January 2026 Mystery Booxies

New Year, New Stories: Inside Your January 2026 Booxies

Happy New Year! There is something truly special about January in Australia. It’s the season of salt-crusted skin, the predictable afternoon hum of the cicadas, and that glorious "holiday brain" where the only pressing question is which book to dive into next. Whether you’re cooling off by the waves, hiding from the heat in the sanctuary of your air con, or making the most of the long twilight hours on the deck, January is the ultimate month for a fresh reading start.

At Booxies, we’ve kicked off 2026 with a bang. Our January Mystery Booxies selections are curated to be the perfect summer companions. So, pour yourself something cold, find a patch of shade, and let’s unbox the stories that will define your 2026 reading list!

What is Mystery Booxies - Our Subscription Book Box

For those who are not familiar with us, Mystery Booxies is our full book subscription service. it is a monthly service that delivers a curated selection of books directly to your doorstep. It's a fantastic way to explore new authors and broaden your literary horizons in the new year.

Each box contains a brand new book, a bookmark, and exciting extras like tea, snacks, and drinks (alcoholic or non-alcoholic, depending on your preference). All books are hand-picked by passionate bibliophiles and are guaranteed to be a delightful surprise from recent releases.

Mystery Booxies offers flexible book subscription options, including monthly, bi-monthly, and can be with zero commitment or on a 6 month or 12 month plans. For a lighter and more affordable option, choose the boxless subscription, which includes a book, tea, and a bookmark without the fuss.

We are very excited about the books we chose for you this month. You are in for a Bookish treat this month!

General Fiction Book of the Month

Buckeye by Patrick Ryan

May, 1945. As news of the Allied victory in Europe reaches the small town of Bonhomie, Ohio, a woman named Margaret Salt walks into a hardware store and asks the man behind the counter, Cal Jenkins, for a radio. What happens next will change both of their lives forever.

While the country reconstructs in the post-war boom, a secret grows in Bonhomie – and nothing can remain hidden in a small town. The consequences of that long-ago encounter will intertwine the fates of two families, rippling through the next generation and compelling them to re-examine who they thought they were and what the future might hold.

Full of compassion, humour and charm, Buckeye is a dazzling portrait of the human spirit by way of one unforgettable community; the twisted roads we take to achieve forgiveness and redemption; and above all a universal longing for love and connection.

Romance Book of the Month

Heart the Lover by Lily King

Our narrator understands good love stories - their secrets, their highs and free falls. But her greatest love story, the one she lived, never followed the rules.
She was in her senior year of college when star students Sam and Yash swept her into an intoxicating world of academic fervour, rapid-fire banter and raucous card games. Their lives became quickly intertwined - with friendship but also with unpredictable passions and the intimations of first love.
Decades later, she is a successful writer, living a comfortable life with her husband and children, when a surprise visit brings the past crashing into the present, forcing her to confront the decisions and deceptions of her youth.
Written with the precision of poetry and the emotional tide of an epic, Heart the Lover is a celebration of literature and the life-long echoes of young love. This is King at her very best, affirming her as a masterful chronicler of the human experience and one of the finest novelists at work today.

Crime/ Thriller Book of the Month

The Widow by John Grisham

The new incredible legal thriller from John Grisham.

She needs a lawyer. He needs a payday.

Simon Latch is a small-town lawyer struggling with debt, gambling issues and an impending divorce. But when Eleanor Barnett, an 85-year-old widow, visits his office to secure a new will, it seems his luck has finally changed: she claims she's sitting on a $20 million fortune and no one else knows about it.

She could be the ticket to his fortune.

Once he's hooked the richest client of his career, Simon works quietly to keep her wealth under the radar, even from his own assistant. But there are complications: other lawyers are circling his client like vultures.

But when she is hospitalised after a car accident, Eleanor's story begins to crack. Simon realises that nothing is as it seems. And as events spiral out of control, he finds himself on trial for a crime he swears he didn't commit: murder.

Non-Fiction Book of the Month

iWar by Tim Higgins

iWar is a story of corporate intrigue and rivalry, as the tech industry’s most powerful minds, from Elon Musk to the owners of Spotify and Epic Games, try to knock the world’s biggest company off its pedestal.

Since the invention of the iPhone and App Store, Apple has built a near unassailable market power, controlling not only commerce, but also culture, and - increasingly - the flow of ideas.

In response, a loose rebel alliance of tech entrepreneurs has formed to lay siege to Apple, bringing together X's Elon Musk, WeChat's Pony Ma, Spotify's Daniel Ek and Epic Games' Tim Sweeney. In the trenches of popular opinion and now in the courtrooms of Europe and the United States, this rebellion aims to tear down Apple's walls and dismantle its monopoly.

iWar weaves together the story of Apple's rise and reign with the political and international forces arrayed against it in the fight over control of the global digital economy. The stakes couldn't be higher.

Fantasy/ Romantasy Book of the Month

The Bookshop Below by Georgia Summers

In this extraordinary standalone from the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of The City of Stardust, a disgraced bookseller is offered the chance to restore a magical bookshop to its former glory, and enters a dark underworld of unscrupulous collectors, deadly ink magic and shady societies.

If you want a story that will change your life, Chiron's bookshop is where you go. For those lucky enough to grace its doors, it's a glimpse into a world of deadly bargains and powerful, magical books.

For Cassandra Fairfax, it's a reminder of everything she lost, when Chiron kicked her out and all but shuttered the shop. Since then, she's used her skills in less . . . ethical ways, trading stolen books and magical readings to wealthy playboys looking for power money can't buy.

Then Chiron dies. And if Cassandra knows anything, it's this: the bookshop must always have an owner.

To restore the shop, she'll need the help of Lowell Sharpe, a rival bookseller who is everything Cassandra is not - and knows it, too.

But as she is plunged into a world of unscrupulous collectors, deadly ink magic and shady societies, a dark force threatens to unravel the bookshops entirely . . .

Young Adults Book of the Month

Coldwire by Chloe Gong

For decades, the world has been caught in a cold war between two powerful nations: Medaluo and Atahua. The Medan orphans who live in Atahua suffer the cost. Their enrollment at Nile Military Academy is mandatory. Either serve as a soldier, or risk being labelled a spy.

Eighteen-year-old Eirale is one such orphan. Having recently graduated and joined NileCorp's forces, she's doing well for herself - until Atahua's most wanted anarchist frames her for assassinating a government official and she's given a choice: cooperate with him to search for a dangerous program in Medaluo or go down for treason.

Meanwhile, seventeen-year-old Lia is close to her own graduation when she's paired with her academic nemesis for one final assignment. But when they are ordered to infiltrate Medaluo in virtual reality, Lia quickly realises there is much more at stake than her school ranking.

As Eirale and Lia tear through Medaluo on separate courses, the two start to suspect they are pieces in a larger conspiracy - and the closer they get to the truth, the closer their worlds come to a shattering collision.

Products of the Month

This month, we chose something fun and fresh to celebrate the start of a new year, whether you selected the alcohol or alcohol free option. We added a can of a ready to drink Strawberry Margaritas from the award-winning Curatif for those who chose the alcohol option, and for the first time ever, we chose a product from our freinds across the Tasman sea, two cans of non-alcoholic ready-to-drink cocktails from Elta Ego, including a Pina Colada and Passionfruit Margaritas. Both options came with chilli lime roasted peanuts from Nuts About Nuts, and of course, 2x tea pyramids from our friends at Tea Drop.

With the long, warm days of January setting the stage, these hand-picked books are the ideal way to spend your time outdoors, diving deep into new worlds of fiction, romance, and fantasy. Remember that Booxies makes the perfect present, whether you're treating yourself to a well-deserved escape or want to spoil someone this holiday season. Whether you're after pulse pounding thrills, deeply moving tales, or an enthralling adventure, these amazing reads have a story waiting for you.

So, why wait? It's time to get your Mystery Booxies and enjoy the perfect bookish box this month and every month until you are booked out (if such a thing can happen).

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