Author/crime fiction reviewer Declan Hughes was kind enough to send me his column on the Best of 2022, which is otherwise paywalled by The Irish Times. Thanks, Declan. I compiled a list of his Best of 2022 from the column that you will find at the end of the following list.
DALZIEL & PASCOE HUNT THE CHRISTMAS KILLER, Reginald Hill
A WORLD OF CURIOSITIES, Louise Penny
BIG RED, Jerome Charyn
THE DAZZLE OF THE LIGHT by Georgina Clark
THE LIFE OF CRIME, Martin Edwards (non-fiction)
RUN TIME, Catherine Ryan Howard
WHILE SHE SLEEPS, Arlene Hunt
CRUEL DEEDS, Catherine Kirwan
HER LAST WORDS, E.V. Kelly
THE FURIES, John Connolly
THE WINTER GUEST, W. C. Ryan
THE COLLECTIVE, Alison Gaylin (2021 title in U.S.)
SEASONAL WORK AND OTHER KILLER STORIES, Laura Lippman
BAD ACTORS, Mick Herron
PUNISHMENT, Ferdinand von Schirach
THE ISLAND OF LOST GIRLS, Alex Marwood
A SEASON IN EXILE, Oliver Harris
THE BOOK OF THE MOST PRECIOUS SUBSTANCE, Sara Gran
DEAR LITTLE CORPSES, Nicola Upson — Crime Novel of the Year
Posted by permission of the author:
Lists, twice, naughty, not nice. But before I get to my selection of the best crime fiction I read this year (gentle reminder that far too much is published annually for two Declans to be comprehensive, let alone one) I want to note a few seasonal treats in prospect. Dalziell and Pascoe Hunt the Christmas Killer is the title story in an enticing collection of short fiction from the late Reginald Hill. Traditional mystery readers will welcome Collins Crime Club’s 50th anniversary reissue of Tied Up In Tinsel by Ngaio Marsh and Bodies from the Library 4, a cosy collection of Golden Age tales, while Harper Collins are offering two Christies for Christmas in handsome new hardcover livery: The Mysterious Affair at Styles and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. The latter comes with an introduction by Louise Penny, whose latest Armand Gamache novel, A World of Curiosities, forms the first instalment of my holiday reading, followed by grand master Jerome Charyn’s indecently alluring Big Red, charting Rita Hayworth’s turbulent Hollywood adventures, The Dazzle of the Light, Georgina Clarke’s 1920s mystery inspired by a notorious, all-female London crime syndicate, and The Life of Crime, Martin Edwards’ massive new history of the genre.
Irish writers kept the home fires burning steadily throughout 2022, with absorbing new titles from Queens of Crime Catherine Ryan Howard (the film industry satire Run Time), Arlene Hunt (fear and loathing among the daytime TV set in While She Sleeps) and Jo Spain (the ingenious Lapland-set saga The Last to Disappear). I liked the second in Catherine Kirwan’s Cork based Finn Fitzpatrick series (Cruel Deeds) and Her Last Words, an accomplished debut psychological thriller from E.V. Kelly. John Connolly’s The Furies delivers two violent, funny, deliriously chilling Charlie Parker novels under one cover, while WC Ryan’s supernatural vein continues with The Winter Guest, an intelligent, atmospheric country house mystery set during the Irish War of Independence.
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Alison Gaylin’smeticulously plotted, ferociously driven page turner The Collective explores a network of women who conspire to avenge the unpunished murders of their children. Laura Lippman’s dazzling Seasonal Workand Other Killer Stories sees the full range of her extraordinary talents on display. Mick Herron’s funhouse mirror vision of the British security state continues in the beautifully written, indecently entertaining Bad Actors. Punishment is a cool, pithy, mordantly amusing collection of stories drawn from the twenty years Ferdinand von Schirach spent as a criminal defence lawyer. Alex Marwood’s darkly topical, by Maxwell out of Epstein The Island of Lost Girls pulses with mythic energy and devilishly clever storytelling.
A Season in Exile sees the welcome return of Oliver Harris’s reliably reckless sleuth Nick Belsey in a brilliantly plotted and paced thriller whose poetic texture and anarchic verve set it apart. The Book of the Most Precious Substance by Sara Gran is an odyssey through the dusty world of rare books and the bewitching arcana of sex magic, a funny, charming, troubling, genuinely erotic novel. Dear Little Corpses is the tenth of Nicola Upson’s series featuring Golden Age author Josephine Tey as detective; balancing an elegant lightness of touch with psychological acuity and depth, this captivating, emotionally devastating book is my crime novel of the year.