Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

Hello all! Getting a head start so you can begin organizing your thoughts. Welcome to our annual "Top Reads" list. All are welcome to participate. First the categories, then the instructions.

The Categories.

Top Mystery/Thriller Books (1-10)
Top Authors (1-5)
Top Books (1-5) any genre
Top Series (1-5)
Best "New to Me" Author (1)
Bottom of the Barrel Books (up to 5)

Instructions

Please put all your picks in one post, and please put them in this topic so I don't miss them. If you forget something you can edit your original post, just put EDITED before your addition so I know to go back and add it.

Please list the full name, be it book title, author name, or series character. This will save me time having to google names in order to match up everyone’s picks.

You don't have to list in all categories, and you don't have to post the maximum in each categories. Just please don't go over the max. Otherwise I will leave off the ones listed over the max indicated.

Final Thoughts

After Jan. 10 (or so) I will begin compiling everyone's lists and will aim to post the top picks in each category by the 16th.

If you want inspiration, you can see our Best of 2021 results (best bet is to do a search for the topic, or maybe someone more talented than I am will post a link).

I can't wait to see what everyone selects! Questions? You can post them here, and either Ann or I (or another longtime poster) will answer.

Let the posting begin!

thanks again for doing this, carol!

Alternatively, you can just duplicate my post and raise my standings in the rankings.

I finished the audio of The Life We Bury today and know that I won't get any other books done by 12/31.

Top Mystery/Thriller Books (list up to 10)
* The Life We Bury
* Once There Were Wolves
* Every Last Fear
* Free Reign
* All the Devils Are Here
* Force of Nature
* The Keeper of Lost Causes
* The Unquiet Dead
* State of Terror

Top M/T Authors (list up to 5)
* Louise Penny
* Jane Harper
* Laura Lippman
* Alex Finlay
* Ausma Zehanat Khan

Top Books any genre (list up to 5)
* Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy
* Becoming by Michelle Obama
* 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak
* The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson
* The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

Top Series (list up to 5)
* Armand Gamache
* Harbinder Kaur
* Josephine Tey
* Maggie Hope
* Thursday Murder Club

Best "New to Me" Author (list one)
Ausma Zehanat Khan

Bottom of the Barrel Books (list up to 5) 1 or 2 stars
* The Dirty Book Murder
* Moon Signs
* Ice Blue

M/T
Down a Dark Road (Castillo)
Razorblade Tears (Cosby)
The Angel's Share (Shames)
Desert Star (Connelly)
Snowstorm in August (Karp)
Every Cloak Rolled in Blood (Burke)
Suburban Dicks (Nicieza)
The Furies (Connolly)
Sierra Six (Greany)
Racing the Light (Crais)

Authors
Michael Connelly
SA Cosby
John Sanford
Mark Greany

Any Genre
Profiles in Ignorance (Borowitz)
Powerless (Washburn)
The Fiance (Cummings)
Find Layla (Elison)

NTMA
Fabian Nicieza

Series
Flowers (Sanford)
Bird Parker (Connolly)
Grey Man (Greany)
Bosch/Ballard (Connelly)
Burkholder (Castillo)

Pits
Family Money (Zunker)
Caribbean Wake (Rief)
The Last Lie (White)
All fun and games till Somebody puts out an Eye (Brookmeyer)

I hope I did this right! Mare
Top Mystery/Thrillers

Mousse and Murder – Elizabeth Logan
Mums and Mayhem Amanda Flower
Deadly director’s cut Vicki Delany
Undercover Kitty Sofie Ryan
What the Cat Dragged In Miranda James
Miss Ruffles Inherits Everything Nancy Martin
Claws for Alarm -- Rita Mae Brown
The Hollow of Fear --- Sherry Thomas
Thin Ice Paige Shelton
The 12 Jays of Christmas Donna Andrews





Top Authors
Donna Andrews
Rita Mae Brown
Paige Shelton
Carolyn Haines
Amanda Flowers

Top Books
The Becoming Nora Roberts
Radar Girls Sarah Ackerman
The Lava Witch Debra Bokur
The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle Jennifer Ryan
Lady of Bones Carolyn Haines

Top Series
Sarah Booth Delaney Carolyn Haines
Mrs. Murphy Rita Mae Brown
Second Chance Mysteries Sofie Ryan
Alaska Wild Paige Shelton
Library Lovers Jenn Mckinley

Best new to me author Donna Andrews

Bottom of the barrel
355 Kit Sergeant
On Borrowed Crime Kate Young

Thanks Carol - I have already started organizing my lists and agonizing over the ones that don't fit under the count limit.
I will post them soon..

and if anyone wants a link to the list of top 2021 books that Carol compiled for us last year it is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I actually finished my challenge, so will have a list this year!! Was beginning to wonder if I would!! Thanks, Carol!!

Top Mystery/Thriller Books (1-10)
1.The Widow- kaira rouda
2.Small Mercies- lehane
3.The Kind Worth Saving- swanson
4.Desert Star- connelly
5.The Maid- prowse
6.Racing the Light- crais
7.The Match- coben
8.Righteous Prey- sandford
9.Belle Mer- luanne rice (short story)
10.The Man Who Died Twice-osman

Top Authors (1-5)
Crais
Connelly
Sandford
Rozan
Lehane

Top Books (1-5) any genre
1.Carrie Soto Is Back- taylor jenkins reid
2.Metropolis- b.a. shapiro
3. Sweet and Sour- debbi michiko florence
4.Sugar and Salt- susan wiggs
5.The Night Travelers- armando lucas correa

Top Series (1-5)
Rozan- Lydia and Bill
Sandford- Flowers/Davenport
Connelly- Bosch/Ballard

Best "New to Me" Author (1)
Colleen Hoover- even though none of the books of hers i read made my best of list. it was SO hard to pick this year

Bottom of the Barrel Books (up to 5)
No bottom of the barrel- if i don't like it, i stop reading it.

Wow! You guys are great! Keep 'em comin'!

My top books in 2022 (not in any particular order)

Top Mystery/Thriller Books (1-10)
The Maid Prose, Nita
Fairy Tale King, Stephen
The Ink Black Heart (Cormoran Strike, #6) Galbraith, Robert
A World of Curiosities (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #18) Penny, Louise
Gwendy's Final Task (The Button Box, #3) King, Stephen
Under Lock & Skeleton Key (Secret Staircase Mystery, #1) Pandian, Gigi
Vera Kelly Is Not A Mystery Knecht, Rosalie
Suburban Dicks (Suburban Dicks, #1) Nicieza, Fabian
Now Is Not the Time to Panic Wilson, Kevin
Secret Identity Segura, Alex

Top Authors (1-5)
King, Stephen
Galbraith, Robert
Sepetys, Ruta
Wilson, Kevin
Lippman, Laura

Top Books (1-5) any genre
The Salt Path Winn, Raynor
This Time Tomorrow Straub, Emma
I Must Betray You Sepetys, Ruta
Lessons in Chemistry Garmus, Bonnie
Seasonal Work: Stories Lippman, Laura

Top Series (1-5)
The Ink Black Heart (Cormoran Strike, #6) Galbraith, Robert
A World of Curiosities (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #18) Louise Penny
Vera Kelly Is Not A Mystery (Vera Kelly #2) Knecht, Rosalie
Suburban Dicks (Suburban Dicks, #1) Nicieza, Fabian
Family Business (Lydia Chin & Bill Smith #14) Rozan, S.J.

Best "New to Me" Author (1)
Nicieza, Fabian

Bottom of the Barrel Books (up to 5)
The Dead Do Not Improve Kang, Jay Caspian

I read no five star M/Ts this year.

My five star reads of 2022 were:

Pelosi
Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy
How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them
Disability Pride: Dispatches from a Post-ADA World

Best NTMA

Kevin Bales

M/T’s
At First Light, Barbara Nickless
Murder Theory, Andrew Mayne
The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, Vaseem Khan
Canticle Creek, Adrian Hyland
Purple Cane, James Lee Burke
Racing the Light, Robert Crais

Authors
Vaseem Khan
John Sandford
Robert Crais
Don Winslow
Daniel Silva

Any Genre
Constance, Mathew Fitzsimmons
Ordinary Wolves, Seth Canter
The Peacekeeper, BL Blanchard
I am Pilgrim, Terry Hayes

Series
Dave Robicheaux, James Lee Burke
Inspector Chopra, Vaseem Khan
Elvis and Joe, Robert Crais
Gabriel Allon, Daniel Silva

NTM Author
Vaseem Khan

Bottom of the Barrel
Contamination ( series ), T W Piperbrook

Top M/T
Racing the Light Robert Crais
The Diva Says Cheesecake! Krista Davis
Robert B. Parker's Bye Bye Baby Ace Atkins
One-Shot Harry Gary Phillips
Big Little Spies Krista Davis

Top Authors
Robert Crais
Krista Davis
Ace Atkins
Craig Ferguson

Top Any Genre
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland Patrick Radden Keefe
Becoming Michelle Obama
Riding the Elephant: A Memoir of Altercations, Humiliations, Hallucinations, and Observations Craig Ferguson
Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story Bono
Head on: A Memoir Larry Csonka

Top Series
Elvis & Joe
Spenser
Domestic Diva
Paws & Claws

Best NTMA
Sue Lynn Tan

Bottom of the Barrel
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Suzanne Collins
Station Eleven Emily St. John Mandel

I'm pretty happy with this list. A few surprises but a few old favorites as well.

Top Mystery/Thriller Books (1-10)
Nine Lives. Peter Swanson.
The Investigator. John Sandford
Blacktop Wasteland. SA Cosby
The Ink Black Heart. Robert Galbraith
Razorblade Tears. SA Cosby
The Book of Cold Cases. Simone St. James
The Maid. Nita Prose
Righteous Prey. John Sandford
A World of Curiosities. Louise Penny
The Bullet That Missed. Richard Osman


Top Authors (1-5)
John Sandford
Richard Osman
Louise Penny
Peter Swanson
Robert Galbraith

Top Books (1-5) any genre
Party of Two Jasmine Guillory
Unaccustomed Earth Jhumpa Lahiri
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents Isabel Wilkerson
Unprotected: A Memoir. Billy Porter
Rage Bob Woodward

Top Series (1-5)
Lucas Davenport (John Sandford)
Cormoran Strike (Robert Galbraith)
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache (Louise Penny)
The Thursday Murder Club (Richard Osman)
Harry Bosch (Michael Connelly

Best "New to Me" Author (1)
Jasmine Guillory

Bottom of the Barrel Books (up to 5)
On a Quiet Street. Seraphina Nova Glass

Last call for posting best! I'll probably start compiling this weekend.

Top Mystery Thrillers
The Magdalen Martyrs - Ken Bruen
The Investigator - John Sandford
In the Morning I'll be Gone - Adrian McKinty Platinum Blues - William Deverell
The Other Wife - Michael Robotham
The Bullet That Missed - Richard Osman

Top Authors
John Sandford
Adrian McKinty
Belinda Bauer
Gary Disher

Top Booksany genre
God Is an Englishman - R.F. Delderfield
Sharpe's Regiment - Bernard Cornwell
Glory Days: The Summer of 1984 and the 90 Days That Changed Sports and Culture Forever - L. Jon Wertheim

Top Series
Lucas/Virgil/Letty - John Sandford
SPQR - John Maddox Roberts
Lacey Flint - Sharon Bolton
Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman

Best "New to Me" Author
Liane Moriarty

Carol has compiled our results! Link here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...