I always look forward to Mike Craven’s list. He can be counted on to pick some of the best books of the year and alert us to at least one great one coming out next year.

L. A. REQUIEM by Robert Crais (1999). I read every single Robert Crais book this year, all 23 of them, and don’t regret a thing. Any of his books could have made this list but I had to narrow it down to just one. Incredible.
ALL THE SINNERS BLEED by S.A. Cosby. Another incredible book by an incredible author.
SMALL MERCIES by Dennis Lehane. A Boston-set crime book that delivers on every imaginable level.
KILL FOR ME KILL FOR YOU by Steve Cavanagh. This guy just knows how to write incredible books. The way he took the central premise of Strangers on a Train and ran with it was astonishing.
ALL THE COLOURS OF THE DARK (2024) by Chris Whitaker. The only book on this list that’s not actually out, Chris, the award-winning author of We Begin at the End, has smashed it out of the park again. Expect this book to clean up come the awards season.