The Great and the Good

It’s December, so there is no surprise in the fact that various print and Web publications are releasing their “best of the year” book lists.

The “social cataloguing” site Goodreads is up with its list of 20 top reader choices in the Mystery & Thriller field, including William Landay’s Defending Jacob, Tana French’s Broken Harbor, Robert Crais’ Taken, Jo Nesbø’s Phantom, and--its No. 1 choice--Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl. (Lyndsay Faye’s The Gods of Gotham earns “best of the year” mention as well, but in the historical fiction section. And J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy appears under general fiction.)

Gone Girl and The Casual Vacancy also find positions on Book Riot’s “Best Books of 2012” rundown.

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Meanwhile, Britain’s Specsavers National Book Award winners were announced last evening, with Lee Child’s A Wanted Man (Bantam Press) being named the Crime & Thriller of the Year.

Also contending for that boast-worthy accolade were Kind of Cruel, by Sophie Hannah (Hodder & Stoughton); A Question of Identity, by Susan Hill (Chatto & Windus); The House of Silk, by Anthony Horowitz (Orion); Perfect People, by Peter James (Macmillan); and Gods and Beasts, by Denise Mina (Orion).

As Karen Meek at Euro Crime reports, Scottish novelist Ian Rankin won this year’s Outstanding Achievement Award.