MOST GIFTABLE BOOKS

What do you buy for the person who has everything? One of the season's best new books, of course! Whether you're shopping for a loved one or treating yourself, these are the coziest reads for the coldest months.

- by SARAH VINCENT

GENERATIONAL EPIC

Flashlight by Susan Choi

Based on unbelievable history, this sweeping novel is elegiac and urgent, spanning Japan, North Korea, and America. One night 10-year-old Louisa's dad disappears off a beach in Japan and is presumed drowned. Louisa is found soaking wet and with no memory of the mysterious night that will send ripples through her family's lives in unexpected ways.

GOTHIC THRILLER

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

A remote island off the coast of Antarctica, sinking into the sea. The vault of preserved seeds it protects. A suspiciously missing husband. Dark secrets and wild beauty abound in this creeping mystery that combines climate disaster, romance, and the haunting ghosts of absence as one woman confronts answers she may not be ready for.

CULINARY MYSTERY

Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes by Sandra Jackson-Opoku

Savvy runs a soul food restaurant on the South Side of Chicago. When a womanizing patron's sudden death casts suspicion on her kitchen, she must chase local gossip to solve the case. Bursting with personality (and including recipes), this cozy whodunit will have you hankering for both answers and a slice of sweet potato pie.

HIGH-STAKES DRAMA

A Guardian and a Thiefby Megha Majumdar