Some Really Good Books I Read This Year from James W. Ziskin

End-of-year book recommendations

I’ve posted here before to say that I’m not crazy about the Best Books of the Year lists. To be clear, I don’t object to the great books on those lists. They deserve accolades. I only wish the reviewers could use a better description for their annual lists. Kristopher Zgorski of BOLO Books does exactly that. He’s always careful to note that he’s not proclaiming his choices as “the best books of the year.” He calls them instead his “Top Reads” of the year.

Furthermore, mostly only the biggest names make the lists. And they don’t need my recommendation to boost their sales. So I try to highlight less-famous, talented writers in this space.

I didn’t have the chance to read as much in 2023 as I normally do. That’s because I have a new position teaching high school French. And, since that’s more than a full-time job for someone like me, I only had the summer to write my own novel this year. Well, I managed to get that done. The Prank is currently with my agent, so we’ll see if she can find a home for it.

Though this single-tasker had his hands full and attention strained, I nevertheless managed to read twenty-some books. Some haven’t been published yet, so I can’t comment publicly on those. But here, in no particular order, are some highlights of what I read and enjoyed over the past twelve months.

STRANGE SALLY DIAMOND, Liz Nugent

Liz Nugent has become one of my go-to authors. Sally Diamond grabbed me from the very start. I couldn’t stop reading this remarkable book. With a supremely memorable protagonist, Strange Sally Diamond is Nugent’s best yet. And that’s saying a lot! A huge international hit, superbly creative and complex. Get it and read it! You’re welcome.

 

KILLER STORY, Matt Witten

Killer Story shows how ambition can lead to unexpected results. Even the best intentions can twist into something entirely different. Readers will root for Petra as she tries to solve the murder and make her career. But will they be happy with the results? A fascinating and troubling cautionary tale, bravely told. This one will keep you thinking.

THE SORROWFUL GIRL, Keenan Powell

The Sorrowful Girl takes us on a compelling visit to western Massachusetts in the last decade of the nineteenth century. Liam Barrett, honor-bound and decent lawman, battles anti-Irish prejudice, corrupt police, and scheming robber barons as he searches for answers in the murder of a young Catholic girl. Desperate to escape her humble origins and bleak future, Deirdre Monaghan dares to dream of a better life, but meets her tragic end in a dark wood instead. Echoes of Celtic myths whisper through the Berkshires in this powerful historical mystery. The Sorrowful Girl packs an emotional wallop. Damn good!

THE GET, Dietrich Kalteis

Beautifully written in jagged, bruising rhythms, our own Dietrich Kalteis’s The Get crackles with poetic dialogue, desperate cold-blooded thugs, and an airtight plot that twists into a perfect knot. Inevitable and perfect.

 

PRELUDE TO MURDER, Erica Miner

A tantalizing peek behind the curtain of the world-renown Santa Fe Opera. There’s plenty of mayhem on the bill, rich spirituality, sumptuous history, and metaphysical frights, too. So much to enjoy in Erica Miner’s new novel. But it’s the music that steals the show. Concertmaster Julia Kogan, on loan to Santa Fe from the Metropolitan Opera, returns (after Aria for Murder), and finds herself smack in the middle of a clever and dramatic mystery set against bloody arias and deadly recitativo.

RAVEN’S GRAVE, Charlotte Stuart

This is a deeply moving story of murder and cultural erosion in an Alaskan Tlingit fishing village during the late 1970s. Charlotte Stuart paints the magnificent, unforgiving land- and seascapes with a sharp eye and steady hand. She endows her characters with true dimension and complexity, particularly the principled lawman, Jonah St Clair. You can't read Raven's Grave without being touched by the author's love and respect for the region and the people she portrays. Teeming with authenticity and rich cultural detail. A wonderfully satisfying novel.

LEAVE THE LIGHTS ON, Liv Andersson

A poetic inevitability emerges from the dark, secret past of damaged lives forever linked. Taut and, at turns, haunting and terrifying, Liv Andersson’s Leave the Lights on twists and turns then twists again, defying readers’ expectations and assumptions about naïveté, betrayal, and revenge. Beatrice Wicker is a compellingly imperfect heroine, whose very survival depends on cunning and endurance in a decades-long game of hide-and-seek. Tense, chilling, and absorbing, Leave the Lights on is a superb psychological thriller.

INCIDENT IN INDIA, Josephine Mele

Josephine Mele’s Incident in India is a rich blend of discovery and danger, as two friends—Helen and June—tour India’s most beautiful forts, palaces, and wildlife sanctuaries. Dripping with fascinating cultural detail, Incident in India also tackles the disturbing practice of honor killings. Dauntless guides and brave champions for justice, Helen and June will take readers on the safari of their lives.

THE FRANCHISE AFFAIR, Josephine Tey

I haven’t read enough of Josephine Tey, and I am poorer for it. Alan Grant and company are wonderfully inviting in this tale of a false—or is it?—accusation against a woman and her elderly mother. Great insights into human nature and the fickleness of public opinion.

THE DETECTIVE UP LATE, Adrian McKinty

McKinty always delivers brilliant writing, troubled characters, and fascinating erudition in his books, never more so than in his Sean Duffy novels. Duffy is leaving full-time duty on the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary). It’s been a long, hellish ride through the 1980s and the Troubles, but Sean wants to live quietly, work a couple of days a month to ensure his pension, and spend time in his new home across the water in Scotland. But there’s one last case to solve. A young female “traveller” (the Irish nomadic community) has gone missing and the police seem to have fumbled the ball. Duffy steps up and pokes and provokes relentlessly, all the while trying to stay alive before he leaves the peelers. A fantastic read.

 

LE COMTE DE MONTE-CRISTO, Alexandre Dumas

Surprised by this one? We read this for my tenth-grade French class this year. A veritable nineteenth-century soap opera, MC is a wonderful read. There may be more than a few coincidences to strain credulity, but what the hell? Just sit back and enjoy it all. 

THE LAST HOPE, Susan Elia MacNeal

Finally, I’m in the middle of reading the very last Maggie Hope novel from Susan Elia MacNeal’s captivating, immersive series. I love Maggie and will miss her. She’s complex, at times reckless, brilliant, and brave. Such a rich character you’ll never forget. I was lucky enough to receive an advance reader copy a couple of days ago. The Last Hope comes out May 21, 2024, so you’ll have to wait.