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Readers' Most Anticipated Books of April
At the beginning of each calendar month, Goodreads’ crack editorial squad assembles a list of the best, hottest, and most popular new books hitting shelves, actual and virtual. The list is generated by readers’ early reviews and by tracking which titles are being added to Want to Read shelves by Goodreads regulars.
New in April: Sally Hepworth investigates a rash of Australian suicides in The Soulmate. Brendan Slocumb uncovers a musical conspiracy in Symphony of Secrets. And V. Castro explores ghostly Mexican mythology in The Haunting of Alejandra. Also on tap: conflicted androids, creepy beauty boutiques, and a new novel from historical fiction ace Charles Frazier.
The Best Books of April:
Harriet and Wyn—the perfect couple, recently split—are invited to attend the annual gathering of their old group of friends. The problematic part? Their friends don’t know they’ve broken up. Determined not to harsh the vibe, Harriet and Wyn decide to pretend they’re still together. Naturally, they’re assigned the biggest bedroom at the rental cottage. Author Emily Henry (People We Meet on Vacation) untangles a tricky situation.
Read our interview with Henry here.
Read our interview with Henry here.
Based on the true story of the Richmond Theater fire, this sophomore novel from Rachel Beanland (Florence Adler Swims Forever) brings readers to the capital city of Virginia in December 1811. Told from the perspectives of four different people, of various skin tones and incomes, the book follows the historical record while filling in the spaces with human drama. This is historical fiction at its best, bringing the past alive through the power of storytelling.
Gabe and Pippa Gerard have just purchased their dream house, a gorgeous cottage in the hills outside of Melbourne, Australia. The trouble starts at a nearby cliffside location known as the Spot, where people go to die by suicide. Or is it suicide? Gabe is spending a lot of time there, and a lot of people are jumping. This domestic thriller from Sally Hepworth conjures that discouraging feeling when you suspect your soulmate is a stone-cold killer. You know how it is.
Based in part on the folktale Pinocchio—the dark version—this intriguing cross-genre tale draws from both fantasy and sci-fi traditions. The quick pitch: Damaged humans and conflicted androids quest through otherworldly domains to the City of Electric Dreams. Author T.J. Klune (The House in the Cerulean Sea) is consistently good with this sort of modern mythmaking, and you’ll find elements of classic adventure tales and more recent parables.
Everyone knows about the Turner Family Tragedy of Christmas Eve, 1959, the most shocking and mysterious crime in the history of South Australia. When a London journalist starts poking around, 60 years later, she finds some uncomfortable connections between her new investigation and her own family history. Beloved Australian author Kate Morton (The Forgotten Garden) blends careful historical fiction with a classic cold-case mystery.
Investigative musicologists, this one’s for you. The new novel from Brendan Slocumb (The Violin Conspiracy) follows academic researcher Bern Hendricks as he pursues a dangerous question: Did famed jazz composer Frederick Delaney steal his genius from a young Black “silent partner”? To find out, the book flashes back to 1920s Manhattan via a dual-timeline format. Author Slocumb is a musician himself and specializes in these mysteries with a musical twist.
The new novel from historical fiction maestro Charles Frazier (Cold Mountain) brings readers back to Depression-era America. The story concerns a small town in Wyoming, a missing painting, a runaway wife, and a spirited chase that rumbles from San Francisco to Florida. Frazier has a style all his own—a thrilling yet literary approach to American historical fiction. You can safely anticipate finely drawn characters, state-of-the-art storytelling, and maybe some contemporary relevance.
In this heartbreaking coming-of-age debut, two cousins as close as sisters are lured into the underground drug trade. As one young woman seeks power in the female cartel, the other seeks a way out. Early Goodreads reviewers are riveted by the story of female friendships and toxic bonds.
Native American teenager Anna Horn has a problem. Several, actually. It seems that demons both ancient and new are haunting her tribe’s reservation and casino. Even worse, young girls are disappearing, including Anna’s little sister. Author Nick Medina brings classic horror elements and Indigenous mythology to his debut psychological thriller, inspired in part by real-life stories told to the author by his grandmother.
You know that weird modern phenomenon in which impossibly hot celebrity women date goofy comedy show men? Yeah, it’s annoying, especially for late-night comedy writer Sally Milz, who notices that the trend never runs the other way, with beautiful men chasing female comedy professionals. But then pop star Noah Brewster signs on as musical guest for the week. And things…things are happening. Author Curtis Sittenfeld may have the year’s most interesting romance novel here.
On the sci-fi front, author Emily Tesh’s queer space opera Some Desperate Glory follows young fighter Kyr, raised on a space station long after planet Earth has been destroyed. But Kyr is mighty. Teaming up with her brother’s rebel friend—and a captive alien—Kyr breaks away from her assigned fate. Advance readers are hailing the novel’s ferocious and compassionate take on the genre while noting that the book presents a particularly dark vision of the future.
Inspired by Mexican folklore, author V. Castro delivers a horror story with a very peculiar twist: Young mother Alejandra is plagued by dreadful visions of a ghostly woman in a tattered white gown. After looking into her family history, she makes an unpleasant discovery: The apparition is La Llorona, an ancient entity that has long haunted her bloodline. But Alejandra carries the strength of her own ancestors and the power to banish the spectral killer.
’Tis the season for intriguing horror novels, apparently. Author Ling Ling Huang brings dark humor and cutting allegory to her buzzy debut novel concerning the dark side—the really dark side—of the contemporary beauty industry. The gist: A talented young piano prodigy is forced to take a day job at an exclusive “wellness” boutique called Holistik. Things seem fine at first, although the spider-silk extensions are weird. And the Botox-sucking remoras. But the clinic’s more advanced techniques are really disturbing.
Treachery! Murder! True story! In 1740, British warship The Wager disappeared while chasing a treasure-filled Spanish galleon. Several years later, two separate groups of survivors come ashore, each with their own tale of What Really Happened. Now the Admiralty must sort it all out. Nonfiction ace David Grann (Killers of the Flower Moon) takes the true-crime template to another level, adding in elements of historical fiction, survival tale, and legal thriller.
Call it a memoir with urgency: Author and journalist Nicole Chung (All You Can Ever Know) tells of her experience as a Korean adoptee and her terrible grief when her parents die in quick succession—largely due to tragic inequalities in the American healthcare system. A Living Remedy celebrates the power of family love, but also its practical limitations when facing issues of failed public policy, middle-class decline, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Which new releases are you looking forward to reading? Let's talk books in the comments!
Check out more April book coverage here:
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Jenny Baker
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Mar 29, 2023 08:18AM
I can't wait to read In the Lives of Puppets and The Haunting of Alejandra!
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The House is on Fire ! I love to read a historical fiction book then go to the place in the book and then go down a zillion rabbit holes to decide what is true not true and other theories on the same story !!
A lot of good historical fiction ruins itself by adding a modern day dual timeline. At least not all of them are using this anymore
I’d love to read romantic comedy! I’m excited for happy place too!
I’m excited for Tress of the Emerald Sea, even though it isn’t there.
The Soulmate, Homecoming, and Romantic Comedy are on my list.
The Soulmate was first published: October 25, 2022, according to Goodreads. It shouldn't be on this list.
A Girl Called Samson by my favorite author Amy Harmon 
Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner 
Homecoming by Kate Morton
I am staggered that Don Winslow's City of Dreams is not on the must read lists for April! It's crazy to think that he might be an unheralded author with a back catalogue as brilliant as his.
I cannot wait for the release of J. Ryan Stradal's new novel! Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club
Andy wrote: "I am staggered that Don Winslow's City of Dreams is not on the must read lists for April! It's crazy to think that he might be an unheralded author with a back catalogue as brilliant as his."I completely agree. I've read everything that he's published, including the first in this series.
The Trackers and Homecoming appeal to my love of historical fiction. I'm refusing WW2 novels or two/ more time lines now. Just had enough!
I've been waiting for The House is on Fire. Can't wait to read it!!
Romantic comedy- can’t go past a book written by Curtis Sittenfeld
Jenny Baker wrote: "I can't wait to read In the Lives of Puppets and The Haunting of Alejandra!"I know right. Lives of the puppets sounds creepy
