My Top Ten Books of 2023
As we head towards Christmas and the end of the year, it's time for me to reflect on my favourite books of 2023. There are still lots of books on my TBR pile but I do have a top ten to tell you about. And not all of them are crime fiction!
So, in no particular order...
The Mother by TM Logan
You wake up, your husband is dead and YOU are the prime suspect. Your children have been taken away, your life sent into freefall - and yet you can barely remember anything about the night you lost everything.
Ten years later you are released from prison. What do you do? Do you accept your fate, your conviction and leave your children to be raised by someone else?
Or do you stop at nothing to find out the truth about what really happened that night - and to get your family back?
I absolutely loved this from TM Logan! A couple of his books have been made into TV adaptations and this one will be joining them soon.
End of Story by Louise Swanson
YOU KNOW HOW THIS STORY BEGINS
Once upon a time, there was a writer named Fern.
She was a bestseller. An award-winner. Loved by readers and critics alike. With her words, she changed the world.
Until her story took a turn.
Now Fern is a cleaner in a hospital. Condemned to anonymity. Because reading books is now a crime.
Only, Fern doesn't plan on going down without a fight. She'll keep writing, no matter the consequences. She will make her voice heard.
Because Fern's story is only beginning.
BUT CAN YOU GUESS HOW IT WILL END?
This Dystopian novel rings scarily true with the book bans happening around the world but especially in the US. Also check out Eighteen Seconds by Louise Beech (Swanson). It's an incredible memoir from the author.
That Peckham Boy by Kenny Imafidon
'When you're writing the story of your life, make sure you're holding the pen. In this life you can be whoever you want to be.'
Two days after his eighteenth birthday, Kenny Imafidon was charged with the murder of a seventeen-year-old boy in south-east London. The middle child of a single mother with ambitions for her children, Kenny grew up near an estate in Peckham where deprivation and hopelessness were rife, and gang culture flourished in his community. Kenny faced a minimum of thirty years behind bars - longer than the life he had lived.
When the case against Kenny collapsed, he quickly realised that his name was still inextricably linked with a horrific crime he hadn't committed. He decided to rewrite his story. It began with The Kenny Report, which he delivered to the House of Commons and which detailed the experiences of marginalised young people who drift into gangs, and has led to extensive work with charities, communities and policy-makers that is helping to change the narratives of other young people just like Kenny.
A candid and unfiltered take on some of the most challenging topics that define our times, That Peckham Boy is a personal manifesto exploring what it means to be young, Black and poor in the city. It is shaped by Kenny's difficult childhood, his transformative time in prison, and the people and conversations that took him from being on trial for murder into the company of some of the most successful people in the world.
Talking of memoirs, this is the incredible true story of Kenny Imafidon. His transformation from being on remand to talking to politicians is a remarkable and gripping story.
Unsolved by Heather Critchlow
He won’t rest until he finds out the truth…
Cal Lovett is obsessed with finding justice for the families of missing people. His true crime podcast is his way of helping others, even if he can’t help himself.
His sister, Margot, disappeared when he was a child. Only one man seems to know something. But he’s behind bars and can’t be trusted.
So when the family of a missing Scottish woman begs for his help, he heads to Aberdeenshire in search of the truth.
Does Cal have what it takes to unearth the secrets hiding in the hills? And what if he finds something that leads him back to the heart of his own family’s past?
True crime podcasts are big now and Heather Critchlow has used that as a vehicle for her debut novel. It's a great way to look at an investigation without getting tied up in police procedure.
The Last Passenger by Will Dean
A luxury cruise liner, abandoned with no crew, steaming into the mid-Atlantic.
And you are the only passenger left on board.Caz Ripley, a cafe owner from a small, ordinary town, boards the RMS Atlantica with her boyfriend Pete and a thousand fellow passengers destined for New York.
The next morning, she wakes to discover that everyone else on board has disappeared.
And that's just the beginning. Caz must prepare for a crossing that will be anything but plain sailing ...
Now a mother, Katie vows not to repeat her mistakes. Carelessness cost her one family, and she won't let it destroy another.
Then she receives a call from the police.
They're investigating a particularly brutal murder, in a half-ruined house that once belonged to a notorious local serial killer. The case has thrown up many unsettling questions, but only one prime suspect: Chris.
The detective wants Katie's help finding him, but she has only one thing on her mind: proving her brother's innocence, and finally making up for her negligence all those years ago. But soon it becomes clear that the killer isn't finished yet.
Which means that even as she attempts to save her old family, Katie is placing her new one in deadly peril . . .
The list he left had just one item on it. Or, at least, it did at first…
Mabel Beaumont’s husband Arthur loved lists. He’d leave them for her everywhere. ‘Remember: eggs, butter, sugar’. ‘I love you: today, tomorrow, always’.
But now Arthur is gone. He died: softly, gently, not making a fuss. But he’s still left her a list. This one has just one item on it though: ‘Find D’.
Mabel feels sure she knows what it means. She must track down her best friend Dot, who she hasn’t seen since the fateful day she left more than sixty years ago.
It seems impossible. She doesn’t even know if Dot’s still alive. Also, every person Mabel talks to seems to need help first, with missing husbands, daughters, parents. Mabel finds her list is just getting longer, and she’s still no closer to finding Dot.
What she doesn’t know is that her list isn’t just about finding her old friend. And that if she can admit the secrets of the past, maybe she could even find happiness again…
And now for something completely different! This is a lovely story about a recent widow searching for the life she lost decades before.
Seven books so far! Now for my top three reads of 2023.
Coming in third
You'd Look Better As A Ghost by Joanna Wallace
I have a gift. I see people as ghosts before they die.
Of course, it helps that I'm the one killing them.
The night after her father's funeral, Claire meets Lucas in a bar. Lucas doesn't know it, but it's not a chance meeting. One thoughtless mistyped email has put him in the crosshairs of an extremely put-out serial killer. But even before they make eye contact, before Claire lets him buy her a drink, before she takes him home and carves him up into little pieces, something about that night is very wrong. Because someone is watching Claire. Someone who is about to discover her murderous little hobby.
The thing is, it's not sensible to tangle with a part-time serial killer, even one who is distracted by attending a weekly bereavement support group and trying to get her art career off the ground. Claire will do anything to keep her secret hidden - not to mention the bodies buried in her garden. Let the games begin...
With very black humour throughout, I never thought I'd have empathy for a serial killer but you can't help liking Claire. Not so keen on her hammer though. Brilliant debut from Joanna Wallace.
In second place
All Of Us Are Broken by Fiona Cummins
The Family
After a year they want to forget, the Hardwicke family set out to the Scottish Highlands for a much needed holiday.
The Crimes
They are about to cross paths with a violent and dangerous young couple hell-bent on infamy, their love story etched in blood and a dark past which must be uncovered.
The Detective
As the clock ticks down, Detective Saul Anguish is on the hunt to find the couple before more lives are lost.
The Mother – who will be forced to make an impossible decision.
I've loved all of Fiona's books and they're all fantastic but there's something truly special about this book. There's an emotional depth that's breathtaking. If you're not broken before you read this, you will be by the end.
And coming in on top, in first place
The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett
THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAIL...
True-crime author Amanda Bailey knows all about the notorious Alperton Angels cult. There have been dozens of books and films about the Angels, ever since the night nearly two decades ago, when they attempted to sacrifice a baby they believed to be the Antichrist.
With all the cultists now dead - apart from their charismatic leader - it seems like there's nothing new to say about the Angels... until now. The Alperton baby has turned eighteen and can finally be interviewed, and if Amanda can track them down, it will be the scoop of the year. But rival author Oliver Menzies is just as smart, better connected, and is also on the baby's trail.
As Amanda and Oliver are forced to collaborate, they realise that what everyone thinks they know about the Angels is wrong. The truth is something much darker and stranger. And the devilish story of the Alperton Angels is far from over...
We already know that Janice Hallett writes in a very unusual way. This time, she tells the story through WhatsApp and audio transcripts. It's incredible how she manages to convey so much through a simple message - not just plot but characterisation too. It's much darker in tone from her first two books but if you're missing the humour from The Appeal, then there's always The Christmas Appeal to read!
To buy any of the books, click on the links below
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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