Hanna Alkaf’s new murder mystery toplines Malaysian book releases in early 2022

Hanna Alkaf's new book 'Queen Of The Tiles' is set to spark excitement among a cross-section of Malaysian readers when it arrives this April 19, with pre-orders already launched. Photo: Simon & Shuster

Fulfill your reading resolutions this 2022 with a selection of Malaysian book releases coming in the next few months.

From the pre-order buzz surrounding Hanna Alkaff's new young adult thriller titled Queen Of The Tiles due on April 19, it looks like "Hanna-mania" is set for a return.

The award-winning author of The Weight Of Our Sky and The Girl And The Ghost already has a major following in Malaysia and abroad. If you remember those pre-pandemic book meet scenes for The Weight Of Our Sky in 2019 when Hanna packed out bookshops (notably Books Kinokuniya Malaysia), then you can expect the same sort of excitement for Queen Of The Tiles if in-person book meets in the Klang Valley are allowed to take place come April.

Described as a cross between They Wish They Were Us and The Queens Gambit, the story of Queen Of The Tiles follows a teen girl in the world of competitive scrabble attempting to solve the death of her best friend after her Instagram returns with creepy subliminal messages a year after her demise.

Queen Of The Tiles will be released under international publisher Simon and Shuster.

Other releases that might grab your attention:

Bajautopia: Tales Of Borneo’s Sea Nomads by Khen Koon Eng and Farah Aliza Badaruddin, which is an early 2022 release from Gerakbudaya, is a book aimed at planners, politicians, scientists, engineers, environmentalists and activists. But there is no stopping the curious reader from learning more about the story - and plight - of Sabah's Bajau Laut community told here.

Bajautopia is a part architectural design book, part cultural essay collection and part climate change discussion. It reflects on both the struggles and hopes of the Bajau Laut community. With a wide range of essay contributors, led by the foremost writers and scholars from the fields of architecture, history, film studies, anthropology, tourism, political science, and urban planning, Bajautopia offers an eye-opening read about one of least known communities in Malaysia.

After Time by Fahd Razy is due for release in April. Picked up by Penguin Random House SEA, this is an English translation of Fahd’s 2015 novel Pascasejarah.

Fahd's After Time is a dystopian look at an alternate future. The author examines a new humanity emerging from the ashes of ruin, establishing a new society. The sprawling epic covers multiple villains and heroes over the span of a new century.

Lucie Yi Is Not A Romantic by Singapore-based Malaysian author Lauren Ho (of Last Tang Standing fame) will be released by Penguin Random House in June. This romantic comedy by Ho follows a career driven single mother who finds an unexpected match in a co-parenting website. Witty and emotional, this lighthearted read is certain to pull at a few heartstrings.

Kings Of Chinatown by William Tham Wai Lang (who wrote Kings Of Petaling Street and The Last Days) is one to watch from Clarity Publishing's new releases planned for this year. Tham returns to his gritty roots with a new crime saga set in KL’s Chinatown.

The story follows the son of a feared mob boss as he is reluctantly pulled into the crossfire of a tide-turning gang war, all while wrestling with rival bosses, cops, and politicians desperate to pull his fathers legacy down. The novel, packed with betrayals and hard-boiled crime action, is set to hit shelves in the second quarter of 2022.