I’m always thinking about books — what I’m reading, what’s new and exciting, what I’m going to dive into next. At this time of year, my obsession really ramps up.
There are all those “best of the year” lists. I’m making lists of presents. And I’m reflecting on my own year of reading.
I’ve read 56 books so far this year. I was surprised by the number because it usually takes me a week to finish a book, so I should only have read 49 by now. I guess I raced through a few, because I’m anticipating I’ll read 59 by the end of the year, unless I get run over by a truck before then.
Of course, it’s not about the numbers. I keep a list to remind me of what I’ve read. It comes in handy when writing a column such as this, for example.
My top book of the year is “Killers of the Flower Moon,” by David Grann. I kept seeing it on paperback bestseller lists (it was published in 2017). It took me a bit to realize that was because the movie adaptation was coming out. I do love powerful narrative nonfiction. Yes, this book reads like a novel. Unfortunately, the tragic story Grann tells of the brutal murders of members of the Osage nation in the early years of the 20th century is true. I read it in October and I’m still thinking about it.
Some of my favorite authors had new books out this year. Paul Doiron’s excellent adventure featuring game warden Mike Bowditch, “Dead Man’s Wake,” is set here in central Maine. I read “The Body in the Sea,” this year’s offering in the Brittany series by Jean-Luc Bannalec, while on vacation on Penobscot Bay, which seemed appropriate. I was delighted with its references to Georges Simenon’s “The Yellow Dog,” as fictional detective Maigret is one of my all-time favorites.
The septuagenarian sleuths of the Thursday Murder Club were back in “The Last Devil to Die.” Author Richard Osman artfully combines comedy and tragedy in a good story with fun characters. Looking at my list, I see this is one I read in just four days.
William Kent Krueger wrote the first in his Cork O’Connor mystery series, “Iron Lake,” in 1998, but I just got around to reading it. I went right on to the second, and the third is in the “to be read” pile. It’s always exciting to start a new series. I’ve got something like 16 books to go — plus Krueger has also written several standalone novels. I do like the feeling that my virtual pantry of reading is well-stocked.
I hate not knowing what I’m going to read next. Fortunately, that rarely happens.
Anyway, I became interested in the series because it’s set in the rugged terrain of rural Minnesota and because O’Connor is part Anishinaabe. The indigenous people of his community are essential, and compelling, element of the series. I recommended Krueger’s books to my husband, Paul, and was pleased when he read and enjoyed “Iron Lake” as well.
I revisited a few old favorites this year, which I consider a perk of being retired. As a school librarian for 32 years, I needed to keep up with the latest young adult titles, as well as my own literary interests. I’ve long considered Ross Macdonald’s “The Zebra-Striped Hearse” to be one of the best-plotted novels ever, and I felt the need as a writer to not just reread it (for possibly the fourth time), but to analyze it. Written in 1962, the story ranges from Malibu to California’s Central Valley to Mexico to Lake Tahoe, as gumshoe Lew Archer tracks a young missing heiress. It twists and turns right to the very end.
A real surprise came when I decided to start rereading all of P.D. James, from the beginning. I have long regarded her as a true master of the mystery genre, but I’ve always focused on her deft use of settings and her literary style. So I was surprised to realize that her second book, “A Mind to Murder,” is so very cleverly plotted. I can’t remember when I read it the first time (sometime in the 1980s?) but I was surprised by the satisfying twist right at the end that leaves a trace of egg on detective Adam Dalgliesh’s face. I was also impressed by her elegant use of the “sleuth’s reward” (when they get to relax a bit after the case is closed). It is basically one line but says all that needs to be said.
Besides traditional mysteries, I also like psychological thrillers. This year I enjoyed “The Soulmate” by Sally Hepworth, “Zero Days,” by Ruth Ware, “None of This is True,” by Lisa Jewell, and “The Manor House,” by Gilly Macmillan.
The first book I finished in 2023 was “The Widowmaker” by Hannah Morrissey. Though it was well-written, I didn’t like it as much as her first book, the fantastic “The Transcriber.”
Well, as I finish up 2023, I am reading Morrissey’s latest, “When I’m Dead.” So far it’s terrific — a combination police procedural and thriller.
And it’s giving me a sense of closure for a year well-read. My own little “armchair sleuth’s reward,” perhaps?
Liz Soares welcomes email at lizzie621@icloud.com.
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