Favorite Reads of 2024

This year was a slow burn – sometimes I find a book early in the year that I’m completely passionate about.  This year I didn’t find “the one” until November, when I devoured Christina Lynch’s utterly original Pony Confidential.  I read lots of other great books along the way though, some by tried and true writers – Elly Griffiths, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Ann Cleeves, Anthony Horowitz, Deanna Raybourn and Ragnar Jonasson – and particularly in the historical novel category, lots of wonderful debuts that give us lots to look forward to. These recommendations are divided into categories.  Full reviews for all of these can be found on this website, just search by title or author. read more

Christina Lynch: Pony Confidential

I loved this book and sobbed my way through it. I loved it so much that I may not even be able to speak rationally to people who don’t feel the same way, even though, as you can judge by the title, it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. As the book opens, our heroine, Penny, is being arrested for reasons not all that clear until her overworked public defender, who has yet to pass the bar exam, arrives to present her with her options.  As is common practice, the lawyer advises Penny to settle, but she refuses as she knows she is innocent on what emerges as a murder charge. read more