Mixing the Familiar with the Unusual

Kirkus Reviews this week unveiled lengthy and often overlapping lists of what its critics believe are the Best Books of 2014. Within that inventory, you will find 12 categories of fiction--everything from Best Literary Fiction to Best Fiction with a Touch of Magic. Under the heading Best Mysteries and Thrillers are these 16 titles:

• Bird Box, by Josh Malerman (Ecco/HarperCollins)

• The Bones Beneath, by Mark Billingham (Atlantic Monthly Press)

• Broadchurch, by Erin Kelly (Minotaur)

• Broken Monsters, by Lauren Beukes (Mulholland)

• Children of the Revolution, by Peter Robinson (Morrow)

• The Killer Next Door, by Alex Marwood (Penguin)

• The Long Way Home, by Louise Penny (Minotaur)

• Night Heron, by Adam Brookes (Redhook/Orbit)

• One Kick, by Chelsea Cain (Simon & Schuster)

• Reckless Disregard, by Robert Rotstein (Seventh Street)

• The Red Road, by Denise Mina (Little, Brown)

• The Secret Place, by Tana French (Viking)

• The Silkworm, by Robert Galbraith (Mulholland)

• The Son, by Jo Nesbø (Knopf)

• Those Who Wish Me Dead. by Michael Koryta (Little, Brown)

• Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, by David Shafer (Mulholland)

In addition, Megan Abbott’s The Fever and C.J. Sansom’s Dominion appear within the Best Popular Fiction category.

Most of the selections here are not very surprising, but I was interested to see both Bird Box and Night Heron make the cut, as neither of those debut novels had been on my radar during the last dozen months. (Which just goes to show that none of us is perfect.) What do the rest of you think of Kirkus’ picks?