Books I’ll be reading in 2023 by Sharon K.

Just to be clear, I tried and failed to keep a running log of my favorite books. I had a cute little notebook and for a few weeks - success, but then well life happens. Books to read, errands to run, etc. etc. My idea for the list was that I’d go through it periodically to figure out which authors to Google to see who was coming out with a new book. Those new titles would either be pre-ordered via Michelle at Green Hand Books or added to my library queue.  

Well, folks turns out I was able to figure it all out sans list. Bonus, less time chronicling more time reading. 

January 3

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins 

I thoroughly enjoyed her quick and easy read The Wife Upstairs, a modern take on one of my favorite books of all time - Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. I didn’t love her follow up Reckless Girls, but The Villa went on my pre-order list because it’s inspired by the infamous summer Percy and Mary Shelley spent with Lord Byron at Lake Geneva castle. Yes, folks – the birthplace of Frankenstein. Another all-time favorite book. Here’s a link to the book details on Macmillan’s site. 

 

January 10

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham 

Her debut novel A Flicker in the Dark is a favorite! I found it intense, chilling, and atmospheric page-turner. Here’s a link to the book details on Macmillan’s site.

 

January 17

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix   

Hendrix’s work is diabolically clever - a breathtakingly fresh approach to the most thrilling ride at the park. You don’t even know how lucky you were to have scored a ticket until you’re on it.  I’m a tad late to the party having only begun reading Hendrix when I fell wantingly head first down his literary horror hole with his 2020 book The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires. It has been described as “Fried Green Tomatoes and Steel Magnolias meet Dracula” and more. He writes about contradictions, secret layers, societal pressures, and everyday folks in some extraordinarily precarious situations. He digs deep and takes his time telling his stories. 

 

*How to Sell a Haunted House was the first book I preordered with Michelle. 

Here’s a link to the description of the book on Penguin Random House’s site. 

 

January 31

This Tuesday ushers in releases from two of my must-read thriller writers. Both bring just-one-more-page pacing that will genuinely keep you up reading all night. 

The Drift by C.J. Tudor 

The Exiles by Jane Harper is the third and final book in the (Australian) Federal Police investigator Aaron Falk series, which began in 2016 with The Dry.  

            

February 21

The Girl Who Took What She Wanted – No. 14 in the Stewart Hoag Mysteries by David Handler

Hugely enjoyable. Celebrity ghostwriter Stewart Hoag and his adorable (and so intelligent) basset hound Lulu are two of my favorite literary characters. And I’ve Otto Penzler, proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop (my other favorite bookstore) to thank for introducing me to Handler. The original eight books in the series were published in the late 1980s and 90s and are difficult to find. I’ve only been able to read No. 12 The Man Who Wasn’t There and No. 13 The Lady in the Silver Cloud.   

 

April 11

The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda    

Miranda is one of my favorite authors. Anything she writes, I will read. She tells edge-of-your-seat stories with plot twists you don’t see coming. 

 

April 25

The Last Remains by Elly Griffiths 

Across the fourteen books in her Dr. Ruth Galloway series, Griffiths has created compelling stories that keep me turning pages long past my bedtime. I’m a huge fan of Dr. Galloway herself – a forensic archaeologist, DCI Harry Nelson who really isn’t as tough as he looks, and Galloway’s cat Flint who has just enough attitude. That a good bit of the series is set in a remote cottage on edge of saltmarsh in rural England only endears the series to me so much more. 

 

May 23

Sing Her Down by Ivy Pochoda 

Put this way Pochoda is one bad ass human being writing truly soulful material. Check out Wonder Valley and These Women (in that order). 

 

May 30

Killing Moon, a Harry Hole Novel (13) by Jo Nesbo

Harry Hole Jo Nesbo. Enough said.

 

June 20

The Only One Left by Riley Sager  

I look forward to the annual Sager release the same way I do some holidays. His characters are perfectly formed, his settings lustful, and his highly entertaining plots. Each book is a masterful do-si-do with some aspect of the thriller genre: Final Girls (Scream and Halloween), The Last Time I Lied (Picnic at Hanging Rock), I Locked Every Door(gothic), Home Before Dark (haunted houses), Survive the Night (the 90s campus creepy stalker movie) The House Across the Lake (Hitchcockian), The Only One Left I’m told is inspired by Lizzie Borden.    

 

July 11

Thicker Than Water by Megan Collins

Anyone who is going to write a book about a family obsessed with true crime who live in a secluded island mansion is going to get my attention. Cue her 2021 book The Family Plot. Collins is a good enough writer to have pulled me in once. I’m hoping this book will stun me the same way.  

 

The Mistress of Bhatia House by Sujata Massey.

This is the 4^th in her exquisite Perveen Mistry series set in 1920s India. I’ve loved every one. Please read in order starting with The Widows of Malabar Hill, the first in the series.  Note, probably a good idea to have some tea and cake nearby. If you can get Gulab jamun or another traditional Indian dessert all the better. Also, set the scene with some flowers maybe wear a light colorful scarf. I think Ms. Massey would appreciate this. She surely appreciates details and beauty and baked goods. 

 

August 8

Dead and Gone by Joanna Schaffhausen

I’ve no idea how some authors come into my life. Whether a friend suggested them or maybe I caught a tailwind of them from someone’s Instagram site. Regardless, Schaffhausen is one who I’m eternally grateful did.  I’ve been a fan since the first page of her first book The Vanishing Season featuring police officer/survivor Ellery Hathaway and FBI agent Reed Markham. Schaffhausen is an expert at unputdownable plotting and writes strong, believable, smart female leads. Dead and Gone is the third in her newer series featuring Chicago police detective Annalisa Vega, a woman bound by a childhood trauma and legendary police officer father. I recommend reading either (both!) series in order. 

Images: Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan