They Just Keep on Coming

The British books blog Crime Fiction Lover has commenced posting its critics’ choices of 2023’s finest crime, mystery, and thriller fiction.

Each contributor was limited to just five particularly praiseworthy titles. First to commit herself was Erin Britton, a former NB Magazine editor with an obvious bent toward Golden Age-style mysteries. Her favorites from the last 12 months include Death Comes to Marlow, by Robert Thorogood (‎HQ); Killing Jericho, by William Hussey (Zaffre); and The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels, by Janice Hallett (Viper). For his part, Paul Burke, the editor of Crime Time and co-host of the Crime Time FM podcast, picks Megan Davis’s The Messenger (Zaffre), Deepti Kapoor’s Age of Vice (Fleet), Graham Bartlett’s Force of Hate (Allison & Busby), and two more.

South Africa writer Sonja van der Westhuizen also submits critiques in Crime Fiction Lover, and her 2023 standouts may eventually appear there. But for now, she has posted the names of her six favorite crime novels in her own blog, West Words Reviews. Among them are Dennis Lehane’s Small Mercies (Abacus), Tiffany McDaniel’s On the Savage Side (W&N), and Amy Chua’s The Golden Gate (Corvus).

CrimeReads came out earlier today with yet another in its series of “bests” inventories, this one focused on crime and suspense anthologies. And yes, Jordan Peele’s collection of Black horror yarns, Out There Screaming (Random House), made the cut.

Finally, we have a couple of lists from prominent Canadian newspapers. The Globe and Mail’s 10 endorsements take in All the Sinners Bleed, by S.A. Cosby (Flatiron); Zero Days, by Ruth Ware (Simon & Schuster); and The Girl by the Bridge, by Arnaldur Indridason (Vintage). Only Cosby’s latest finds a place on the Toronto Star’s roster, beside Sam Wiebe’s Sunset and Jericho (Harbour), Catherine Chidgey’s Pet (Europa Editions), and two other 2023 releases.

READ MORE: “Declan Burke’s Best Crime Novels, 2023,” by George Easter (Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine); “The Best Horror Fiction of 2023” and “The Best Speculative Crime Fiction of 2023,” by Molly Odintz (CrimeReads); “The Best Traditional Mysteries of 2023” (CrimeReads); “Our Favorite Books of 2023” (Criminal Element).