Books that inspired me in 2024, by Josh Stallings

 Crime fiction spreads across all genres, here are some of my favorite reads of the last year.

Rachel Kushner’s Creation Lake is a brilliant weave of spy novel, anthropology and a character study. Following a freelance spy/investigator as she infiltrates a rural French commune, it delves into a prehistoric cultural divide between Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens, the deadly danger of mega farming, and the destructive nature of capitalism. 

“The whole internet is like a giant mirror. A swampy reflecting pool for the world. Viscous and unclean, mottled, distorting.” — Catchpenny: A novel by Charlie Huston

Charlie Huston’s Catchpenny is the story of a rock singer who sold his voice so he could slide in and out of mirrors. Too weird? Not in the hands of Huston. He ground this fantastical world with real humans dealing with real pain while fighting to save the world from dark magic destruction. 

Nemonte Nenquimo, Mitch Anderson’s We Will Be Jaguars: A Memoir of My People is the amazing life story following Nenquimo from a childhood where missionaries taught her to devalue her ancestors, her way of life and ultimately herself. In reclaiming the wisdom of the jungle she grew into a leader of a movement that brought together the tribes of the Amazon. It is a crime book, just not fiction.

I have also read a lot of Mario Vargas Llosa every writer should, he’s that good. He’s won the Nobel Prize in Literature, Miguel de Cervantes Prize, Pablo Neruda Order of Artistic and Cultural Merit, and a bunch more accolades. Normally this would lead me to believe he was a stuffy headache inducing author. Nope, he writes clean direct crime stories that break a million and one rules and never leave me bored. His ability to jump in and out of time and blend several conversations without ever causing confusion is miraculous. 

Here are the Mario Vargas Llosa novels I read this year, there is much to be learned from his work. My only regret is I can’t read them in the original Spanish.

The Discreet Hero

Who Killed Palomino Molero?

Death in the Andes: A Novel

The Storyteller: A Novel

Captain Pantoja and the Special Service

As an added bonus here’s some music that is inspiring me.

I write to all kinds of music, recently its been indigenous music from South and Central America.

Amazon Ensemble’s Enchanted takes me far from my office.

Nación Ekeko & Ayahuasca Icaros single Limpia is cool and trippy to type to. I’ve been enchanted by all of Nación Ekeko’s work.  

Giselle World’s Tribu mixes ambient and chants in a way that keeps me typing.

Jon Batiste’s Beethoven Blues while not indigenous music, is amazing to write to. Familiar enough melodies that they don’t pull me out, with complicated enough variations that they never bore the logical part of my brain.

****

What I am reading now:

End of the World and Hard-Boiled Wonderland by Haruki Murakami, new translation by Jay Rubin.

Happy Holidays to all. In these dark and deeply weird days I hope you find and share love, laugher and joy.

12 Books at Christmas, by Catriona

I'm doing again what I've done before - since no one stopped me last time - and reproducing my year's reading here, then choosing a book of the month for every month. The books of the month are the ones that make me smile again, remembering reading them, or the ones I can't believe I read all those months ago because they're as fresh as ever in my mind, or the ones I wish I hadn't read so I could read them for the first time now. I should just say, though, that the only reason Linda Castillo isn't at least one of them is that I wouldn't know which of her Amish mysteries to pick. Same for Joshua Moehling's Ben Packard series. And I can't quite believe that Stephen King wasn't one. Nor Ashley Mullinger's memoir about being a professional inshore fisherwoman - she was knocked off by Delia Pitts. Anyway . . .

  

Right now, I'm reading:

TOM LAKE, Ann Patchett - and it's great. Of course it is.

December, 2024

WE USED TO LIVE HERE, Marcus Kliewer

EVERYONE ON THIS TRAIN IS A SUSPECT, Benjamin Stevenson

DAYS AT THE MORISAKI BOOKSHOP, Satoshi Yagisawa

WHERE THEY LAST SAW HER,  Marcie Rendon. Devin Abrahmson of Once Upon A Crime in Minneapolis has never hand-sold me a disappointing book. When I was in signing stock in September, I asked her for whatever she wanted to give me and she gave me this sometimes harrowing, sometimes uplifting, always absorbing novel about modern life on a reservation near the pipe line in northern MN, where young women are going missing. It's an own voices triumph by a native writer, clear-sighted yet optimistic, and plotty as hell. A great gang of fierce women at the heart of it too.

November 2024

THE BURNING, Linda Castillo

SCRAP, Calla Henkel

QUARTET IN AUTUMN, Barbara Pym

THE WIFE UPSTAIRS, Rachel Hawkins

TROUBLE IN QUEENSTOWN, Delia Pitts It's a new PI series! Yay! I could no more write one than I could sculpt one out of marble with a spatula, but I love them: Tracy Clark's Cass Raines, Kristin Lepionka's Roxanne Weary, Sara Paretsky's V I Warshawski natch, and now Delia Pitts' Vandy Myrick, a private eye with a heavy heart just trying to keep the lights on in a small town she knows far too well when a simple case of pre-divorce surveillance turns into something much darker. From the bar to the carehome to the hairdressers to the mayor's office - I fell in love with quirky old Queenstown.  Roll on book 2.

 ONE OF US KNOWS, Alyssa Cole

WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS IN THE LIBRARY, Mishiko Aayoma

LONG ISLAND, Colm Toibin

MY FISHING LIFE, Ashley Mullenger

October 2024

EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE, Benjamin Stevenson

FROM A BUICK 8, Stephen King

JACKIE, Dawn Tripp Right, so I was living in DC in interesting times and spending a lot of time in pretty old Georgetown, but even if I'd been at home in scruffy northern California or at home home in the plotching rain of Scotland, I think I'd have been swept away by this fictionalised account of Jackie Kennedy's life. It's beautifully written and - as far as I know - fills in blanks without changing any facts. I loved Curtis Sittenfield's American Wife (about Laura Bush) but this is something else again. Her surviving family might hate it, but I gobbled it up.

THE LAST PLANTATION, James R Jones

DEMON COPPERHEAD, Barbara Kingsolver

September 2024

THE WEDDING PEOPLE, Alison Espach. I was at the beach in Rhode Island, and I'd just written a book about a wedding. This novel is set at a beach wedding in RI - come on! But it's not a "beach read". It's bitingly funny and a bit bleak, the way it looks at life's sands running out and the disappointments only blessed lives escape. (But - SPOILER ALERT - don't worry; it's got a bit of beach read in there too.)

 SHAMED, Linda Castillo

HAPPY PLACE, Emily Henry

LONG TIME GONE, Joshua Moehling

SANDWICH, Catherine Newman

ANYTHING FOR A FRIEND, Kathleen M Willett

August 2024

BREAKING SILENCE, Linda Castillo

THE TAKEN ONES, Jess Lourey

BULL'S EYE, Shannon Baker

THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF THE ALPERTON ANGELS, Janice Hallett

BIG GAY WEDDING, Byron Lane Pure joy. I was standing in the queue to pay for my books at the Tucson Festival of Books in the Spring and saw this jacket face up on the table. Who could resist? Inside, it's basically Mamma Mia except it's set on a farm in Louisiana and it makes you cry more. 

July 2024

MISSING WHITE WOMAN, Kellye Garrett

A BOOKSHOP OF ONE'S OWN, Jane Cholmeley

SKELLIG, David Almond The twenty-fifth anniversary edition of a book I'd never read? See, it's a kids' book and twenty-five years ago I was already grown up and didn't read YA and juvenile fiction. (The bad old days.) It deserves all the years in print and every word of praise. The young hero has just moved house and his baby sister is desperately ill in hospital. When he should be helping unpack, he finds Skellig in a shed in the garden. Who is Skellig? Good question. A homeless man? A guardian angel? A personification of trauma? Brilliant stuff. 

YOU LIKE IT DARKER, Stephen King

THE BOOKSHOP WOMAN, Nanako Hanada

MOTHERWELL, Deborah Orr

June 2024

YOU ARE HERE, David Nicholls

THE SUSPECT, Rob Rinder

LONDON PARTICULAR, Christianna Brand

THE BLACK DRESS, Deborah Moggach

SHAKESPEARE: THE MAN WHO PAYS THE RENT, Judi Dench This book is lightly edited transcripts of conversations between Dame Judi and her frequent director at Stratford. The chats were meant to be saved as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company's archive, but someone knew gold when they saw it. I would say that whether you'd enjoy this depends on how much Shakespeare you've seen. I found that the discussion of the plays I didn't know at all - Coriolanus; The Merry Wives of Windsor - didn't hold my attention, but the many that I knew were enriched and sometimes transformed by hearing how Dench approached her roles. And she's very funny too.

DEATH OF A BOOKSELLER, Alice Slater

CALL ME MRS BROWN, Brendan O'Carroll

THE MIDWICH CUCKOOS, John Wyndham

CAUGHT, Harlan Coben (reread)

OLD BONES LIE, Marion Todd (reread)

May 2024

STALIN ATE MY HOMEWORK, Alexei Sayle

CAUGHT, Harlan Coben

MUSIC IN THE DARK, Sally Magnusson

STRANGE SALLY DIAMOND, Liz Nugent

THE WINDSOR KNOT (Her Majesty the Queen Investigates), S J Bennett I picked this up for comfort (see also the re-reads in June). My dad had just died and there was nothing I wanted to read more than a clever story about how another big presence that had been around my whole life was still here and having a blast. I have no idea how authentic the depiction of palace intrigue and Whitehall shenanigans is, but it was convincing. I'll read the next one. And the one after that. RIP, your Madge.

THE GARDEN OF FORGOTTEN WISHES, Trish Ashley

BRIDGES TO BURN, Marion Todd

April 2024

THE KAMOGAWA FOOD DETECTIVES, Hisashi Kashiwai

FOOL ME ONCE, Harlan Coben

STUDIES, Jenny Colgan

THE TRIAL, Rob Rinder

LESSONS, Jenny Colgan

RULES, Jenny Colgan

CLASS, Jenny Colgan So I was packing to go home to Scotland, knowing what was coming, and I found out that one of my favourite writers had published a school story for grown-ups, closely modelled on the Mallory Towers series that were my favourites when I was a kid. Perfect. I read four of them, during some of the most unusual few weeks of my life so far. And if there end up being six novels - one for each year of school - I've got two to go.   

March 2024

AND THERE HE KEPT HER, Joshua Moehling

COMFORT EATING, Grace Dent

HOW NOT TO DROWN IN A GLASS OF WATER, Angie Cruz I loved this book so much. It's mostly Cara Romero, newly unemployed fifty-something, being completely unable and unwilling to understand what her employment counsellor is and is not there to help with. Her life is chaotic, ludicrous, heart-wrending and impossible to look away from, with all its feuds and estrangements and unbreakable bonds - often with the same people.   

SO LATE IN THE DAY, Claire Keegan

DON'T KNOW TOUGH, Eli Cranor

THE MOTION PICTURE TELLER, Colin Cotteril

CIRQUE DU SLAY, Rob Osler

BEING MORTAL, Atul Gawande

FINLAY DONOVAN IS KILLING IT, Elle Cosimano

Feb 2024

MY DARKEST PRAYER, Shawn. A. Cosby

WITNESS FOR THE PERSECUTION, E J Copperman

THE SAVAGE KIND, John Copenhaver

THE CASE OF THE MISSING MAID, Rob Osler (Jan 2025) Don't judge this book by the cover. Because this isn't the cover. This is the picture of Harriet Morrow that I drew on the front of the printed manuscript, proving that I should stick to words. Rob's words I heartily recommend. Harriet is the first woman detective at a Chicago agency in the 1890s, breaking rules as well as her case, as she bicycles around the city. There's a tender and nailbiting depiction of queer life in mortally dangerous times for non-conforming people too.

DEATH OF A FLYING NIGHTINGALE, Laura Jensen Walker (Aug 2024)

WHERE THE DEAD SLEEP, Joshua Moehling

THE MISTRESS OF BHATIA HOUSE, Sujata Massey

THE BELL IN THE FOG, Lev A C Rosen

January 2024 

HIDE, Tracy Clark

PRAY FOR SILENCE, Linda Castillo

LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY, Bonnie Garmus

YELLOWFACE, Rebecca Kuang Is it a thriller? Is it a satire? Is a reflection on white privilege? It's all that and more. A sly look at the worst of the publishing industry and an all-too-believable dark fairytale about what a very hungry debut author might do to get ahead. I read it with my shoulders round my ears from the cringing, but I read it in days. 

ALL THE SINNERS BLEED, S.A.Cosby

On the Air with Zoe Washington, Janelle Marks

Christmas Holiday 23-24

STAY ANOTHER DAY, Juno Dawson I always read a Christmas book at Christmas (it's Jenny Colgan coming up) and last Christmas it was this luscious family melodrama / rom-com set in posh Edinburgh in the run up to the 25th. It reminds me so much of my late teenage years I can't believe I didn't meet myself in one of the party chapters, but I'm pretty sure people who've never been to Scotland would find a lot to love here too. At the very least, this lot will probably make your home life feel tranquil in comparison.

The Last Remains, Elly Griffiths

Remainders of the Day, Shaun Bythell,

Holly, Stephen King,

The Christmas Appeal, Janice Hallett

The Raging Storm, Anne Cleeves

A Very Noble Profession, Nicola Beauman

The Last Devil to Die, Richard Osman

So there they are, my fourteen books - one for each of the last twelve months with a bit of added TBR artithemtical magic. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Cx

2024 favorite reads by Eric Beetner

 My TBR pile is embarrassing. I read quite a bit of vintage novels, so not relevant to an end-of-year list. And, as always I didn't get to as many books as I wanted. But, as I hide from the judgmental stare of my TBR pile, I'll share some of my favorite reads from this year:

Steve Hockensmith has long been a favorite since I first read his Holmes On The Range series. He put out not one but TWO straight-up westerns this year and both are top notch. In Hired Guns and then No Hallowed Ground, Hockensmith maintains his trademark wit to go on top of some cracking action and fabulous characters. 

Holy City is a debut from Henry Wise and it is as assured a debut as I've ever read. There's a great crime story here, but it is elevated by great characters and a deep sense of place. I'll be looking for what he puts out next.

I'll read anything by Laura McHugh, no questions asked. Her latest, Safe and Sound, was another winner. For me, she hits a home run every time.

Lou Berney took a break from his Shake Bouchon series for quite a while, but boy am I glad he came back this year. Double Barrel Bluff is fast, funny and one of the fastest reads of the year for me.

I grabbed And There He Kept Her as part of the pile of freebies I came home with from Bouchercon this year. A friend who I trust said it was good so I moved it to the top of the pile and she was absolutely right. This is a great story introducing a character who can really go places. Upon finishing, I immediately went out and bought book 2.

Smoke Kings by Jahmal Mayfield hit hard. I never knew where it was going next, which I love in a book. A great introduction to a new-to-me writer.

One that is from 2022 that came off the pile this year was The Devil In These Hills. It was a difficult read at times, but an important one. Incredibly thoughtful and empathetic, it deals with race, immigration, the lack of caring and empathy in our red/blue divided world these days. It wasn't always easy to read because of how true and real it all felt. But it has stuck with me like few books in recent memory so I wanted to mention it. Being an indie release, it needs all the help it can get.

And of course my book, The Last Few Miles Of Road was out this year. I think you'll like it.

My Best Reads of 2024

 

And that’s a wrap for 2024 from my desk to yours. I wish departing fellow Minds Susan C. Shea and Josh Stallings all the best. It’s been a blast. And now for a recap of my Best Reads (and Recommendations) from 2024.

 

Edwin Hill, WHO TO BELIEVE? New England Edwin Hill author returns with another mystery set in the fictional New England town of Monreith. A popular restaurateur is murdered, and suspicion falls on the spouse. Readers know nothing is that straightforward. There are unreliable narrators, multiple point of views, and more motives than Christie’s Death on the Nile, but an ending that even this is veteran mystery reader didn’t see coming. I bow to you, Edwin. The story is set during the summer season, but snatch this one up for a cold winter’s night.

 

 

 

LynDeeWalker and Bruce Robert Coffin, THE CARDINAL’S CURSE. The second entry in the Turner and Mosley Files series, takes Avery Turner and partner Carter Mosley to Antarctica, where they join an expedition to explore a shipwreck that may contain the lost crown jewels of Norway.

As someone who has done numerous dives, including a wreck dive, I draw the line (pun intended) on ice diving. It’s one thing to kick up silt inside a ship and be blind, another thing to be in frigid water, under solid ice, and with nothing more than a rope in your hand as you run out of air. The hole above, the view to the word above, is there to give you hope. Chills, thrills, and shivers. You’ll never hear ice crack the same way again after reading this one.

 

Tom Straw, THE ACCIDENTAL JOE. There’s the old chestnut that a certain government agency is known to recruit from the most unlikely of sources. There is, for example, a long history of writers who have been spies or ‘information gathers’ or ‘observers,’ so why not a chef?  They come to the job armed. I know because I worked in a restaurant during the 80s and sharp knives and copious amounts of cocaine do not mix. Tom Straw has always written with a deft hand at humor (the hardest to write, in my opinion). I loved the action, all the food porn, the dashes of intrigue and romance, but most of all, his dialog. A chef’s kiss and Michelin stars.

 

 

Rob Hart, ASSASSIN’S ANONYMOUS. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, Rob Hart is known for the high-concept novel. He gave us the cube farm from hell à la The Warehouse, a time-travel hotel, The Paradox Hotel, that is The Grand Budapest Hotel on acid. In Assassin’s Anonymous, the AA doesn’t stand for the traditional 12-step recovery program we all know. Yes, it’s action, philosophy and self-help turned on its ear, but it all comes down to a character you’re less likely to forget anytime soon. Note: book 2, The Medusa Protocol, is slated for release, June 24, 2025.

What's Better Than a Gift of Juicy Crime Fiction Stories?

 from Susan

 

This was a serious reading year for me, for some reason. I’ve gobbled my way through scores of books, only about half of which are in the crime fiction genre. But, even within that ocean, a handful stood out and I’m recommending them enthusiastically. For a good read, for a juicy story, for something a bit different, these got my stars in 2024. I have also included one from 2022 because I only read it this year.

 

Taking the prize for what may be the most inventive alternative Sherlock Holmes novel yet is THE MURDER OF MR. MA, by the always excellent S.J. Rosen and John Shen Yen Nee. Who would kill Mr. Ma, whose past before he immigrated to London in the 1920s provides ambiguous clues? And to be killed with a butterfly sword? As the narrator (the Chinese Watson of the tale) fumbles his way through one puzzle after another, his Holmes, Judge Dee Ren Jie, demonstrates unorthodox and eye-popping skills in an aggressive investigation that sweeps across the city. A total delight! 

 

Tim Maleeny’s crime novels are always, well, novel. If you’re lucky, you’ve read them all, but even so, HANGING THE DEVIL has new fictional highs to pull you in. Talk about an opening hook: a helicopter crashing into San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum, bursting into flames, from which emerges a malevolent ghost. It’s Maleeny’s talent that keeps such a start only the first of a series of adventures that put a precocious girl in danger. One tip: Do not overlook the monkeys, who really should get their own spin-off! I told him so.

 

JAMES, by the only recently adequately celebrated Percival Everett, is not genre fiction, but it is a deeply mysterious and revelatory novel. Yes, it turns Mark Twain’s HUCKLEBERRY FINN on its head. But it’s so much more than that, a fable that pries open so many secret doors, invites readers to re-visit things they thought they knew, and provides slippery clues to help unlock all kinds of meaning in the dangerous and deadly lives of slaves. Best of all, it's James who tells the tale, not Jim.

 

Claire Johnson is the capable and friendly president of the Norcal chapter of MWA. She is also a nimble author, and FOG CITY is the kind of crime fiction book you want to treat yourself to when it’s cold and rainy, and you need something absorbing and fun. San Francisco, of course, is the city enveloped in fog, and perhaps that’s why the 1930s P.I. is on a bender. Maggie, his secretary, worries that if he doesn’t sober up pronto there won’t be money to pay the office rent, or her. When a potential client waltzes in with a simple request to find her stepson and Maggie’s boss is lying in a stupor in his inner office, she thinks why not? How hard could it be for her to take on the assignment while he sleeps? Lots, all of it a tangle of unhealthy relationships, money, and good gossip.  

 

A GAME OF FEAR, by Charles Todd, was published in 2022. There’s a poignant note at the beginning, because the much-loved Caroline Todd, half of the writing duo that included her son, died before it was published. The series’ protagonist, Inspector Ian Rutledge, is handed another strange case his supervisors want no part of, the report of a ghost committing murder. Since Rutledge travels with his own ghost, it should be right up his alley, but instead it’s a layered mystery and peeling off the layers is a long and confusing investigation with lots of the atmosphere that Caroline and Charles Todd are so good at. 

 

Now, given that this is my last post, I’m going to conclude with a short story that is part of the new Capital Crimes anthology, FARM TO FOUL PLAY. “Half a Heart” is set in a farming community in Northern California, a spot where traditional rural life is rubbing up against the preferences of the newly arrived, wealthier residents. It’s a damn good story and it happens to have been written by my son, Brian Shea, who became a three-time published writer in 2024 and a member of the supportive crime fiction community. 

 

I’m grateful to be part of this tribe too! Wishing everyone the best possible holiday season and a safe and productive New Year!

 

 

An Anthology of Indian Crime Fiction - and 3 Books on Ecology - by Harini Nagendra

It's the time of the year when gift-giving is being considered. Book suggestions please! 

Harini, writing on a Sunday instead of my usual Friday blog - talking about my book suggestions for the holidays. My fellow Minds have given us some great lists of books to look at, and I'm looking forward to dipping into some of these over the holidays. The posts have also been bitter-sweet to read - sweet because this month marks the end of my first year with the Minds, which I have enjoyed tremendously - and sad, because we also say farewell this month to Josh Stallings and Susan Shea!

I'll keep my end-of-year post short, because this has been a roller coaster of a year on the work and home front, leaving very little time for reading - sadly! But I have read four wonderful books, which are probably not on any of the other Minds' lists, since they are all from, and on India - so let's dive in, shall we?

The first book on my list, which is also the only mystery and crime fiction I've been able to read with some attention this year, is the wonderful two-volume Hachette Book of Indian Detective Fiction, edited by Tarun Saint. With stories from the past and future, amateur sleuths and professional detectives, supernatural crime and comedic mysteries, and translations of classics from other languages, this is a treat of a two-volume set. I haven't read all the stories in here, but have dipped into quite a few, and am looking forward to reading the others.

After this, three wonderful Indian books on ecology which I have loved greatly.

First, Arati Kumar-Rao's wonderful marginlands: Indian landscapes on the brink. Arati, a dear friend, is a wonderful author, photographer and keen observer of landscapes who has traveled across the length and breadth of India. In marginlands, she describes the incredible beauty, and fragility, of these landscapes, from the deserts of Thar to the high mountains of the Himalayas, and from the dolphins of the majestic Brahmaputra to the tiger-rich wetlands of the Sunderbans - and to India's fragile and choking cities. Here is a review I wrote of the book - which, happily, is now going to be published in the USA by Milkweeds, and can be pre-ordered here

Second, A Walk up The Hill: Living with People and Nature, an autobiography of one of India's finest ecologists (also my PhD supervisor) Madhav Gadgil - who recently received United Nations Environmental Programme's Champions of the Earth award (considered the UN's highest environmental honor). Now in his eighties, Gadgil has spent a lifetime wandering India's forests and hills, and this book is - as he terms it - a love letter to his first and foremost love, the majestic Western Ghats hill chain of India. It's a rare insider's glimpse into India's changing ecology over the past several decades, told from up close - and he doesn't mince words! More about the book in my review in The India Forum here

I'll conclude with a third favourite, Iconic Trees of India by S. Natesh - which describes 75 individual trees, each remarkable in their own right, with love and painstaking detail. From India's loneliest tree - a giant sequioa languishing in Kashmir sans sibling or potential romance partners - to a peepal tree whose branches bear testament to the dark history of the Indian freedom struggle - there is so much in these pages to be savoured. If this piques your interest, here's a more detailed review which I wrote for The Hindu   

Happy holidays and holiday reading, everyone! 

 

  

   

   

 

Terry here, on an unexpected day. I’m so thrilled that I got a second chance to connect with readers, after I let my Tuesday post slip by without me. I love year-end reading lists. For mine, I’m breaking them down into non-mystery and mystery. And I know at this time of year readers may not have a lot of time to digest long descriptions, so I’ve kept them short and sweet. I read many, many books this year and these swam to the top for one reason or another. I recommend them all. 

 Here are my favorite non-mysteries of the year. 

  Let Us Descend, Jesamyn Ward—Brilliant book reminiscent of Beloved by Toni Morrison. About slavery and freedom, written it Ward’s typical beautiful prose.

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store—if you want a good backyard gossip, this is the book for you. It started a little slow—like gossip sometimes does, but eventually it all gelled into one joyous read. 

 North Woods, Daniel Mason. Wonderful book. About a house in the woods that is inhabited over the years by various people. It reveals the lives of many years of inhabitants, and what happens to the house over time. Great story-telling. 

 Demon Copperhead—Barbara Kingsolver—brilliant and heart-breaking. About people deep in Apalachia and how their lives get blighted. Demon is marked for a bad life and he seems about to get out of it when he becomes a football star. But then he is injured and becomes addicted to painkillers.One of the revelations is how people in these awful situations feel bad about being looked down on.They are doing the best they can. 

 James, Percival Everett—Winner of the National Book Award. A retelling of the story of Jim in Huckleberry Finn. The book lives up to its hype. His writing is pure gold. 

Trees, Percival Everett—I was so taken by James that I decided to read another Everett book. It was stunning. I don’t remember when I understood what the song “Strange Fruit” meant, but this book explores its meaning. I don’t know why it took so long for this man to be widely recognized for his extraordinary writing. I highly recommend him. 

 The Sun Walks Down, Fiona McFarlane—lovely book set in 1883 Australia. A 6-yr-old boy goes missing and the book is about the people who search for him (or don’t), and why. And their adventures on the way. it’s a treasure of a book. Unexpectedly funny and poetic, and each character stands out. 

Mysteries (including all kinds of sub-genres) Dead Ex, Harley Jane Kozak—This book is not new, but I just got around to reading it. It’s so funny and sly. So well-written. A joy to read. 

Fixit—Joe Ide. Really good book. Every character comes to life. Grace is kidnapped by a crazy man and Isaiah Quintabe will do anything to get her back. Has to fight criminals. Gets of out scrapes. IQ is a “fixer” always helping people. In this book they help him back,scraping together ransom money. Complicated by Winie Hando, a detective who wants to investigate and thinks IQ is hindering her. 

The Jossing Affair, Janet Oakley—Anybody who has been paying attention knows this is one of my all-time favorite books. It’s a historical novel about the resistance in Norway during WWII. Beautiful writing, historically significant, heart-stopping action. I would probably never have picked it up had Oakley not been on a panel I was moderating. I’m so glad she was!

The Last Few Miles of Road, Eric Beetner—Loved this book! It’s about a dying man who settles some scores, one intentionally and the others dragged into by Bree and Katy. Elmore Leonard would have been proud to write it. 

Murder and the Missing Dog, Susan Shea—great for those dark, cold winter nights. A good cozy, set in a tiny French village. Ariel is a solid protagonist. 

Three Weeks in Winter, Joseph LeValley—100% thriller. Ticking clock, big payoff, smart adversaries, high stakes, lots of action, and lots of quick thinking that gets people out of scrapes. Very good! 

Where the Dead Sleep, Joshua Moehling—excellent book, a police procedural with lots of suspects and good investigation. Ben Packard, acting sheriff. Sheriff Bill Sanderson was shot in his bed, and Packard has to investigate. Larger question of Packard running for sheriff 

Bad Men, Julie Mae Cohen--couldn’t put it down. Dark and funny, and some places poignant (Girl, the dog) Every character stood out. A serial killer novel, which I usually don’t like, but loved this. 

The Death of Mrs. Westaway, Ruth Ware—I buy Ware’s novels as soon as they come out. This one was wonderful and twisty as always. 

Spook Street, Mick Herron. Top notch, as usual. What more can be said about Herron? He writes with such spark. Wry humor, characters that rush off the page and sit with you while you read. I love the TV series based on the Slough House novels, but the books have more depth and even more humor.

The Serial Killers Guide to San Francisco, Michelle Chouinard—Have you ever heard a better title? It's terrific book, really engaging, well written. Woman with a grandfather in prison for murder, but she believes he is innocent. When a copycat murder occurs, suspicion falls on her. Not your usual “cozy” amateur detective. Very sharp. 

Mystery Writer, Vinnie Hansen--very good thriller, satisfying from beginning to end. A writer who lives in the middle of nowhere does a cop ride along and is witness to his murder. There’s a question of how she obtained the ride-along.Mayhem ensues. 

 Sci-fi: 

Big Time, Ben H. Winters—I'm a big fan of Winters' and this is a fascinating book. A philosophical sci-fi about time and about a deep betrayal The cynical view of the mother at the end, that time will become a commercial asset, with poor people selling their time to make ends meet was clever. 

And finally: 

I would be remiss if I didn't mention my two books that came out this fall:

The Troubling Death of Maddy Benson, eleventh in the Samuel Craddock series (an Amazon Editor's Pick)

and Out of Control, a domestic suspense novel. 

Happy Holidays everyone, and happy reading!

Terry

Surprising Reads from James W. Ziskin

It's the time of the year when gift-giving is being considered. Book suggestions please!  

Over past few years, I’ve read a lot of books. Each December, we make these lists of our favorite reads. This year I wanted to try something a little different. I’d like to make a list of books that, for one reason or another, surprised me. In some cases, these were authors who were new to me. Even if I’d met them at a conference or a book presentation, I hadn’t actually read their work. These are not the only books I’ve enjoyed recently, but they’re the ones that truly surprised me. 

In no particular order.

THE LAST HOPE, Susan Elia MacNeal — A stellar series of historicals featuring one of my favorites heroines, the indomitable Maggie Hope. The series finale, THE LAST HOPE (#12), came out last May. What surprised me: How MacNeal maintains such a high level of story-telling quality through so many books.

STRANGE SALLY DIAMOND, Liz Nugent — What can I say? I’d read Liz Nugent before and loved her books, but this one blew my doors off. What surprised me: Sally Diamond is the most memorable character I’ve read in ages. Fabulous.

CLARK AND DIVISION, Naomi Hirahara — a moving, enlightening story of a shameful chapter in our history, the incarceration of Japanese Americans in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Eye-opening, heart-wrenching, transporting. What surprised me: The grace and determination of a brave young woman in circumstances I cannot imagine having to face.

THE RIDE-ALONG, Frank Zafiro and Colin Conway — From the great Charlie-316 police series set in Spokane. Always gripping and authentic, written by two ex-cops. What surprised me: the measured, un-emotional treatment of both sides in a police-shooting story.

ANYWHERE YOU RUN, Wanda M. Morris — Wow! I loved this book. A powerful, emotional, heartbreaking tale of love and survival and redemption. What surprised me: Much more than an entertaining thriller, this is an essential read that chronicles the injustices suffered every day by Blacks in the Jim Crow South—and the supposedly progressive North—of 1964. 

THE LINDBERGH NANNY, Mariah Fredericks — exquisitely personal and detailed. This book hooked me and kept me thinking about it long after I’d finished it. What surprised me: The way Fredericks managed to turn this true crime of the century into a top-notch, page-turning novel. Superb!

SECRET IDENTITY, Alex Segura — Carmen Valdez, is a sparkling character. She sizzles in only the most contentious ways. Her courage, her foibles, her bad choices, and her talent all conspire to make her unforgettable and iconic. The feel for the 70s — a portrait of a decaying, bankrupt New York City, and the incestuous, sexist comic book industry — is painted to perfection.

What surprised me: I don’t even read comics but I LOVED this book!

PESTICIDE, Kim Hays — A fresh police procedural series set in Bern, Switzerland. Detectives Giuliana Linder and Renzo Donatelli make for one of the sharpest, most compelling police duos you’ll ever read. Their conflicted attraction bristles with true emotional depth and authenticity. What surprised me: That a book with this title could be so good! Great writing.

THE OUT-OF-TOWN LAWYER, Robert Rotstein — If Jack Reacher practiced law, he might look a lot like Elvis Henderson. This is a timely story of two preventable deaths and their aftermath. What surprised me: The evenhanded, non-judgmental storytelling of a controversial topic. Provocative. A stirring clash of science, faith, and the law.

DROWNED UNDER, Wendall Thomas — The passenger list in Wendall Thomas’s Drowned Under is a cavalcade of randy former nuns, gigolos, stowaways, near-extinct marsupials...and one brilliantly sexy disaster of a globetrotting travel agent named Cyd Redondo. Don’t miss the Cyd Redondo series, now up to four volumes of hilarity. What surprised me: Laughing out loud as I read! Again and again.

THE SECRET LIFE OF ANNA BLANC, Jennifer Kincheloe — Another hilarious serious with an adorable heroine. A madcap frolic through 1907 Los Angeles with the delightful Anna Blanc. What surprised me: Anna Blanc herself. One of the most ridiculously likable heroines you'll meet all year.

If you’ve read any of these and enjoyed them, let me know in the comments below. And if you haven’t read them, correct that immediately.

Happy holidays to all.