There's nothing quite like the thrill of introducing fresh voices to our members, which is why we relish in compiling this annual list of debut authors that show promise of becoming cherished favorites within our book club community. The 2024 Debut Books List boasts an array of compelling literary fiction, mysterious thrillers, heartfelt memoirs, and thought-provoking novels that are sure to grab your attention and inspire lively discussions at your book club meetings throughout the year. Browse the complete list of anticipated 2024 debut books below and don't forget to add them to you 'Books I Want to Read' shelf and recommend them to your clubs. Happy reading!
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The Best Debut Books to Read with Your Book Club in 2024!
The Days I Loved You Most by Amy Neff
The Days I Loved You Most is a moving tribute to the enduring power of love, a celebration of a lifetime spent together and a reminder that even in the darkest moments, there is always hope and beauty to be found.
The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang
In the year 4 BCE, an ambitious courtier is called upon to seduce the young emperor—but quickly discovers they are both ruled by blood, sex and intrigue.
In 1740, a lonely innkeeper agrees to help a mysterious visitor procure a rare medicine, only to unleash an otherworldly terror instead.
And in present-day Los Angeles, a college student meets a beautiful stranger and cannot shake the feeling they’ve met before.
Across these seemingly unrelated timelines woven together by the twists and turns of fate, two men are reborn, lifetime after lifetime. Within the treacherous walls of an ancient palace and the boundless forests of the Asian wilderness to the heart-pounding cement floors of underground rave scenes, our lovers are inexplicably drawn to each other, tested by the worlds around them.
As their many lives intertwine, they begin to realize the power of their undying love—a power that transcends time itself…
When Cicadas Cry by Caroline Cleveland
Where the Crawdads Sing meets A Flicker in the Dark in this thrilling debut about a lawyer and detective who find themselves entangled in secrets, lies, and murder in a small Southern town.
A high-profile murder case—A white woman has been murdered in a church in Walterboro, South Carolina. Sam Jenkins, a Black man, is found covered in blood, kneeling over the body. In a state already roiling with racial tension, this is not only a murder case, but a powder keg.
A haunting cold case—Two women are murdered on quiet Edisto Beach, an hour from Walterboro. Thirty-four years later the mystery remains unsolved. Could there be a connection to the current Walterboro case?
A killer who's watching—As more long-buried details are discovered, a murderer hides in the shadows. Would someone be willing to kill more than once to keep their secrets locked away?
Here After by Amy Lin
Here After is a poetic, raw depiction of an unlikely love followed by a dizzying loss. A stunning, taut memoir from debut Canadian author Amy Lin that will resonate deeply with anyone who has been in grief’s grasp. Amy Lin never expected to find a love like the one she shares with her husband, Kurtis, a gifted young architect who pulls her toward joy, adventure, and greater self-acceptance. On a sweltering August morning, only a few months shy of the newlyweds’ move to Vancouver, thirty-two-year-old Kurtis heads out to run a half-marathon with Amy’s family. It’s the last time she sees her husband alive.
What follows is a rich and unflinchingly honest portrayal of her life with Kurtis, the vortex created by his death, and the ongoing struggle Amy faces as she attempts to understand her own experience in the context of commonly held “truths” about what the grieving process looks like.
Here After is an intimate story of deep love followed by dizzying loss; a memoir so finely etched that its power will remain with you long after the final page.
Blank by Zibby Owens
A wife, mother, and frustrated writer faces an impossible deadline for turning her life around in a hilarious debut novel about family, friendship, success, and exhilarating self-(re)discovery.
Pippa Jones is a fortyish former literary sensation who fears she will be a one-hit wonder. After the follow-up book she was almost done writing, Podlusters, had to be tossed (it ended up sharing a plot and title with superstar author Ella Rankin’s summer blockbuster!), she couldn’t write a thing. Months of staring at a blank page made her confidence vanish like a one-night stand. When she finds out that she has only five days left to finish (or rather, start) or repay an advance she’s already spent, Pippa has a brilliantly original idea. Okay, fine, her twelve-year-old son came up with it as a joke, but Pippa and her teenage daughter approved.
Pippa’s not only going to make a bold statement, but she’ll change the book world while she’s at it! Can she pull it off? At this point, she doesn’t have a choice.
When Pippa’s publisher gets intimately involved, it unlocks a series of plot twists she never saw coming. From the courtyards of posh Beverly Hills hotels and Malibu mega-mansions to Brentwood and Santa Monica bookstores, Pippa races against time―in her used Volvo―and discovers more about her career, marriage, family, friends, and herself than she ever could have dreamed up.
The Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer
This trip is going to be Dylan’s big break. Her geologist friend Clay has discovered an untouched cliff face in the Kentucky wilderness, and she is going to be the first person to climb it. Together with Clay, his research assistant Sylvia, and Dylan’s boyfriend Luke, Dylan is going to document her achievement on Instagram and finally cement her place as the next rising star in rock climbing.
Seven months later, three bodies are discovered in the trees just off the highway. All are in various states of decay: one a stark, white skeleton; the second emptied of its organs; and the third a mutilated corpse with the tongue, eyes, ears, and fingers removed. But Dylan is still missing—and no trace of her, dead or alive, has been discovered.
This dread-inducing debut builds to a bloodcurdling climax, and will leave you shocked by the final twist.
Such a Bad Influence by Olivia Muenter
Hazel Davis is drifting: she’s stalled in her career, living in a city she hates, and less successful than her younger sister @evelyn, a lifestyle influencer who grew up online. Ten years older, Hazel managed to dodge the family business. Evie is eighteen now, with a multimillion-dollar career, but Hazel is still protective of her little sister and skeptical of the way everyone seems to want a piece of her.
So when Evie disappears one day during an unsettling live stream that cuts out midsentence, Hazel is horrified to have her worst instincts proven right. As theories about Evie’s disappearance tear through the internet, Hazel throws herself into the darkest parts of her sister’s world to untangle the truth. After all, Hazel knows Evie better than anyone else . . . doesn’t she?
The Things We Didn't Know by Elba Iris Pérez
A lyrical, cross-cultural coming-of-age debut novel that explores a young girl’s childhood between 1950s Puerto Rico and a small Massachusetts factory town.
Andrea Rodríguez is nine years old when her mother whisks her and her brother away from Woronoco, the tiny Massachusetts factory town that is the only home they’ve known. With no plan or money, she leaves them with family in the mountainside villages of Puerto Rico and promises to return.
Months later when they are brought back to Massachusetts, they find their hometown significantly changed. As they navigate the rifts between their family’s values and American culture and face the harsh realities of growing up, they must embrace both the triumphs and heartache that mark the journey to adulthood.
A heartfelt, evocative portrait of another side of life in America, The Things We Didn’t Know establishes Elba Iris Pérez as a sensational new literary voice.
Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung
"Human rights attorney and debut author Eve J. Chung takes personal family history and spins it into pure gold in her haunting first novel."—Kate Quinn
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
A newly sober, orphaned son of Iranian immigrants, guided by the voices of artists, poets, and kings, embarks on a remarkable search for a family secret that leads him to a terminally ill painter living out her final days in the Brooklyn Museum. Electrifying, funny, and wholly original, Martyr! heralds the arrival of an essential new voice in contemporary fiction.
The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan
A spellbinding, sweeping novel about a Malayan mother who becomes an unlikely spy for the invading Japanese forces during WWII--and the shocking consequences that rain upon her community and family.
Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
For fans of Never Let Me Go and My Dark Vanessa, a powerful, provocative novel about the relationship between a female robot and her human owner, exploring questions of intimacy, power, autonomy, and control.
These book picks are a combination of titles chosen by the Bookclubs editorial staff and the top titles recommended for book clubs by our publishing sponsors including Park Row, MIRA, Union Square & Co., Zibby Books, Gallery Books, and Penguin Press,. If you buy books through links on this page, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
Related content: Check out all our reading lists here for more recommendations and find book club tips and inspiration guides. Plus check in every month to see which books are trending as most popular book club books of the month.
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COMMENTS
Razib Paul
Mar 06, 2024 - 3 months
This is https://atreads.com/posts/1130
Razib Paul
Mar 06, 2024 - 3 months
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