The bestsellers in waiting for 2024
◆ From thrillers to political biographies, Hannah Stephenson talks to industry experts to see which new titles we are likely to be reading this year
With a General Election looming and the forthcoming 80th anniversary of the D-day landings, 2024 is set to be a big year for politics and history in the world of books.
Here are just some of the titles which may be creating a buzz in 2024.
Romance
Top choice: You Are Here by David Nicholls (Sceptre, £20, April 23)
“For fiction, this is our biggest title at the moment, and very much along the same lines as his bestseller One Day,” says Bea Carvalho, Waterstones’ head of books.
It’s a love story which develops on the Coast to Coast footpath in the north of England, in which two single people who are introduced by mutual friends find themselves together on the most epic of walks.
Ones to watch: Irish author Colm Tóibín, with Long Island, his long-awaited sequel to Brooklyn (Picador, £20, May 23); Tiktok star and bestselling novelist Emily Henry’s joyful new novel, Funny Story (Viking, £18.99, April 25), about a pair of opposites with the wrong things in common.
Thriller
Top choice: The Fury by Alex Michaelides (Michael Joseph, £18.99, February 1)
The bestselling author of The Silent Patient brings readers a locked room-style mystery set on a Greek island, featuring an unreliable narrator and a tale full of twists and turns. It’s out in February, but Waterstones is predicting it’s also going to be a real staple of summer reading.
Ones to watch: All The Colours Of The Dark by Chris Whitaker (Orion, £20, July 16), which is part missing persons mystery, serial killer thriller – and part powerful love story; Anthony Horowitz’s new novel, Close To Death (Century, £22, April 11), which sees an unpopular resident shot dead with a crossbow, while all his neighbours have the motive to kill him.
Historical
Top choice for fiction: Clear by Carys Davies (Granta, £12.99, March 7)
Set against the rugged backdrop of Shetland, this short, powerful, historical novel set in 1843 during the final stages of the Scottish Clearances, sees a minister dispatched to a remote Scottish island to “clear” the last remaining inhabitant, who has no intention of leaving. It’s an unforgettable tale of resilience, change, and hope, from the awardwinning writer.
Top choice for non-fiction: Empireworld by Sathnam Sanghera (Viking, £20, January 25)
Following on from his bestselling Empireland, the award-winning author and journalist extends his examination of British imperial legacies beyond Britain. Travelling the globe to trace its international legacies – from Barbados and Mauritius to India and Nigeria and beyond – he demonstrates how deeply British imperialism is baked into our world.
D-day anniversary
Top choice: Sword Beach by Stephen Fisher (Bantam, £20, May 23)
This book from the marine historian focuses on the untold stories of D-day’s forgotten battle, providing fresh insight into one of the least well-known of the D-day landings. Often overshadowed by the more famous American landing at Omaha, Fisher now shines a light on the capture of Sword Beach, which was crucial in securing the Normandy Landings, he says.
Politics
Top choice: Head North by Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram (Trapeze, £22, February 22)
For the first time, the Mayors of Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City Region, Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram, speak out about their experiences of modern British politics, and the fight for Northern voices to be heard. They offer a new vision for Britain which centres a Northern perspective and reimagines our country beyond the Westminster bubble.
Ones to watch: Keir Starmer: The Biography by Tom Baldwin (William Collins, £25, February 15), taken from more than 100 hours of interviews with the man himself; Another England by Green Party MP Caroline Lucas (Hutchinson Heinemann, £22, April 18) aims to offer a progressive vision of what Englishness is.
Debut
Top choice: The Cautious Traveller’s Guide To The Wastelands by Sarah Brooks (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £16.99, June 20)
This intriguing fictional tale tells the story of a curious cast of characters on board the Great Trans-siberian Express in the 19th century as they cross the Wastelands, a vast terrain that lies between Russia and China. The Great Trans-siberian Express, an impenetrable train built to carry precious cargo across continents, now also transports anyone willing to cross the irresistible Wastelands. It is thought to be completely safe… except something happened on the last journey.
Ones to watch: The Kellerby Code by screenwriter Jonny Sweet (Faber & Faber, £14.99, March 21), a manor house mystery and part-spin on the classic golden age thrillers with a mixture of crime and comedy and a nod to P.G. Wodehouse; The Fellowship Of Puzzlemakers by Samuel Burr (Orion, May 9), an uplifting and joyful debut about a bright young man finding his place in the world.
Clear by Carys Davies is set during the Clearances