ALSO OUT
There’s plenty more books we couldn’t squeeze in. Isabel Sterling’s paranormal romance THE COLDEST TOUCH (out now, Hodder) centres on Elise, whose curse is that when she touches someone she experiences how they’ll die. Then she meets Claire, a vampire tasked with helping her master her powers. Can Elise prevent a teacher’s imminent murder? In the third High Republic book, STAR WARS: THE FALLEN STAR (4 January, Del Rey), survivors fleeing the Nihil’s attacks have gathered at cultural hub Starlight Beacon. But Nihil mastermind Marchion Ro is preparing his most daring attack yet, the scamp. In Una McCormack’s FIREFLY: CARNIVAL (11 January, Titan), Mal’s crew take a job in a Vegas-style city: guarding a costly shipment. When it’s pinched, the owner kidnaps Zoë and Book. Can Mal scrape together the ransom before they’re killed? Turning to continuing series: THE LIAR’S KNOT (out now, Orbit) is book two of the Rook & Rose trilogy, in which a con artist, a vigilante, and a crime lord must unite to save their city from dark magic. We quite liked opener The Mask Of Mirrors, praising its worldbuilding and engaging characters. There’s also a follow-up to HL Long’s epic fantasy Hall Of Smoke: TEMPLE OF NO GOD (18 January, Titan). After brokering peace, High Priestess Hessa must venture into enemy territory, where a sinister cult is on the rise… eek. Finally, 100 AMERICAN HORROR FILMS (out now) is the latest in the BFI’s Screen Guides series. Expect chin-stroking write-ups of everything from DW Griffith’s The Avenging Conscience to Get Out.