Michigan City Public Library: Must-Read Books: January 2026

Adult Fiction

The Royal Artisan
by Tessa Afshar

An artisan for Queen Esther in ancient Persia, talented Sazana creates beautiful pottery while hiding her Jewishness. When a court official manipulates the king into ordering the killing of Jewish people, Sazana must reunite with the man who broke her heart in order to save her people and help the queen in this sequel to The Queen's Cook. For fans of: faith-filled biblical fiction with touches of romance.

Sunward
by William Alexander

In this cozy science fiction, space courier Tova Lir decides to start training "baby bots," young emergent AI machines who behave more like teenagers than computers. When Tova and her latest charge, Agatha Panza von Sparkles, accidentally catch the attention of an assassin, the two must race across the solar system to evade death and save the rest of her foster bots. For fans of: LGBTQIA+ space opera with memorable characters such as Riley August's The Last Gifts of the Universe.

Guilty by Definition
by Susie Dent

A cryptic letter with references to Shakespeare arrives at the Clarendon English Dictionary offices in Oxford, England. Editor Martha Thornhill thinks the odd missive might be related to her sister’s disappearance a decade earlier, so when more notes appear, Martha and her team work to solve the clues and possibly a crime. This clever debut by English lexicographer and TV presenter Susie Dent will please both mystery fans and language lovers. Try this next: Murder by the Book by Amie Schaumberg.

I Did Warn Her
by Sian Gilbert

Onboard a billionaire’s lavish yacht, new stewardess Sasha expects glamour and high pay -- but instead finds secrets, rivalries, and murder. When jewels vanish and a crew member turns up dead, everyone’s a suspect. Claustrophobic, twist-filled, and deliciously voyeuristic, I Did Warn Her is a locked-room mystery with a body count.

When the Fireflies Dance
by Aisha Hassan

On the edge of Lahore, Pakistan, seven-year-old Lalloo's family lives in modern indentured servitude, making bricks by hand. When his brother is murdered, Lalloo is spirited away by his father to be a mechanic's apprentice. As Lalloo grows, he makes friends and saves money, wanting to free his parents and sisters in this slow-burn, haunting debut that examines grief, hope, and family love. For fans of: Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner.

Best Offer Wins
by Marisa Kashino

Former journalist Marisa Kashino’s debut is a darkly comic thriller about the ruthless Washington, D.C. housing market. Desperate to secure her dream home and start a family, Margo Miyake’s obsessive pursuit escalates from awkward charm offensives to manipulative, violent schemes. Sharp, satirical, and chaotic, the novel explores millennial anxieties, material obsession, and the extremes of ambition.

Soma
by Fernando Llor; illustrated by Carles Dalmau

Comic artist Maya is in a creative rut when an alien crash-lands in her living room. The creature, Soma, warns Maya that she is the only one who can stop an oncoming alien invasion. Colorfully detailed and packed with action, this graphic novel will hit home for "new adult readers and millennials who are continually exhausted with living in unprecedented times" (Booklist).

The Stories We Carry
by Robin W. Pearson

Bookstore owner Glory Pryor isn't ready to let go of her North Carolina shop and retire, even if her kind husband of five years thinks she should. Then the arrival of a widow and her young child, who have connections to Glory's past, shake up everything in this warm-hearted Christian novel. Try this next: Lauraine Snelling's The Florence Legacy.

A Case of Life and Limb
by Sally Smith

The Christmas Eve peace of the Inner Temple, the picture-postcard home of London’s elite lawyers, is disturbed when Sir William Waring receives a beautifully wrapped package containing a severed human hand. Brilliant Gabriel Ward, a fellow Temple resident, investigates while also working on a sensationalistic defamation case in this entertaining follow-up to A Case of Mice and Murder. Try this next: Claudia Gray’s The Murder of Mr. Wickham.

Adult Nonfiction

It Rhymes with Takei
by George Takei, Steven Scott, and Justin Eisinger; illustrated by Harmony Becker

In his moving and uplifting graphic memoir, iconic Star Trek actor and activist George Takei offers candid reflections on his early childhood spent in Japanese American internment camps, discovering a love of acting after initially studying to become an architect, coming out publicly at age 68, and more. For fans of: the 2014 documentary To Be Takei.

Youth Fiction

Xolo
by Donna Barba Higuera; illustrated by Mariana Ruiz Johnson

In Aztec mythology, the feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl gets the credit for reviving humanity after their destruction. But in this eye-catching and emotional graphic novel, dog-headed Xolotl (god of lightning, misfortune, and death) proves himself as the real hero. For fans of: underdog characters and bright, bold artwork.

Scarlet Morning, Book 1: Scarlet Morning
by ND Stevenson

Viola and Wilmur have been waiting for their parents for fifteen boring years in the colorless town of Caveat. Their lives are a drudge of salt, trash, pirate stories, and what-ifs . . . until one very stormy night, when Captain Cadence Chase breaks down their door. They cut a deal with the captain: Chase can take their most prized possession, a mysterious book, but only if she takes them, too. After all, if their parents aren't coming, Viola and Wilmur might as well have a grand adventure to find them. Setting sail into the treacherous and beautiful world beyond Caveat, the two inseparable friends must uncover the facts behind legend -- and the key to saving all of Dickerson's Sea from obliteration -- before the truth tears them apart. Wickedly funny, deeply emotional, and sharply incisive, Scarlet Morning is a tale of love, betrayal, and the extraordinary lengths we'd go to save a world broken beyond repair.

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