On the Criminal Minds blog, author Abir Mukherjee expounds on his 8 favorite reads of 2023, four of which fall under the crime fiction umbrella. I debated whether to post this list because it only contains 4 crime novels, but decided to do so because of Abir’s delightful tongue-in-cheek reviews of the four books. And the quality of the four books is quite high. Be sure to read his comments regarding each book listed.
PAST LYING, Val McDermid. The fiendishly clever PAST LYING sees a much-anticipated return of McDermid’s DCI Karen Pirie. A student’s disappearance seems to mimic the unfinished plot of an author’s manuscript. This is a tale about the perfect crime and centres on a crime involving a couple of mystery writers and a crime which may or may not have been turned into the draft of a novel. It’s a real insight into the world of the Scottish crime writing fraternity, liberally sprinkled with real authors as well as the fictional ones. A lot of the fun is guessing who is who. McDermid is a legend, still at the top of her game and an inspiration to so many of us.
THE LAST DANCE, Mark Billingham. There are some writers you wish weren’t so bloody brilliant. Very few possess the gift of being able to keep you on the edge of your seat while simultaneously making you laugh out loud. Unfortunately for the rest of us, Mark Billingham is one such writer. THE LAST DANCE introduces us to his latest creations, detectives Declan Miller and Sara Xiu, perfectly drawn, perfectly flawed characters, investigating a double murder in Blackpool, the Vegas of the English North West. Fresh, funny, fantastic, this is the sickeningly talented Billingham at his best.
THE SQUARE OF SEVENS, Laura Shepherd Robinson. What can I tell you about Laura Shepherd-Robinson? She is a writer of such immense talent that I’m sure she’s going to be one of the biggest names in historical crime fiction over the next few decades. Her first two novels, BLOOD AND SUGAR, and DAUGHTERS OF NIGHT were hugely impressive books. THE SQUARE OF SEVENS is better still. It’s the tale of Red, the daughter of a Cornish fortune-teller, who travels with her father making a living predicting fortunes using the ancient method: the Square of Sevens. When her father suddenly dies, Red becomes the ward of a gentleman scholar who introduces her to Georgian High-Society. Not only is this a wonderfully told story, Shepherd-Robinson’s mastery of historical detail is encyclopaedic, immersing you in the world of Georgian England. This book is phenomenal.
THE SECRET HOURS, Mick Herron. Too many people are showing love for Mick Herron. This pains me, mainly because he is a good friend and the two of us have spent several years taking the piss out of each other. This is becoming increasingly difficult now that he is a literary god and beloved of all. It gives me absolutely no pleasure to tell you that THE SECRET HOURS is his best work to date. A standalone-novel, though still part of the Slough House canon and providing some of the backstory to the corpulent head of the slow horses, Jackson Lamb, it’s more cerebral and less action focussed than most of the Slough House books but maintains Herron’s singular wit. Herron is a uniquely talented writer, and, it hurts me to say, one of the nicest, most generous people in the world of crime fiction. A true gentleman. Read his books.