Favourite books of 2023: part 2

Following hot on the heels of part 1 of my favourite books of the year, we have (you’ve guessed it!) part 2! Another even dozen, some more excellent books I’ve read and enjoyed this year.

Ready? Let’s gooooo.

The Secret Hours by Mick Herron. Look, I’m a huge fan of the Slow Horses books. And the TV series with Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb is just *chef’s kiss*. If you’re with me, you’ll read this anyway. If you’ve not caught up with the gang at Slough House, this is book is kind of adjacent to that story. Great writing, superb characters, Herron is ridiculously talented and by all accounts, a thoroughly nice chap. Read it.

West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman

I bumped into Alison Hennessey from Raven Books at Harrogate this year and she very kindly gave me a copy of this book, which she described as “fantastically clever and original and has an ending that makes some people very happy and some very angry”. It’s quirky and slightly weird and… audacious. I loved it. I put the book down with a big stupid grin on my face and resolved to pester as many people to read it as possible.

Upstairs at The Beresford – Will Carver

The Beresford is a very… odd place, filled with very odd people. And people tend to die a lot in The Beresford, a seemingly harmless old building just on the edge of town. Well they die once, I suppose, but there are a lot of them… Upstairs at The Beresford is a prequel, where we find out a little bit more about the odd goings-on. Carver has a very very dark mind. If you loved The Beresford, finding out what went on upstairs has to be your very top priority. Loved it.

The Hunters by David Wragg

I read this over the summer on a long hot day and loved very minute of it. As you might guess from the title, it’s a chase novel, packed with equal measures of mayhem, magic and humour, and with a bunch of characters that you’ll come to love. I loved it from the first page to the last.

Viper’s Dream by Jake Lamar was recommended to me over the summer (apologies, I forget by who) and I found a copy whilst mooching around London. Took it back home and lost myself in a world of jazz and gangsters in 1930s Harlem. Hard-boiled noir of the finest kind, Viper’s Dream is a short book which packs a mean punch. Very much recommended.

In the Blink of an Eye by Jo Callaghan

I saw Jo Callaghan talk at Bay Tales in Whitley Bay at the start of the year, and her book, about a hologram AI detective joining the force. I really enjoyed this. Callaghan has taken the police procedural and given it a great new twist. The dynamic between the cold, logical, almost Spock-like AI and the all too human Kat Frank, still grieving for the loss of her husband is played out really well. Looking forward to book 2!

Case Sensitive by AK Turner. Book 3 in the Cassie Raven series, which I just adore. Cassie is a mortuary technician who could sense the last thoughts of the dead in her charge, but here she’s struggling with losing her gift. Fantastic series, which I highly recommend.

The Dog Sitter Detective by Antony Johnston I picked up on audiobook after meeting Antony at Harrogate (apols for the name dropping). I’ve become quite fond of cosy crime this year, and The Dog Sitter Detective is fantastic. Highly recommend the audio, brilliantly read by Nicolette McKenzie who just lifts the already great story to new heights.

Good Girls Die Last by  Natali Simmonds is the story of Em, whose day starts badly and just keeps getting worse. A serial killer and a killer heatwave come together with a gridlocked London where you can just feel the sticky heat coming off the pages. It’s dark and savage and brutal and utterly unforgettable. Brilliant, brilliant stuff.

Bridge by Lauren Beukes. Massive massive fan of Lauren’s books from the early days of Zoo City (check it out) to The Shining Girls (ditto) and Broken Monsters (ditto again). And now Bridge. The story of Bridget, a woman in search of her mother, wrapped in the grief of her loss to brain cancer. But her mother Jo was a scientist in search of wilder things, of a dreamworm that would let you visit alternate realities, albeit briefly, swapping places with her other selves in search of… something. One of my favourite authors at the top of their game.

The Beaver Theory by Antti Tuomainen is the third and final (sob!) book in his Rabbit Factor trilogy. There’s a glorious vein of dark Finnish humour running through these books which I just adore. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it once again here – Antti Tuomainen is one of my favourite authors and I will gladly put everything to one side to spend a couple of hours in the worlds he creates. Tuomainen is on top form as ever, with a cast of brilliantly odd characters playing out their lives against the background of the YouMeFun adventure park.

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister is another audiobook that I’ve enjoyed this year. It starts with a murder, a mother watches as her son kills a man in the street at the changing of the clocks in October. But then she wakes up the previous morning and has to figure out what happens before her son will kill the man later. Hugely enjoyed this book and trying to figure out the clues as we bounce back further and further into the past, each new day revealing a tiny bit more about what happens in the now.

The Burning Air by Erin Kelly. A latecomer to the list! I happened to mention that I’d not read any of Erin Kelly’s books before and Liz Barnsley (who is NEVER wrong) said omg you have to read The Burning Air. I immediately went to buy it only to discover to my shame that I’d bought it FIVE YEARS ago (probably at Liz’s suggestion). Promptly read it. Liz was not wrong. It’s brilliant!

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Phew. That should keep you all busy for a while. Stay tuned for the list of favourite non-fiction books, and a look ahead to a few 2024 titles I had the privilege of getting my hands on early!