I was unable to limit my list to ten and present twelve titles this year, and the “also notables” at the end are excellent too. My criteria is always a book that stayed with me and moved me throughout the year. When I cast my mind back to reading these books the feeling of being captured by prose returns to my mind. It’s such a magical experience – I think one hoped for by every reader – and sharing the books that provide that kind of reading experience is a real joy. As will be obvious I have a real love for traditional detective work (Crombie, Cleeves, Griffiths, Stewart Taylor). I also love the odd and memorable (Cotterill, Bennett) and I have a fondness for kick ass women (Allen, Lillie, Khan). I love a good gothic mystery (Goodman) and there are a couple of outstanding debuts: Danielle Arceneaux’s Glory Be and Michael Bennett’s Better the Blood. Mysteries are finding a glorious diversity lately as illustrated here, with Muslim, Cherokee, African American and Maori sleuths finding a voice. Full reviews can be found by searching the site, though with a few exceptions they are only to be found at Deadly Pleasures.
Hard Rain, Samantha Jayne Allen. This story opens with a bravura flood scene where a woman is swept away by the flood and is saved by a man “who looks like Jesus.” She turns to her old school friend, Annie, to try and find him. Annie has moved back to Texas to work for her grandfather’s P.I. firm and is sorting out her life – figuring if she’s with the right boyfriend, standing up to her grandfather, and re-acclimating herself into the tiny Texas town where she grew up. The writing is vivid and memorable, as are the characters, and I’m interested to see where Annie heads next and how she develops. Mysteries are often a story of finding the character’s identity, and this is an interesting journey for Annie. The flood scene stayed in my head – and so did Annie.
Glory Be, Danielle Arceneaux. To me, this is the read of the year. Arceneaux’s debut follows Glory Broussard, an older, heavier African American woman in Lafayette, Louisiana who works part time as a bookie. When she discovers the body of her friend, Amity, she and her daughter get to work finding her killer, even though the local law warns them off saying they’ll get into trouble. All typical cozy stuff but the book is distinguished by Arceneaux’s writing, her skill with character, and a sparkling plot, as well as a straight ahead look at racism in the south. The miracle: this is not a polemic, but a simply wonderful story that stays with you. Meeting Glory will improve your life – I guarantee it. Read my interview with Danielle Arceneaux here.
Better the Blood, Michael Bennett. Another debut novel, set in New Zealand and featuring Maori detective Hana Westerman. Hana has long been torn by her duty to the law, as a cop, and her duty to the Maori people. A video sent to her leads her to a dead body, and soon, the bodies are piling up and she’s obviously looking for a serial killer. While the serial killer plot is fine, what’s really special about this book is Hana herself, her relationship with her daughter (who is certainly judging her past actions) and her reckoning with her Maori culture, which is embedded in the fabric and the plot of the novel. Wonderful debut, slightly problematic (for me) ending, but I’m still looking forward to book two.
Murder Most Royal, S.J. Bennett. I absolutely love this wonderful series featuring Queen Elizabeth II as the detective, helped in her sleuthing by her aide, Rozie. The two women make a great team. Rozie is able to get out and question people more easily than the reigning monarch, but Elizabeth is always guiding the proceedings. In this outing, the third in the series, a hand washes up near Sandringham, and Elizabeth recognizes it as belonging to a neighbor. The hunt is launched. Everything sings: plot, character, the inner workings of the royal family. While Bennett is perhaps imagining how things work, her presentation is both believable and respectful. Even if you aren’t a fan of the royal family, you might love this series.
The Raging Storm, Ann Cleeves. There is literally no one better than Ann Cleeves at both depicting the natural world and it’s impact on a crime. In this case the body is found alone on a boat in the middle of a storm by the volunteer coast guard. The beach, the water, and the way a small coastal town exists with their natural surroundings are a giant part of the story. Cleeves then proceeds, in her masterful way, to depict both the personality of the dead man, a “beloved” adventurer who found fame after leaving home, and the layers of personalities in the town as a whole, as well as those investigating the case. Her series hero, Matthew Venn, is the calm at the center of the storm. These books are a slow burn but when they catch fire – usually toward the end – the spark is awesome.
The Motion Picture Teller, Colin Cotterill. This is a completely charming, almost fey, story of two men in 1996 Bangkok. One is a postman, one is a video store owner, and both of them love movies. When they discover a VHS tape of an unknown film called Bangkok 2010 they become obsessed, watching it over and over, and agreeing that it’s a masterpiece. Supot, the postman, begins a journey to discover the actors and the director to find why the movie has languished in obscurity. With unexpected twists and turns that eventually lead him deep into the jungle, Cotterill spools out his story in his imaginative, witty and profound way. This is the work of a master of storytelling.
A Killing of Innocents, Deborah Crombie. Deborah Crombie is one of my very favorite writers. Her police series featuring Gemma James and Duncan Kincaid has evolved and grown through the years, just as Gemma and Duncan’s relationship has. They began the series as co-workers and are now married with a blended family, and the family provides a comforting backdrop to all of the books. She rotates between a focus on Gemma and Duncan, and the case in this book is Duncan’s. A young doctor has been stabbed walking home from work through a park. The layers of the crime are unraveled with careful and intelligent police work (or in other parlance, detection) leading to a denouement packed with emotion and revelation. Crombie is precise and strikes with a writing scalpel, leaving an indelible impression. I know I will have to wait awhile for the next book in the series, but I am certainly impatient.
The Bones of the Story, Carol Goodman. This twisty story set at a small college in the northeast follows a group of students 25 years apart – a plot line where they are young and just moving through college, and 25 years later, when they have matured into adults and have been changed by life and experience. As is clear there’s some kind of secret, having to do with the ice caves near the school. This is an incredibly atmospheric novel, with a bravura conclusion set during a blizzard. Goodman is the mistress of dread, but she’s also the mistress of character and lovely writing. The twist at the end will leave you thinking long after you close the book.
The Last Remains, Elly Griffiths. Griffiths’ last Ruth Galloway book had me reaching for the kleenex box throughout, as the clever Griffiths salts her story with references to all of Ruth and Nelson’s past cases. I actually preferred this one to last year’s excellent The Locked Room, as I could feel both Griffiths’ joy in her characters and regret at leaving them behind. The story involves finding some bones behind the walls of a cafe in town. When Ruth identifies them as modern, the hunt is on. Ruth is also struggling with changes to her department at the university where she teaches as well as trying to decide what to do about Nelson, the father of her daughter, and husband of another woman. Griffiths ties up the series in a very satisfying manner, making me want to both re-read all the books, and grateful as always for being lucky enough to have met Ruth, who is, to me, one of contemporary mystery fiction’s iconic characters. Bravo, Ms. Griffiths. It’s rare that a series ender is this delightful.
Blood Betrayal, Ausma Zehanat Khan. I am a huge fan of this nascent series set in a small Colorado town and featuring a young Muslim detective, Inaya Rahman. Khan manages to combine complex plotting with complex characters, illuminating different cultures as she does so. The novel follows two tragic storylines: the accidental shooting of a young man by a cop without a blot on his record, and the also accidental shooting by cop of a young man fleeing a police raid. The young cop accused is the son of the man who caused Detective Rahman to flee her job in Chicago with her family. This is a strong novel about grief, and a beautiful portrayal of an entire community with all it’s differences, resentments, fears and as well as the support it can provide. These are beautifully written and truly spectacular books.
Blood Sisters, Vanessa Lillie. This series debut from Lillie follows a young BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) agent who mostly works as a forensic archeologist. She’s living with her wife in Rhode Island when she’s called back to her native Oklahoma – a skull has been found with her nametag in it’s jaws. She’s drawn back into the swirl of memories and resentments that greet her when she arrives, and soon is in a headlong search for her missing, possibly addicted, sister. She had originally left home leaving behind terrible memories of a night when masked men broke into her home that ended with the killing of one of her best friends. The murder was never solved, but now her friend’s ghost is haunting her. This is an intense, character driven story suffused with both native culture and heartbreak. The main character, Syd, is truly interesting. I ended my read with wads of kleenex in my hand, always the sign of a good book, in my opinion.
A Stolen Child, Sarah Stewart Taylor. I love this series. This one finds Stewart Taylor’s detective, Maggie D’Arcy, settling in Ireland with her daughter and her boyfriend and restarting her career. In Long Island, she’d been a detective; moving to another country, she’s now at the bottom of the ladder once again. When Maggie and her partner get a call out to an apartment they’d visited before, they find the young mother who’d lived there dead and her two year old daughter gone. The search for a missing two year old doesn’t let up, and because the squad is short handed, Maggie is in on some of the actual detective work. This is a great story as well as a meticulous police procedural. Wonderful writing establishes the Dublin setting, and layered characters illuminate this wonderful book.
Also notable: Small Mercies, Dennis Lehane’s gripping look at racism in Boston in the 70’s; Past Lying, Val McDermid’s meticulous procedural set during COVID lockdown; Standing Dead, Margaret Mizushima’s Mattie Wray finds family vengeance; Some of Us Are Looking, Carlene O’Connor’s lovely Irish village police procedural; Standing in the Shadows, Peter Robinson’s final Inspector Banks mystery; and The House Guest, Hank Phillippi Ryan’s sharp thriller about caution when it comes to who you invite over.
