The best new books of March 2021

(CNN) —  

From a much-anticipated dystopian novel from Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro to a moving memoir by Isabel Allende to a new pulp-style chiller from Stephen King, March’s new book releases offer a little something for every taste.

We’ve rounded up 20 new March book releases to put on your radar now, all available to purchase or preorder on Amazon.

This highly anticipated debut novel shifts between a secret 18th-century London apothecary shop run by a woman who concocts deadly poisons for women to use against troublesome men and modern-day, when, centuries later, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell discovers a clue to the unsolved murders tied to the apothecary.

In his sequel to “The Sympathizer,” Pulitzer Prize-winning author Nguyen continues the story of the double-agent Sympathizer, now a refugee in Paris, as he and Bon, his blood brother, turn to drug dealing and face new forms of danger. With themes of friendship, crime, greed, espionage and human rights, it’s the second part of a planned trilogy.

From the winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature, this dystopian novel takes place in the near future and is told from the point of view of Klara, a charming “artificial friend” — aka a human-like robot — who observes the behavior of humans from her spot in a store window as she waits to be purchased as a companion for a young person. Eventually chosen by a teenage girl who becomes quite ill, the book examines the idea of love and how an artificial heart may beat louder than that of a human.

In King’s third book for the pulp-style Hard Case Crime line, “Later” follows Jamie Conklin, a youngster who can see — and talk to — the deceased and finds himself helping a New York police detective stop a bombing. The haunting catch? The killer Jamie must contact is already dead.

In her new memoir, the bestselling author explores the feminist movement and her part in it, which took root at a young age. “When I say that I was a feminist in kindergarten, I am not exaggerating,” she writes. Now 78, Allende explores growing up with a single mother, her three marriages and saying “yes to life.”

In her second novel, the bestselling author of “Behold the Dreamers” delivers a rich story set in a fictional African village that has been ravaged by an American oil company. Following Thula, a girl who, over time, chooses to fight back against a dictatorship, it follows themes of greed, environmental harm, colonialism and the value of human life.

Fans of psychological thrillers will be anxious for this page-turner that imagines the death of four family members featured in a viral true-crime documentary while on vacation in Mexico. The cause appears to be a gas leak, but their college-age son — who was back home in the US — finds suspicious circumstances surrounding the deaths that may be connected to his brother, the topic of the documentary, who is serving a life sentence for murder.

Love a good rom-com? Hibbert’s third and final book in a charming series about the British Brown sisters centers on Eve, the youngest and most chaotic of the bunch. As Eve attempts to put her shenanigans behind her and finally grow up, she finds her life entwined with Jacob, a fusty (but handsome!) B&B owner, and they find out whether opposites really do attract.

If historical fiction featuring female heroines with a little spy drama mixed in sounds like your cup of tea, add Quinn’s latest novel to your list. Set in World War II-era Britain, three women are recruited as military code-breakers and become close, but are eventually torn apart. Later, after the war, they are reunited to decrypt a letter and uncover the identity of a traitor.

Need some escapism right about now? Steel’s latest is focused on the aftermath of a young actress’ affair with a popular French author and how the jilted wife copes with the scandal — from hiding it from her daughters to taking advice from her mother and three sisters.

Examining the Christian faith and the true meaning of Easter, its most important holiday, Keller’s latest book on religion explores the accounts of the resurrection of Jesus, and how his followers did not at first recognize him as he rose from the tomb.

This thriller, which centers on the fallout a fatal car accident has had on a coastal California town, follows the story of Vincent, a teen convicted of killing a 7-year-old girl and now being released from prison 30 years later, his childhood friend, Walker, who is now the police chief, and Star, the sister of the girl who was killed, who faces her own demons and dangers.

Windsor Horne Lockwood III — aka Win — is a wealthy New Yorker who finds himself involved with a murder when a long-missing Vermeer painting and his own monogrammed suitcase are found at the scene of the crime. The dead man, it turns out, was part of a group of student activists in the 1970s, responsible for a bombing that left an accidental body count. Add in an old kidnapping case involving Win’s cousin and get ready for a page-turner filled with twists and turns.

The bestselling author is back with the nonfiction “Dusk Night Dawn,” tackling troubles caused by the coronavirus pandemic, marriage, alcoholism, climate change, aging and more. Written in short essay form, she uses honest moments from her life to address dealing with flaws and setbacks to embrace life.

Written with Steve Hamilton, book seven of the popular Fox and O’Hare series follows the unlikely duo of FBI agent Kate O’Hare and criminal/con man Nick Fox. This time they’re in a race that takes them across Europe to find a train — missing for more than 75 years — that’s carrying $30 billion worth of Nazi gold.

The Food Network star’s latest release puts the focus on choosing the right foods to make you feel good and includes a three-day reboot (along with gluten-, dairy- and sugar-free recipes), a 21-day menu plan and recipes for more than 100 healthy dishes such as quinoa pancakes, easy chicken piccata and chocolate and orange brown rice treats. Also touching on self-care, mediation and intermittent fasting, De Laurentiis’s book offers a jump start for those looking to up their wellness routines.

Fans of the actress will eat up Stone’s new autobiography, which chronicles not only her famous roles, but also a traumatic childhood, a stroke in 2001 that, she writes, cost her both her career and savings, and her humanitarian efforts to strengthen the lives of women and children around the world.

Get ready for a thrill ride with bestselling author Ellison’s latest that surrounds a wedding on the Italian coast between an aspiring artist and her wealthy fiancé (whose family owns the villa where the nuptials are to take place). Bones are discovered. Threatening texts are received. A violent storm kills the power. And not everyone will survive.

The author’s latest is the tale of Georgeanna Woolsey (an ancestor of Caroline Ferriday, the heroine of her bestselling book “Lilac Girls” who helped release girls from a concentration camp). Inspired by true events, Georgeanna, a Civil War nurse for the Union, meets slave Jemma, recently conscripted into the army, but still pursued by her former owner, now a Confederate spy.

In this novel, a documentary filmmaker, now nearly 80 and dying of cancer, gives a final interview to his former students about his famous films, dodging the Vietnam War draft, celebrity drinking tales and, eventually, shocks the film crew with a dark confession.