drawn into an elite group of English Literature students who share a passion for the poetry of the Late Romantics and a desire to push life to its extremes. Those passions lead to lies and obsession, and eventually to a dark turn that ends in murder.
One email on the first of every month with a summary and rating of each book reviewed over the past 30 days, and a look at where the year's ranking stands.