Most Anticipated 2027

Upcoming: RIVALS TURNED IDOLS by Julian Kimble (Simon & Schuster)

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I’ve said it before, and no doubt I’ll say it again: I am very pleased that there appears to be a real, broad appetite for books about the NBA recently. There have been plenty of new books published about active players, but there have also been just as many that examine retired players, or particular periods of the League’s history.

As a life-long basketball player (of dubious skill), but also someone who only really was able to start watching NBA games about 14 years ago (thanks to relocating to Canada), I am particularly interested in reading books that help me fill in the historical gaps. Which brings us to Rivals Turned Idols by Julian Kimble, which examines the 1996 draft class and their incredible impact on the game and League as a whole. It will be released next Spring, and I can’t wait. Here’s the synopsis:

The must-read story of the 1996 NBA Draft class — Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Steve Nash — that turned the NBA into a global force and changed culture forever.

In Rivals Turned Idols, a legendary class of players — Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Steve Nash, Ray Allen, and Stephon Marbury — emerged not just as stars, but as architects of the modern game and the global phenomenon it would become.

This is the story of how athletes became brands, how style and music merged with sport, and how the NBA expanded from American arenas to a worldwide stage. From Philadelphia playgrounds to Los Angeles spotlights to sold-out gyms in Beijing, the ripple effects of this class are still shaping the game and the culture around it today.

Electric, deeply reported, and rich with cultural insight, Rivals Turned Idols is the story of the draft that turned a league into a global force, and rivals into icons.

Kobe, AI, Nash? Yeah, this is a must-read.

Julian Kimble’s Rivals Turned Idols: How The NBA ’96 Draft Class Changed the Game is due to be published by Simon & Schuster in North America, on April 27th, 2027.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads

Upcoming: IRRESISTIBLE MONSTERS by Natalie Haynes (Picador)

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Like many people, after watching Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, I found my interest and love for Greek Mythology reignited this summer. This led me, earlier this month, to read Natalie Haynes‘s Divine Might and Pandora’s Jar — two superb, engaging books about Greek Mythology. After finishing them, and buying a few of her novels, I started to look about for any other books the author might be working on. That’s what led me to find Irresistible Monsters, another book about mythology; this time, Haynes takes a look at the “creatures in Greek Mythology”. Here’s the synopsis:

From snaky Echidna – mother of monsters – to the fearsome Minotaur, the strange and terrible creatures of Greek myths have been grabbing our attention for thousands of years. In Irresistible Monsters, bestselling author, broadcaster and passionate classicist Natalie Haynes turns her inimitable gaze on the inhuman, and reveals that even the things we thought we knew aren’t necessarily so: a Cyclops doesn’t always have one eye, and Cerberus doesn’t start out with three heads.

Along the way, she examines how we think about monsters: what makes a monster, and why do we need them? Do they subvert the world as we know it, or subtly reinforce our expectations? Is a monster human or animal, mortal or divine? And how do you defeat a multi-headed snake when it has a giant crab as its henchman?

This is now one of my most-anticipated books of early 2027. Really looking forward to reading it.

Irresistible Monsters is due to be published in the UK by Picador, on March 4th, 2027. At the time of writing, I couldn’t find a North American publisher — Haynes’s aforementioned Divine Might and Pandora’s Jar (and novels) are published in North America by Harper Perennial, so maybe they will pick this one up as well.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, BlueSky

Upcoming: BEASTS OF THE WILD BLACK by RJ Barker (Podium)

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Beasts of the Wild Black is a new series of sci-fi novellas by RJ Barker that was announced last week, and due to be published starting in October 2026 by Podium: Beasts of the Wild Black, Pride of the Wild Black, and Lost in the Wild Black.

The excellent covers for the three novellas were first unveiled by Runalong the Shelves, and immediately caught my attention. I’ve been a fan of Barker’s work ever since his excellent debut, Age of Assassins, so the fact that his name was on this was the first reason it is a must-read. Then I read the premise, which further cemented my interest.

The three books will first be available individually, before being published as a collected edition (in January 2027), in print, eBook, and audiobook — read by Clare Corbett and Vidish Athavale. Here’s the series synopsis:

Explore the Wild Black — where any signal could be a trap, any planet a mystery, and any companion a lifeline — in this trio of high-concept space adventures.

Deep Strike crews are accustomed to hostile terrain. But in Beasts of the Wild Black, Capt. Min Law and the crew of the Thunberg get more than they bargained for when they follow a garbled distress call to a seemingly quiet world. Meanwhile, in Pride of the Wild Black, Min’s mentor Maj. Gen. Alice Benner’s concern for her missing protégé draws her into a potentially wide-scale conspiracy. And in Lost in the Wild Black a wounded superintelligent cat named Bruce is trapped on a lethal planet desperate to send out a signal, no matter who — or what — hears it.

Here, too, is the synopsis for the first novella, for a little bit more information/detail:

The Wild Black wants to kill you: That’s the reality in this wildly imaginative sci-fi novella from the award-winning author of the Tide Child trilogy.

Years ago, Deep Strike cadet Min Law was left behind during what was meant to be a routine operation. Though he survived, the resulting trauma almost ended his career. Now, as captain of the DST Thunberg, he is preparing to take his crew on a similar journey to a seemingly quiet world following a garbled distress signal. The mission is simple on paper: find the source of the call, offer aid, return home.

But nothing is simple in the Wild Black at the edges of the unexplored universe. As the crew of the Thunberg searches for the signal’s source, they find strange ships and corpses that shouldn’t be there. The mysteries begin to pile up. What happened out here? And why does some of the technology look horribly familiar?

Fortunately, Min’s team of animal counterparts is prepared for anything. The bear, Sitka Pete, is eight hundred pounds of loyal muscle. The rooks are quick and coordinated, perfect for reconnaissance. And the cats, Oz and Hinder, well, they’re just cats. But together they’re more than up for whatever the Wild Black can throw at them — even if this region isn’t quite so unexplored after all…

Really looking forward to reading this series.

RJ Barker’s Beasts of the Wild Black is due to be published by Podium, on October 6th, 2026. No publication date, at the time of writing, for the second and third novellas. The collected edition is due to be published by Podium, on January 5th, 2027.

Also on CR: Interviews with RJ Barker — 2017 and 2020; Annotated Excerpt from The Bone Ships; Reviews of Age of Assassins, Blood of Assassins, and King of Assassins

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, BlueSky

Upcoming: THE OPERATOR by Mike Lawson (Atlantic Crime)

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Congressional fixer Joe DeMarco’s misadventures in and around Washington and America’s politics continue! Now, though, he’s pitted against a merciless, far better-resourced opposing fixer…

In February 2027, Atlantic Crime are due to publish The Operator, the 20th novel in Mike Lawson‘s excellent series — an incredible milestone for the series and author. This has been a favourite series of mine ever since I read DeMarco’s debut outing, The Inside Ring, so every new volume is something to celebrate. Here’s the synopsis:

It’s fixer versus fixer, and only one can win…

Joe DeMarco is a capable man. He works as a fixer for John Mahoney, the former Speaker of the House (though DeMarco prefers the term “troubleshooter”). He’s the one Mahoney calls upon when there’s a situation that requires creative problem solving.

Carla Andretti — a cutthroat lawyer at one of the world’s top firms — is a fixer too. On behalf of the ultra-wealthy tech-mogul Leo Cage, Carla helps her boss conquer whatever he desires, even if she too must bend the law to make it happen.

When one of Leo’s schemes begins to crumble, it threatens to expose them both on a massive scale, forcing Carla to do what she does best: fix the situation. In order to keep her and Leo’s names clean, she’ll have to go after the people responsible for the unraveling. The only problem? Joe DeMarco’s onto her — and he knows all too well the tricks of the trade.

Can’t wait to read this.

While I’m waiting, I could of course get caught up on a few of the author’s novels that I have (inexplicably) yet to get around to: Redemption (a stand-alone thriller) and the Kay Hamilton series — Rosarito Beach, Viking Bay, and K-Street — which were published under the pseudonym M. A. Lawson.

Mike Lawson’s The Operator is due to be published by Atlantic Crime in North America, on February 16th, 2027.

Also on CR: Reviews of House Rules/Dead on Arrival, House Secrets/Dead Man’s List, House Justice, House Divided, House Blood, House Odds, House Reckoning, House Rivals, and The Asset

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads

Upcoming: THE LAST SHOT by Vaseem Khan (Hodder & Stoughton)

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Early next year, Hodder & Stoughton are due to publish the seventh novel in Vaseem Khan‘s excellent Malabar House series, The Last Shot. I’m currently reading (and very much enjoying) the fifth novel in the series, City of Destruction, and should easily be caught up before this latest novel releases. Really looking forward to it. Here’s the synopsis:

Bombay, 1952. When once legendary British film producer, Richard Boorman, working in India’s film capital, Bombay, is found murdered, shot dead, his body stuffed into the trunk of his car, Persis, India’s first female police detective, is tasked to find his killer.

Working with Archie Blackfinch, a forensic scientist from the Metropolitan Police service in London, she delves into the case, and soon discovers that Boorman’s activities in India may not have been confined to the silver screen.

As the investigation progresses, Persis finds herself drawn into a web of danger and deceit, and to a meeting with a man of such unmitigated evil that his very existence has been stricken from history.

In India’s city of dreams, it is sometimes nightmares that prevail…

Vaseem Khan’s The Last Shot is due to be published by Hodder & Stoughton, on January 7th, 2027.

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Instagram, BlueSky